Democracy Defended

Last year, for my birthday, I was given the Christmas 2024 edition of Quilter's World magazine, A Very Merry Quilted Christmas. As I flipped through the pages, I found the pattern for "Noel Surrounded" by Lyn Brown. The green colour appealed to me because it wasn't the traditional "Christmas green" and I thought I might make it work for one of my great nephews, whose favourite colour is green. When it came to purchasing the fabric, however, I switched out the red for a dark purple, not wanting it to appear to be a Christmas quilt. I also decided that I wanted my quilt slightly smaller, so I left off the final inch and a half of the border.

The quilt block used, Burgoyne Surrounded, is a rather large and complex block, It finishes at 22½" square and is composed of 97 pieces! Yes, that's per block. But there were only 6 blocks and the designer simplified the process by using strip piecing techniques. 

Unfortunately, that did leave me with a lot of already-stitched together leftover strips. If I were to do it over again (and I have no intention of it), I would have completed the last few units from individual pieces rather than strip pieces, which would have left me with more usable fabric leftovers, rather than already stitched-together strips. However, I do appreciate the fact that trying to write that into a pattern would have made it overly and unnecessarily complex. 
I have to admit that I really love my fabric choices. The green and the deep purple together just really "zing". 
As I was working on the quilt, I was trying to come up with a name for it. Certainly, "Noel Surrounded" was not appropriate for a quilt that wasn't a Christmas quilt. The designer included this blurb with the pattern: 

Hmm, as a Canadian, I tended to side with the British. Canada is a member of the British Commonwealth, and officially, King Charles III is still our head of state. And we were able to peacefully evolve into our own sovereign nation without bloodshed. And without severing ties with the British crown. And my feelings were further complicated by the fact that the current president of the United States is threatening our sovereignty, and has made himself - essentially - our enemy. No, I definitely did not want to celebrate the United States of America by calling this quilt "Burgoyne Surrounded". Not to mention the fact that that name would mean nothing to the recipient. Or the vast majority of anyone other than the astute student of the history of the USA. 
So, I was still looking for a name for this quilt when I started seeing photos and videos of the protests against ICE's (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) heavy-handed tactics in US cities, like Portland. And of course, I realized that there were many US citizens who were not happy with the decisions and directives coming from the White House. And so the "No Kings" movement was born, protesting the fact that the president, instead of being the servant of the people, was acting like a dictatorial monarch. And because of an inflatable frog costume worn at a peaceful protest in Portland, the frog became an icon of "the resistance". And more and more frogs appeared. And I found myself siding with the frogs, and the unicorns, and dinosaurs... Because we all recognize that democracy is at stake. 

And as I looked at the green in this quilt top, I realized it was the same green as the frogs (or very similar), and I decided to quilt it with frogs in solidarity with the protesters. 

(The design is Pond Lily, and I just used it recently in Swan Lake Surprise.)
Initially, I thought about calling the quilt Portland Defended. But then I realized it was much broader than that and decided on Democracy Defended. And I believe that that is very consistent with the original meaning behind this quilt block. - freedom from autocratic, dictatorial control. And makes a lot more sense to the non-historian than "Burgoyne Surrounded".
I have to admit that I was thinking of Betsy Ross as I was working on this quilt. But what difference will a quilt make? What difference will all of the protests make? Will they make a difference? Or is it too late in this world's history? Allow me to explain. 
I believe that the United States is portrayed in Bible prophecy in the book of Revelation:

 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Revelation 13:11

If you want to know the explanation for why and how I believe this beast is the United States of America, this video gives a good overview:

The question is: Will the United States recover from this, or is this the beginning of the final downward slide that leads to the enforcement of the Mark of the Beast? I guess only time will tell. But the Bible gives us this admonition: 

So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man (Jesus) will come at an hour when you do not expect him. 

Matthew 24:44 NIV