Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Cinco de Mayo, 2008, Buda Bee Quilters, Buda, Texas, 93" x 93"

It's Cinco de Mayo, the 5th of May, celebrated in Mexico and the United States as a way to commemorate the cause of freedom and democracy during the first years of the American Civil War. In Mexico, the holiday is celebrated primarily in the state of Puebla and is called El Dia de la Batalla de Puebla. In the United States, the date is observed as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride.

What better way to celebrate than with a festive Cinco de Mayo quilt? The Cinco de Mayo quilt pattern is a Karen Stone design, and it is one of the most challenging designs she has published. It first appeared in her book, Karen K. Stone Quilts, published in 2004, and was on the front cover of the book.

The Cinco de Mayo quilt in my collection is a monumental tour de force of patchwork. It includes 28 more blocks that Stone's 36-block quilt, for a jaw-dropping total of 64 blocks! It is a group quilt, made by the Buda Bee Quilters in Buda, Texas as a raffle quilt for the Onion Creek Senior Center, where the group meets and quilts.

Kitty Ledbetter won the award-winning quilt in the raffle, and years later when we met in Paducah, she asked if I would be interested in buying it.

Kitty Ledbetter was very excited when she won the raffle!

About a year later, I finally bought it from her, and when it arrived I was absolutely spellbound by it. When you see the quilt in person, you begin to realize how large and intricate it is. The quilt is very memorable.

The Buda Bee's Cinco de Mayo quilt was part of my "Collecting New York Beauty Quilts" exhibition last year at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. It was fun to see how visitors to the museum reacted to this remarkable masterpiece.

So there you have it, the amazing Cinco de Mayo quilt. It really looks like a celebration, and I think it was very aptly named. Happy Cinco de Mayo!