Unless you live in Honolulu, Hawaii, with its tropical weather and miniscule temperature variation, blankets are a necessity. In many cultures, blankets go beyond keeping people warm. They represent identity, heritage, status, spiritual beliefs, and in some cases, a big warm welcome.
Welcome Blanket is a platform for artistic engagement. The goal of the organization is to take the concept of immigration and mold it into artistic action. Knitters, sewers, quilters, crocheters, weavers, felters, and more, are invited to make welcome blankets for refugees coming to the U.S. Along with their blankets, the artists include family stories about immigration, migration, or relocation on notecards as a way to welcome and connect with new refugees.
“There is a national effort to make these quilts,” Kate Warner, a member of the West Tisbury Quilting Circle, says. “The woman who started it, Jayna Zweiman, is based in L.A. She is one of the two people who came up with the pussyhats. Now she is asking people to make 40-inch square quilts to welcome immigrants.”
The welcome blankets are displayed at art institutions and exhibitions. During these exhibitions, spaces are created to amplify the message of welcome by hosting craft circles, performances, discussions, and legal assistance for immigrants. After each show closes, Welcome Blanket’s 30-plus partner refugee-resettlement groups present the blankets to their new neighbors.
Founder Jayna Zweiman said she started Welcome Blanket because she was inspired by how powerful craft can be as civic engagement. “All my grandparents came to this country as immigrants and refugees. My grandfather used to tell the story of seeing the Statue of Liberty appear through the fog as his ship approached New York,” Zweiman says. “I thought about how new arrivals to the U.S. often go unmarked, even though they deserve acknowledgement and community. Welcome Blanket creates an American tradition of welcome and recognizes that we all come from somewhere, our stories woven together into a shared tapestry of (im)migration.”
Along with Warner, five other members of the West Tisbury Quilting Circle sent welcome blankets, including Kim Manter, Julia Burgess, Linda Smith, Wendy Nierenberg, and Lynn Marquedant.
The experience of creating the welcome quilts was a positive one for Warner and her fiber arts cohorts. “We meet every week, so it’s great to have something specific to do. Sometimes we make a lot of quilts and then say, ‘Who are they for?’ So it’s nice to do something special. Especially now. It’s such a dark time, so to give a little, and welcome these people into our country, is much needed.”
When asked if there is a way to do a similar venture for immigrants on the Island, Warner said it isn’t out of the question. “I can imagine us doing more in the future,” she says. “Maybe something through the Island Food Pantry? They have a considerable Brazilian constituency. But it’s a good question. I wonder if there is someone who would be helpful around this idea — ‘How can we continue this in our community, and who can we get to help with this?’”
In the meantime, Warner says that kindness is the best thing we can all do. “It’s contagious, and it’s needed. It’s such a dark time. We are all immigrants unless we’re Native American. I think this is something we should all think about.”
Welcome Blanket works with the refugee organizations to gift these quilts. “The guidelines are: 40” x 40”, any medium, easy to care for, and hard to give away because you love it so much,” Zeiman says. “Include a welcome note sharing a story from your family about immigration, migration, or relocation, with words of welcome. If you would like to participate as makers, funders, or connectors helping us find museum partners, please join in. This is a lean operation, and if you have a skill you want to share and we could use, reach out.”
The Welcome Blanket website is www.welcomeblanket.org, and their Instagram is @welcomeblanket. 407 East Pico Blvd, Suite 808, Los Angeles, CA 90015.
