The O.P.A. Quilt
1946
Hand-pieced, appliquéd cotton, trapunto quilting

Illinois State Museum Collection

The name O.P.A. refers to the Office of Price Administration, one of a number of government agencies familiar to those who lived through World War II. O.P.A. was responsible for the rationing of foods. Tinned sardines epitomized the food shortages of the time. In this quilt, Bertha Stenge quilted tin can turn-keys at the suggestion of a family friend whose business during the War involved buying and selling keys for sardine cans. The pieced blocks are in the shape of sardine cans. Celery, another scarce food, is quilted in an inner border. Why did Stenge use a seahorse appliqué design for this quilt? Maybe she found sardines as inedible as seahorses! The colors and unusual geometric shapes in this quilt suggest Stenge was influenced by the Art Deco style popular at the time.