Blue - approx. size 5'x5', a charming elephant quilt.

A reverse appliqué technique, modern work from an unknown Hmong Der textile artist in Minnesota. It is a whimsical simple "paj ndau", also called a "story cloth". The Hmong people are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.

A number of Hmong people fought against the Communist Pathet Lao during the Laotian Civil War. Hmong people were singled out for retribution when the Pathet Lao took over the Laotian government in 1975, and when the Vietnam People's Army invaded and took over the Royal Kingdom of Laos, also beginning in December of 1975 (the two were closely connected and the Hmong had been assisting the CIA and the government of Ngô ÄÂÂÂÂ?ình DiáÂÂÂÂ?m). Most fled to Thailand seeking political asylum. Thousands of these refugees have resettled in Western countries since the late 1970s, mostly the United States but also in Australia, France, Canada, French Guiana, and other countries in South America. The largest group in the United States is in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota.