B. Smith Home Photo Shoot and Quilt

The San Francisco Sentinel today published an interview with B. Smith. You should click here to see the lovely photos by Jeffrey Hirsch of her New York apartment home. The photo here is of the Master Bedroom and features one of the quilts in her bedding collection.

AT&T sponsors college tour Gee's Bend quilts

AT&T is sponsoring a college tour of selected quilts from Gee's Bend, according to a recent PR Newswire press release. The free tour stops will be open to the public and will include singing, poetry, and storytelling performances by the Gee's Bend Quilters Collective including Mary Lee Bendolph, Revil Mosely, China Pettway, Mary Ann Pettway and Florine Smith.

VIP tour receptions are scheduled for:

• Winston-Salem State University (North Carolina) - October 11, 2007
• Prairie View A&M University (Texas) - October 16, 2007
• Wayne State University (Detroit, MI) - October 29, 2007

AT&T is also featuring online ads with a quilting theme to sell more high-speed internet access. You can see one of two video ads at http://att.jpdmi.com/nowplaying/35 (you need to have Windows Media Player).

Vivian Benton - moving on after 7 years

I just received the Fall 2007 issue of the Quilting Quarterly magazine - the journal of the National Quilting Association, Inc. And, there on page 4 is the heading ... And So Long! QQ Editor Vivian Benton (photo) announces this was her last issue as editor after seven years. Say it's not so!! I've loved that the magazine includes a diversity of quilters, is smart, well designed, and a good read. I've loved that Vivian and those who work on the Quilting Quarterly document both quilters and quilts. Vivian - thanks for the 7 years!

Anyone Can Fly Foundation auction in NY

Will you be in New York on October 14, 2007? Do stop by the ACA Gallery for the Anyone Can Fly Foundation Auction and Exhibition. Works by Dr. Samella Lewis - the 2007 foundation Scholar's Lifetime Achievement awardee.

If you're in the Washington DC area Sept 26, you can congratulate Sistah Quilter Faith Ringgold. The Congressional Wives of the Black Caucus honors her with an award at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Nora Ezell (1917 - 2007) Quilter & Author

Alabaman quilter and author Nora Ezell passed away on September 6, 2007. If you are not familiar with Mrs. Ezell's extraordinary quilts, then do be sure to get a copy of her book, "My Quilts and Me: The Diary of an American Quilter." This book is one of my absolute favorites in providing personal insights into why a black woman quilts, how she values and prices her quilts, how she decides on the fabrics to select, and goes about getting commissions. I only wish I could have met Mrs. Ezell in person.

Mrs. Ezell was the fourth of 10 children. Her mother, an expert seamstress, taught her to quilt and sew her clothes. She started making story quilts in 1979. One of her first quilts, which took over two years to complete, was a story quilt about Martin Luther King, Jr. Mrs. Ezell is one of several African American quilters to be honored with a National Heritage Fellowship Award. You can read her Award bio from 1992 by clicking here.

Here are a few links to learn more about Mrs. Ezell:

* Nora Ezell article by Mark Hughes Cobb - Tuscaloosa News (Al)

* Robert Cargo Folk Art Gallery, Caroline Cargo director

* USA Today article with photo of one of Mrs. Nora Ezell's quilts

Thank you to Caroline Cargo for letting me know about Mrs. Ezell. I'd be happy to forward to Mrs. Ezell's family any tributes or notes you'd like to leave here or email me personally. Best, Kyra

Gee's Bend - Franklin case - Trial in April 2008?

Attorneys for Lucinda Pettway Franklin and the Arnetts met earlier this month as ordered by U.S. Magistrate Judge Bert W. Milling, Jr to outline a few specifics of the case. Mrs. Franklin claims two family quilts over 100 years old were stolen. (The quilts were returned within days of the suit being filed.)

Both sides have agreed they would be ready for trial by early April 2008 and anticipate the trial would last from 2 - 3 days, not including jury selection. All discovery is anticipated to be completed by early January 2008. At this time, it's too early to evaluate whether a settlement can be agreed to. Stay tune!

Question: How would you feel about being on this jury?

Amazon.com - Submit your quilting book review

Amazon.com is an amazing resource for learning about the newest books on quilting. For those who are interested in African American quilting, this is a source (besides your local bookstore) to books about our quilting.

Did you know you can leave a book review as simple as a sentence to as long as a short essay on a specific book on Amazon.com or even bn.com? The reviews you leave helps to generate buzz for the book, introduce others to the titles you enjoy, and help when the author looks to publish another book - especially on African American quilting.

If you have a moment, do take a moment to let others know what you think about your favorite African American quilting book. It does make a difference! For example, if you've enjoyed the newest book, Textual Rhythms, on jazz-themed quilts, be the first to review the book. Let others know that your quilts are included in the book! Thanks in advance for supporting the books about our quilting heritage!

Chicago's Needles & Threads Quilters

Check out the Needles & Threads Quilter Guild website. These Chicago Quilting Sistahs are on the move! The member's page is delightful since it provides photos of each Sistah quilter as well as an example of her work. The guild will celebrate its 15th Anniversary with a workshop given by Juanita Yeager on October 5 & 6, 2007. You'll need to RSVP by September 22. Enjoy!

GLAAQN - Michigan Quilting Sistahs

Check out the photos on the Great Lakes African American Quilting Network website. The GLAAQN guild recently made charity quilts for Mott Children's Hospital of Ann Arbor at the Michigan State Fair during Labor Day weekend. Go Ladies!

Black Threads Blog - 1 Year Old!

I'd like to take a moment to THANK YOU! The Black Threads blog will celebrate its first year anniversary this weekend. I hope you've enjoyed learning more about African American quilters and quilts. In this last year, there have been more than 18,000 visits to this blog. WOW - you know that can't all be me and my mother! I've posted more than 230 notes for you in categories such as: Quilters, Guilds, Exhibits, Fabrics, Fun Fashions, Gee's Bend, In Memorial, books, museums and more. I hope you've enjoyed seeing quilts which may have been new to you, such as the Oprah Quilt (did it ever get on the show?).

Blogging takes time and commitment - from both of us. There are times when I post something and wonder, "will anyone actually read this?" I'm humbled by the comments you leave on the blog and the NUMEROUS emails you send me privately. I read each one and try to respond.

We're recording our own quilt history here - not just on this blog, but in the blogsphere! It's been FABULOUS to talk about our quilting heritage and learn more from other Sistah Quilter Bloggers, such as Sonji, Karoda, Sew Chick, Deborah and Gwen - to name a few.

All the best to you! In our second year, I hope you'll continue to share your quilting news, be open for a 3 question interview, or simply to leave your comments. Happy Anniversary to YOU! (P.S. I just LOVE this photo from the Carrie Mae Weems: The Louisiana Project!)

Clark Atlanta University - strip quilts in collection

On exhibit until October 26 at Clark Atlanta University is African Continuum in American Arts and Crafts. Did you know that Dr. Mary Twining, a professor of folklore, and the late art collector Ben Apfelbaum donated to the university's permanent collection "an assortment of strip quilts, sweet grass baskets and wood carvings"? If you have a copy of Black Threads: An African American Quilting Sourcebook, make a note in the chapter on African American quilts in museum collections this addition to Clark Atlanta U. In 2003, my survey of museums indicated there were 585 African American-made quilts in 100 permanent museum collections. I wonder, what is that number today? I wonder what new institutions have been added to the list since 2003. Hmmmmm.

Gwen Magee's Quilt Graces Book Cover!

A congratulations shout out to Gwen Magee! Her quilt, Full of the Faith, is the cover art for the recently published Ashes of Faith: A doomsday cult's orchestration of mass murder in Africa by Robert Bwire.

AAQLA - Guild Show set for November 10

The African American Quilters of Los Angeles (AAQLA) Guild is pleased to announce its 2007 guild show, "Reflection of Our Heritage: Quilting Our Past into the Present.”

If you're in Southern California on Saturday, November 10, 2007, do see the exciting quilts of Blanche Jones, Vera Stewart, and Rosalee Watson at the Carson Community Center in the Carson Dominquez Room located at 3 Civic Plaza, Carson, CA 90745 - between 9am and 6pm. One day only! Admission is $7.00. Linda K. Gardner is the show chairperson. Enjoy!

African American Quilt Display in Oakland

Visit the Oakland Public Library’s Lakeview Branch, at 550 El Embarcadero, to see the African American Quilt Guild's display of quilts. On exhibit from September 1 - 29. Enjoy!

Commodification of Gee's Bend - paper

A friend forwarded to me an interesting, rather scholarly article by Victoria F. Phillips, a professor at the Washington College of Law, American University. The paper is titled "Commodification, Intellectural Property and the Quilters of Gee's Bend" in the Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law (vol 15, no 2). The 18 page paper includes the following sections:

• The Women of Gee's Bend and Their Story
• The Struggle for Civil Rights and the Freedom Quilting Bee
• The Tinwood Alliance Partnership
• Commodification Theory
• Commodification Theory and the Quilters of Gee's Bend

The paper never really defines what "commodification" means - for the lay reader. A quick look says commodification means "to turn into a commodity" or to "make commercial." The paper explains that according to Harrison Arnett, Business Director , Tinwood Ventures (p. 369, footnote 75 and 76) "the quilters retained all the rights to the quilts made after 1984 and that Tinwood pays the community a royalty on all licensed uses for the quilts made before 1984, even though Tinwood owns the underlying intellectual property rights to these."

The author looks at various theories of commodification to see if any apply to the Gee's Bend quilts and quilters. She supports the paper with insights from Tinwood Ventures and many scholars. Unfortunately, the author does not appear to have spoken with any of the Gee's Bend quilters for their opinion. She concludes (p. 376) that the arrangement the quilters have with "Tinwood Alliance, even though achieved by contract, may well be a model worth studying ..." It's an interesting read. Enjoy!

Coach Ergo Patchwork purse - WHY??

Call me old fashion .... Give me CLASSIC Coach. I can't see paying $648 plus tax for this quilted suede, velvet with leather trim fashion - the Coach Ergo Patchwork.

Cion by Zakes Mda - Black man learns to quilt

In my books to read pile is Zakes Mda's new novel, Cion. From the dust jack, Cion, is the story of Toloki, "a professional mourner who for years has traveled around his native South Africa grieving for the deaths of strangers.... [h]e arrives for the first time in the United States in 2004, bewildered by the culture and fascinated by the strange family that takes him in as a guest. Toloki befriends the son, falls in love with the daughter, and learns from their mother a tradition of quilting that links her family to the escaped slaves who first settled the area."

I emailed author Zakes Mda, a professor at Ohio University who learned to quilt while writing this novel. I asked what motivated him to write Cion.

"My discovery of a wonderful community in the village of Kilvert in southeast Ohio, he graciously replied. "The community was founded in the 1830s with the intermarriages of Caucasians (mostly Irish), African slaves who had escaped from the slave-holding states through the Underground Railroad, and the original Native Americans of the area. The community has a strong quilting tradition, and some of its members still keep quilts that were made and owned by their great-great-grandmothers," he shared.

Professor Mda hopes quilters who read his novel "will value this tradition more. Not only are their quilts carriers of memory through their patters and designs, but the whole cycle of life was enacted on the quilts: people were made on these quilts; they were born on these quilts; they got sick on these quilts; and they died on these quilts. Narratives of loves and losses are embedded in the very fabric of the quilts." I can't wait to read Cion! Enjoy!