Mrs. Bobbins, a Quilt Cartoon, from Pickledish

Got to send a shout-out to Julia Icenogle, the creator of the Mrs. Bobbins comic on Pickledish, home of the Kansas City Star Quilts. Treat yourself to a chuckle and visit Mrs. Bobbins and her friends including Alice, Edith (the sistah quilter), and Geraldine. Enjoy!

$7 Black History Quilt Top Found at Flea Market

This story is from the Palestine (Texas) Herald-Press from 2007, still thought it was amazing!

"Palestine resident Natalie Jones couldn’t believe her fortune when she found a colorful quilt top for the bargain price of $7 at a flea market in Dogwood City this past summer.

"What made it such a bargain is that the one-of-a-kind quilt top features 34 squares displaying the portraits of African Americans who made contributions to society — from well-known names such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Harriet Tubman to others not as well known such as Garrett A. Morgan, who invented traffic lights and gas masks, to Granville T. Woods, who invented the telegraph.

"“I had just bought some black figurines and had almost spent all of my money. I carried the quilt top with me for a while wondering if I would have enough money to buy it. I asked the guy what he wanted for it, and he asked if $7 was too much. I couldn’t believe my good fortune. To me, it’s worth a million dollars,” Jones said."

Ms. Jones now has created a program called "African American: Cover to Cover" where she shares the quilt and African American history stories. (Photo by Cheril Vernon, The Palestine Herald). Have you ever found such a quilt treasure?! Enjoy!

Disney's Princess Tiana - when will the fabric be available?

Mattel unveiled the Princess Tiana doll at Toy Fair in New York last week. Princess Tiana will be the first Disney African American princess. She will debut later this year in the animated musical, The Princess and the Frog. Now - when will the Princess Tiana FABRICS be available?!?

African American Quilting Guilds Online

Are you looking for a local quilting guild to join? Here are a few you can contact online. This is by no means a comprehensive list, so feel free to leave a comment if there are others you'd like to share! Enjoy!

African American Quilt Guild of Oakland

African American Quilters of Baltimore, Maryland

The AAQB 20th Anniversary Quilt, Fine Art and Craft Show will be held at the James E. Lewis Museum at Morgan State University in March 2009.

African American Quilters of Los Angeles Be sure to check out the guild’s photo gallery!

Brown Sugar Stitchers Quilt Guild, Decatur, GA

Great Lakes African American Quilter's Network

Needles & Threads, Chicago, IL

Pacific NW African American Quilters

Quilters of Color Network, New York

Rocky Mountain Wa Shonaji Quilt Guild

• Here is a link to the updated Rocky Mountain Wa Shonaji Quilt Guild of Denver site! Check it out!
  

Sisters in Stitches Joined by the Cloth (New England, Holbrook, MA)The photo here is from this guild’s website.

Sisters of the Cloth Quilting Guild Visit this site to learn more about the guild’s 19^th annual Gathering!

Uhuru Quilters Guild, Clinton, MD

Sistahs Who Sew and Blog

Wanted to take a moment to introduce you to some Sistahs Who Sew and Blog. These women are modifying patterns, making fabulous clothes and sharing their joy via blogs. Can I introduce you to a couple Sewing Sistahs? Enjoy!

• SewFit - Aminat is a sewist from Canada. She says she's a beginner, but she's stitching from Vogue patterns!
• The Mahogany Stylist - Cennetta is on jam! Visit her blog and see the skirt and swing jacket she made for a friend (Photo here). I'm looking forward to reading about the Easter and Pastor's Anniversary party dress patterns she is considering.
• Sew On and Sew On - Lisa from Macon, GA seems so down-to-Earth - and she provides a bit of laughter (Click here to see).
• Sew Hooked - Omega shares her sewing passion - she even sews her own hats!

Thank you! 75,000 visits to Black Threads blog!

Yes, You Count! Many thanks to all who have visited the Black Threads blog since I started posting back in September 2006. I hope you've enjoyed these notes on African American quilts, quilters and other fanciful things. It has been my honor.

This evening I clicked on the map there on the right side, scroll down a bit. The map tracks each visit to the Black Threads blog. So, if you have visited 20 times, the map counts 20 times. Well, since 2006, there have been 75,000 visits!

I hope you continue to enjoy the Black Threads blog by:

• Clicking the posts in your favorite category. The categories or LABELS are at the bottom of each post or there on the right hand column. Click a LABEL and read more on that topic.
  
• Following the blog - sign up at right
• Receiving an email when there is a new post - sign up at right
• Continuing to share your quilting news - I'll try my best to post it!
• Telling a friend about the blog
  
• Leaving a comment - I'd love to hear from you! (The quilt here is "I Count" by Kyra E. Hicks) Thank you!

Marquetta Bell Johnson - Hand-Dyed Quilts

Have you read "Hand-Dyed Quilts" by sistah quilter and self-taught artist Marquetta Bell Johnson? I haven't dyed fabric since my one summer at a girls camp - but I remember the experience as fun. Enjoy this book!

Dr. Johnnetta Cole is named new Director, National Museum of African Art

Dr. Johnnetta Cole has been named the new Director of the National Museum of African Art! The appointment is effective March 1. Sistah Dr. Cole is a noted quilt collector. Congratulations!

Gee's Bend Play, PNWAA Quilts in Seattle

The play, "Gee's Bend," directed by Karen Lund, is now on stage at the Taproot Theatre in Seattle until February 28, 2009. A special discussion Feb 18 with Gee's Bend quilters is now sold out. The discussion on Feb 21 has tickets available. The sistah quilters of the Pacific Northwest African American Quilters guild will have a post-play discussion on Feb 25. There will also be an auction of PNWAA quilts, on displayed at the theatre, on Sunday, March 8. (Photo of actors Geoffery Simmons and Samantha Rund by Erik Stuhaug.) Enjoy!

April Shipp's Strange Fruit Quilt - Video

Last night I stumbled upon this You Tube video interview of Sistah Quilter April Shipp. She talks about her THREE YEAR dedication to stitching the quilt Strange Fruit: A Century of Lynching 1865 - 1965. This video is 10 minutes long and was filmed at Michigan State University as part of the Quilts and Human Rights exhibit held there in 2008. Ms. Shipp's quilt is 12 pounds and includes the names of more than 5,000 African American men, women, and children lynched in the US. I cried watching this video. Honor to Laura Nelson.