Sunday, July 04, 2010

Militant Needles - 1984 Quilt Exhibit

Going through old files, I came across this photocopied program quilt historian Joyce Gross sent to me. It's for "Militant Needles: An Exhibit of Slave-Made Quilts" curated by Gladys-Marie Fry, Ph.D. The 1984 exhibit featured eight quilts:
  1. Floral Quilt, 1852, stitched by a slave called "Yellow Bill"
  2. Eight-Petal Flower or Snowflake Quilt, early to mid-19th c., owned then by Mrs. Irma Koski of Arlington, VA
  3. another Eight-Petal or Snowflake Quilt, also owned by Mrs. Koski
  4. Tulip Quilt, circa 1850, collection of Mrs. Mildred Guthries, Snow Camp, NC
  5. Holly Quilt, mid-19th c., collection of Dr. Fry
  6. Carolina Lilly Quilt, 1847 - 1852, Collection of Bonnie Cooper Banks, Shaker Heights, OH
  7. North Star Quilt, also 1847 - 1852, Collection of Bonnie Cooper Banks
  8. Strip Design Blanket, circa 1890, collection Kenneth Combs, Cleveland, OH
I sometimes wonder why I'm so driven to keep these bits of paper documenting African American quilt history. Then, I re-read this program on July 4th about "Militant Needles" and slave-made quilts and know it's worthwhile! Happy July 4th!

3 comments:

Karen said...

Thank you for this posting.

Unknown said...

Is it possible to see a picture of each quilt?

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