Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Hustle and Flow Quilt?


Name this quilt pattern! UC Davis professor Dr. Patricia Turner recently emailed me...

"African-American quilts sometimes show up in unlikely places. In the 2005 film Hustle and Flow, a dingy worn quilt is used to buffer noise in the make-shift recording studio used to record "It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp." I'm not enough of an authority on motifs to determine if the quilt is in a recognizable pattern or if it could be described as an improvisational strip quilt. Does anyone recognize the motif? Thanks, and if you know of any other references to quilts in hip-hop culture, please respond to the blog or to paturner@ucdavis.edu" Do leave a comment if you recognize the quilt pattern! Thanks!

3 comments:

Karoda said...

I don't know the pattern but I did add Dr. Turner's book to my wish list. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Rather than a quilt pattern, it appears that the pictured quilt is constructed in a style known as String Piecing. String pieced quilts are made using odd strips of fabrics in various widths. The strips are often sewn to a foundation of muslin or other fabric. The results are random, colorful, and exuberant. The blocks in the quilt shown are sewn diagonally in each square which creates a directional block. The quiltmaker could then arrange the squares to form crosses or other secondary designs. Quiltmaker, author, and teacher Elsie Campbell has written a book on this quiltmaking style titled Spectacular String-Pieced Quilts which can give you further information. Hope this helps.

Anonymous said...

I concur with the comments by "Anonymous". She hit the nail on the head.

Violet Vaughnes
Quilt Appraiser,
Certified by the American Quilter's Society.