New book! Quilters Questions: A Book of Curious Queries. What's YOUR favorite question?

What's YOUR favorite question?

Hello!
How about a different kind of quilting fun? Just published is Quilters Questions: A Book of Curious Queries.

I hope you enjoy this newest book!  Quilters Questions is perfect for quilters of any age or skill level.  You can explore topics ranging from quilter identity, creative inspiration, collaboration, exhibiting, fabrics, your quilting legacy, sex and quilts (yes :>) and more!

Quilters Questions includes 300+ open-ended questions. This engaging read provides hours of fun and conversation. And is great for you to answer on your own - or as a guild activity. With the holidays approaching, it's a great gift idea or stocking stuff for any quilter.

What kind of curious questions can you expect?

• Would you accept $25,000 to stop quilting forever? What if the offer was only $2,000?
• Would you consider sewing a hidden mini camera into a quilt to monitor someone? Why or why not?

I had a BALL working on this book and hope you enjoy it and share with a quilting friend!    Best, Kyra

Quilters Questions: A Book of Curious Queries
Black Threads Press
126 pages, $9.95
ISBN: 0-9824796-4-6

Lolita Newman's Freedom Gone: Embroidered Quilts of Slave Life in the Civil War

Have you incorporated black work stitching into your quilt making?  Consider Southern California artist Lolita Newman's publication Freedom Gone: Embroidered Quilts of Slave Life in the Civil War.

The 96-page book includes instructions for seven quilts and six projects illustrating daily chores, family life and "the quest for freedom" experienced by enslaved African Americans during the 19th century.

You can also purchase individual block patterns from Ms. Newman's etsy store, Stitchin' by the River. Enjoy!

Be a Quilter + Author by Publishing Your Own Quilt Catalog

So excited! I've been working on a new quilt project.

How would you like to be a quilter/artist + author this year?! If you know how to use Microsoft Word, have Internet access, and at least a dozen digital images of your quilts or other textile art, YOU CAN make your own quilt catalog! And, if you are a cloth doll maker, a mixed media artist, a quilted postcard maker and more - you are welcome to participate as well. If your guild is hosting an exhibit, the steps here can also show you how to easily create a catalog of your guild exhibit!

I will host a series of blog posts showing step-by-step how you can create your own 24-page, full-color catalog - and have it for sale on Amazon.com.

Take a moment to visit the PublishYourQuilts blog and sign up there for emails of each post. The series will start on Monday, March 26. Is this something you might be interested in? What would you want to be sure to learn? Leave a comment here so that I can be sure to include in the series of posts! Enjoy!

Well Seasoned Sisters Cookbook by Sisters in Stitches Joined By the Cloth

Just published! The Sisters In Stitches Joined By The Cloth, the only African American quilting guild in New England, has just published a cookbook titled Well Seasoned Sisters Cookbook. Guild members offer family recipes and beautiful quilts in this book. There are over 100 recipes and 30 color photos. The book is available to order on Lulu.com - just click here. Enjoy!

Gloucester Community College Black History Art Show includes quilts

Gloucester County College in Sewell, NJ and LINKS, Inc. are hosting an art show featuring quilts, paintings, and photographs of regional and local artists including: Kathleen Lindsey, Michele Lucas, Vusumuzi Maduna, Ruby Peters, Joan Wallace Reeves, Sandra Peterson-Giles, Vincent Wilson, a 12-year-old cartoonist, and Walter Cade III, and Luther Alridge aka Obrafo. The exhibit is at the college center's Dr. Ross Beitzel Art Gallery from January 29 to March 4, 2011.

Kathleen Lindsey, from Clayton, New Jersey, has been quilting for 30 years, according to the Gloucester County Times. She is also the author of the picture book Sweet Potato Pie published by Lee & Low. Enjoy!

Artistic Expressions of Quilters of Color - now available!

The Ebony Stitchers Quilt Guild has done it again! They have just published "Artistic Expressions of Quilters of Color"! This 48-page softcover book features quilts, profiles, and short text for the following 33 quilters:

Ms. Ceree Bowden, Renee Allen, Marquetta Bell Johnson, Linda Asbury, N. Yvonne Bernal, Nicole Blackwell, Myla Chapman, Jessica Coleman, Cleme Cosby, Anita Burns Crosby, Joyce Daniels, Edna Marie Gaddis Anderson, Mamie Ellis, Lindsey G. France, Nancy DeCreny Franklin, Gwen Gordon, Janice Hunter, Melanie Ligon, Aisha Lumumba, Ernestine Merritt, Wardean S. Miller, Tricia Montgomery, Carolyn Newton, Elaine Parker, Theresa Polley-Shellcroft, Belinda Pedroso, Tinnie and Minnie Pettway, J. C. Rice, Billie Jean Richardson, Paulette Strain, Carolyn W. White, Inez Wilkerson, and Irma Young.

The book also includes a pattern for a Bird of Paradise quilt. Margaret Warfield created the cover design. Michael Angelo Chester is credited for the book design and layout. The quilts from these quilters from Georgia to California are just marvelous! The book retails for $20 and is available from the Ebony Stitchers Quilt Guild website. Great holiday gift. Enjoy!

1.6 Million African American Quilters: Survey, Sites, and a Half-Dozen Art Quilt Blocks

I'm excited to announce a new book - all about you! 1.6 Million African American Quilters is a handy, eye-opening booklet about today's Black quiltmakers:

- You'll find the latest quilt industry figures from the Quilting in America Survey, including the number of Black quilters nationally.

- The most comprehensive resource of websites, blogs, and YouTube videos featuring African American quilters and guilds - more than 270!

I was amazed by the variety and passion for quilting that you see online! There are 35 guilds listed. You'll find links to Sistah quilters in the US, the UK, Tanzania, Nigeria, and more! Can you name 10 African American male quilters? Find their websites in the booklet! Also included are selected textile artists, dollmakers, fabric designers, and quilters from the African diaspora.

- Six afro-centrically designed art quilt blocks by Washington, D.C. artist Francine Haskins, who is also a member of the Black Artists of DC organization. I hope you'll enjoy these blocks as quilt or redwork embroidery patterns. I'm happy to post your completed blocks here on the Black Threads blog! By the way, Francine also illustrated the book cover! Didn't you just want to pull up a chair and sew!?

- Bibliographic references, many annotated, for selected books, articles, exhibit catalogs, dissertations, papers, and films about Black quilters. I've also included the wonderful self-published books by guilds and quilters. And... in a new category... this booklet includes references to several Sistah quilters who have donated materials (papers, exhibit catalogs, photos, quilt patterns) about their quilt-making to different museums nationally. How cool and inspirational is that!?

1.6 Million African American Quilters is all about documenting and encouraging networking. I hope you enjoy it. I hope your personal copy becomes dog-eared and filled with scribbled notes indicating which sites you've visited, new quilter friends you've met. I hope the booklet's spine becomes bent from having photocopied the art quilt blocks. I hope you see yourself in the pages. It is truly an honor to declare - there are 1.6 Million African American Quilters today!

Black Threads Press, 62 pages, $9.95 - Available on Amazon.com. Enjoy!

A Legacy of Twelve - Poems by Quilter Dorothy Montgomery

Have you had a chance to read South Carolina quilter Dorothy Montgomery's 58 page poetry booklet "A Legacy of Twelve: Notes from a Musical Scale Create Many Styles of Music"? Her 2006 book includes images of five of Miss Montgomery's quilts - including this one on the book's cover. The poems mostly focus on musical themes as Miss Montgomery is a retired music teacher. My favorite poems are the two about Harriet Tubman. Enjoy!

Guided by the Ancestors - 2009 catalog

I recently received in the mail a copy of Tina Williams Brewer's Guided by the Ancestors. This is a 62 page full-color catalog featuring forty quilts by Mrs. Brewer. You might recall that she received a 2009 Lifetime achievement Artist award from the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. The catalog includes an introduction by Laura Domencic, the Center's director and an essay titled "The Extraordinary Journey" by Samuel W. Black, curator of African American Collections at the Heinz History Center. It is a pleasure to see an entire book of Mrs. Brewer's quilts! You can order your copy for $30 total ($25 book + $5 s/h) by contacting Jen Carter, Shop Manager, 412-361-0873 or sending an email to shop@pittsburgharts.org. Enjoy!

New Book! - This I Accomplish: Harriet Powers' Bible Quilt and Other Pieces

Wanted to share with you news of my new book! This I Accomplish: Harriet Powers' Bible Quilt and Other Pieces.

During the last two years, I've had such an adventure challenging what we think we know about Harriet Powers (1837 – 1910) and her two known quilts (The Bible Quilt at the Smithsonian - and the Pictorial Quilt at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). You know that Mrs. Powers offered to sale her Bible Quilt to Jennie Smith for $10. Miss Smith, though, only had $5. But, did you know that there was ANOTHER woman who also wanted to buy the Bible Quilt?

This I Accomplish highlights nearly a dozen SIGNIFICANT new pieces of information about Mrs. Powers and her quilts.... including the lost 1882 Lord's Supper Quilt! Or, how IOWA plays an important part of Mrs. Powers' story. Yes, IOWA! Did you know that we might not know about Mrs. Powers' Pictorial Quilt at the MFA if the outcome of a 14 year adulterous affair and three year legal battle had gone the other way?!?

Along the way, you'll also read about other nineteenth century Athens, GA black women in Mrs. Powers' community who quilted! You'll read about other needle arts on display at the 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta as well as the great Negro Day at the fair, where more than 30,000 African Americans from across the country came to celebrate the displays in the Negro Building, where the Bible Quilt was on display.

Finally, This I Accomplish illustrates proof that Mrs. Powers was a literate, award-winning quilter, who stitched at least FIVE quilts and stood up for herself as an artist! In the course of the research, in a file no one thought about in decades... was a copy of a letter FROM Mrs. Harriet Powers!! Can you imagine - a letter from an ex-slave who writes about her artwork! If you are an artist or quilter, you MUST read what she writes!

The book is 180 pages, $19.95 and includes about 20 pictures. Bill Gaskins wrote the foreword. ISBN: 978-0-9824769-5-0. There's an extensive annotative bibliography, fun timeline, and more! I hope the clues in the book can help us find the Lord’s Supper Quilt – or one of the other lost Powers quilts! There's also a mystery waiting to be uncovered in Alabama, but you'll have to read the book to find out more about this! This I Accomplish is available on Amazon.com or by special order at your local bookstore. You might also ask your local library to order it. I hope you enjoy This I Accomplish! Best, Kyra E. Hicks

Call for Fictional Women's Stories - Women on Quilts

Have a creative writing bug? Women on Quilts is inviting women to write a creative story about growing up as a female between 1902 and 1942 in the US. The winning stories will be published in an eBook. The effort is a fundraiser for the Quilters Hall of Fame July 2009 induction ceremonies of Merikay Waldvogel. Enjoy!

Exquisite Heats - new book by Cherryl Floyd-Miller

Congratulations to sistah quilter and blogger Cherryl Floyd-Miller! Her new poetry book Exquisite Heats is now out!. In her third poetry collection, Cherryl "... explores the infinite manifestations of heat in the human experience. She moves comfortably from issues of public history and personal identity to the musings of revered icons. R&B legend Rick James speaks of impropriety and addiction, Marvin Gaye reveals his aesthetic struggles as a popular artist, Billie Holiday gives voice lessons, Alice Walker’s Celie Johnson boils grits, and Joe Frazier recounts the night he beat Muhammad Ali." Enjoy!

Eliza's Rail Tales - new Underground Railroad Quilt Book

There's a new, fictional book out about Underground Railroad quilts - Eliza's Rail Tale: The Underground Railroad and Code of Quilts by Judy Haslee Scott. I have NOT yet read this book - nor do I know if there are any nineteenth century or first-person references cited to clearly demonstrate that there were actually quilts used as map markers in the 1800s. From the press release about the book:

"Eliza was born in Missouri in 1894 to parents who had vivid memories of trying times endured under slavery. Her father was born into slavery in 1864 just prior to the end of the Civil War and the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment which abolished slavery...

Many times, codes have saved lives because of the hidden messages they carry. Codes can come in many forms. In the days of slavery, they used a creative way of coding -- through quilts. In Eliza's Rail Tales, Eliza shares the stories of slavery, the Underground Railroad, and quilt patterns used to send secret messages to escaping slaves. The tales she tells have been passed down from the hearts of brave men and women, both black and white, whose spirit of freedom and justice caused them to help those following the North Star. Quilts held a significant role in these journeys.

Eliza's Rail Tales is a rich mixture of topics including history and quilting which are blended together with unexpected dashes of math, music, astronomy and dreams to create a colorful scrap quilt of history. It is a fascinating story of the Underground Railroad experience and the significance of quilt patterns that led slaves toward freedom during the dark days of slavery in the United States."

Judy Haslee Scott is a seamstress and quilter. She is also a 30-year veteran of the Denver Public Schools. Eliza's Rail Tale: The Underground Railroad and Code of Quilts is 56 page picture book (nice cover design!) and retails for $31.99 (soft cover) from Amazon.com. Enjoy!

Gee's Bend Children's Picture Book in October

As mentioned before here on the blog, there will be a children's picture book on quilting in the Gee's Bend area - Stitchin' and Pullin' : A Gee's Bend Quilt by award-winning author Patricia McKissack and illustrated by sistah quilter Cozbi A. Cabrera. According to Amazon.com, the book is about:

MOTHER AND DAUGHTER, grandmother and granddaughter, aunt and niece, friend and friend. For a hundred years, generations of women from Gee’s Bend have quilted together, sharing stories, trading recipes, singing hymns—all the while stitchin’ and pullin’ thread through cloth. Every day Baby Girl listens, watches, and waits, until she’s called to sit at the quilting frame. Piece by piece, she puzzles her quilt together—telling not just her story, but the story of her family, the story of Gee’s Bend, and the story of her ancestors’ struggle for freedom.

You can pre-order your copy today. Enjoy!

Seattle Times Columnist - Sistah Quilter Lynne Varner

Have you read Seattle Times Editorial Columnist Lynne Varner works? Well, today she writes about her own quilting in an article titled, "The Patchwork of Voices in My Head." Do take a moment to read about her experiences learning to listen to her inner self while stitching. You Go Lynne!

You can see Lynne's quilts on display in the exhibit, "Threads that Bind: Works by Pacific Northwest African American Quilters," December 18 through February 18, 2007 at the Tacoma Art Museum. I wonder if there's a catalog or other materials about this sure to be wonderful exhibit!

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

Seven Sewing Sisters - Liberian Flag Story, Quilt

Who stitched the first US flag? I'd bet you'd say Betsy Ross. Who sewed the first Liberian flag? Did you know it was seven African American women? Learn more about these 1847 sistah seamstresses in the just published Amazon Short, The Liberian Flag Story & Love of Liberty Quilt. It's just 49 cents from Amazon.com. And, guess what? There's a easy-to-make pattern for a queen-sized Liberian flag quilt called "Love of Liberty Quilt" included! I hope you enjoy this gem!

Dindga McCannon - Quilter, Author

Dindga McCannon is BAD. She was born and raised in Harlem. She studied at the Art Students' League and the City University of New York. Her first solo show occurred when she was just 17 years old! She's made jewelry, designed dresses (including her daughter's wedding dress!), taught printmaking, created wearable art coats, painted murals. She co-founded the Black Women's art collective, Where We At (1971 to 1997). Members of the collective included Faith Ringgold, Jerrilyn Crooks, and others. Dindga also illustrated Edgar Nkosi White's children's books, and even wrote and illustrated two books of her own!

Take a moment to get a used copy of PEACHES, Dindga's 1974 young adult novel. Within the 126 pages you'll meet a teenage black girl in Harlem who wants dearly to be an artist. The novel centers on one poignant summer when Peaches, about 14 years old, spends time with her best friend and her cousin getting into trouble, uses her needlearts skills to make abit of change, falls in "love" with Zoom, attends camp, and allows her imagination and sketch pencils to take her away. The novel is fast paced. I laughed aloud at times and was teary at the end (without giving away why). Family and neighbors plays a major part of the story. Heck, it was Grandma who named her Peaches. The novel was written more than 30 years ago, but holds up very well. Dindga's full page and double-page spread illustrations are sprinkled throughout the eight chapters. Highly recommended. I can't wait to start Dindga's other young adult novel about a budding black artist, Wilhemina Jones, Future Star (1980). Go, Dindga!