Evora's Earth. 2001. A tribute to my mother. 

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is my Mom’s birthday. Although she died in 2000, in my heart she is 78 years old today. I miss her.

Although this site started out as a tribute to my grandmother, there would be no grandmother without a Mom. Have I made a quilt to honor my Mom? Of course! It’s called Evora’s Earth. I call it my personal masterpiece. It took me 18 months to finish and got me through my grief.

Evora’s Earth hangs in my office so that I can touch it everyday. When things get tough, I touch it. When I’m happy, I touch it. Whatever the need, my Mom’s spirit comes through that quilt and saves me.

At heart, I’m a country girl. Evora’s Earth never lets me forget it. I grew up in a place where everyone knew everyone else by name. I grew up in a place where if you messed up, everyone knew it , but forgave you. I grew up in a place where if you did good, everyone knew it, and were proud of you. I’m glad I’m a country girl.

So no matter what quilting style I may adapt for the moment. Evora’s Earth always takes me back to my roots. Good strong roots planted by my Mom.

Happy Birthday, Mom, with much love!

Spirits of the Cloth: A Review

If you couldn't make it to the National Black Arts Festival, browsing through Spirits of the Cloth by Carolyn Mazloomi is the next best thing. The quilts contained in the book will absolutely amaze you. The collection, which is comprised of quilts made by African American quilters from across the country, is eclectic and diverse. I like that about the book because every quilter I know sees the world differently. It was revealing to have the quilters explain what they were thinking when they made the quilt.

I especially like the title of the book because I too believe that my quilts have spirits. I leave a little of me inside each quilt I make. Often I use quilts to express my inner most thoughts and emotions. Grief, love, happiness, disappointment and inspiration are all stitched up in my quilts.

So if you need something to kick-start your creativity, open Spirits of the Cloth and be inspired.

National Black Arts Festival Will Inspire

The National Black Arts Festival begins the third Saturday in July each year and continues for 10 days in Atlanta. While there are few quilts featured in this year's festival, there is still a lot to enjoy and be inspired by.

The quilts of Aisha Lumumba are on display at Greenbriar Mall. You can also see quilts at the Underground Railroad Quilt Code Museum in the Underground Entertainment Complex. The Brown Sugar Stitchers Quilt Guild will show some of their quilts and demonstrate quilting techniques at the High Museum of Art July 22 and July 23. Each year the festival is different. For instance, last year renowned quilter Faith Ringgold presented a lecture about her astounding career.

Even if you are not looking at quilts per se, the wide range of talent and creativity presented during the festival will surely inspire your creativity. Get out of the house and go get inspired!

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt: A Review

Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson tells the story of Clara, a 12-year-old slave girl who lives on a plantation. She longs to escape.

First, Clara worked in the fields which was very hard work. A kind older woman taught Clara to sew and eventually got Clara assigned to the “big house” to sew for the missus. The sewing room was near the kitchen, and Clara began to learn all kinds of new things as she listened intently to the grown-ups talk. That’s where she first learned of the Underground Railroad.

She learned that if you followed the Underground Railroad you could be free. There was one small catch. You needed a map. Clara did not even know what a map was!

But she listened and she learned. Then Clara came up with the idea of piecing a quilt that was a map of the way to freedom. It took her a long time but she finished it. After it was finished, with the memory of the quilt firmly embedded in her head, Clara escaped to freedom.

This book is a wonderful book to read to your child to teach hope perseverance and most of all courage.

Dressed For the Dance, 2005. Presented to the Carrie Steele Pittts Orphanage July 16, 2005.

Brown Sugar Stitchers Gather for Tea

The highlight of the social season for the Brown Sugar Stitchers Quilt Guild occurs July 16, 2005, when they assemble at the Four Seasons Hotel in Atlanta for tea. The quilters adorn their fanciest hats and best smiles ready for much fun and fellowship.

During the tea, the new officers are sworn in, and awards are handed out to the quilters for various accomplishments during the year. However, the most special part of the tea is when the quilts are presented to the Carrie Steele Pitts Orphanage. Making quilts for the kids at the orphanage has long been a service project of the Brown Sugar Stitchers. My personal entry was called Dressed for the Dance.

The quilts being presented at the tea were exhibited at the Brown Sugar Stitchers Quilt Show held in May at the Wesley Chapel Library in Decatur, GA.. They were all beautifully colorful with themes that would delight any young person.

After the tea, the hats are packed lovingly away and it’s back to the quilt frame!

Hidden In Plain View: A Review

Before visiting the Underground Railroad Quilt Code Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, you may want to read Hidden in Plain View by Jacqueline Tobin and Raymond Dobard. This book unlocks the code of the use of quilts in the Underground Railroad. According to the book, quilts held a hidden code that helped escaping slaves navigate their way to freedom. Whether you agree with the premise or not, the book is an interesting read that is brought to life in the Underground Railroad Quilt Code Museum in Atlanta, GA. The owner/curator of the museum is a direct descendent of the quilter who revealed the code.

Without a doubt, quilts always have meaning to the quilter. Sometimes that meaning is evident. Sometimes it is hidden. Hidden in Plain View inspired me to create my African Canvas© memory quilt series. (See related article on this site). I think it’s fun to hide clues to your life in plain view.

Southern Comfort

a Forever Friendship Quilt

Southern Comfort is a Forever Friendship quilt made for a special friend who had to have major surgery. This was definitely a quilting bee quilt. On the eve of our friend’s surgery, the friends gathered and pieced this quilt in one night. Those who couldn’t quilt, ironed. Martinis were consumed. Trash was talked! What fun we had! Love heals all.

Quilts and Forever Friendships

c. 2005

I have a very special close group of friends. Some I have made quilts for, some I have made quilts with. They are all as different as night and day; yet I love them all. Whether they are quilters or not, they all know quilts.

We talk about all kinds of stuff when we get together – mostly men, of course. Can’t live with them. Can’t live without them. Low down dogs but we love them anyway. Lots of talk about children too. Whether we’re raising them right. Whether this new generation is just a lost cause, How proud we are when they do good.

I wonder what my grandmother and her friends talked about. The same thing I imagine. With no distraction from television they probably had plenty to talk about. Sitting around a quilt frame working on a quilt is a perfect place to cry, cuss, laugh and solve the problems of the world. After all, some things can’t be discussed on a party line—the town ‘ho,’ for instance. Talk about getting an education! Sitting under the quilt frame is a great place to learn about the real world – better than the beauty shop.

Maybe that’s why quilts have survived for centuries. Maybe that’s why we hold onto them even after they are tattered and torn with the stuffing coming out. All that love. All that laughter. All that crying. All that wisdom – stitched up in a quilt.