Book a Trip From Savannah on the Underground Railroad

Recently I spent five lovely days in Savannah, Georgia. Savannah is a coastal city that is often described as having lots of old world charm. It has gorgeous majestic oak trees and antebellum mansions. It is a city proud of its role in the Civil War and it celebrates it unabashedly. There are civil war forts that have been restored, civil war re-enactments, and lots of monuments of fallen generals.

Being African American, I could not help but wonder about the dark side of the idyllic life that was being portrayed. I believe that every creature on earth yearns to live a free life. Any suggestion that blacks were happy living on plantations because they had nice masters, in my view, is totally absurd. That is why I know for a fact that the Underground Railroad was a living breathing thing. I also know that when people are most stressed, they wrap themselves in the familiar and the things that bring them comfort. That is why I know quilts played a large part in the Underground Railroad.

So now I am inspired to finally make my version of an Underground Railroad quilt. I have taken the first step and purchased Eleanor Burns’ book Underground Railroad Sampler.

For further inspiration I visited two quilt shops in Savannah. Colonial Quilts, located at 11710 Largo Drive and Let’s Sew located at 361 Commercial Drive. Be sure to pay them a visit when you are in Savannah.

Phyllis Stephens Quilts at Hearne Gallery

The Hearne Fine Art Gallery in Little Rock, AR recently had an exhibition of quilts by Phyllis Stephens. The show was called The Journey of the Piece Maker and ran from June 6, 2005 through July 5, 2005. Ms. Stephens, who is based in Fayetteville, GA was on hand June 10, 2005 during 2nd Friday Art Night, to discuss her work. Works by emerging artist Bisa Butler were also featured.

Phyllis Stephens quilts are distinctive by their pictorial quality. She does wonderful quilts depicting beautiful women. You can view some of Ms. Stephens’ quilts on the Hearne Gallery web site at http://www.hearnefineart.com.

The Hearne Fine Art Gallery is one of the oldest African American galleries in the United States. The director is Garbo Hearne. Strategically located in the River Market district of Little Rock, it is hard to visit Little Rock and miss it. It is within walking distance of the President Clinton Library. The gallery is filled not only with beautiful works of art by African American artists, it also includes an impressive book collection and lots of gift items. Many Thomas Blackshear pieces are available for purchase.

Do not miss the opportunity to feed your spirit when in Little Rock. Visit the Hearne Gallery.

Link

Treasure or Not? How to Compare and Value American Quilts

By Stella Rubin


I found Treasure or Not? How To Compare and Value American Quilts by Stella Rubin educational, but disappointing. The book which is part of the Miller’s Treasure or Not? series on valuing antiques provides useful information on how to take care of your treasures. Pictures of beautiful quilts are included. However, the book only gives lip service to African American quilts. She devotes 2 pages out of 163 to the subject. She basically concludes that it is too hard to describe the genre, but that one description is that “African American quilts are the visual equivalent of jazz ­­– they share boldness, multiplicity of patterns and improvisational qualities.”

The book attempts to teach you how to value quilts by contrasting two similar quilts and then discussing the aspects of the quilt that make one more valuable than the other. Ultimately, as in all appraisals, many of the factors are subjective.

After finishing the book, I didn’t feel that I had learned very much about analyzing African American quilts in particular, for historical significance or value. But for the totally uninitiated she suggests the following:

(1) Intricate needlework is more valuable than simple.
(2) A documented quilt is more valuable than one where the quilter is unknown,
(3) One-of-a-kind quilts are more valuable than those where many examples still exist.
(4) The condition of the quilt may play a role in its value.


Even so, I do recommend that the book be part of any serious quilter’s library. You can purchase it on Amazon.com by clicking below.

Willie's World, 88 x 88 inches. 2003

Willie’s World: A Forever Friendship Quilt™

One of the most satisfying aspects of quilting is to give a quilt to a friend to commemorate a special occasion. Willie’s World is such a quilt. It was given to my friend Willie as a wedding gift.

The quilt has a log cabin center with a village border. The border depicts aspects of Willie’s life including his humble beginning in Savannah, Georgia, his graduation from Harvard Law School, and of course, his marriage to his lovely bride.

The quilt measures 88 x 88 inches. It was quilted by Sylvia Davis and embroidered by Maxine Moore.