Story Quilts

Why quilt? Does anyone have a quilt at home? Why do people quilt? How might a quilt serve both practical and aesthetic purposes? How many of you use a quilt as a blanket? How is a quilt different from a blanket? How else are they used?

Harriet Powers Born a slave in Georgia in 1837, Harriet Powers created two quilts which are the best known and well preserved examples of Southern American quilting tradition still in existence. Using the traditional African appliqué technique along with European record keeping and biblical reference traditions, Harriet records on her quilts local historical legend, Bible stories, and astronomical phenomena.

Traditional Story Quilt Bible Quilt, 1886Detail from quilt

The Sunflower Quilting Bee at Arles Faith Ringgold,1996

Tar Beach 2, 1990,Silkscreen on silk The images imply a narrative, while the creator has included writing on the quilt that tells the story.

The Crown Heights Children's Story Quilt 1996, painted quilt. Ringgold's Crown Heights Children's Story Quilt is adorned with pictures from 12 folktales from the different ethnic groups that make up the Crown Heights area of New York

Church Picnic Story Quilt, 1988 Tie-dyed and printed fabrics; acrylic on cotton canvas

Modern Story Quilts: taken from Andrew's Quilt (queen) 1999 Completed in March 1999 for my nephew, Andrew, for his 20th birthday. This is number one of five "coming of age quilts" that I will make for my niece and nephews. They decide the important things in their lives at 19, and I will make quilts reflecting these touchstones. For Andrew, who is deeply involved in eco-tourism, he wanted mountains with snow (he's a snowboarder), sun, whitewater, his friend Joe's red car, and his two cats.

Continued… Anna's Quilt (queen) 2000 The second of the "coming of age" quilts. I made this based on my niece Anna's wishes: coniferous trees, stars, a northern Ontario scene at night, her cat, camping (including a campfire with marshmallows and a tent that opens), and a rowing scull. She also wanted the striped border with her high school, camp and university logos. The tessellated maple leaves are my idea. She's going to be traveling internationally in her chosen career, and I wanted her to remember where she was from.

Continued… I'm Still Alive (queen - 80x100") Summer 2006 The last in the "5-Star" niece/nephew quilts. This one is for my youngest nephew, Dan, who is the only other| musician in my family (a guitar player too, as you can see by the upper right- hand block). The quilt is inspired by a trip Dan made to Australia and New Zealand. Three of the centre blocks are reproductions of photographs he took. The bottom right-hand block represents the tree-ferns in New Zealand. The outside border features Australian Aboriginal fabric that I have collected in our travels. And the song is the music and lyrics to his favorite Pearl Jam song: "I'm Still Alive". I LOVED making this quilt!

Assignment 1 An important element of the quilting tradition is storytelling—by women. Each of you will design one square of a patchwork quilt that is representative of an important “coming of age” moment in your life. You will need to write a descriptive paragraph about the square. This will be the cover of your Women’s Lit Student Binder.

Assignment 2 You will design one square reflecting your connection to each piece of literature we read. This will allow someone to "read" the quilt and retell the story of the class. Spend some time deciding what you connect with in each piece. Use color, texture, shapes, and symbols in telling your “story”.