Social Justice Sewing Academy is making quilting relevant for a new generation. Founded last year by author and educator Sara Trail, the organization works with youth to create appliqué quilt blocks on topics of social justice in their communities, which are then sent to volunteers around the world for embroidery, and finally sewn together in quilts to be displayed in museums, galleries and quilt shows across the country.
Threads of Resistance is a powerful fiber art exhibition that addresses current issues of gender, race, and politics, demonstrating the continued relevance of quilts as political art. It’s on view now at the New England Quilt Museum and will be traveling across the country (see the full schedule here). I look forward to seeing the show in Atlanta in March. You can order the catalog here. Power to the quilters!
Okay, it is still March and I finally squeezed in a newsletter for this month. You can read it here and subscribe to get the newsletter delivered to your inbox every month. I’ve been experimenting more with painted and pieced fabric, but still working through ideas.
This weekend I’ll be leading a quilt workshop at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts in conjunction with Sewn Together: Two Centuries of Alabama Quilts. This exhibition features nineteenth and twentieth century quilts from the collections of the Alabama Department of Archives and History and the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts presented in pairs for comparison. If you can’t make it to the exhibition, be sure to spend some time on the interactive website.
On Saturday we’ll walk through the galleries to study quilt techniques, then sit down for a hands-on sewing workshop to explore both traditional and improvisational techniques using various materials. We’ll compare the motivating factors for quilt makers during the past two centuries and discuss the relevance of quilting in today’s cultural landscape. No prior sewing experience required! Find more information here.
Pictured above (left to right):
Center Medallion, ca. 1930, Unknown American Maker.
Grandma’s Favorite Block, ca. 1990, Jannie Avant (American, born 1921).
Star Puzzle, 2001, Nora Ezell (American, 1919–2007).
Last week was my first time to attend QuiltCon. Although I only spent two days in Savannah, I was excited to see many amazing quilts and have thoughtful conversations with some of my quilting heroes. My lecture at QuiltCon was about moving beyond patterns, setting aside perfection in favor of perseverance. Among other ideas, I talked about ways to explore creativity by taking risks, being mindful, setting limits, and embracing mistakes. The Modern Quilt Guild is clearly a connected and supportive community that has helped revitalize quilting, but I hope we’ll continue to see creative quilters push the envelope even further in the coming years.
