Fun
The Quilters of Gee’s Bend
Dear Kay,
Here you go: a visit to Gee’s Bend, Alabama, “While I Yet Live,” from The New York Times‘s excellent Op-Doc series of short documentaries.
(If you want to go behind the scenes on this, here’s an interview with Maris Curran, the filmmaker.)
“When I’m doing my quilt, my mind is totally into it, and I don’t have to be perfect.”
Sound familiar?
Love,
Ann
PS I hope by this point you’ve arrived at true, genuine, 100% post-Thanksgiving torpor.
I want to thank you for sharing this link. I was so touched by the documentary. I wanted more! My mother was a quilter and I wish she was here to see this. I shared the link with my aunt, best friend, and sister. Thank you.
That was so beautiful. Thank you.
Saw it not too long ago, and thought of you guys (excuse me, Ann, “y’all”)
but figured you knew about it already. Seems I was right. Sent it to my quilters and knitters. I love the extra bits you share, Dogs was great too!
Thank you for sharing this, I’ll be passing it on, too. Seeing those beautiful quilts moving in the breeze was a joy, and hearing the voices of some of their makers was grounding. Inspired, xo.
Many thanks for sharing this beautiful documentary. Amazing quilts.
We saw a collection of these quilts at the High Museum in Atlanta years ago- they are stunning. There’s also a great episode of the PBS show Craft in America (aka my FAVORITE SHOW ON TELEVISION) about Gee’s Bend (I think it may be the first in the series?). xo
That was so incredibly beautiful! It brought tears of joy when they were singing Sweet Low Sweet Chariot. Wow. Thank you so much for sharing. I currently live in a little tiny box in the city and my heart aches to live out in wide open space again, where I know all my neighbors, and can hang my clothes (or quilts) out to dry in the sun…
I was so moved by the story of these women. They are fine artists working in cloth, and their singing isn’t bad either.
So inspiring. Thank you for sharing.
Many years ago, I saw an exhibit and film at the Folk Art Museum in Santa Fe. They are truly amazing in person.
Thank you for sharing this. I think I first learned of Gees Bend quilts via MDK. My grandmother was a prolific quilter and quilted together with ladies in her small Texas panhandle town, She had 10 children, and 39 grandchildren. We each received a quilt in our first year (there are four of us grandkids born in my year alone). My mother could identify some of the fabric in my brother’s quilt and mine. I still have it, showing wear, but still filled with love.
This was so moving – and so beautiful. Thank you for sharing
Thank you. I have been piecing crochet and knitted pieces together for a long time. So nice to use up yarn. Sweet soft hand sewing. And the best is laying it out and dreaming about which piece should be next to what?
So beautiful. Thank you. I just loved the deep and peaceful feeling I got when looking at the video.
Thanks so much for sharing these links – the film is so beautifully paced and shot. I’ll have to watch it a few more times and try to imagine a life in a place where everyone knows everyone and that’s a good thing.
One question I really wish had not been introduced and then left hanging is the quilt that was to be sold…I’d love to know what happened about that. Also, is it odd that the Curran refers to the women as a “knitting circle”? I mean, *are* they also a knitting circle?
I saw a wonderful exhibit of Gee’s Bend quilts at the equally wonderful art museum in Milwaukee years ago. It was a fascinating experience.