Black Threads

New! Pieced Symbols: Quilt Blocks from the Global Village

2009-11-10T06:24:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Sistah Quilter Dr. Myrah Brown Green on the publication of her new quilt book Pieced Symbols: Quilt Blocks from the Global Village!

Published by Lark Books, this 144-page pattern book is, according to the release "[p]art global quilting travelogue, part cultural history, this artful, useful guide gives quilters all they need to create a variety of foundation piece quilt blocks featuring symbols from across the world. The designs range from the Asian om and Australian rainbow spirit to the American Indian turtle and African ankh. Each chapter features inspiring examples of how to incorporate the symbols into finished quilts, while tip boxes throughout share interesting information about their meanings and cross-cultural uses." What I love is that the blocks are made by a variety of quilters - some you're sure to know!

Myrah will be speaking on Friday in NY City - sponsored by the Harlem Needle Arts and HueMan Bookstore. Open to the public - click here for more info. Enjoy!

Nalo Hopkinson's fabrics - now for sale!

2009-11-10T06:20:00.000-08:00

Nalo Hopkinson's fabrics - now for sale on Spoonflower.com - including this one called "Bubbles". Enjoy!

Amazing Wonders: Quilts by African Americans of the Northern California Region

2009-11-09T04:47:00.001-08:00

Do take an hour to visit 40 Acres Art Gallery in Sacramento, CA to see "Amazing Wonders: Quilts by African-Americans of the Northern California Region." The exhibit features over 30 quilts by artists living and working in the region. Accompanying the exhibit will be a 32-page softbound catalog (shown here. This quilt on the cover is by Marion Coleman).

Quilters include: Patricia Bass Bailey, Elizabeth Browder, Blanche Brown, Sherry Byrd, Alice Calhoun, Loretta Cohen, Marion Coleman, Jamie Gladney-Presley, Marilyn Handis, Sarah Holloway and Mother Minne Williamson, Connie Horne, Benita Jones, Niambi Kee, Marilyn Lacey, Debbie Mason, Patricia A. Montgomery, Ann Seals, Nerlene Taylor, Angie Tobias, La Quita Tummings, Julia Vitero, Dolores Vitero Presley, Johnnie Wade, and Katie Wishom. Kim Curry-Evans is the curator. The exhibit is from October 13 to December 23, 2009. A California friend sent me the catalog as a gift. If you collect African American quilt books and catalog, be sure to call the gallery to see how to get this one for your collection! It's worth it! Enjoy!

Vlisco - new Frozen Dreams fabric collection

2009-11-09T04:44:00.001-08:00

I simply love the way Vlisco presents "Frozen Dreams," its new fabric collection! Just wish the dresses were available in the US! Enjoy!

Disney's Princess and the Frog - when will there be quilting fabric?

2009-11-04T04:30:00.001-08:00

The new Disney movie the Princess and the Frog will open in the next few weeks. There's sure to be loads of licensed or themed products. I can't wait to get the cotton fabrics! I have a stash of African-American themed prints - and would like to add this new African American Disney Princess. This cover (photo) is a baby blanket. There are also twin comforters and sheet sets. Does anyone know if there is quilting fabric available? Do leave a comment here. Enjoy!

Quilts in the Attic to Quilts on the Wall: Exploring Textile Art by African Americans

2009-10-30T04:19:00.000-07:00

Going to Florida anytime soon? Check out the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum November 4 - December 21, 2009. On exhibit is From Quilts in the Attic to Quilts on the Wall: Exploring Textile Art by African Americans on loan from the South Carolina State Museum and organized by the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department. This exhibit includes 12 quilts and pays homage to Harriet Powers from six artists using a variety of techniques from traditional to non-traditional quilting. The artists are from/live in South Carolina include: Dr. Edward Bostick, Wendell Brown, Dorothy Montgomery, Torreah “Cookie” Washington, Arianne King Comer and Catherine Lamkin.

The museum is open 11am-4pm Monday-Friday, and 10am-2pm on Saturday. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors, and free for members & students. Enjoy!

Lois Scharz - her first applique quilt - Pictorial Quilt replica

2009-09-25T04:49:00.000-07:00

May I share a wonderful story with you? I received this photo in the mail from a Mr. Lamb, a history buff and collector of African American artifacts. His wife's aunt, Lois Scharz, stitched this replica of Harriet Powers' Pictorial Quilt. Mr. Lamb had learned about my new book, This I Accomplish: Harriet Powers' Bible Quilt and Other Pieces, and read it. The year before he asked Mrs. Scharz, a quilter, to sew the replica for him. I was so amazed at the photos that I called and spoke to Mr. Lamb, and, later that evening to Mrs. Scharz, who is a dear.

Believe it or not, this quilt is Mrs. Scharz's first appliqued quilt! You can see her in the photo. She started the quilt in November 2008 and finished it on August 8, 2009! She told me she would love to have met Harriet Powers. Mrs. Scharz lives on a Virginia farm and has invited this city girl to come visit! Enjoy!

Victoria Rowell - Obama Dress at the Emmy Awards

2009-09-25T04:44:00.000-07:00

Did you see the Emmy Awards this year? One of the hot topics is whether Victoria Rowell (formerly of The Young and Restless and Diagnosis: Murder) had one of the best or worst dresses. She wore one featuring Obama fabric from Ghana. Sistah blogger Karen Nicole, who has been to Ghana, discusses the fabric. If Victoria Rowell has any scraps left, I could use them for a new quilt! What do you think of her dress?

Black Creativity 2010 - call for entries

2009-09-25T04:40:00.000-07:00

January 13 through February 28, 2010

The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago commemorates Black History Month with the Black Creativity program, which includes one of the country’s oldest African-American art exhibitions. Prominent artists from around the globe submit their work to the Juried Art Exhibition in the categories of ceramics, drawings, mixed media, paintings, photography, print media, sculpture, textiles, and video. Participants are recognized at the annual Juried Art Reception, a gathering celebrating the diversity of African-American participation in the applied arts.

CATEGORIES
Ceramics • Drawings • Mixed Medium • Paintings • Photography • Sculpture • Textiles • Video

AWARDS

A panel of judges will choose artists to receive prizes.

1st place: $3,000 • 2nd place: $2,000 • 3rd place: $1,000

ENTRY FORM: Apply online: www.msichicago.org/bc2010 or mail to: Black Creativity, Juried Art Exhibition Museum of Science and Industry 57th Street and Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60637-2093

Vlisco New Fabric Collection from the Netherlands

2009-09-11T04:22:00.001-07:00

Ok - if you are a fabric-aholic, get ready to drool! No, really, get ready.

Yesterday I received an email from the Dutch Wax fabric manufacturer Vlisco in the Netherlands. Their new line of fabrics is available - minimum order is 6 yards per design. Yes, they do ship to the US. You've got to visit the site and see these FABULOUS dresses made from the fabrics, like the one at left. I'm jealous, there are even stores with the FASHIONS - click here! Enjoy!

"Music in My Soul: The Legacy and the Lyrics" Quilt Exhibit in Durham

2009-09-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

Works by the Sistah and Brother quilters of the African American Quilt Circle, founded in 1998, are on exhibit in Durham, North Carolina at the Hayti Heritage Center until September 30, 2009. The show is titled "Music in My Soul: The Legacy and the Lyrics." Do drop a note in the comment section if you have seen this exhibit - tell us about it! Enjoy!

Sisters in Stitches Joined by the Cloth

2009-09-07T18:59:00.001-07:00

Hope everyone had a lovely time at the recent Sisters in Stitches Joined By The Cloth quilting guild biannual quilt show, Telling Our Story In Quilts and Tapestry, at the Boys and Girls Club of Roxbury in Boston, MA on Friday August 28 and August 29, 2009. The show featured quilts made by young persons taught by the guild!

Little Helper - Where can I Buy It?

2009-08-28T02:02:00.000-07:00

Alexey Chugunnikov and Alexander Trofimenk have designed this wonderful "Little Helper" - a spool of thread that comes with a magnifying glass to help you thread a needle. It looks to be just a design at this time, but I'd buy it. How about you!? Enjoy!

Have you created your own fabrics? Spoonflower.com

2009-08-05T19:00:00.000-07:00

Have you tried Spoonflower.com to create your own fabrics? You create the design, upload it, and then you can order your own fabric! I haven't yet tried it - but it seems like fun.

I don't think you're able to order other folks fabric designs, but it is sure fun to look! One of my FAVORITE designers is Nalo Hopkinson from Canada. Sistah designer created this Colored Lady from New Orleans print and this Seaworthy print. Click here to see the Paper Doll design. Or, click here to see Nalo's Creole Print. And, finally, click here for her Honeybun print featuring a little boy.

Don't you just want to incorporate her designs into a quilt?! Which one do you enjoy the most? Enjoy!

Ghana Fabric of President Obama's July Visit

2009-08-05T04:56:00.000-07:00

The fabrics honoring President Obama's visit to Ghana last month were so hot to see! I found an online vendor in Harlem who has the fabric in this photo. I'm enjoying my two yards! Not sure I'll ever cut it for a quilt though. Are you aware of other Obama fabrics? Enjoy!

Surface Design Mag - Summer issue just grabs you

2009-08-05T04:46:00.000-07:00

I LOVE the cover of the Summer 2009 issue of Surface Design magazine. Doesn't it just grab you? The pieces are machine knitted by Reina Mia Brill. Inside are two articles Black Threads readers may want to read:

Xenobia Bailey" Revisiting Reconstruction. Sistah Xenobia's work is unbelievable!
Review of the quilt exhibition Inspiration: African-American Quilts from the Collection of Maude Wahlman. The show was held last year at the Belger arts Center in Kansas City, MO from July 11 - Oct 3, 2008.

New Book! - This I Accomplish: Harriet Powers' Bible Quilt and Other Pieces

2009-07-07T04:35:00.000-07:00

Wanted to share with you news of my new book! This I Accomplish: Harriet Powers' Bible Quilt and Other Pieces.

During the last two years, I've had such an adventure challenging what we think we know about Harriet Powers (1837 – 1910) and her two known quilts (The Bible Quilt at the Smithsonian - and the Pictorial Quilt at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). You know that Mrs. Powers offered to sale her Bible Quilt to Jennie Smith for $10. Miss Smith, though, only had $5. But, did you know that there was ANOTHER woman who also wanted to buy the Bible Quilt?

This I Accomplish highlights nearly a dozen SIGNIFICANT new pieces of information about Mrs. Powers and her quilts.... including the lost 1882 Lord's Supper Quilt! Or, how IOWA plays an important part of Mrs. Powers' story. Yes, IOWA! Did you know that we might not know about Mrs. Powers' Pictorial Quilt at the MFA if the outcome of a 14 year adulterous affair and three year legal battle had gone the other way?!?

Along the way, you'll also read about other nineteenth century Athens, GA black women in Mrs. Powers' community who quilted! You'll read about other needle arts on display at the 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta as well as the great Negro Day at the fair, where more than 30,000 African Americans from across the country came to celebrate the displays in the Negro Building, where the Bible Quilt was on display.

Finally, This I Accomplish illustrates proof that Mrs. Powers was a literate, award-winning quilter, who stitched at least FIVE quilts and stood up for herself as an artist! In the course of the research, in a file no one thought about in decades... was a copy of a letter FROM Mrs. Harriet Powers!! Can you imagine - a letter from an ex-slave who writes about her artwork! If you are an artist or quilter, you MUST read what she writes!

The book is 180 pages, $19.95 and includes about 20 pictures. Bill Gaskins wrote the foreword. ISBN: 978-0-9824769-5-0. There's an extensive annotative bibliography, fun timeline, and more! I hope the clues in the book can help us find the Lord’s Supper Quilt – or one of the other lost Powers quilts! There's also a mystery waiting to be uncovered in Alabama, but you'll have to read the book to find out more about this! This I Accomplish is available on Amazon.com or by special order at your local bookstore. You might also ask your local library to order it. I hope you enjoy This I Accomplish! Best, Kyra E. Hicks

Who Else Would I Talk To .... This I Accomplish Research

2009-07-07T03:04:00.000-07:00

During the course of my research for This I Accomplish: Harriet Powers' Bible Quilt and Other Pieces, there were several people I would have loved to have found and talked to... or maybe go back in time to meet!

The Baltimore, MD branch of Oneita Virginia (Jennie) Smith's family
Bessie Mell Lane, who attended the Lucy Cobb Institute and actually knew Jennie Smith
W.D. Griffeth - the secretary of the Northeast Georgia Fair. Would love his first person account of the quilts at the fair!
Julies Cohen, a local merchant and first Jewish elected official in Athens, GA. He sold fabrics - I wonder if he sold any fabrics to the Black women in Athens, including Harriet Powers. Does his extended family have any papers from Cohen dry goods store?
Madison Davis - the president of the Colored Fair in Athens in 1886. He went on to become an elected representative in the Georgia State Legislature. Did he or his wife know Harriet Powers? Are there any papers or letters of his Fair work surviving?
Irvine Garland Penn, president of the Colored Building at the Cotton States and International Exposition of 1895. What additional words did he have to say about the textiles and quilts at the Expo?
I'd love to learn if Anne Brumby, one time Dean of Women at University of Georgia, sister of Admiral Frank Hardeman Brumby and friend of Jennie Smith, kept a diary and recorded any messages about HOW she helped distribute Jennie Smith's affects.
Who purchased the letters and other contents of Lorene Curtis Diver's Keokuk, Iowa home in 1959? Do any extended family members of Samuel Ryan Curtis (1805-1866), uncle of Lorene have any letters from her?
Many more accounts from those who attended Negro Day at the 1895 Expo.
What would Athens photographer Charles F. McDannell have to say about the afternoon he photographed Harriet Powers?
Can someone find the Atlanta University Board of Trustee records for about1898? Who REALLY commissioned the Pictorial Quilt from Harriet Powers? Hmmmm!

Tina Williams Brewer Receives Lifetime Achievement Award!

2009-07-06T07:52:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Tina Williams Brewer for receiving the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to the area's cultural richness! She was honored on June 12th, which the Pittsburgh City Council declared as Tina Williams Brewer Day! You Go Sistah Quilter!

There is also a book titled "Tina Williams Brewer: Guided by the Ancestors" available from PCA for $25 - contact Jen Carter, Shop Manager, 412-361-0873, shop@pittsburgharts.org for info on how to purchase the book. (Photo here from a Pittsburgh City Paper article.) Enjoy!

From Functional to Fancy: An Eastville Quilt Sampler exhibit - Opens July 18

2009-07-05T18:36:00.000-07:00

Curator Patricia Turner presents “From Functional to Fancy: An Eastville Quilt Sampler” exhibit from July 18-August 11, 2009139 Hampton Street, Sag Harbor, New York, 11963. at the Eastville Heritage House, The opening reception is July 18 from 2 – 5pm and is open to the public. Exhibit admissions is $3 for adults.

According to the press release, the exhibit features a wide range of quilts and quilting styles including a life-sized quilt depicting legendary entertainer and activist Josephine Baker. Created by Riche Richardson, Ph.D., the Baker quilt, complete with a three dimensional banana skirt, was most recently exhibited in Paris, France.

The exhibit also includes a quilted tribute to President Barack Obama, conceived and created by Dolores Vitero Presley of Oakland, California. Other established quilt artists include Kyra Hicks, Marion Coleman, and Julia Vitero. The exhibit contrasts these art quilts with more conventional quilts made for utilitarian purposes by members of the Alabama Freedom Quilting Bee. Enjoy!

Ebony Stitchers Quilt Guild, - New Show July 23

2009-07-05T17:10:00.000-07:00

If you are down Georgia way, do visit the exhibit titled "Award Winning" by the Ebony Stitchers Quilt Guild in Decatur opening July 23. The exhibit features quilts that celebrates African American Academy Award and music winners - yes, the black film stars and singers! Visit the Guild's website for details or contact Ebonystitchers1@bellsouth.net. Enjoy!

Sew with Sara - Encourage your teens to stitch!

2009-07-05T07:18:00.000-07:00

Summer is here - You can encourage your teens to "Sew with Sara," a new book with easy-to-make pjs, pillows and bag patterns. Sara Trail is a 9th grader from the Oakland, CA area. Enjoy!

Dr. Joan Gaither's Journey to the White House Quilt

2009-06-01T03:44:00.000-07:00

If you are in the Baltimore, Maryland area, take a moment to visit the Banneker-Douglass Museum and see the quilt Journey to the White House by Sistah Quilter Dr. Joan M. E. Gaither.
The quilt is on exhibit through June 29, 2009.

You can see a fantastic slide show with photos by Paul W. Gillespie about this Obama story quilt in the Annapolis Capital newspaper. Enjoy!

New Faith Ringgold Quilt - The Declaration of Freedom and Independence Quilt

2009-06-01T03:40:00.000-07:00

Enjoy this 3:27 min. video featuring a new quilt by Faith Ringgold - The Declaration of Freedom and Independence Quilt... blocks illustrate key people and events, including President Obama's election. Enjoy!

Detroit Quilter Carole Harris - Urban Memories

2009-05-18T03:54:00.000-07:00

Sistah Quilter Carole Harris' artwork was on display at the Ellen Kayrod Gallery in Detroit earlier this year. I just ran across this You Tube video (little long at 9 mins) by art professor Gilda Snowden. Visit Carole's website at charris-design.com. Enjoy!