Good morning everyone,

I went to the Souls Grown Deep Like Rivers exo at the RA recently. Some of the things I enjoyed the most were the quilts. I thought perhaps you'd like a Fem Fri about quilts and (a) that's what this is going to be and (b) HOO BOY I have really gone down a rabbit hole here. I feel like all of Fem Fri could be quilts now. Let me reign myself in to bring you only the cosiest treats. Mega love to the friend and subscriber who hipped me to this world.

We start at Gee's Bend, which is where the quilts I saw at the RA came from. Here's a photo of my favourite, by Loretta Pettway Bennett:

The quilters of Gee’s Bend, an isolated hamlet situated on a bend in the Alabama River, have a term for designs that break with tradition: they are done “my way”. Like the best jazz, “my way” quilts are guided by a combination of skill, practice and improvisation. For the past century, women such as Annie Mae Young, Loretta Pettway and Mary Lee Bendolph have stitched together fabric in different shapes, sizes and colours, and by gloriously deviating from prescribed patterns or colour schemes they have exercised an unbounded artistic freedom.

https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/article/ra-magazine-gees-bend-quilters

You'll need to scroll for it, but please do, because this is a lovely interview with Loretta Pettway Bennett herself:

I will keep things to pass on to someone else, but it turns out to be even better to turn it into a quilt and pass it on to somebody else. Someone loved wearing these jeans or this denim shirt or dress. What a way to share that love with someone else, by turning it into something that they can use.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/may/08/jarvis-cocker-interviews-six-collectors-peter-blake-andy-holden-loretta-pettway-bennett

HEY DO YOU WANT TO MAKE QUILTS. Autostraddle have a lovely guide:

When you’ve never sewn anything quilt-like before, the idea of coming up with something from scratch can be daunting. I mean honestly, where do you start? And once you’ve got an idea, how do you know if it’s even possible to get out of your head and onto a blanket? Luckily, there are centuries of grandmas and just generally grand people who have been making quilts and will happily lend their shoulders for us to stand on.

https://www.autostraddle.com/quilting-for-quiltbags-182590/

Much love,

Alex.