Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt
Reviews (110)
Fascinating!
As a quilter who aspires to improvisational design, these works fascinate & challenge me. They express that human drive & need for artful living even in the midst of great lack. Perhaps even more so then than while living with material abundance.
Teriffic book
I became interested in the Gee Bend quilters after hearing about a PBS special from my daughter-in-law who knows I am interested in historic crafts. I treated myself to the book with plans to pass it on to a quilting friend or our local library when I finished. Now I don't see me parting with it....it is so well written, beautiful photos, and filled with stories of amazing creative women. It has changed the way I see quilts and find myself looking at some modern art and thinking that could have been a Gee's Bend Quilt! If you are a quilter, like primitive antiques or women studies--you would enjoy this book. I have given two programs on it and have recieved notes of thanks. I keep opening it and seeing something new.
Brilliant book, narrative, photos and story
This is the museum catalog for the Gee's Bend Quilts exhibit that toured the country perhaps five years ago. I had the pleasure of seeing the exhibit in Boston at the MFA and it is not to be missed if it tours again. This book enhances the trip with a lot more narrative about the history of quilting, the quilters (including many parts in their own words), the materials they used, inspirations and more. The story of these women (often many generations of one family) is inspiring. None of this is to diminish the artistic quality of the quilts themselves. Highly recommended.
Love it! I have met these women!
I had the pleasure of meeting the women of Gees Bend! This is a wonderful book and if you are interested in history you will love it. The stories told by the women of Gees Bend are heart breaking, heart warming, historical and informative. I not only met these women but took a full day workshop, attended the talks they gave for a week and listened to their stories and felt their pain! They are wonderful and have an outlook on life I wish everyone could share. This is a must have for the quilt history buff and anyone interested in quilt art!
Can't Wait to Visit Gee's Bend and Quilters
These quilts remind me of my grandmother who was from South Carolina. She instilled my desire to use pieces of fabric like these talented women used in Gee's Bend and all over the south and USA. This is an awesome beautiful book and will be my prize coffee table book to show my family and friends. As a beginning quilter I pray that I will be able to use some of these ideas and patterns to produce a quilt worthy of these talented womens skills.
A Must See/Read Large Book About the Quilters of Gee's Bend Alabama
This book is a must for anyone interested in improvisational quilting from the late 1800's to today. The women interviewed tell their own histories and how quilting was such a large part of their lives along with church and family and work. These are the most beautiful quilts i've ever had the honor to see.
Art of quilt making/Black artists
I was fortunate to see the exhibit in Denver. Then I bought the book. There are new quilts and information about the styles, designs and the stories of the quilters and their lives! Out of poverty and necessity, these quilts were created. Not one single inch was wasted. We are fortunate to have as many as we do now of the old styles because in the winter when the quilt was no longer useful as a cover or to put under the mattress to keep the cold out, it was burned to keep warm. I also bought the CD with the stories and songs they sang as they quilted together. Lovely experience!
All quilters need this book
I own a lot of quilting books (a lot!!!) and this is in my top 2 books every quilter should own (the other is collaborative quilting). I find myself looking in this book again and again for inspiration and history.
A Gee's Bend Must Have
Fabulous book. If you like quilting without rules, this is a fascinating book. In this story, quilting was originally a practical way of using old fabrics to make blankets for everyday warmth and survival. Nothing was wasted by these pioneers of recycling. Yet, when you look at the historical examples displayed in colour, you see not only the rawness of the works but also the incredible beauty of them. A 'must have' book.
Quilters Delight!
Beautiful book! A compelling story! Being from Alabama, this book hits home! Also a story of a generation that overcame obstacles and 'made do' with what they had. True Artist!
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