The subject of "Gee's Bend Quilts" chosen by our speaker on June 4th was unfamiliar to many of us. Quilter, Andrea Lechner, had become fascinated by their history and done a great deal of research into their origins and development. Gee's Bend is a horseshoe bend in the Alabama River and refers to the quilts developed there in an isolated hamlet of Boykin. The original community of 17 enslaved people worked on a cotton plantation established by Joseph Gee in 1816.
Their quilting grew out of necessity: living in poor quality, unheated homes and the need to keep warm in winter. Just surviving was hard and they used any fabric they could acquire. This was parts of old clothes and household fabrics. Muted colours, shapes and patterns emerged depending on what was available. They had little or no knowledge of other communities and their designs and skills were handed down from generation to generation.
With the aid of many slides Andrea was able to show and explain many of the early ones and answered a number of questions from our members. Government support allowed them to sell quilts from 1930's and they became popular. Now there is international recognition for the artistry and skills and they are displayed in many museums.
Kathy Francis
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