Interesting site. Have heard of this group before and have seen some of their work. Very imaginative way of using bits and pieces for quilts. Done originally out of necessity. In the intro it mentions the original slaves worked the Pettway plantation, but in the gallery of photos of identified quilts several bear the sirname Pettway. Was this the norm of the day...to carry the name of the plantation owner? Just a question that popped into my head as I was looking at the pics/names of the makers of them. These quilts have certainly put Gee's Bend on the map!

Thank you for sharing this with us! Just took a quick view of the article and will have to spend more time reading through. The quilts are fabulous & I'm excited to read about these quilters.

Was not uncommon for the slaves to take on the last name of the owners or the name of the plantation. If the name of the plantation was for example "Rose Hill' they may use Hill as their last name.

I saw the exhibit in Boston. It was very nice. I don't care for the quilt style but I admired how the women used what they had to make something to call their own.

I was lucky enough to see some of the Gee's Bend quilts in a museum exhibition. The history surrounding these quilts is very interesting. There was also US books of stamps honoring these quilts.

I remember hearing about these quilts and was lucky enough to see some of the Gees Bend at a quilt show. They are so much more impressive in person so if you have a chance to see them, do it.

Jan, thanks so much for adding to my fascination and admiration of these quilts. I learned one day too late of a local museum exhibition several years ago.

1Yes, I did know about the Gees Bend quilter's. Fascinating

Yes, I have heard of them, they were very different for their time.

I went and saw the Gees Bend exhibit when it was here in Houston about 10 years ago. It was so interesting, I ended up buying the book also.