This quilt was made by Vera Hall, in memory of her grandmother who was a quilter. Thursday morning I attended a session of my guild's daytime meeting (Faithful Circle Quilters) to hear Vera speak about the lives of African Americans just before and during the Civil War.
Her lecture was fascinating! I knew, generally, about black folks serving as soldiers for both North and South ... and about the efforts of Harriet Tubman and other heroes of the Underground Railroad ... but Vera spoke about a woman I did not know - Elizabeth Keckley.
Mrs. Keckley was a woman whose profession as seamstress and dressmaker in Washington, D.C. brought her into contact with Mary Todd Lincoln - with whom Keckly became close confidant and supporter. She also made dressed for Verena Davis (wife of Jefferson Davis) and Mrs. Robert E. Lee.
Vera spoke about Keckley's early life as a slave and her work - which allowed Elizabeth to purchase her own freedom and to set up a very successful dressmaking business, the income from which supported eleven people for a number of years.
Vera did not sugar coat anything she talked about and was very frank about the kinds of difficulties Elizabeth Keckley and other black people of her time faced in society. Her lecture was illustrated by quilts and by numerous photographs of her own travels to see sites significant during Keckley's life. Fascinating!
I only got iPhone photos of the quilts Vera brought to illustrate her lecture and I have not asked Vera's permission to post them here on my blog, so I will abstain. If you have an opportunity to hear her talk, do go!
:) Linda
PS I finally finished making fabric flower samples for my class. Here are some more photos:
A folded flower
RickRack Rose
Ruched Flower
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