As temperatures decline, seemingly fluctuating between autumn and winter, I watch the weather forecasts to determine how to heat my home overnight.  Many say utilities are more efficient if the thermostat remains consistently at 68. Personally, I'd prefer to keep my house warm but not quite toasty.  I'm the one that will have 13 blankets on my bed to keep my body warm while sleeping, but I want my face to stay cool.

Recently, while going through my storage shed, I came upon a number of blankets which made me think about an old quilt my mom had when we were growing up.  It was the thickest, warmest blanket I'd ever felt.  I remember asking my mom why it was so different from the other blankets in the house, and she said that it had some from Down South. "Ma Mag," her great-grandmother Maggie Lee White, had given it to her.

Caption:NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 06: Atmosphere at the 2012 Metropolitan Museum Family Benefit 'Gods & Goddesses: An Evening of Myth & Mystery at The Met' at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on February 6, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)
Caption:NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 06: Atmosphere at the 2012 Metropolitan Museum Family Benefit 'Gods & Goddesses: An Evening of Myth & Mystery at The Met' at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on February 6, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)
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Upon learning that the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York recently received a donation that includes 20 works by female quilters in Gee's Bend, it made me think about my mom's old quilt.  It was heavy, like it had been stuffed with cotton or some other substance that added extra warmth.  In my adult life, I searched for a quilt with those same qualities, but I couldn't find one in stores.  I asked my mom about it, and she simply said, "Oh, you won't find one like that in stores. They don't make them like that anymore."

That statement made me a bit sad.  I felt sort of like the child that can't go to sleep without her "blankie." Each winter, I yearn for the quilt that had been gifted to my mother from my great-great-grandmother. This desire led me to do a bit more research on old-fashioned quilting and why the ones sold in stores weren't like the one my mom had.  That is when I learned about the Quilters of Gee's Bend!

Quilters of Gee's Bend/ (Photo: Quilt's of Gee's Bend Facebook)
Quilters of Gee's Bend/ (Photo: Quilt's of Gee's Bend Facebook)
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The Quilters of Gee's Bend have been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, placed on exhibition at The Smithsonian, and have had numerous forms of media produced about them.  They've attended numerous local events and shared the history of quilting while also introducing the art to those who could be made responsible to carry the art form forward for future generations.

Quilters of Gee's Bend/(Photo: Quilt of Gee's Bend Facebook)
Quilters of Gee's Bend/(Photo: Quilt of Gee's Bend Facebook)
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This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for having the knowledge of what I want for Christmas for the first time ever, thanks to the Quilters of Gee's Bend.

 

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