Quilting and singing in Sisters

A group of seven women from Gee's Bend, Alabama, were honored guests at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, holding court outside Stitchin' Post during the day.

It's a long way from the steamy waters of the Alabama River to the crisp air of Sisters, but a shared love of quilts in all their forms overcame cultural and geographic differences. The quilt show atmosphere and hospitality shown through the week made a big impression.

"Y'all are the nicest people we've ever met. You act like we are all one nation. (It matters) how people treat you, how welcome we've felt," said Lucy Mingo, one of the renowned Quilters of Gee's Bend.

That's high praise from these women from a tiny community in the Deep South, nestled in a curve of the Alabama River. They were cut off from the nearest town for over 40 years when the ferry service was suspended because Gee's Bend residents went to register to vote in nearby Camden, Alabama in 1965.

They've felt the sting of racial prejudice, coupled with the struggle to survive in one of the nation's poorest counties. The ferry resumed service in 2006, a few years after the quilters began to garner a reputation for the artistic merit of their quilts.

The quilts have been featured at prominent fine art museums and galleries around the nation and are hailed as being of unique historical importance, a record of traditions passed from one generation to the next.

All the recognition, while enhancing their lives, is greeted with a bemused humility by the quilters. They maintain they weren't creating art; they were just doing what had always been done, making blankets to keep their families warm and using whatever fabric was at hand. That fabric was usually old, worn out clothing. The wear in the clothing didn't diminish the love of bright colors and bold design Gee's Bend quilters have shown since the days of their emancipation from slavery.

The quilters incorporate a philosophy of work, song and prayer into all they do.

"We start each quilting session with a prayer," said Mingo.

At various times during the day, the group spontaneously burst into song, soulful spirituals and joyous gospel, infusing the air around them with harmonies honed over generations.

The women taught a series of classes as part of their participation in the quilt show. Florine Smith, one of the Gee's Bend quilters, said class members were surprised to be told to put away all their fancy cutters and just keep a pair of scissors handy. The Gee's Bend technique involves minimal cutting and lots of tearing of fabric. This was difficult at first for some of the purists, said Smith, but she noticed all were tearing enthusiastically by the end of the session.

The Gee's Bend quilters hadn't been involved in an event like the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show before, but they do participate in communities when the quilts are displayed. According to Matt Arnett, the group's coordinator, those workshops are geared toward at-risk youth who find a great outlet in tearing up fabric then creating something of beauty from it.

Jean Wells, the founder of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show who is always looking for new inspiration for visitors, invited the women after seeing the quilts and learning their story. Sisters was the last stop on an Oregon tour that included a gallery showing in Portland and a museum exhibition in Ashland. The Quilters of Gee's Bend are planning a return visit to Sisters in 2011.