Pants Quilt

How a quilt made on the National Mall became personal for the program coordinator

The 1994 Masters of Traditional Arts program highlighted the exemplary skills and artistry of recent recipients of National Heritage Fellowships, the National Endowment for the Arts’ highest award in the folk and traditional arts. Arbie Williams, an African American quilter from Oakland, California, was among them.

Before and during the Festival, we work especially closely with craftspeople to try to ensure the best presentation possible on the Mall, with appropriate supplies, materials, space, and context. Arbie had told us that she would like to make a quilt using pants, one of the many types of quilts she was known for and one that touched on repurposing materials. We had our work cut out for us to make sure she had a sewing machine, the right colors of thread, adequate workspace, and a backdrop to show off some of her completed work. And then there was the question of where to get the pants. Not being one to pass up an opportunity to clean out my closet, I happily surrendered an old pair of jeans to this great cause.

Visitors to Arbie’s tent learned that she grew up in rural Carthage, Texas, and that she learned to sew from her mother, an expert quilter, when she was eight years old. She married young and raised nine children, working at various jobs to help support her family. She moved to California with her family in the 1940s and revived quilt making as her children grew older. She was influenced by other Southern quilters in her use of bright colors, vibrant contrasts, and geometric patterns. She also used her own creative aesthetics to incorporate “accidents” and irregularities into her pieces, putting her unique mark into each quilt.

I proudly display Arbie Williams’s pants quilt on my office wall. It brings me warm and wonderful memories of an amazing woman and quilter, and smiles to everyone who sees it.