amazing quilts

( The quilt at the top of the page is from Loretta Young Gee's Bend, Alabama and the quilt below is from Rosie Lee Thompkins, California.)

I love African American Improvisational style quilts. Talk about rules are made to be broken! The asymmetry found in these quilts is absolutely breathtaking. Some of the most well known quilters quilting in this style are of course the women from Gee's Bend. A truly amazing quilting community. Another highly prolific quilter,not part of the Gee's Bend community,who quilted in this style was Rosie Lee Thompkins. Her real name was Effie Mae Howard but she quilted under a pseudonym to guard her privacy. Ms. Thompkin's passed away in December 2006. Her work has been displayed in several museums in the States and currently she has a solo exhibit at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont. The exhibit is called "Something Pertaining to God",go to www.shelburnemuseum.org for more information. Another great source of information on African American quilts is a man named Eli Leon. Mr. Leon has been collecting and researching Improvisational quilts for years and is the person who discovered Ms. Thompkins. Checkout his site for more information,www.elileon.com