#60 Mary Ann, a Gee's Bend Quilter

​No Longer a Stranger

I feel like Mary Ann is a friend now, but she was a stranger when I called her this past May. Mary Ann lives in an area of Alabama called Gee's Bend, where women have quilted for generations. I found her phone number on the internet, when I was exploring the idea of making a stop, while traveling through Alabama.

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I called and introduced myself and told her my husband and I would be traveling near Gee's Bend soon. I asked a few questions. She answered my question about local accommodations with an easy going reply. "Well, there are no motels here, but you can stay here at my house."  Then she added with a laugh.  "If you don't mind my housekeeping."

​Getting to Gee's Bend
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​It wasn't easy finding this tiny Alabama community, tucked into a bend of the Alabama River. While on the road we made several calls to Mary Ann.  First, when we got lost and later, when we learned the ferry was closed.

Mary Ann chuckled over the phone letting me know the unreliable ferry was a constant bother. After another 45 minutes driving around the river, we eventually spotted one of the quilt murals that are scattered about the small community. We found Mary Ann's modest brick house and a family of kittens on the front porch. As I knocked on the door I laughed to myself. We are knocking on the door of a stranger and we will be staying at her house!

​Catfish Dinner

​When Mary Ann opened her door I felt welcomed by a hug, a laugh and the smell of just baked butter bundt cake. Mary Ann is used to playing host to travelers and she seemed comfortable inviting us in. But, I was still pretty confused about what the plan was. I had offered payment, but nothing felt clear. 

I knew we would stay in her guest room and be meeting the local quilters the next day. But what about dinner? We couldn't even offer to take her to dinner since there were no real restaurants in Gee's Bend. But Mary Ann had already contacted her friend Keitsha, who started a cooking business from her home. "Keitsha's cooking the catfish right now. She likes us to eat it while it's hot, so we better go get it now." So we feasted on the catfish as well as biscuits, homemade macaroni and chicken strips. There's nothing like home cooking to make guests feel comfortable.

​​Meeting Family
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After dinner we experienced a little bit of Mary Ann's world, when she took us to her grand niece's softball game. While we chatted with family in the bleachers, I kept my intrusive camera tucked inside my bag and tried to absorb the atmosphere around me.  

The kids on the field reminded me of neighborhood kids of my youth. There were no uniforms or batting helmets. One young boy ran the bases without shoes, while the wood bleachers vibrated with stomping and clapping. There were younger kids playing near a rustic Maypole, recently "woven" at a May Day Event. A few men congregated under a shade tree, along with a saddled horse. After the game, we went "visiting" to meet Mary Ann's sister Julie, in her cozy living room. We met the grandkids that Julie is raising. We heard the grandmother's dreams, of retiring and doing mission work. ​

​Getting to Know Mary Ann
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​But it wasn't until later on that night, when we gathered around a folding table and Mary Ann pulled out bags of quilt material, that I began to feel completely at home. We looked at numerous projects and our talk went off on a million tangents.

I heard about Mary Ann's mother, who was the oldest of 17 and then had 12.  I heard about Mary Ann's years working at the sewing factory in Selma, making blue jeans. I learned about Mary Ann's last name. She reminded me that not all the Pettways in Gee's Bend are related. They share the name because they are descendants of the enslaved workers on the plantation, owned by Mark Pettway. They were given his name, when they worked the land, that is now Gee's Bend.
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Quilting
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And of course we talked about quilting.  Mary Ann said she starts with small pieces and the project just grows. She likes colored fabric more than printed and red is her favorite. Sometimes she gets caught up working and her hands have to tell her when to quit. Like when she keeps poking the same tender spot with the needle. And even though many of us have images of quilters working together, Mary Ann said she really likes working alone. "What do you think about when you quilt?" I asked. "Good thoughts." She paused, then added.  "I'm very blessed." 

Mary Ann said she gets a lot of quilting done in the car, on trips with her quilting community. Many of her quilts are named for the memory of where she started the project, "I have 2 quilts that I call, Holiday Inn Express I and Holiday Express 2." Mary Ann laughed about another quilt named, Runnin' My Mouth! She remembers starting that quilt when she was on her sister's porch, jabbering away telling stories. ​

L'il Peewees
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​I had to laugh when she told me some quilt friends called her the Bag Lady. Mary Ann said she's always picking up discarded scraps that no one else wants. "I call those little pieces my L'il Peewees!" She laughed. "I find 2 colors that look good together. Then I pick the 2 sides that'll match up, then I start stitchin' the pieces together."  ​

I marveled, watching her hands juggling the tiny pieces, using her fingernails to smooth the seams flat.
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Piecing Together as We Talk

​I was in a trance watching and listening, as she talked about how things began to change when the quilters were suddenly spotlighted in national news. "Oprah sent her crew out with cameras one time. Soon we were being invited to big cities, to show our quilts... and sing." ​

She told us about John McCain visiting the area, when he was campaigning.  "He bought 10,000 dollars worth of quilts!" Mary Ann sort of chuckled at the thought.

Quilt for the President
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"And when Obama was elected, we made a quilt and had it sent to him at the White House."  She showed us a picture of the quilt and pointed out the pieces she created.  ​

I think Mary Ann's rectangle in 2 tones of blue, is the most unusual. I would love to have heard the conversations that took place as the Gee's Bend women worked on that quilt. I also would love to have seen their faces when they heard the unofficial news that Michelle was interested in having the quilting ladies visit the White House! 

​​The Next Day
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Eventually, Mary Ann tidied up her workspace and showed us to our room. We slept well, under one of her handmade quilts. At 6 am we heard the sound of the school bus outside and sounds of Mary Ann in the kitchen. I slipped into the shared bathroom where Mary Ann had provided a generous collection of hotel soaps and shampoos, from her travels. A while later, I greeted her in the kitchen. She worked at the stove in her curlers and apron, finishing up a breakfast of eggs, grits and 2 kinds of sausage.

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After breakfast we took a drive around the area. We passed more quilt murals. They were created to look like some of the original Gee's Bend quilts, that were bought up by art collectors a while back. We passed a horse on the side of the road, happily grazing.  And we stopped to see Mary Ann's Baptist church where her mom and other adult family members once packed inside, to hear Dr. Martin Luther King preach in 1965. Dr. King knew that the isolated community needed to stand up. The unreliable ferry, that caused problems for Don and me, had a history of being "out of commission" when voters needed transportation many decades ago. Dr. King was able to encourage some of those residents to join up in Selma, marching for voting rights. 

​The Collective

​Late morning, after a visit to the Ferry Terminal where the local quilters gather on weekdays, Don and I joined Mary Ann at The Collective. Mary Ann couldn't have looked more at home in the cozy wood building that houses quilts made by locals. She has plenty to do as manager, organizing and selling quilts, handling emails and phone calls and meeting up with occasional visitors.  ​

Sometimes she has time to work on her own projects, too... of which there are many. We were sad that Mary Ann had no quilts of her own to sell, because they are gone too fast. But I asked to buy the colorful piece she had made the night before, when demonstrating how she stitches "L'il Peewees" together. I placed an order, for a future quilt.

​​So thanks, Mary Ann!  

You welcomed us warmly, sharing your home, family and friends, not to mention stories and thoughts. I'll always remember how you answered Don's last question before we left. He wanted to know if you ever made a piece or a quilt, that you just couldn't part with?

You answered so quickly. You said you loved all the quilts you made, but you loved them and sold them. Then you paused and showed us this orange, green and brown design. You loved that the fabrics came from South Africa.  

"I might have to keep this one." You took a moment and examined it, as if you'd never seen it before. "I really like this one."

​I hope you kept it Mary Ann!  You deserve to have something special of your own.
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