QUILT INDEX RECORD

45-46-25

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Quilts and Human Rights Project at Michigan State University Museum

Who documented this quilt?

Quilts and Human Rights

Essay:

Appreciative of the history of the Sunbonnet Sue pattern but recognizing that my inclinations were not as ‘cutesey’ as the purest interpretations, and in response to current affairs between 2016 and 2019, I chose to embrace the genre of ‘Craftivism’. In 2017, the TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s 1985 dystopian novel ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ included elegantly positioned parallels with modern times, and women had started to wear white bonnets and red cloaks at protest rallies. My Sue’s became Handmaiden’s. Each block is aligned to a current affairs topic (12 in total, as a nod to calendar quilts), with words pertinent to the topics quilted in cursive around the quilt border.

I found construction of this quilt cathartic during what I felt to be a difficult period in history, and strived to select images that expressed wit rather than being overtly negative or cruel (crewel, sic) to offset divisiveness with those who would hold different opinions about the topics represented; hence the subtitle ‘Check Your Bias.’ The color palette was chosen to provide contrast with the crimson Handmaiden dresses and to invoke the calmness associated with the Japanese achromatic neutral and taupe aesthetic popularized by Yoko Saito.

The finished quilt, titled ‘Dystopia Rouge: A Series of Crewel Jokes; aka Check Your Bias’ was exhibited at the American Quilt Society Show in Charleston, SC, in September 2019.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Dystopia Rouge: A Series of Crewel Jokes aka Check Your Bias

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Sunbonnet Sue

Subject of the quilt:

Sue’s depicted as Handmaidens

How wide is the quilt?

45"

How long is the quilt?

80"

Shape of edge:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Beige

Antique colors:

Claret or Wine; Madder Red or Cinnamon Red

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

12

Size of quilt blocks:

9" x 9"

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Separated by sashing with cornerstones or connecting blocks

Describe the quilt setting:

The cornerstones are pieced four patches.

Sashing width:

3.5"

What is the shape of the quilt blocks?

Squares

Number of borders:

2

Describe the borders:

Lattice ribbon based on half-square triangles on top and bottom borders; pieced grid on side borders.

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Batiks; Conversation Prints; Geometric; Hand-dyed; Multiple scrap; Novelty; Print; Solid/plain

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Machine Piecing; Foundation Piecing

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique; Machine Applique; Fusible Applique

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery

Embellishments used:

Cotton thread; Metallic thread; Silk thread

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Cotton

How thick is the quilt?

Medium

How are the layers held together?

Machine quilting

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Echo; In-the-ditch; Meander/free motion; Patches outlined/in the ditch; Stipple

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Parallel lines

Thread type used for the quilting:

Superior Threads polyester

Color of thread used in the quilting:

Taupe, eggplant, gold, black, white

Can you see any knots on the front or back of the quilt?

no

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

Fabric structure of the binding:

Plain weave

How is the binding made?

Separate binding applied; Straight grain; Hand sewn; Machine sewn; Home cut

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

Describe the back:

Same fabric used throughout; Machine sewn

What color is the back of the quilt?

Beige

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

2

Type of inscription:

Message

Method used to make the inscription:

Attached label; In the quilting

Location of inscription:

on back

What is inscribed on the quilt?

March, Vote 1. Women’s March 2017; #metoo movement; pussy hats. 2. Banksy’s shredded ‘Girl with Balloon’; damage to LGBTQ progress. 3. March for our Lives: Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, Charleston Loophole; the power of the National Rifle Association. 4. US President drops out of Paris Agreement but US mayors do not; Sir David Attenborough and others try to alert the world to global warming; Earth Day, plastic in the oceans, natural disasters - Hurricane Florence, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Michael, mud slides in California. 5. Emergence of the Resistance; Star Wars and the Space Army, funding for NASA, Amazon delivery by drone. 6. March for Science, climate change, ban on fetal tissue research, Flint Water Crisis, anti-vaxxers, advances in gene therapy and oncology. 7. Mueller investigation into Russian interference in 2016 US Election; follow the money; report to Congress in 2019 is radically redacted. 8. Federal government shutdown 2018/2019 over lack of funding for border wall; a nation of immigrants denies entry to refugees and a solution for Dreamers; migrant caravan from South America; children separated from their parents at the border; National Parks Service and volunteers keep Joshua Tree National Park open and safe during the shutdown. 9. Tweet women with respect; political role of social media, Cambridge Analytica, the sharp music of hashtag life. 10. Failed attempt to repeal Affordable Care Act (Obamacare); impact of pre-existing medical conditions on eligibility for healthcare insurance; legislation in Alabama and Missouri relating to access to a safe and legal abortion; Title X gag rule preventing doctors from describing all available options to women; Hobby Lobby case preventing access to contraception coverage for employees based on their employers religious or strongly-held beliefs. 11. Suffragists, and suffragette colors; gerrymandering of voting districts; an unprecedented number of female candidates in 2018 mid-term elections; the importance of voting. 12. Changing the composition of the Supreme Court; discussion over the age and health of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and hearing from Dr Christine Blasey Ford during nomination process for Brett Kavanaugh. The previously unthinkable parallels with Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ are brought into sharp relief by a TV adaptation. Protesting women wear bonnets and cloaks at rallies. Their white bonnets and red dresses reminded me of the traditional Sunbonnet Sue pattern and quilting folklore that these were images of enslaved women on their way to freedom via the Underground Railroad. Check your bias...

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

When was the quilt started?

2018

When was the quilt finished?

2019

Time period:

2000-2025

Why was the quilt made?

Art or personal expression

Quilt is presently used as:

Artwork/wall hanging

Where the quilt was made, city:

Seabrook Island

Where the quilt was made, county:

Charleston

Where the quilt was made, state:

South Carolina (SC)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

Where did the maker get their materials?

Old clothes; Purchased new; Sewing scraps

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Traditional pattern variation

Contests entered:

AQS Charleston 2019, AQS Lancaster 2020 (show cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic)

Quilt top made by:

Bowers, Alison

Quilted by:

Bowers, Alison

Gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's city:

Thornton-Clevelys

Quiltmaker's county:

Lancashire

Quiltmaker's country:

United Kingdom

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Baxter

Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:

London

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United Kingdom

Quiltmaker's birth date:

1963

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Urban

Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:

Caucasian

Quiltmaker's educational background:

Master of Science

Quiltmaker's occupation:

Medical writer/pharmaceutical R&D

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and /or partner's/partners' name(s):

Bowers, Gary

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Self-Taught

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 11-19

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Pleasure

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

20-50 quilts

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

no

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

no

Does/did the quiltmaker belong to a group? Name of the group?

Cobblestone Quilt Guild, Charleston Modern Quilt Guild, AQS

Quilt owner's name:

Alison Bowers

Person filling out this form is:

Quilt owner; Quiltmaker

How was this quilt acquired?

Made by owner

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's city:

Thornton-Cleveleys

Quilt owner's county:

Lancashire

Quilt owner's country:

United Kingdom

When was the form filled out?

March 3, 2021

Who helped you fill out the form?

Alison Bowers

What is the width of the binding (measure on the top only)?

half inch - one inch

Describe the source of the pattern:

Border lattice pattern from free quilt show handout

Quiltmaker's marriage date(s):

1987

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Alec Baxter

Quiltmaker's father's birthplace:

Plymouth, Devon, UK

Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:

Caucasian

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Rosemary Baxter

Quiltmaker's mother's birthplace:

Truro, Cornwall, UK

Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:

Caucasian

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' ethnic/tribal background:

Caucasian

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' occupation:

Analytical chemist

Where does/did the group meet?

Charleston