by Janet Blackwell
African American quilting is on the rise in the US. The 2010 Quilting in AmericaTM survey, points to a 65% increase in the number of black quilters in the last decade.
Quilters are also spending more to pursue their hobby. Kyra Hicks is a quilter who wrote a book about the topic. The book, titled “1.6 Million African American Quilters: Survey, Sites, and a Half-Dozen Art Quilt Blocks,” is about this rich heritage.
Some Facts about African American Quilters:
– Numbers are growing — in 2000 there were a million black quilters in the U.S. Today there are 1.6 million black quilters among a total of 21 million quilters in America.
– Black quilters are spending more on their hobby. Black quilters spend $279 million annually on quilting activities, products and services such as fabrics, sewing machines, quilting lessons, magazines and books, up from $93.6 million ten years ago.
– The quilters are willing to spend on fabric to make their quilts. One-third of African American quilters recently surveyed spent between $7 and $8 per yard on fabric for quilting projects.
– There are famous quilters you may not know about. For example, S. Epatha Merkerson, who played Lieutenant Anita Van Buren on the TV show Law & Order, is a quilter.
– Quilting is not just popular with women but men also enjoy the craft. According to Hicks book “1.6 Million African American Quilters: Survey, Sites, and a Half-Dozen Art Quilt Blocks” men like to quilt too. There are links to over 10 web sites and blogs featuring African American male quilters in the book.
– Other well-known quilters include Michael Cummings of New York and Carole Harris of Detroit.
– Emerging art quilters are Aisha Lumumba of Atlanta, Georgia, and Cecelia “Cely” Pedescleaux of New Orleans.
– Kyra E. Hicks began her interest in the craft after being mesmerized by Eva Ungar Grudin’s 1990 traveling exhibition, “Stitching Memories: African-American Story Quilts.” She later taught herself to quilt.
– The most popular types of fabrics purchased for quiltmaking by Black quilters are African prints, abstracts, solids, and geometrics. These fabrics are chosen specifically to represent African American culture.
There are not just quilters but crafters who are in on the trend. There are textile artists, dollmakers, fabric designers, that join quilters from the African diaspora.
There is a growing interest in African American quilting right now. As a quilter, Hicks knows this intimately and hopes to turn more people on to this trend.
About the Author
“1.6 Million African American Quilters: Survey, Sites, and a Half-Dozen Art Quilt Blocks” has a directory of more than 270 web sites, blogs and YouTube videos featuring African American quilters and guilds. There are six unique art quilt blocks included in the book.
See http://www.black-threads.com to learn more about African American quilting.