As if the Kindred Spirits popup quilt show wasn’t awesome enough to celebrate African American quilters (see Part I blog post), one of my local quilt guilds was hosting our local African American quilt guild – which just happened to fall on actual Juneteenth! The African American Quilt Circle of Durham, NC has an active group of over 60 members, committed to preserving quilting among the black community in the area.

The AAQC presented to the Durham Orange Quilt Guild. Several women spoke and showed their quilts. It was like a trunk show. I would have liked to take names and notes about the quilts, but I also wanted to be present and enjoy myself. So while I can’t tell you who made all the quilts, suffice it to say it was any of the talented women from the AAQC. If you are reading this and you can provide feedback on who made some of these quilts, please say so in the comments. I would love that!

They recommended this book to read, Orphan Girl. Many of their quilts were made as a reflection of this book, like this quilt on the right.

A few social justice quilts were shown. See below a powerful one of segregation to incarceration, and another of a Langston Hughes’ quote.

Another member was from Alabama, so she brought a quilt of the pine burr (aka – pinecone) quilt block. Alabama designated the pine burr quilt as the state quilt. It is quite an intricate quilt block as you can see! Click here to read the interesting story of how the pine burr quilt became the Alabama state quilt.

I really loved this tied quilt. The colors are stunning. Also, the binding was done in a denim fabric. What a great idea for wear.

Below, the quilter went to a thrift store and bought a bunch of jeans. She cut them up and threw a quilt together. This is a great way save money on fabric!

The quilt on the right was made by the quilter’s late father’s neckties. She quipped what her father would think of this quilt. I imagine he’d be honored. 😊

Another quilter showed us her quilt portrait made with a tangled mess of her leftover yarns and threads. She had asked her husband to name it. He named her “Yarny!” 😂

I just love the mixed textiles, the burlap as background, and the added realia for bling.

In conclusion, this really was a fun evening of women coming together, joined by a common thread – a love of quilting. These last two quilts I love for their busyness and colorful display.

On a final note, these women were so entertaining. They told us of how they sing quilt songs they make up in their groups. The “singer” of the group closed out the event by singing a catchy tune about fat quarters! 😂