Special Event on Zoom: Our Inaugural Jenny Carmichael Bequest Speaker: Mary Fons direct from the USA

Hey Bay Quilters!  DO NOT MISS THIS FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY!!!!

We have been very fortunate to engage Mary Fons to talk with us direct from Chicago as the first of our Jenny Carmichael bequest speakers.

Mary is a writer, editor, and live streamer who specialises in quilt history and the life of quilts in popular culture.  For more information regarding Mary, please read the article in this month’s Newsletter.  Mary is the daughter of Marianne Fons, of Fons & Porter fame.

Mary’s subject today is  MYTH: Belief versus Reality in the American Quilt Story

The story of quilts in England and America is beautiful, complicated, and still unfolding. And while there are fundamental truths about our quilts — they comfort, they provide a creative outlet, their makers are primarily women — much of what we think we know about quilts is based more in belief than in fact.  In this talk, popular lecturer and writer Mary Fons presents several key “myths” in the story of English and American quilts, challenging assumptions by examining more closely the story of the Gees Bend quilters, whether the Amish included “intentional mistakes” in their quilts, and others. Far from a dry history lesson, Mary suggests that the story of our quilts is often deeper, richer, and more meaningful than we could possibly believe.