Aolar Mosely (1912–1999), Blocks, c. 1955
Cotton (even weave, twill, dotted swiss), 75 x 83 in.; The Phillips Collection, Museum purchase and gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation
Like most girls in Gee’s Bend, Aolar Mosely was taught to quilt by her mother, but unlike many of her neighbors, she used a machine that had been purchased by her father. "I ain't never learned to sew with my hand. Most everything I make with a machine." From a young age, she observed her mother going from house to house to participate in quilting groups; she even helped construct the frames used in quilting. She would go with others to the woods, find four long poles, trim them and let them dry. Her father would then nail them together to form the frame. She was married to Wisdom Mosely in 1929, and they eventually had seventeen children, including Mary Lee Bendolph, their seventh child.
These images show the entirety of the quilts, including their handmade edges, against a white background.
