Jessie T. Pettway (b. 1929), Bars and string-pieced columns, 1950s
Cotton, 95 x 76 in.; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Museum purchase and gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation
Jessie T. Pettway’s versatility is represented by an elegant design of tapering strings in shades of red, yellow, blue, and gray, all framed by columns of bright red. She appears perplexed by admiration of this quilt. "That's just a lot of strings sewed together," she insists. "I wasn't trying to keep nothing in order. I turned the narrow end next to the wide end and just sewed it together." Her disclaimer is another indication of the distinction Gee's Bend women make between "pretty" and "ugly" quilts, or between those created for display or sale and those made for everyday use.
These images show the entirety of the quilts, including their handmade edges, against a white background.