Qunnie Pettway

Qunnie Pettway (1943–2010) was an American artist. She worked for the Freedom Quilting Bee and is associated with the Gee's Bend group of quilters.[1][2][3] Her mother, Candis Pettway, taught her to quilt, and she passed the skill on to her daughter Loretta Pettway Bennett. She specialized in making traditional quilt patterns out of scraps she brought home from the Bee.[4][5]

Life

Qunnie was surrounded by dedicated quilt-makers her entire life. Her mother, Candis Pettway, and her sister were her first mentors. Later she learned classic patterns while at Estelle Witherspoon's house, where upwards of 20 women would quilt together.[2]

She later developed diabetes, and when she began to lose her eye sight, she only made quilts from simple patterns. She died in 2010.[2]

Work

Recognized for her innovation, Qunnie's style is marked by her improvisational versions of traditional patterns. Her favorite method was the "Crazy Z" quilt composed of corduroy from the Freedom Quilting Bee.[2]

References
  1. "Quiltmakers Of The Quilts of Gees Bend". www.quiltsofgeesbend.com. Retrieved 2019-04-20.
  2. "Qunnie Pettway | Souls Grown Deep Foundation". www.soulsgrowndeep.org. Retrieved 2019-04-20.
  3. Beardsley, John; Arnett, William; Arnett, Paul; Livingston, Jane (2002). Gee's Bend: The Women and Their Quilts. Tinwood Books. p. 183. ISBN 9780971910409.
  4. Arnett, William; Herman, Bernard (2006). Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt. Tinwood Books. p. 146. ISBN 9780971910478.
  5. "Alabama Department of Archives and History, Kids' emblems: Official Quilt-Pine Burr Quilt of Gees Bend". www.archives.alabama.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-20.
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