Page 384 - MyMomHadAQuiltLikeThat
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my mom had a
quilt like that
African-American "Akimbo" Probably no older than 1950s. Purchased at the Puyallup swap meet. 67"x75"
Fabric: Cottons. Batting: Has lumped. Backing:White muslin. Edge: Back is brought to the front and secured
by hand. Piecing: Machine. Quilting: By hand in crooked lines 2" apart. Condition:Some fading of yellows,
blues and a cowboy print. Muslin is patched on the back. Comment:The vendor said that an apartment
manager kept it after a tenant had abandoned the apartment without paying rent. A Seattle acquaintance,
African-American artist Royal Alley-Barnes, called the design "akimbo" for shattering the basic design,
which is a cross at the center of each square. The red is said to signify luck. The piecing, the bold design,
and the erratic placement of one block having no border look like the free form of African-American quilts,
to my half-tutored eye.
Figure 337: African-American "Akimbo"
