Patricia Batiste-Brown

Born Elmore County, Alabama, 1947

Serengeti, 2003
Machine stitched and quilted
Courtesy of the artist

I was inspired by the glorious colors of

mythical animals against the backdrop of
an African sunset.
The design grew out of a class I was
teaching on three-dimensional windmill
blocks. The section across the top came
from a fabric store located inside a railroad
car. The color green represents the flowing
grass of the African plains.
Patricia Batiste-Brown
Deborah Boone
Born Southfield, Michigan, 1966
African Winds, 2003
Machine stitched and hand tied
Courtesy of the artist

Some of my quilts spur viewers to question

their lives or take a journey within. They
spark the need to ask, “Am I living right?” If
the answer is no, the quilt sends the
message to "Straighten up and Fly Right."
Or the viewer might ask himself or herself,
“Do I need a vacation?” If the answer is
yes, my quilt titled “African Winds” invites
the viewer to imagine himself or herself on
a hammock in the middle of the vast
Serengeti gazing at the sunset, feeling the
breeze and listening
to the sounds of the African night.
Deborah Boone
Bernetta Branch
Born Seattle, Washington, 1951
African Squares on Point, 2007
Machine stitched
Quilted by Elaine Colvin
Collection of Kim Sullivan

This quilt was a commissioned piece for a

lover of African fabrics and science teacher
at the school where I work. The most I can
say is that after a very tumultuous last few
years, I was at peace making this quilt.
Bernetta Branch
Antoinette Bush
Born Seattle, Washington, 1949
Serengeti Safari, 2006
Machine pieced
Adapted from a pattern by Laura Dennison
Courtesy of the artist

This pattern was a perfect way to fulfill my

love of African fabrics. I love color. The
colors are a rich tapestry rare in American
fabrics. The biggest challenge was picking
American-made fabrics to accompany the
African cloth. The two very different tones
could not overshadow or battle each other.
They needed to bring out the best in each
other like a good marriage.
Antoinette
Bush
Iris Franklin
Born College Station, Texas, 1939
Boomerang, 2007
Machine pieced and quilted
Courtesy of the artist

I have experimented with the gamut of

colors, from willowy pastels to richer earth
tones. Silky creams, chocolate browns, and
rich oranges became my passion. I create
quilts as an expression of art that
transcends the painted picture. My
creation of both traditional and artistic
quilts in ethnic fabrics is reflective of my
heritage. My quilts are bold, but don’t call
them primitive or exotic just because
you’re having trouble categorizing them!
Iris Franklin
Lynette Gallon-Harrell
Born Tampa, Florida, 1958
I Am Not My Pain, 2004
Machine stitched and hand quilted,
imported
cotton batiks
Courtesy of the artist

When I was diagnosed with a life-altering

disease, I was devastated and afraid. I was
afraid that I could no longer be the mother
and wife my family needed and devastated
by life changes I would need to make.
Lynette Gallon-
Harrell
Antoinette Hall
Born Hartford, Connecticut, 1957
Counsel, 2004
Machine pieced and machine quilted
Courtesy of the artist

After a decade of quilting, I favor designs

based on traditional patterns as well as
improvisational collages.
Antoinette
Hall
Annie Harper
Born Yokohama, Japan, 1949
Every Which Way but Loose, 2005
Machine stitched
Quilted by Sue Sullivan
Courtesy of the artist

I love the process of creating something

unique from conception to execution. My
love of geometry helps me translate ideas
into a visual aesthetic. I am frequently
surprised by the results of color, texture,
proportion, repetition, and value. Hopefully
others feel the joy and happiness I put into
my pieces.
Annie
Harper
Oneda Harris
Born Seattle, Washington, 1967
Storm Clouds over Zion, 2004
Hand stitched and machine quilted
Courtesy of the artist

This was one of my first picture quilts and

it depicts Seattle’s Mount Zion Baptist
Church on a rainy day.
I made the quilt during a difficult time in
the church’s history. I pieced it by tearing
sections of fabric to create sky, rain, wood,
and brick. Tearing the fabric,
as opposed to cutting it, was cathartic.
Sewing the disparate pieces together
helped me heal just as my church family
was struggling to heal.
Oneda
Harris
Oneda Harris
Born Seattle, Washington, 1967
Shadrach, Meshach, and a Big Negro,
2005
Hand stitched and machine quilted
Courtesy of the artist

As a child, Oneda Harris heard the Biblical

verse Daniel 3 about the tests of faith
endured by Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego. Unable to pronounce easily the
long and strange names, Harris believed
that the verse relayed the story about
“Shadrach, Meshach, and a big Negro.”
Cheryl Haskins
Born Fort Dix, New Jersey, 1960
African Winter, 2007
Machine stitched
Quilted by Elaine Colvin
Adapted from the pattern “White Out” in
Quiltmaker Magazine, November-December
2006
Courtesy of the artist

I am a creator of quilts for use, comfort,

and as a blessing to others. I enjoy finding
a pattern I like and making it three or four
times in different fabrics to create different
looks. African-inspired fabrics have a
warmth and vitality I like to interpret into
traditional quilt blocks. This quilt was
inspired by a plain tone on tone flannel
quilt with white snowflakes. Here is the
same quilt—only vibrant and alive in the
middle
of winter.
Cheryl Haskins
Cheryl Haskins
Born Fort Dix, New Jersey, 1960
Winter Garden, 2007
Machine stitched
Quilted by Elaine Colvin
Courtesy of the artist
Sheila Holmes
Born Seattle, Washington, 1948
Autumn Dahlias, 2005
Machine pieced, appliquéd, and quilted
Courtesy of the artist

I took a class called “Stack and Whack.” I

love this technique because you have to
tear fabric as well as make precise cuts.
The pieces are then sewn, appliquéd, and
quilted together. It did not turn out exactly
according to the pattern because I ran out
of both the brown and off-white
background fabrics so improvising became
a necessity.
Sheila
Holmes
Mary H. Johnson
Born Decatur, Mississippi, 1944
Underground Railroad, 2007
Hand appliquéd and machine quilted
Courtesy of the artist

Years ago I purchased a book, “The

Underground Railroad,” by Charles L.
Blockson. This guidebook listed schools,
churches, homes, and other sites across
America of historical significance during
slavery. I longed to visit those places.
Instead I created a quilt depicting an
imagined scene along the Underground
Railroad. I used wools, cottons, and furs for
clothing that I then appliquéd onto the
figures. Acrylic paint on muslin made the
faces and bodies. The key was to use
materials consistent with that era.
Mary H.
Johnson
Christine Jordan-Bell
Born Newbern, Alabama, 1961
Robbie’s Quilt, 2007
Machine pieced, hand quilted, and hand
appliquéd
Adapted from the pattern "Let It Grow" by
Sue Nickels from America's Best Quilting
Projects, A Rodale Quilt Book by Marianne
Fons and Liz Porter
Courtesy of the artist

My son Robbie has grown into an

extraordinary young man. I honor him with
this quilt. I found, as always, working with
my hands to be extremely relaxing, and
thus this quilt symbolizes both my love for
my son and the pleasure I find in the art of
quilting. I prefer hand quilting, piecing, and
appliqué. The more experienced
I become as a quilter, the more drawn I am
to appliqué projects. Everything comes
back to the contentment
I derive from working with my hands.
Christine Jordan-
Bell
Paola Maranan
Born Seattle, Washington, 1963
Batik Windows, 2003
Machine stitched and hand tied
Courtesy of the artist

I made this wall of batik fabrics for Majken

and Mike—two friends who found love and
each other late in life. Majken came to the
marriage with a son adopted from Guinea,
and the couple adopted two more children
from Sierra Leone. The indigos lend a
wonderful texture and weight. The batik
African masks are in tribute to Majken and
Mike’s commitment to their children and
their culture.
Paola Maranan
Gwen Maxwell-Williams
Born Starkville, Mississippi, 1947
Spinnin’ III, 2007
Machine pieced
Machine quilted by Elaine Colvin
Courtesy of the artist

Does everyone go through phases in their

work? For the last year, circles have been
the focus of a lot of my art. Circles
represent to me completion and wholeness.
They may show up as concentric, divided
into quarters or halves, or even with
curved edges—but usually even the parts
come together to create completed circles.
Is this representative of where my life is on
its continuum? I hope so. It is a good sign.
Gwen Maxwell-
Williams
Johnnie Miller
Born Haynesville, Louisiana, 1930
It’s a Log Cabin, 2005
Machine pieced and hand quilted
Courtesy of the artist

The colors in this quilt put me immediately

in the frame of mind of a Jacob Lawrence
painting. The fabulous browns, rusts, and
olive greens were eye-catching.
I didn’t know what I was going to make,
but I knew I wanted to use these fabrics!
The log cabin is a very traditional quilt
design that I’ve used since I was very
young.
Johnnie
Miller
Wadiyah Nelson-Shimabukuro
Born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1951
Kokoro, 2002
Shippou [seven treasures] design with
Japanese fabrics
Quilted by TigerLily
Courtesy of the artist

This quilt gives me a sense of “kokoro,”

the in between feeling that connects one
person to another, filling seemingly empty
space with personal spiritual meaning. My
late husband Craig Tosh Shimabukuro was
the inspiration behind this quilt. He was my
greatest love, supporter, and art critic. This
quilt was my gift to him on his favorite
holiday—Christmas.

I began quilting in 2000 possessing

absolutely no sewing skills. Quilting was
the key opening the door to a new world of
discovery, creativity, and love. Quilting
energizes me with fabric, color, beads,
threads, metal, stone, jewels, and symbols.
The act of quilting embodies me with a
sense of kokoro with the world.
Wadiyah Nelson-
Shimabukuro
Lynne K. Varner-Hollie
Born Stuttgart, Germany, 1962
Blue Monday, 2000
Machine pieced and machine quilted,
imported Japanese and African cottons
Courtesy of the artist

I was born blue. That’s no exaggeration. I

am drawn
to blues of any kind. The blues is my
favorite type of music. I tend toward the
melancholic, another variation of blue. Life
varies, sometimes so bright it hurts the
eyes; other times so gloomy the shade of
blue chills your fingers. I can look at this
quilt every day and find a hue to fit my
changing moods.
Lynne K. Varner-
Hollie
Brenetta Ward
Born St. Louis, Missouri, 1958
The Women before Me, 2000
Hand quilted with silk and African
and domestic cottons
Courtesy of the artist

I created this quilt as a personal altar in

memory of the important women in my
life. My mother died when I was young and
several women stepped in, each in their
own way, to care for me. They taught me
to nurture self, family and friends; to live
with faith, grace and dignity; and to honor
creativity, intelligence and style. The fabric
framing each photo represents their
individuality, their bond to each other, and
their connection to my mother. The
rainbow of fabrics in the border reflects the
diversity of their collective experiences
and celebrates their lives.
Brenetta Ward
 Challenge Quilts

One cannot be good at something and not

feel compelled to show off every now and
again. At the beginning of each year,
PNWAAQ creates a challenge quilt project
to be completed during the year. This is no
ordinary challenge. It is an opportunity to
show your stuff! Themes and dimensions
are strictly defined. Artists are free to use
any quilting technique they desire with
mad props going to those who stretch
themselves by trying new or difficult
techniques. The results of the year’s
challenge are usually hung at Festival
Sundiata at Seattle Center during the
President’s Day weekend. PNWAAQ
challenge quilts have also hung at Town
Hall in Seattle and myriad public exhibits.
Lynne K. Varner-Hollie
Patricia Batiste-Brown
Born Elmore County, Alabama, 1947
The Migration of the Negro, No. 58
from the “Challenge Quilt” Tribute to Jacob
Lawrence, 2001
Machine pieced and machine quilted
Courtesy of the artist
Deborah Boone
Born Southfield, Michigan, 1966
Jacob’s Hue from the “Challenge Quilt”
Tribute to Jacob Lawrence, 2001
Machine pieced and machine quilted
Courtesy of the artist
Iris Franklin
Born College Station, Texas, 1939
Toussaint L’Ouverture Series from the
“Challenge Quilt” Tribute to Jacob
Lawrence, 2001
Appliqué, machine pieced, and machine
quilted
Courtesy of the artist
Lynette Gallon-Harrell
Born Tampa, Florida, 1958
In His Footsteps from the “Challenge
Quilt” Tribute to Jacob Lawrence, 2001
Machine pieced and hand quilted
Courtesy of the artist
Cheryl Garcia
Born Brookhaven, Mississippi, 1956
The Migration of the Negro No. 4 from
the “Challenge Quilt” Tribute to Jacob
Lawrence, 2001
Machine pieced and hand quilted
Courtesy of the artist
Cheryl Garcia
Born Brookhaven, Mississippi, 1956
The Migration of the Negro, No.16 from
the “Challenge Quilt” Tribute to Jacob
Lawrence, 2001
Machine pieced and hand quilted
Courtesy of the artist
Cheryl Garcia
Born Brookhaven, Mississippi, 1956
The Migration of the Negro, No. 22
from the “Challenge Quilt” Tribute to Jacob
Lawrence, 2001
Machine pieced and hand quilted
Courtesy of the artist
Mary H. Johnson
Born Decatur, Mississippi, 1944
The Lovers from the “Challenge Quilt”
Tribute to Jacob Lawrence, 2001
Machine pieced and machine quilted
Courtesy of the artist
Christine Jordan-Bell
Born Newbern, Alabama, 1961
The Life of Harriet Tubman No. 4 from
the “Challenge Quilt” Tribute to Jacob
Lawrence, 2001
Machine pieced and machine quilted
Courtesy of the artist
Gwen Maxwell-Williams
Born Starkville, Mississippi, 1947
Jacob—The Artist from the “Challenge
Quilt”
Tribute to Jacob Lawrence, 2001
Appliqué, machine quilted, and mixed
media
Courtesy of the artist
Cynthia Davis-Vanloo
The Ultimate Migration from the
“Challenge Quilt” Tribute to Jacob
Lawrence, 2001
Appliqué, machine pieced, and machine
quilted
Courtesy of the artist
Deborah Boone
Born Southfield, Michigan, 1966
Woman Renewed from the “Challenge
Quilt”
Woman-Creation-Mother Earth, 2006
Appliqué, machine pieced, and machine
quilted
Courtesy of the artist
Antoinette Hall
Born Hartford, Connecticut, 1957
Creation from the “Challenge Quilt”
Woman-Creation-Mother Earth, 2006
Machine pieced and hand quilted
Courtesy of the artist
Cheryl Handy
Woman The Create-Her from the
“Challenge Quilt” Woman-Creation-Mother
Earth, 2006
Appliqué, machine pieced, and machine
quilted
Courtesy of the artist
Oneda Harris
Born Seattle, Washington, 1967
Create-Her from the “Challenge Quilt”
Woman-Creation-Mother Earth, 2006
Appliqué, machine pieced, and machine
quilted
Courtesy of the artist
Annie Harper
Born Yokohama, Japan, 1949
A Mother’s Love from the “Challenge
Quilt”
Woman-Creation-Mother Earth, 2006
Machine pieced and machine quilted
Courtesy of the artist
Cheryl Haskins
Born Fort Dix, New Jersey, 1960
Let There Be Light from the “Challenge
Quilt” Woman-Creation-Mother Earth, 2006
Appliqué, machine pieced, and machine
quilted
Courtesy of the artist
Sheila Holmes
Born Seattle, Washington, 1948
Creation from the “Challenge Quilt”
Woman-Creation-Mother Earth, 2006
Appliqué, machine pieced, and machine
quilted
Courtesy of the artist
Christine Jordan-Bell
Born Newbern, Alabama, 1961
Coretta from the “Challenge Quilt”
Woman-Creation-Mother Earth, 2006
Machine pieced, machine quilted, and
mixed media
Courtesy of the artist
Johnnie Miller
Born Haynesville, Louisiana, 1930
Woman from the “Challenge Quilt”
Woman-Creation-Mother Earth, 2006
Machine pieced, machine quilted, and hand
quilted
Courtesy of the artist
Wadiyah Nelson-Shimabukuro
Born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1951
Musha Mukadzi [The Woman is the Heart
of the Home] from the “Challenge Quilt”
Woman-Creation-Mother Earth, 2006
Machine pieced, machine quilted, and
mixed media
Courtesy of the artist
Pacific Northwest African American
Quilters
Festival Sundiata Quilt, 2006
Appliqué, machine pieced, machine
quilted, and
mixed media
Courtesy of the Pacific Northwest African
American Quilters
 Charity Quilts

One principle underscores the values of

PNWAAQ: to whom much is given, much is
required. Our members are fortunate in their
talents and privileged to practice a venerated art
form. We are duty-bound to share our gifts with
the community.

One way we accomplish this is by regularly

donating an art quilt to a non-profit, charity
fundraiser, or a person in need. Organizations
may approach us or members make requests for
their favorite charities. Then blocks are made
using agreed upon designs, fabrics, and colors.
Later the blocks are assembled into quilts and
sent with our good wishes to the recipient.
Giving feels good! Seeing where our quilts end
up is a reflection not just on our generosity but
on our talent! It is gratifying to hear that a
PNWAAQ charity quilt launched a bidding war at
an auction or that an art quilt graces the wall of
a medical facility.

We seem to grow closer when working toward a

common cause. The best example comes from a
glorious spring weekend PNWAAQ members
spent sequestered on Whidbey Island working
fast and furiously to complete a quilt for former
Seattle School District Superintendent John
Stanford. The four-star general and pride of
Seattle lay in a hospital bed battling leukemia.
We chose fabrics of deep red and blue for
strength, bright yellow for healing and sewed
them into a quilt to cover his bed. It is difficult to
look at the John Stanford quilt and not feel an
emotional tug. Love, compassion, and prayers
radiate from that quilt.
Lynne K. Varner-Hollie
Pacific Northwest African American
Quilters
John Stanford Memorial Quilt, 1998
Machine pieced and machine quilted
Private collection

OPEN ART
STUDIO
Build a Quilt in the
Open Art Studio.
Pacific Northwest African American
Quilters
Ujama, 2004
Machine pieced and machine quilted
Collection of Pacific Northwest African
American Quilters
 Sistah Quilts

In addition to being a quilting group,

PNWAAQ is a sisterhood. Like any true
sisterhood, we celebrate the milestones in
one another’s lives. One cannot be a
member of our sistah-circle and quietly get
married, welcome a first child or greet a
decade birthday.
Oh no! Whether a quilter is turning a proud
40, a wise 50 or a defiant 60-years-old, the
occasion is greeted
by a blindingly beautiful quilt that outs our
milestones to the world.

Sistah quilts are made in secrecy to keep

the recipient from thwarting our plans.
Members contribute one or more blocks
relying on either the intended’s style and
personality or their own signature patterns.
The quilt blocks are collected and on a
certain date we gather, still shrouded in
secrecy, to sew the blocks into a
magnificent symbol of our love and support
of each other.
Lynne K. Varner-Hollie
Pacific Northwest African American
Quilters
Welcome Home, 1999
Machine pieced and machine quilted
Collection of Lynne K. Varner-Hollie
Pacific Northwest African American
Quilters
Welcome Home, 1998
Machine pieced and machine quilted
Collection of Shelia Guy-Snowden
Pacific Northwest African American
Quilters
Marriage Quilt, 1998
Machine pieced and machine quilted
Collection of Lynne K. Varner-Hollie
Pacific Northwest African American
Quilters
Iris’s 60th Birthday Quilt, 1999
Machine pieced and machine quilted
Collection of Iris Franklin
Pacific Northwest African American
Quilters
Gwen’s 60th Birthday Quilt, 2007
Machine pieced and machine quilted
Collection of Gwen Maxwell-Williams
Threads That Bind: Works by Pacific
Northwest African American Quilters is a
project that could not have been
accomplished without the close
collaboration of the museum and this group
of quilters. Tacoma Art Museum is indebted
to the Pacific Northwest African American
Quilters for their help selecting work for the
exhibition and for sharing their stories, their
expertise, and their passion for quiltmaking.

In particular, we wish to thank Gwen

Maxwell-Williams and Iris Franklin for their
invaluable leadership and guidance. We are
also grateful to Lynne K. Varner-Hollie for her
work interviewing each of the quilters and
compiling this information for label texts
and additional reference materials. These
materials will serve as important
community resources for years to come.
Pacific Northwest African American
Quilters
Nkonsonkonson–In Unity, There is Strength,
2007
Mixed media, machine pieced, and machine
quilted

Courtesy of the Pacific Northwest African

American Quilters

In West African societies, particularly in the

region of Ghana, adinkra symbols are used to
represent popular proverbs and maxims, to
record historical events, and to express
particular attitudes. "Nkonsonkonson" is one of
the symbols that symbolizes the chain that links
us all and implies that ”in unity, there lies
strength." It reminds us of the universal principle
that every person's cooperation is important
for the global success of any project.

The quilters that make up the Pacific Northwest

African American Quilters come from all parts of
the world—we've migrated from the South, the
East, the North and from the West Coast. Some
have come from as far away as Germany and
other foreign ports. We've all come together with
shared goals of quilting and friendship. Our
styles and techniques are as varied as the
members of the group. Some are traditionalist,
others more contemporary in their approach;
some use bold, vibrant colors, and others tend
toward a softer palette of colors. Whatever the
flavor, it represents the heart and soul of the
quilter: and thus, that of the group.

Each member was encouraged to do a series of

panels in her style to contribute to this collective
wall hanging. The finished product is a collection
of panels that overlap and cover each other, and
are linked together to create a "sisterhood"
piece.
Donna Kimbrough
Born Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1948
Bless This Food from the “Challenge
Quilt” Tribute to Jacob Lawrence, 2001
Machine pieced and machine quilted
Courtesy of the artist