Customer Reviews

Martha Mitchell of Possum Walk Road: Texas Quiltmaker

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For anyone interested in quilt history or the history of quilters, this is a terrific book. Its focus is on an (in)famous Texas quilter named Martha Mitchell, who lived in Huntsville Texas, after 'emigrating' from Kentucky in 1939. The book is interspered with 'Martha-isms' that are both charming, witty, oldfashioned, yet surprisingly 'modern.' The book skips easily over time and place, sometimes discussing her background and childhood, and other times, her marriage, career and rebelliousness towards some of the expected womanly behaviors of the time. She was a naturally feisty woman, who only became moreso in her old age. The best part of the book, though, is the photography. In addition to photos of Martha at various stages in her life, it also includes over 30 full color photos of her quilts. Many are close enough to see her quilting stitches, and some include her beautiful hands as she worked on her quilts. This is a most charming book about a singularly charming woman. I heartily recommend it. As an aside, PBS did a documentary on Martha in 1985, which is still available on videotape.

Interesting story, her first quilt at age 9 while living in Kentucky, in her lifetime she made over a 100 quilts, over 40 color pictures, and many black and white, also details the so called woman,s place such as her husband did not want her to wear bright colors, etc. in Kentucky all the civil service jobs at that time went to men, when she moved to Texas , she was able to go to work right away. The pictures, tell the story more as well as the text. The quilts are mostly traditional patterns, she had a very creative touch.

I am one of those lucky people who actually new Martha and learned to quilt from her. When she was featured on "The Eyes of Texas" at the Sam Houston Memorial Museum in Huntsville, I sat with Martha for an impromptu quilting bee. She was a delightfully funny person and was so generous with her time and talents. The author, Melvin Mason, genuinely cared about Martha and has depicted her accurately. This book is well worth the read and is a must-have for any quilter's library.