My Mother Pieced Quilts
Teresa Palomo Acosta
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they were just meant as covers
in winters
as weapons
against pounding january winds
but it was just that every morning I awoke to these
october ripened canvases
passed my hand across their cloth faces
and began to wonder how you pieced
all these together
these strips of gentle communion cotton and flannel nightgowns
wedding organdies
dime store velvets
how you shaped patterns square and oblong and round
positioned
balanced
then cemented them
with your thread
a steel needle
a thimble
how the thread darted in and out
galloping along the frayed edges, tucking them in
as you did us at night
oh how you stretched and turned and re-arranged
your michigan spring faded curtain pieces
my father’s sante fe work shirt
the summer denims, the tweeds of fall
in the evening you sat at your canvas
--our cracked linoleum floor the drawing board
me lounging on your arm
and you staking out the plan:
whether to put the lilac purple of easter against the red
plaid of winter-going-
into-spring
whether to mix a yellow with blue and white and paint the
corpus christi noon when my father held your hand
whether to shape a five-point star from the
somber black silk you wore to grandmother’s funeral
you were the river current
carrying the roaring notes
forming them into pictures of a little boy reclining
a swallow flying
you were the caravan master at the reins
driving your threaded needle artillery across the mosaic
cloth bridges
delivering yourself in separate testimonies
oh mother you plunged me sobbing and laughing
into our past
into the river crossing at five
into the spinach fields
into the plainview cotton rows
into tuberculosis wards
into braids and muslin dresses
sewn hard and taut to withstand the thrashing of
twenty-five years
stretched out they lay
armed/ready/shouting/celebrating
knotted with love
the quilts sing on
Assignment
Mr. Platt
English III
We are going to construct a class quilt to help build our classroom community. The quilt will consist of each of your quilt pieces, which you will create and share with the class. Your unique piece will contribute to our community quilt, symbolizing the unity bond we will enjoy in this class.
I will provide you with a blank quilt piece, and you will do the rest. Your quilt piece should include the following things:
1) Your name
2) One sentence which describes your philosophy on life
3) A symbol that represents your philosophy
4) Major accomplishments or something you are proud of
5) Talents, hobbies, and/or favorite pastime
6) Important people in your life
7) Things you hold dear, such as pets, teams, clubs, etc.
You may use any material that you like, including computer graphics, photos, magazine cutouts, illustrations, awards, etc. Be thoughtful and original, but most of all, have fun with your piece!
Be prepared to share your piece with the class.