Mrs. Bill Stagg's Quilt
by Patricia Cummings
Russell Lee (1903-1986), photographer
Caption and photo from vintage photo file, Library of Congress.
Mrs. Bill Stagg with state quilt that she made, Pie Town, New Mexico. A community settled by about 200 migrant Texas and Oklahoma farmers who filed homestead claims ... Mrs. Stagg helps her husband in the field with plowing, planting, weeding corn and harvesting beans. She quilts while she rests during the noon hour. Photo taken October 1940.
No First Name
Mrs. Stagg, who is not even identified by her first name, was a true farmer's wife. The use of her husband's first name, instead of her own name, may seem archaic to the modern woman of today.
Apparently, her idea of "resting" was to quilt. When one looks at this quilt that celebrates the birds of each state, one wonders how long it may have taken her to embroider each of the blocks of this bed size quilt. It's difficult to determine from the photo, but this quilt may have been a Ruby McKim pattern, a designer who created a series of Bird designs for Outline Stitch embroidery, and publishes them in a syndicated newspaper column.
Color Palette Arid
Notice that the quilter's color palette is not much different from the terrain where she lived in New Mexico, the color of sand and a blue-green. She appears to be very proud of her creation.
A Photo Does Not Tell it All
Seeing this photo, we wonder where the quilt is now, or if it was used up and thrown away. We would like to know more about the quilter. How old was she when she made the quilt? Did she live in Pie Town all of her life? How much land did the couple farm? Did she have children? So many questions are unanswered by a mere photo, yet, it is a starting point for more inquiry.
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Copyright 2008. Patricia Cummings, Quilter's Muse Publications, Concord, NH. All text reserved. Write to: pat@quiltersmuse.com