Rita’s Quilt

If you would like your faith in humanity restored, hang out here.

On September 7, 2019, I stumbled upon an unfinished quilt at an estate sale in Mt. Prospect, IL. I bought it with the intention of finishing it to ensure the soul of the original artist could rest in craft peace. Little did I know what I was getting myself into.

Here’s some of the backstory:

Would you prefer to read an article?

I suggest the BBC, Atlas Obscura, The Chicago Tribune, or Chicago Magazine

Perhaps you would rather just listen?

NPR - All Things Considered is a good one

Great! Now that you have the story, I want to introduce you to the artists and volunteers that participated in making this quilt a reality.

In order of appearance…

The Embroidery Artists…

The Washers, Blockers, Cutters, and Mappers

The Hand-piecers

The Quilters + Binders

Sarah Evans - Lead + Long Arm Quilter

Emily Becker Bruzzini

Lauren Krause

The Tiny Quilt

I am 60% optimist and 40% realist. When working on any sort of community project, I always have at least 10 backup plans. Life happens, things get lost in the mail, people ghost. That's just part of the fun unknown of a community project.

As the piecing party deadline approached, I was still waiting on 2 states and several stars to arrive. I put my backup plans into action and asked a friend to stitch a backup Wisconsin and I stitched a backup New Mexico. Additionally, I asked my dad, my aunt, a work colleague, a friend, and one of the stitchers who was staying with me, to stitch stars.

The day before the piecing party, Wisconsin, New Mexico, and 2 stars arrived. While there was no need for the backup states or a few of the additional stars, they are very much a part of this story and therefore, they have been turned into a mini-quilt to accompany Rita's Quilt.

Diane Knoepke - WisconsinShannon Downey - New MexicoSarah Tafelsky - Top StarEstrellita Longorio - Bottom StarSarah Evans - Quilting — Diane Knoepke - Wisconsin
Shannon Downey - New Mexico
Sarah Tafelsky - Top Star
Estrellita Longorio - Bottom Star
Sarah Evans - Quilting

On Display

Rita’s Quilt was completed on December 20th at 11:59pm and was on display the following afternoon at Woman Made Gallery in Chicago for a 3-hour pop up exhibit. The exhibit included an installation of Badass Herstory art pieces and my, “It’s Nice to Meet Me” installation. It was an AWESOME afternoon.

I need to shout out my installation crew who hustled their asses off to get that show up in under 3 hours > Jenille Ramos, Mark Germain, Annette Lesak, and Norah Kilpatrick. And my deepest gratitude to the Woman Made Gallery staff and board who made this pop-up a reality. Lastly, thank you to all the folks who were there at the end and just jumped in and helped us take down the show in 30 minutes! Humans are awesome.

The National Quilt Museum Exhibit

On March 7, 2020, twenty-three of the artists that worked on the quilt traveled with friends and family to Paducah, KY, to meet and be a part of the opening of the Rita’s Quilt exhibit at the National Quilt Museum.

The quilt was on display at the National Quilt Museum through early September 2020.

You can watch the entire opening event here.

The Quilt On Tour

The quilt has now joined me on my tour of the United States. I will bring the quilt to as many of the folks who worked on it as possible. It is available for pop-up shows and as part of any talk or workshop that I host.

Please reach out to make plans!

About Rita Smith

I have been able to chat with one of Rita’s sons and he shared these photographs of his mom with us. He described his mom as, “a woman of her times; a child of the Depression. She did all sorts of crafty – thrifty and useful - things, in addition to needlepoint and quilting. She could knit. She could bake. She could sew. She could refinish furniture. Paint a room. Stain an exterior wall. Garden. And sing in the choir.”

He also shared that, “Mom belonged to a neighborhood sewing club in the 1950’s and 60’s. It provided her with an important connection to others who shared similar interests and concerns. I see strong parallels to what you do with your needle network. I see Rita’s Quilt as the kind of feel-good story people need these days. It acknowledges a talented person. A simple woman as a positive role model. It also shows how many different people can come together to finish a project. And, the product of the finished project is drop-dead gorgeous.”

Mom would be so happy and so proud! And, probably a little embarrassed by all the fuss over a project she failed to complete. She’d protest that what she did wasn’t all that extraordinary. Lots of women have done much better stitching.”

“She was unique. Truly, one of a kind. Her quilt remains as a reminder of her.”

I’m not crying — YOU are.

This project meant something different to everyone.

For me, this was an act of feminist resistance. It was a way of demanding that the world stop to appreciate the artistry of a woman we never met - for all the women who have been creating beautiful and loving works of art in fiber since the beginning of time.

It was meant to encourage people to consider (or reconsider) the value that they place on the art artifacts in their lives that their maternal elders and ancestors created.

Thank you to everyone who took this journey. My belief in humanity is pretty damn strong right now.

Update: I went back on the Kelly Clarkson Show to give an update on the project.