Rural Development Leadership Network – Rural Development Leadership Network
Auction Ends: Nov 30, 2011 11:59 PM EST

Crafts/Handmade

Rural Development Leadership Network Canvas Bag

Item Number
113
Estimated Value
15 USD
Opening Bid
10 USD

Item Description

Made by: Freedom Quilting Bee
Contributed by:  Rural Development Leadership Network
Dimensions: Approximately 13”x 13”x 13”

This conference bag was custom-made by the Freedom Quilting Bee for the Rural Development Leadership Network and silk-screened onto a canvas bag. The Freedom Quilting Bee, which operates as a cooperative, was established in 1966 by a group of African- American women, with the help of the Episcopal Church and many other organizations during the civil rights movement when local people lost work on farms after registering to vote and the women put their skills to use in earning family income. 

The Freedom Quilting Bee is heralded for having led a renaissance of quilts in American interior décor in the 1960s. This cooperative became the largest private employer in Alberta, Alabama. The group's products include various sizes of quilts (Grandmother's Dream, Bear Claw, Grandmother's Choice and Coat of Many Colors), potholders, aprons, place mats and napkins.  RDLN graduate Alice Paris, now of the Tuskegee Institute, has worked closely with the Bee, which was part of RDLN’s Rural Women’s Product Development & Marketing Venture.  Its products are for sale through RDLN’s website at http://www.ruraldevelopment.org/FQBIndex.html

Photos show FQB manager Rennie Miller (l) with her mother, the late Nettie Young, one of the Bee's early quilters, and Bee members working on quilt for the Hitachi Foundation to present to its retiring chairman Eliot Richardson during RDLN's Rural Women's Project Development and Marketing Venture, which Hitachi supported.

On the right is a photo of Shirley Sherrod, RDLN graduate and former vice chair of RDLN's Board.  New Communities, co-founded by Shirley and her husband Charles, has made a generous contribution to RDLN. 

 

Item Special Note

Bidder is responsible for a Shipping and Handling fee of $6.50, which will be added to the winning bid amount. Items will be shipped via US Postal Service or FedEX Ground. Please note that an extra charge will be added for especially large items and/or international addresses. 

 

 

Donated By:

Rural Development Leadership Network, a vibrant network of community builders and activists

Rural Development Leadership Network, a vibrant network of community builders and activists