An Excerpt from Emmaline’s Federal Writer’s Project Interview

Emmaline Heard was interviewed in 1936 for the Federal Writers’ Project (FWP). Emmaline was an ex-slave at the time of this interview. As a child, she was enslaved on the Harper’s Plantation in Henry County, Georgia.

Quilting was an important part of enslaved life on cotton plantations. Slave cabins often had a quilting loom that was almost as large as a small kitchen. A loom is a device that weaves thread together to form cloth. During this time, it was manually operated using the hands and feet. People used the energy of their bodies to power and work the loom.

The loom took up a large space in Emmaline’s small cabin. There was also a large table in the center that held the quilts and cloth. The central location of the loom and the table indicate that work was the main focus of her family.

Making cloth has three main stages: carding, spinning, and weaving. Emmaline’s mother worked very hard every day to complete a certain amount of weaving and spinning. The carding was completed together and at night. Carding was something that Emmaline, her mother, and two sisters were able to sit and work on together.

For more information about creating cloth please click here

Everyone in the enslaved family was expected to work. Emmaline’s two older sisters had to have enough supplies to last each day and would begin spinning thread early each morning. The family used carding brushes at night to work raw fibers into rolls about 12 inches long and just under an inch thick.

Carding brushes at this time were wooden blocks fitted with handles and covered in short metal spikes (see photo above). They were used to remove and untangle fibers from raw materials. Emmaline’s family gathered cotton from the fields each day to use as raw materials. The fibers from cotton were short and difficult to work with.

Emmaline’s mother would work until about midnight when a loud bell would ring. This meant it was time for all of the enslaved people on the plantation to go to bed. Emmaline remembered that if she went to bed before the bell rang, she always heard the ‘humming’ of the spinning wheels.

Skirt from 1860 and worn by Lucy Lee Shirley at the same age as Emmaline

Did You Know?

This quilt from the National Museum of African American History & Culture has several symbols. It has diamonds, circles, and crosses. These symbols are usually associated with religion and protection. Many of these meanings were not written down. Instead, they were passed down through oral tradition to preserve their family or community history while keeping the symbols' true meaning hidden as a means of protection.

This cross-curricular quilting activity is aligned with math and visual arts standards for kindergarten, first, and second grades. This activity guides students in experimenting with shapes, exploring spatial relationships, and connecting with history through art. The development of fine motor skills is an additional benefit for students who participate in this activity. Students will identify, draw, and cut triangles from construction paper. Students will conjoin pairs of those triangles to create the squares for their quilt. After arranging their quilt squares to artistically fill their poster board, they will glue the squares and then decorate them with meaningful symbols.

This activity guides students in making connections between themselves and enslaved artists. Students are encouraged to incorporate symbols that have meaning to them, just as enslaved quilters sewed meaningful or coded symbols into their quilts. Common household items are required for this activity to support home or classroom learning.

Activity Steps

Step 1: Use your ruler or protractor to draw triangles on construction paper (see example). Triangles are closed shapes with three sides. For this activity, you will draw isosceles triangles. Isosceles triangles have two sides of the same length. You can use any measurements you like. For a full-sized poster, 4.5x4.5x6.5-inch triangles are recommended.

If you are using a full-sized poster, you will need at least five pieces of construction paper. If you cut eight triangles from each piece of paper, you will end up with 40 triangles.

Step 2: Use your scissors to cut the triangles you just finished drawing. Be very careful when using scissors, and make sure an adult is present to supervise this step.

Step 5: Wait about 15 minutes or until the glue is dry to complete this step. Once the glue is dry, you are ready to finish decorating your quilt. Enslaved people often used patterns on their quilts to send secret messages. These messages allowed enslaved people to communicate with people who wanted to help them to escape from slavery. Check out the Underground Railroad Quilt Codes page to learn about the patterns and their hidden meanings. Select a pattern from the quilt codes page to use on your quilt! Once you have decided on the pattern or patterns that you want to use, use markers or crayons to draw them on your quilt. **Hint: you can print out the quilt codes for tracing!

Step 6: As an artist, you should sign your quilt! You can sign it anywhere you like. Many artists sign the bottom right corner of their artwork.

Kindergarten: Math and Visual Arts

• MGSEK.G.5 Model shapes in the world by building shapes from components (e.g., sticks and clay balls) and drawing shapes.

• MGSEK.G.6 Compose simple shapes to form larger shapes.

• VAK.CR.1 Engage in the creative process to generate and visualize ideas by using subject matter and symbols to communicate meaning.

  b. Produce visual images using observation, experience, and imagination using a variety of art materials.

• VAK.CR.3 Understand and apply media, techniques, and processes of two-dimensional art.

  a. Attempt to fill the space in art composition.

  e. Develop manual dexterity to develop fine motor skills.

• VAK.PR.1 Participate in the appropriate exhibition(s) of works of art to develop an identity of self as an artist.

  a. Complete works of art.

  b. Sign a finished work of art.

• VAK.CN.1 Investigate and discover the personal relationships of artists to community, culture, and the world through making and studying art.

  a. Recognize self as an artist.

  b. Recognize the unique contributions of contemporary and/or historical artists and art forms, including Georgia artists.

  c. Discuss art from a variety of eras and world cultures.

First Grade: Math and Visual Arts

• MGSE1.G.1 Distinguish between defining attributes (e.g., triangles are closed and three-sided) versus non-defining attributes (e.g., color, orientation, overall size); build and draw shapes to possess defining attributes.

• MGSE1.G.2 Compose two-dimensional shapes (rectangles, squares, trapezoids, triangles, half-circles, and quarter-circles) or three-dimensional shapes (cubes, right rectangular prisms, right circular cones, and right circular cylinders) to create composite shape, and compose new shapes from the composite shape.

• VA1.CR.1 Engage in the creative process to generate and visualize ideas by using subject matter and symbols to communicate meaning.

  b. Generate visual images in response to open-ended prompts, themes, and narratives.

• VA1.CR.2 Create works of art based on selected themes.

  b. Create works of art that attempt to fill the space in art composition.

• VA1.CR.3 Understand and apply media, techniques, and processes of two-dimensional art.

  c. Develop manual dexterity through craft techniques (e.g. collage, stitchery, weaving).

  e. Explore spatial relationships.

• VA1.CN.1 Investigate and discover the personal relationships of artists to community, culture, and the world through making and studying art.

  a. Recognize the unique contributions of contemporary and/or historical art forms, including Georgia artists.

Second Grade: Math and Visual Arts

• MGSE2.G.1 Recognize and draw shapes having specified attributes, such as a given number of angles or a given number of equal faces. Identify triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons, and cubes.

• VA2.CR.1 Engage in the creative process to generate and visualize ideas by using subject matter and symbols to communicate meaning.

  b. Produce visual images in response to open-ended prompts, themes, and narratives.

• VA2.CR.2 Create works of art based on selected themes.

  a. Create works of art to express individual ideas, thoughts, and feelings from memory, imagination, and observation.

• VA2.CR.3 Understand and apply media, techniques, and processes of two-dimensional art.

  c. Create art using basic spatial concepts (e.g. overlapping, horizon line, size)

• VA2.PR.1 Participate in the appropriate exhibition(s) of works of art to develop an identity of self as an artist.

  a. Sign a finished work of art.

• VA2.CN.1 Investigate and discover the personal relationships of artists to community, culture, and the world through making and studying art.

  a. Recognize the unique contributions of contemporary and/or historical art forms, including Georgia artists.