Refract: An Open Access Visual Studies Journal

Stitched together, Grandmother’s Garden is an experimental documentary that examines women who quilt as well as quilting’s history in the United States. Questioning representations of the American woman, Grandmother’s Garden looks at how quilting practices work against and fit into traditional narratives of race, gender, and class. From quilts produced by enslaved individuals to feed sack quilts in the Great Depression, to newly retired baby boomers quilting in the present, this film considers America’s history and economy as it runs adjacent to quilting.