Sue makes an appearance

Yesterday I spoke to our University Women's Club History group. The second Sunbonnet Sue quilt, Death Becomes Her,  has returned to Lawrence so she went along. The label on the back of the quilt says it was made by The Seamsters Union Local 925 in Lawrence, Kansas in 1997.

Several people at the history meeting remembered her last public appearance in Lawrence. Apparently she was on display in the public library, much to the consternation of some librarians.

Sue went on to frighten on an even larger stage - the Ronald Reagan Library in California. If you google sunbonnet sue reagan library, you can read all about it. Sue was on exhibit there in 1998 when she was removed for being controversial. Full of violent images, they said. Sue stabbed by scissors? Burning in a fire? Sucked up by a twister, those images?

I loved the LA Times headlines that chronicled the saga:
"Needled by Complaints of Nazism and Violence, Library Pulls 2 Quilts"
and
"Quirky Quilts Don't Leave All in Stitches"

Death Becomes Her measures 77" x 94". Each of the 20 blocks is 13" square.

If you'd like to see the well-documented first Sunbonnet Sue quilt made in 1976, check out the Quilt Index. Could it be time to make another? As the quilt historian says, disasters keep happening.....

Here's a link to the red and white quilt show that everyone is talking about. My friend Stevii went and she reports:  "...we finally got to see the red and white quilts. A once in a life time experience. Wish I could see it again. The show will never travel because it was a birthday gift for the 80 year old lady who amassed these quilts. She wanted to give a gift to the city, so the exhibit was free."