Lola Pettway facts for kids

Lola Pettway, born in 1941, is an American artist. She is famous for being part of the Gee's Bend quilting group. Her mother, Allie Pettway, was also a quilter in this group. Lola's beautiful quilts have been shown in big museums. These include the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Frist Art Museum. Her art is also part of the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Lola's Early Life

Lola Pettway grew up in a family of talented quilters. Her grandmother, Henrietta Pettway, and her mother, Allie Pettway, were both well-known for their quilting skills. Her father was John the Baptist Pettway.

Lola was one of many children in her family. She had nine sisters and four brothers. From a young age, Lola learned to help with family chores. She started cooking when she was nine years old. By the time she was ten, she was working in the fields. Around the same age, she also began learning to quilt. Lola was very determined and competitive. She once said that if her older brother, Ebenezer, picked two hundred pounds of cotton, she would pick two hundred pounds too!

Lola later married and had twelve children.

How Lola Made Quilts

Lola Pettway enjoyed the active parts of making a quilt. She liked the actual quilting process more than piecing the fabric together. Piecing involves sewing small fabric pieces to create the quilt top. Quilting is when you sew through all the layers to hold them together.

She remembered how much effort it took to finish a quilt. Quilters often used large frames to hold the quilt layers. Lola explained that they had to use four frames. They would hang these frames in the loft of their home. She found the process of preparing the cotton for the quilt very tiring. This involved beating the cotton to spread it out evenly. Then, they would attach it to the frame.

Lola preferred the physical work of quilting. She said she didn't like sitting down for too long. Both piecing and quilting require a lot of sitting.