Written in Thread: Arizona Women’s History Preserved in Their Quilts

Join Stevenson as she traces Arizona history through women who recorded pieces of their lives in their needlework.  Beginning with 1860s Mexican women, through 1990s Hopi women, this presentation introduces women who pioneered Arizona through quilts they stitched. Some of the women featured are Atanacia Santa Cruz Hughes, Tucson; Viola Slaughter, Southeastern Arizona; Alice Gillette Haught, Payson; Mary Smith Lawler, Prescott; Ruth Woolf Jordan, Tempe/Sedona; Sedona Schnebly, Sedona; Rose Livingston, Yuma; and Emma Andres, Prescott. The colorful patterns of women’s quilts added a spot of brightness to their homes and their lives.  They also celebrated and recorded special events with their quilts.

Pam Knight Stevenson has been involved in researching and writing about Arizona history for more than 30 years. A native of Los Angeles, she earned a history degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and moved to Arizona in 1972. She served as Managing Editor of the Phoenix CBS TV news department and as Manager of Production for KAET-TV, the Phoenix PBS station. She has conducted hundreds of oral history interviews, including Arizona Historymakers; journalists; quilters; Harvey Girls; and Navajo Code Talkers. Focusing on women’s history, Stevenson co-authored the books, Grand Endeavors: Vintage Arizona Quilts and Their Makers and Skirting Traditions: Arizona Women Writers & Journalists 1912–2012.