Surviving the Winter

Dorothy Zopf was not planning to start a new career when she and her husband moved to a village in northern New Mexico. But with the completion of their hand-made adobe house and her children and grandchildren far away, she welcomed the opportunity to join a group of quilters at La Iglesia de la Santisima Trinidad in Arroyo Seco. Sharing lunches, scraps of material, and stories led Zopf to begin collecting pictures of quilts from small towns across the state. Gradually she developed a questionnaire for documenting patterns and techniques and compiled a photo log of the quilts. Now Zopf presents the quilts, their histories, and the stories she collected at senior and community centres around New Mexico. She surveys the blending of Hispano and Anglo-American fibre arts. Northern New Mexico was a wool and weaving culture, where women adapted and assimilated the piecing and quilting techniques brought by Anglo-American immigrants during territorial days. Working in isolation or in small families and communities, they made utilitarian quilts that were also works of folk art.
The quilts documented here range from the 'old style' quilts, characterised by vertical strips of random lengths and widths, to formal patterns such as Log Cabin and Wedding Ring, to experimental wall hangings. Using materials ranging from old serapes to used clothing, flour sacks, tobacco bags, and commercial fabrics, the women of New Mexico have used their frugality, ingenuity, and creativity to create an enduring legacy.