Today We Rest From Our Labors

A farmwoman in house dress outside, with quilt she made hanging next to her from a clothesline.

Mrs Bill Stagg of Pie Town, New Mexico, standing next to her quilt of the States, October 1940

Image from this source


Our works merit celebration.
Happy Labor Day

 

6 responses

  1. What a beautiful and inspiring photograph…the American, family-made or woman-made quilt is an all-embracing symbol of human richness, accomplishment and freedom. I remember my own Granma’s quilts in my dad’s home in Old Monterrey, Mexico…Thank you Susan and Friends!

    God bless the United States of America!!

    • Claudio–Isn’t it a remarkable picture? I think many of us had grandmothers who made quilts–the labor that went into them is something very few of us could fathom now. Each quilt was the result of a sort of “saving”–the saving of scraps from other sewing projects, until there was enough to make a quilt. Many people toil at similar projects, producing works that are all too unsung. Today is a day to remember them and rejoice!

      Thank you for writing in and sharing your memories,
      Take care,
      Susan

    • I am glad to see candidates who are out with the voters. Citizens are tired of campaigns mediated by television, consultants, and big budgets–ordinary people want to see leaders who are authentic and ready to give of themselves. This is how I understand the popularity of Bernie Sanders. He is open, knows what his views are, and isn’t afraid of what expressing them may cost.

      Hillary does not have the fire in her belly; and, like her husband during the Lewinsky affair, doesn’t seem to realize that, with respect to the email issue, she needs to come out with an exhaustive narrative and accounting. She needs to make a full defense of why she arranged her correspondence as she did, underscoring that it was permitted and most important that NO HARM WAS DONE. The issue is essentially completely silly, since once Hillary made the decision not to have two separate email accounts, she saw that the tech was handled responsibly. There isn’t any evidence that her email was hacked or compromised. But in order to lay the issue, she needs to deal with it exhaustively now.
      That done, she needs to stay in one place and take all comers who want to engage with her. She does not have the stamina to go out stumping like a much younger person, nor should she have to. But she is just not exhibiting the drive and passion on issues that many Americans hope to see. There are so many festering issues that people are fed up with–this frustration is driving voters to the outlying candidates. . . .

      I have not read up on Bernie Sanders’ views, but I am not surprised that voters are responding to a candidate whose style is spontaneous and unfettered.

      Thank you Bill–are you a Sanders man?

  2. Nice historical photo as all of yours are ! The quilt is fun to look at but I also took notice of the very simple looking house in the background, the sandy road that leads to the house, and the very tired-looking picket gate to the house and the rest of the fencing around the home. The quilt maker looks proud.

    • This is one of a series of photographs that Russell Lee took in Pie Town, New Mexico. The inhabitants were homesteaders, trying to make a go of it by farming in that tough portion of the Southwest. Most worked pretty hard just to make ends meet.
      They had chosen to claim the land, even though it wasn’t good for much. Perhaps they had no other prospects.
      Thank you, Sam.
      Susan

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