by generating income and opportunities for members of their community.

Many of the quilt “tops” are the work of one craftsperson, while others are a collaborative effort. Some feature block designs, while others are stripped together. Once the tops are completed, almost all of the complete quilts themselves are quilted together by the women who have been working together for decades.

“Why don’t we try making it together and see what happens?”

“You going to cut it out?”

“You going to sew it?”

“Yes!”

That’s Geraldine Nash talking to Gustina Atlas about the possibility of making a particularly difficult quilt together. Sometimes they work on their quilts individually, but collaboration is a major part of their creative process.

Gustina Atlas was born in Claiborne County and has lived there all of her life. Her mother and all of the women in their neighborhood would quilt, but she did not take an interest in it as a child. She left Port Gibson to attend college, but returned to teach mathematics at the local high school. She retired in 1993 after 31 years of teaching and soon became involved with quilting at Mississippi Cultural Crossroads. She was taught to quilt by master quilter Hystercine Rankin and soon began creating her own award-winning quilts. With fellow Crossroads Quilter Geraldine Nash, Atlas has been very active in teaching quilting to different groups in a variety of locations throughout the state, including at schools, museums, and correctional facilities. She has served as a master artist in the Mississippi Arts Commission's Folk Art Apprenticeship Program and 1998 she was the recipient of the Susan B. Herron Fellowship award. Atlas is always eager to create new and unique quilts. Her uniquely designed quilts have been regular winners at the annual "Pieces and Strings" quilt contest in Port Gibson.