Mrs. Banks: Quilts and the Power of Women’s Voices
International Women’s Day is a time to celebrate the women who fought for the rights we have today. Just like quilting, this fight is still about patience, persistence, and coming together to create something lasting.
Mrs. Banks and the Suffragettes
If you’ve ever watched Mary Poppins, you might remember Mrs. Banks, the cheerful mother who marches around singing about votes for women. While her character was lighthearted, the real suffragettes she represented faced serious challenges. Women still face these challenges to being seen as unique and valuable. Women like Emmeline Pankhurst in Britain, Sojourner Truth, and Susan B. Anthony, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg push for change, often at great personal cost. While the law may say we are protected, we endure daily challenges that are unique to our gender—equal pay and reproductive autonomy spring to mind. But there’s even more insidious ways we are dismissed and diminished. For example, although car crash test dummies have been around since the 1930s, the first crash test dummy based on the female body wasn’t developed until 2022.
Quilts as a Symbol of Strength
For generations, women have used quilts to tell stories, mark history, and even support causes. During the suffrage movement, some women sewed banners and flags with bold messages demanding the right to vote. Today, quilting still connects us, reminding us that individual pieces—just like individual voices—can come together to create something powerful. But even here we’re still facing challenges—as the recent incident about censorship of multiple politically inspired pieces by AQS demonstrates. We stand with the pieces’ sponsor, the Studio Art Quilts Associates, in their statement in response to AQS actions.
Why Voting Still Matters
The fight for voting rights (and other women’s rights) didn’t end with the suffragettes. Women before us made sure we could cast our ballots, and it’s up to us to carry our impact forward. Just like quilting, democracy thrives when people participate. Every vote is a stitch in the larger fabric of our society.
For the 2024 election, I created a piece very meaningful to me: Mrs. Banks (2024). It features a variation of my Commando Quilting technique that I call Fractured Appliqué. This style symbolizes the broken but still powerful journey toward equality and progress. Join me in quilting a Mrs. Banks (2024) project, and let your voice be heard through your quilting!
Bringing It Home: Quilting and Community
Quilts and quilting groups have long been places of conversation, support, and activism. Whether you quilt solo or with a group, there’s a special kind of magic when hands come together to create something deeply meaningful. This International Women’s Day, consider reflecting on the strong women—past and present—who shaped our world. Maybe even stitch Mrs. Banks in their honor.
So, what’s your next project? Maybe it’s Mrs. Banks or your own design inspired by the colors of the suffrage movement—purple, white, and gold—or maybe it’s simply using your voice where it counts. Either way, your contribution matters.