Hallelujah! Finally, Free As a Bird!

“Hallelujah! Finally Free as a Bird!” was created specifically so that I could participate in my city’s first annual Juneteenth celebration. The City of South Fulton made Juneteenth a holiday in my city last year. Many activities will take place starting June 15, 2021 but in my mind the highlight of the celebration is “Freedom Quilts,” an exhibit that will run from June 17 - July 9 at the Southwest Arts Center located at 915 New Hope road SW, Atlanta, GA 30331. “Hallelujah! Finally Free as a Bird!” will be part of that exhibit, along with my quilt “Strength and Grace.”

“Hallelujah! Finally Free as a Bird!” is a vertical row by row fused applique quilt. The first panel says “I followed Harriet”. The second panel declares former slaves “Free as a Bird”. The third panel shows former slaves dancing. Finally, the last panel says “Juneteenth”.

Once the panels were made, I ended the quilt with cotton fields on the bottom of the quilt. Hallelujah! Finally Free as a Bird!  was quilted by my friend Maxine Moore on her long arm. After the quilt was quilted, I added rhinestone crystals on the background so that the quilt will catch the light when it is exhibited. It was the background fabric that inspired the quilt. A close look reveals that the word “Hallelujah” is printed on the fabric.

The bird houses are embellished with yo-yo-s and beading attached by hand. The cotton was glued on by hand. Musical notes were added to give a sense of celebration.

The back of the fabric is a gray cotton print. There is a hanging sleeve for easy display and a label that documents the quilt. 

I signed it on the front. This quilt is one-of-a-kind.