Student Spotlight: Katie Chambers

The spring semester Farm in Literature and Culture class (English 3630), taught by Rosa Thornley, studied agricultural themes in literature. For a creative project, the students were tasked with choosing an agriculture topic, relating it to their discipline. 

Katie Chambers, junior studying Equine Science with a minor in English, chose a project to connect both agriculture and folklore. Three years ago, her grandpa passed away, and Katie decided to honor his memory by creating three quilts out of his clothes, delivering one to her aunt and one to her grandma; the final one she kept to present to her class. Along with the quilts, Katie wrote a poem about the folklore of the quilts and how the memory of her grandpa lives through them. Part of the poem reads: “As for the old white shirt/With threads of gold/It is stitched into a quilt/Holding every story that was told.” 

Katie got the idea for the quilt after reading the book Stitching Love and Loss: A Gee Bend’s Quilt by Lisa Gail Collins, which was about cotton-making families crafting quilts out of old clothes. She had made a denim quilt before, but she said the process was still hard, especially because of the emotional memories the clothes brought up. Katie reflects, “I enjoyed creating something that I can use to remember my grandpa. Sewing his clothes into a quilt is the perfect way to hang on to his clothes, rather than letting them sit behind closet doors.” 

Although it was a long process, Katie noted this project was both beneficial and enjoyable, as it allowed her to understand the relationship between folklore and farming in her life. “I was very excited to incorporate one of my favorite hobbies into a final project for school,” says Katie.