Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- "American Seams," a documentary about rural quilters, has been nominated for an Emmy.
- Director Carly Jakins was inspired by her grandmother's quilting passion and legacy.
- The film highlights quilters' roles as cultural keepers and their personal stories.
FOUNTAIN GREEN, Sanpete County — A documentary about rural quilters made by a filmmaker in Sanpete County is nominated for an Emmy.
"My grandmother was an avid quilter. I have memories of her sunroom crowded with piles of fabric, antique sewing machines and talk of her ongoing projects and quilting groups," director Carly Jakins said.
She wanted to capture her grandmother's passion for the practice, but she died in 2023. So the idea for "American Seams" was born as a way to explore her grandmother's legacy in her own life, Jakins said.
"American Seams" features three quilters who live in the rural Intermountain West who each have different reasons for quilting. The film honors strong women through highlighting the mental and technical work of quilting all while creating an emotional experience for viewers.
Almost everyone knows a quilter, but the experience of being a quilter often gets undermined, Jakins said. The handicraft has been around for so long that many use handmade quilts without even realizing the effort and story behind them.
"These women carry a matriarchal responsibility as keepers of people, land and culture. They developed their art through the metamorphosis of motherhood and domestic responsibilities and use quilting to support their survival," Jakins said.
One of the women featured in the 17-minute short film was Jakins' neighbor Brenda Bailey, who lives in the rural small town of Fountain Green.
About two years ago, Jakins and her filmmaking partner and husband, Jared, spent two weeks recording Bailey quilting and asking her questions about her inspiration. Bailey was hesitant about being on camera, but eventually agreed and said it was a fun experience.
"I want to stay out of the spotlight as much as possible; that's the kind of person I am. So this is just out of my element, but I think it's neat to tell the stories," she said.
Bailey has always loved fabric and as a little girl would play with the sewing scrap bags from her mother and grandmother. She made her first quilt in high school after finding a pattern in her grandmother's scrap bag; turns out that pattern was one her grandmother's grandmother had made.
She wanted to study math in school, but her counselor told her, "Girls don't do math." So Bailey instead went into home economics. Now, at 75 years old, Bailey uses math daily in quilting.
She created a six-week quilting basics class that she taught dozens of students over the years. She started publishing patterns and opened a pattern company with her daughter in 2006.
With 33 grandkids who get a quilt from grandma when they're born, when they graduate and get married, Bailey has several projects to keep her busy at a time.
In the last decade, however, she hasn't been able to do as much quilting as she has been the full-time caretaker for her husband, who was paralyzed from a neck injury. Quilting has become an escape for her and is something she does for herself.
"It's very refreshing, almost, to have something like that, that I can do rather than just sit around and feel sorry for myself. Because I don't. I don't feel sorry for myself at all because I am able to create, and it's a good feeling to do that," she said in the documentary.
The other quilters featured include a woman from the Navajo Nation who quilts to tell stories of and honors her ancestors and a woman from Colorado who grows plants to dye her fabrics.
"As each woman has a different approach to quilting, each vignette has its own style, as well. The importance of interior and exterior places, the motif of hands and the denouement of quilt portraits create a visual story of what it means to me to be a woman in the contemporary American West," Jakins said.
Bailey said the Jakins were so kind and helpful in making the documentary a positive experience for her and she thinks what they created was "amazing."
"I've had people tell me they watched it and it was almost spiritual for them — it touched their spirits because of the reasons that we each did it," she said."The way (they) filmed it and put it together, makes you really feel something and I think that's why it has resonated with people."
"American Seams" broadcast nationally on PBS in 2024 and Jakins said she is grateful it was distributed through public media which she hopes will be able to continue despite losing federal funding.
The documentary was recently nominated for an Emmy for outstanding lighting direction, which Jakins said is an honor.
"It is validating to my work as a filmmaker, and makes me feel immense gratitude that there is reception to the stories that Jared and I are choosing to tell. A film isn't made on its own, though — we had a lot of support along the way," she said.
