Join Janneken Smucker, author of A New Deal for Quilts, for a presentation and discussion full of period images and pictures of 1930s quilts. During the Roosevelt Administration’s response to the Great Depression, federal programs and grassroots quiltmakers alike turned to quilts and quiltmaking to alleviate the struggles of the economic downturn. In governmental planned communities like Granger Homesteads, Iowa, women made quilts as a form of socializing and mutual aid. Works Progress Administration sewing rooms and handicraft projects produced quilts for needy families and state institutions like hospitals and nursery schools. And quiltmakers crafted objects that expressed their hopes, dreams, and loyalties toward New Deal programs.
The Iowa History 101 webinars share Iowa stories and the history of the state through a cultural history lens on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month. Registration is required for each event and to receive a link to the recorded program.