Gladys-Marie Fry (1931–2015)

Stitched from the Soul: Slave Quilts from the Antebellum South contains some wonderful photos, but the author's scholarship has been questioned by several quilt historians. Fry is a folklorist, with no particular background in the history of quilts or textiles, and she appears to have accepted family stories as fact without further investigation. Dates assigned to some of the quilts do not appear credible, based on the fabrics and the block patterns used.

For a quilt historian's perspective on the problematic issues with this book, see Leigh Fellner's discussion at Hart Cottage Quilts. This article is part of a lengthy treatise titled Betsy Ross redux: the Underground Railroad "Quilt Code", in which Fellner discusses the even more problematic "quilt history" book, Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad, which purports to reveal a secret "quilt code" that was used to guide escaping slaves on the Underground Railroad.… (mehr)