“Keepers of People”: Emmy-nominated Utahn's documentary emphasizes the rural west by quilter

Fountain Green, Sanpete County – A documentary about rural quilts by a filmmaker in Sanpete County is nominated for an Emmy.

“My grandmother was an enthusiastic quilter. I have memories of her winter garden, which was overcrowded with a cluster, ancient sewing machines and was spoken by her ongoing projects and quilt groups,” said director Carly Jakins.

She wanted to capture her grandmother's passion for practice, but she died in 2023. So the idea for “American seams” was born to explore her grandmother's legacy in her own life, said Jakins.

“American seams” shows three quilts who live in rural intermountain West, each of which has different reasons for quilting. The film honors strong women by emphasizing the mental and technical work of the quilt and at the same time creating an emotional experience for the audience.

Almost everyone knows a quilter, but the experience of being a quilter is often undermined, said Jakins. The craft has been around so long that many handmade quilts use without recognizing the efforts and history behind it.

“These women bear a matriarchalistic responsibility as the preserving of people, country and culture. They developed their art through the metamorphosis of motherhood and domestic responsibility and benefits to support their survival,” said Jakins.

One of the women in the 17-minute short film was Jakin's neighbor Brenda Bailey, who lives in the rural small town of Fountain Green.

About two years ago, Jakins and her filmmaking and husband Jared spent two weeks to record Bailey Quilt and ask their questions about their inspiration. Bailey hesitated to stand in front of the camera, but finally agreed and said it was a fun experience.

“I want to stay out of the spotlight as far as possible. That is the kind of person I am. So that's only from my element, but I think it's good to tell the stories,” she said.

Bailey always loved fabric and as a little girl, her mother and grandmother played with the sewing pockets. She made her first quilt in the high school after finding a pattern in her grandmother's scrap bag. It turned out that the pattern of one of her grandmother's grandmother had made.

She wanted to study math at school, but her consultant said to her: “Girls don't make a math.” So Bailey went to housekeeping instead. Now, at the age of 75, Bailey uses mathematics every day in quilting.

She created a six-week Quilt-Basics class that she taught dozens of students over the years. She started publishing patterns and opened a model company with her daughter in 2006.

With 33 grandchildren who get a quilt from Grandma at birth, Bailey has several projects to employ them.

In the past ten years, however, she has not been able to quilt as much as the full-time caretaker for her husband, who was paralyzed because of a neck injury. Quilting has become an escape for her and is something that does it for herself.

“It is almost refreshing to have something like that that I can do instead of just sitting around and doing myself. Because I don't.

The other quilters include a woman from the Navajo nation, who talks to her ancestors and a woman from Colorado who grows plants to dye her fabrics, tells and honors stories.

“Since every woman has a different approach to the quilting, each vignette also has its own style. The meaning of interior and branches, the motif of the hands and the resolution of quilt portraits create a visual story of what it means to be a woman in contemporary American west,” said Jakins.

Bailey said the Jakins were so nice and helpful to have the documentary for a positive experience for her, and she thinks what you have created is “amazing”.

“I let people say that they saw it and it was almost spiritual for them – it touched their spirits because we did it,” she said.“The way they filmed and put together really makes them feel something, and I think it has resonance in humans.”

“American seams”, which will be broadcast nationally on PBS in 2024, and Jakins said she was grateful that she was distributed through public media, from which she hopes that she can continue despite the loss of federal financing.

The documentary was recently nominated for an Emmy for outstanding lighting direction, which Jakins is an honor.

“It is confirmed for my work as a filmmaker and makes me immensely grateful that the stories that Jared and I decide to tell. However, a film is not made for itself – we had a lot of support on the way,” she said.