Mary Margaret Pettway is a third-generation Gee’s Bend Quilter born and raised in Gee’s Bend, Alabama. Mary Margaret didn’t just learn to quilt, she was made to quilt. Her earliest memories of quilting involved her mother’s quilting clique that went from house to house, quilting and talking.

These days Mary Margaret prefers to work alone because she, as her mother would say, is very particular about her stitches. Her favorite thing about quilting is the end result. She loves taking different colors and putting them together to create abstract patterns that in the end just work. Mary believes the sign of a really good quilt is when it is hanging up or spread on the bed, and you cannot help but to touch it!

Mary Margaret’s quilts have been featured at a number of museums and galleries in the US and around the world. In addition to being an avid quilter, Mary Margaret is also a Humanities Foundation Fellow, sewing and quilting instructor at Black Belt Treasures Cultural Arts Center, and Board Chair Emeritus of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation.