Quilt Appraiser at Hammonds House Saturday

Want to know what grandma's quilt is worth?

You can find out this Saturday at the Hammonds House, 503 Peeples St.

Certified quilt appraiser Holly Anderson will examine the condition of quilts, take pictures and discuss details in 30-minute consultations from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. as part of the 3rd Annual Atlanta Quilt Festival.

After reviewing her findings, Anderson will, in two weeks, send each person an official documentation that will include the size, description, age and condition of the quilt along with its market value.

Quilting, the stitching together of layers of padding and fabric, may date back as far as ancient Egypt. Quilts are distinguished by their three parts: the top, the cotton stuffing in the middle that makes it comfortable and warm and the back, which holds it all together.

Overtis Brantley of the Clara Ford Foundation, one of the sponsors of the festival and a self-taught quilter, said many families have quilts with significant value and history of which they are not even aware.

“Almost everybody’s grandmother quilted," Brantley said. "Then we viewed it more as utilitarian rather than as art.”

But that changed when quilts from Gee’s Bend, a poor tenant community in Alabama, were put on display in museums across the United States.

“That’s the first time you viewed quilts as art rather than something to just keep you warm,” Brantley said.

At the time when her grandmother, Clara Ford, was stitching, the quilts were more “folky,” made without patterns, Brantley said.

“From that humble beginning, it’s an amazing thing what African Americans are doing with the art form,” Brantley said.

This is the third year of the festival, which began with a festival and quilting demonstrations  at the Fulton County Arts Center at 4645 Butner Rd. The event ends Saturday.