January 1 – 6, 2000
These restored messages come from the Quilt History List, an online forum where quilt historians, collectors, researchers, appraisers, and enthusiasts discussed antique quilts and related textiles. The archive dates from 1996 through approximately 2016 and is being restored gradually. Sign up in the form at the bottom of the page if you want to know when a new page is added. Original spelling, opinions, formatting, and inactive links may remain unchanged.
Primary topics of this QHL Digest:
- Hoop and Frame Quilting Techniques — Members compare quilting on floor frames versus hand-held hoops, trading personal tricks (a cat-food-lid thimble makes an appearance) along with historical notes on when hoops came into use.
- Why Is Quilting Popular Again? — A long-running debate over what drove quilting’s resurgence after a mid-century lull, touching on economics, media exposure, and generational attitudes toward handwork.
- Ethnic and Religious Quilt Identity — A discussion of whether a quilt can fairly be labeled “African-American” or “Jewish” based on the maker’s self-identified heritage rather than the pattern or fabric used.
- An Amish Sunshine and Shadow Quilt from Catherine Eshleman’s Estate — Members trace the provenance of a recently-auctioned Amish quilt and share memories of the late collector who once owned it.
- List Housekeeping and Quick Recommendations — Notes on why members get bounced from the mailing list, plus recommendations for quilt pattern books, a quilter’s TV appearance, and a member’s address change.
Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2000 08:09:41 -0500 | From: “Store E-Mail Acct.”
Gay, Thank you for all the information on appliqui kits! I have really enjoyed it. What were the pattern masters made out of?
Debbie in NJ
Date: Sun, 02 Jan 2000 09:30:28 +0000 | From: Bobbie Aug
Newbie, Gerald Roy and I are doing a “Good, Better, and Best” slide lecture in April in Paducah on Sunday evening if you’re interested and are going to be there. It would be nice to see you again.
Bobbie Aug Ann N. Richardson wrote:
> I saw that quilt, too. As i am really very interested by the
> dispersions (sp?) of cultural influences, I downloaded a pix of it.
> Quite frankly it is not, IMHO, neither a stellar example of the period
> or of the genre. Yet, the provenance is very politically correct right
> now. Therefore the current “value” exceeds its worth. I can see it
> being bought for what it represents rather than for what it is. I will
> be curious to see if it does keep its value and become like anything JFK
> owned or George Washing owned – that fact adding to its “value”, as it
> is not in the “best” tradition of good, better, best.
The 18th c.
> American furniture which is setting records does stick to the “best” as
> far as craftsmanship and design. Many of the quilts in the James’
> collection reflected this mixture of good, better, best. I hope that
> the museum will be able to do the kind of exhibit that that compares
> those qualities with side by side showing of quilts of the same genre.
> Winterthur (the duPont estate in Delaware) did so with silver and
> furniture about 4 years ago. It was very illuminating. They have some
> of it still on exhibit in their visitor’s introduction to the museum.
> Happy New Year all, I intend to be in bed, assleep by 12:15 (2 hours
> past my bedtime!
> Newbie in Alexandria, Va – avoiding the Mall in DC!
Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2000 19:50:56 -0600 | From: “Dale E. Watts”
My husband gave me a wonderful Amish Sunshine and Shadow quilt for Christmas. It came from the collection of a Catherine Eshleman in Lancaster, PA. The auction was held just this past fall, I believe.
The dealer said Ms. Eshleman was a quilter as well as a quilt collector.
Is anyone familiar with this lady, & if so, I would appreciate learning more about her. Thank you for any assistance given! Peggy in KS
Date: Sun, 02 Jan 2000 22:11:26 -0500 | From: Fran Fitz
In response to the post of who was Catherine.. I remember her as President of NQA sometime in the mid 1980’s. She was a quilter and collector of sewing ephemera, particularly Sewing Birds. I imagine Hollis can tell us more about her because I believe he was active in NQA about this time. I remember her as a soft spoken “gentle lady”, with beautiful white hair..She was very knowledgable about Pennsylvania quilting….Fran
Date: Mon, 03 Jan 2000 03:14:07 -0500 | From: “Judy Kelius (judysue)”
I missed the original post you are responding to but thought this might be of interest. I didn’t know Catherine but bought some of her things at an auction in Ephrata, PA last fall. I didn’t realize she had been the president of NQA. There were quite a few sewing birds and other small antique sewing items at the auction. Among my purchases was almost her entire book collection — I am selling the duplicates on eBay as I get the time. Interestingly, almost all the quilts at the auction were antique – there were only a few small quilts from the 1970’s or 80’s that she probably made. Hopefully most of the quilts she made were kept in the family. My most expensive purchase was an applique album quilt with an eagle border (1860’s-70’s) that I shared with this list shortly after I bought it. I feel a connection to her now having handled some of her things and wish I had been able to know her and purchase more at the auction. The auction was held for her husband and included household items, so I assumed he was moving to a home or out of state.
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2000 00:12:09 -0500 From: “J. G. Row” <Judygrowblast.net> Close stippling on American quilts has nothing on this Japanese fireman’s jacket! Scroll down to the third photo. Absolutely gorgeous!
http://cgi.gc.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=227584780 Judy in Ringoes, NJ judygrowblast.net
Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 00:16:16 EST | From: KareQuilt
I spent all day Jan 1 browsing through my quilt books. What a joy! I stumbled across a reference I would like to ask others about. Has anyone ever heard of this quilt or possibly seen it? Is anyone aware of any other such documentation about a specific quilt coming from China during this era? The reference comes from American Patchwork Quilts by Lenice Ingram Bacon, [Bonanza Books 1980, ISBN 0-517-30940-8] plate 47, page 174. Quoting from the Plate 47 notes:
Pineapple Quilt. This charming quilt, made in China for an American bride of 1791, has an unusual background and is also an outstanding example of trapunto work. Now in the Concord Antiquarian Museum in Concord, Mass. The museum notes read: “This Chinese spread was a wedding present to Deacon William Parkman’s daughter, Sophia, from her Uncle Parkman who brought it from China for her. She was married to Samuel Dakin in 1791, and was mother of Mrs. Sarah Richardson.” The traditional story is that the quilt was laid away for 150 years (reason unknown), which would account for its pristine appearance. We wonder about the art of quiltmaking in China, but we can only surmise. Was the art taken there by the American wives of sea captains dealing in the China trade, who often accompanied their husbands on their long voyages? Or did it stem from the indigenous knowledge of quilting employed by the Chinese themselves, evident for many centuries in their padded and quilted clothing? Courtesy of the present owner, Miss Ellen E.
Borland, The Concord Antiquarian Museum. (unquote) From the color plate, the quilt appears to be done in red, orange, and green on muslin. The 25 pineapples each have a saw tooth border in dark green with two thin leaves sticking out of the top and two thicker leaves protruding from a stem coming out the bottom. The body of the pineapple appears to be pieced in a Seminole-like style of tiny triangles. There are five red & green jagged swags to each of the 4 sides of the quilt with a 2nd dark green “opposite” swag paralleling the first swag, with a cotton-bowl-like flower appearing under the middle of the arch of the first swag but attached to the second swag. Etc, etc.
Date: Wed, 05 Jan 2000 05:35:04 -0500 | From: “Diane McGuire” <dianemcg@>
HQLers,
I made my first quilt several years BEFORE the bicentennial. I was married in 1968 right out of college, but I had been sewing clothes since I was 10. Mom had a stroke in 1972 and I wanted to make her a quilt using scraps of all the fabrics she had used to make curtains for her house and clothes for me. I had no idea what I was doing because no one I knew had ever made a quilt. I might have gotten the idea from an article in Better Homes and Gardens because I always read that cover to cover, still do. I even used an old mattress pad as the batting because I had no idea that I could buy the stuff. It was so heavy that Mom couldn’t use it. A few years ago I took it apart and threw away the “batting” but kept the top so that I would remember how far I have come since then. it is REALLY UGLY! I am sure that the bicentennial gave quilting a boost because magazines started publishing directions. That woud be an interesting research project. Diane in Massachusetts “Where the Bicentennial began”
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2000 14:49:32 -0500 | From: “J. G. Row”
The url below is for a 1903 beaded bird pincushion The auction has ended and the bird didn’t make the reserve. I wasn’t interested in buying it, ’cause I just got one like it on the 27th. There are some differences, but many similarities, such as the color, placement, and type of beads, size, shape, and fact that mine is also dated under the tail, only mine is dated 1898 and this one is 1903. The one difference I can see is that the fabric under the wings and under the tail, on mine, is a bright red solid chintz. The bird itself is a cotton khaki twill.
I wonder if the bird came as a kit, with the pattern, fabric, and beads, possibly even a set of numbers to trace. The beads are too unusual and alike on each to have been mere chance.
Does anyone else own one of these cute birds, or perhaps the pattern? If you’ve got the pattern I’d love to get a copy. In the meantime I’ve traced mine out as best I could, and am going to try and make a prototype soon.
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?MfcISAPICommand=ViewItem&item=2263 7 9028 Judy in Ringoes, NJ judygrowblast.net
Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2000 15:32:36 -0500 | From: Kris_Driessenhesc.com
Recently someone asked me why I felt quilting was becoming popular again, particularly in people under 35. I have never thought about it, so I am turning to my friends for help.
Is quilting really becoming popular “again”? I wonder if maybe it didn’t go underground for a while. I tend to think that quilting has always been an outlet for women’s creativity.
Granted, there were lots of quilts that were made of necessity, but there were also a lot of “best” quilts made.
Most 19th century women were taught from an early age to value their homemaking abitities. They took pride in their accomplishments, and creating a best quilt was certainly an accomplishment! It took time, patience, creativity and love.
During the war years and the following baby boom, women would not have had the time to work on a time consuming project such as a best quilt. But there are plenty of ordinary ones still in existence, supporting the idea that quilts were still being made. Possibly as a creative outlet, but more likely an expression of love from the mother to her family.
It’s hard to tell exactly, but I think quilting started to make a comeback around the time of the bicennenial and the “back to nature” movement. What looks more natural with love beads and bell bottoms than a cuddle quilt?
As that generation grew up and became preppie, the Masterpiece quilts started being made. I think now women – and men – are making quilts as an outlet for their creativity.
And maybe still as an expression of love.
I am just typing out loud here – What do y’all think?
Kris Date: Tue, 04 Jan 2000 22:31:52 -0500 From: Newbie Richardson <pastcraftserols.com> (This is a long post) Happy New Year All, I have been pondering the thread of “jewish” quilts and have come to the conclusion (IMHO)that there is no such thing per se. I tested out my musings on my very good friend, Sandy Weiner, who is with B’nai Brith – she is involved with all of their cultural outreach/ education type programs and publications.
As a general rule, the decorative arts are a product of one’s culture, not one’s religious affiliation. Unless the religious beliefs caused the community to become closed like the Amish, or the Moravians, in which case the dec. arts took a turn in a different direction. (The Mormons did not close themselves off from the mainstream as much as they were rejected by it in the mid to late 19th c. so they were still subscribing to Godey’s and Harper’s) Certainly, we see religious influences as in the use of color in some documented Quaker quilts and costumes, or in the use of relgious symbolism in the Baltimore Album Quilts. What you see there is a “personal” or community influence on a prevailing style of decorative art. But that does not qualify the quilt to be “Anglican”, “Lutheran”, “Roman Catholic”, or “Jewish” per se.
If I remember correctly, there were only 4 major migrations of Jews into the US – the Dutch into New Amsterdam, the Saphardim out of Spain,(by way of the Low Countries),the Eastern Europeans (Poland, the Slavic counties), and Germany. The Dutch and Spanish Jews came in the 17th c.and were pretty well assimilated into the cultural heritage of the new nation by the time of (bed) quilting’s popularity. The German and Slavic migrations came at the end of the quilting fad of the 19th c.
These last brought with them an incredibly rich history of embroidery – which is still very evident in some communities ,ie: Chicago.
I have restored and appraised many crazy quilts made by Jewish family members. There was nothing “judaic” about them. They were designed in the prevailing style of the period.
I have studied many pieces of Judaica – antique and contemporary.
The design influences are from the “old” Testement/torah for symbols which are then interpreted through each designer’s own cultural tradition. In fact many of the contemporary pieces seem to owe a lot to the Scandinavian design influence on the dec. arts in the mid 20th c.
So I really think that searching for “jewish” quilts, other than those made with relgious symbols for personal reasons, is a bit like chasing fog. However, I do think that we will see – or are seeing now even, “jewish” quilts coming from Israel. It is probably too soon to tell for sure as that first generation is only now just beginning to die and thus reveal their possessions and their design influences.
What are you seeing, Ady?
See what too much Champagne can do!?
Newbie in Alexandria, Va.
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2000 15:02:13 -0600 | From: “Schmidt”
A friend of mine from another quilting email list posed the following dilemma to all the members. I asked her if I could post her questions here, and she agreed to it. I’ll be sending any answers back to her. So, if you have any ideas for her, please let me know…
She said:
>I have a collection of quilt blocks that were hand pieced by my great
>grandmother between 1880 and 1940. They vary in size from nearly 6 inches
>to almost 17 inches. Most are in good shape, but a few have age spots on
>them. They were stored in a tin box in an attic for over 50 years before
I
>got them. I want to use them somehow, but am afraid they may be too
>fragile. Any ideas? There are too many to frame them. Any tips on
>”reconditioning” the fabric? Some of them almost feel brittle. The
fabrics
>in them are almost as interesting as the blocks themselves. The ones I
have
>been able to date seem to be post Civil War to early 1900’s. None of the
>ones I would associate with the 1930’s.
Thanks.
Jennifer brian_jenprodigy.net
Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2000 05:32:18 +0400 | From: Xenia Cord
A correspondent has raised the question of when hoops were introduced as a frame for quilting (specifically), pointing out that embroidery has been done in hoops of different sorts since at least the middle ages.
Does anyone have a specific reference to hoops vs. frames in America at any particular date? She was especially interested in 1800-1820.
My feeling was that rectangular work surfaces with at least 2 rigid sides, floor supported or suspended from the ceiling, were standard.
Any takers?
Xenia
Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2000 10:06:25 +1100 | From: Lorraine Olsson
I have a further question.
Would it not be extremely difficult to execute a fine “Feather” on a large frame.
Lorraine in Oz Please post answers to the list!
Xenia Cord wrote:
>
> A correspondent has raised the question of when hoops were introduced as
> a frame for quilting (specifically), pointing out that embroidery has
> been done in hoops of different sorts since at least the middle ages.
> Does anyone have a specific reference to hoops vs. frames in America at
> any particular date? She was especially interested in 1800-1820.
>
> My feeling was that rectangular work surfaces with at least 2 rigid
> sides, floor supported or suspended from the ceiling, were standard.
> Any takers?
>
> Xenia
Date: Wed, 05 Jan 2000 17:27:05 -0600 | From: Laura Hobby Syler
It’s pretty darn difficult, but can be done! You have to learn to quilt forwards, backwards, to the left and the right, regardless of the dominant hand, pushing the needle with middle, or index fingers and even the thumb.
Being able to stand on one foot with your tongue touching your nose while you stitch doesn’t hurt either. <G> As one of my long time quilting buddies says (she’s in her 80’s) “You just gotta make sure you are holdin’ you mouth right!”
Personally, I have 3 floor frames that I use for demonstrations only.
Give me my 14″ American Heritage and the comfy sofa any day!!!
Laura
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2000 21:03:13 EST | From: EGinebaugh
Hi Lorraine & all, Just a quick .02 cents worth… I love quilting on my floor frame, and hated hoop quilting. Because I disliked the hoop so much, I had to learn to quilt every which way. I was able to find a thumb thimble that wasn’t plastic, and I actually do better and more even quilting with my thumb than my middle finger. It’s gotten to the point of going out of my way to use my thumb!
Just MHO, Liz in Michigan
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2000 21:36:13 EST | From: SadieRose
For those of you who are fans of Earlene Fowler’s mystery books, which feature heroine Benni Harper & always a few quilts woven into the story….Earlene is going to be the guest on the SIMPLY QUILTS show Friday afternoon on HGTV:
Fri. Jan. 7 2:30 pm EST #534 Whodunnit Quilting, Goose on the Pond Thought if I let you know in advance, you could plan to watch the show or set your VCR to tape it!! If you haven’t read any of the books, they are great!! And I hear there is a new one in the works!!
Happy Viewing!!
Karan-Jane
Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2000 21:45:05 EST | From: JBQUILTOK
I think quilting kind of exploded as a hobby in the early 1990’s. I started in the mid-80’s & learned from my mother-in-law. Fabric shopping was at the chain stores. There were a few books & they were reasonably priced.
Guilds were small. As I became more involved in my guild, I found that it filled a social need that wasn’t being met anywhere else. I was in the work force, making good money and could afford to spend some on myself. Vendors & quilt shops became popular hang-outs. For less than my husband spend on his cigarettes, I could have FABRIC!!!! More books became available. My salary kept up with their cost. Sewing filled my evening & weekends with something besides housework. Entering Quilt Show competitions became a goal. Giving a few at work gained me added recognition there – quilt question? Ask Janet, she does it all the time! The local guild has more than doubled in size, the state guild is going strong & puts on a weekend retreat that goes on the calendar the minute it is announced. I’ve traveled the state going to quilt shows & seen more of the small towns than I ever would have otherwise. And spent a lot of time on-line gathering knowledge from all over the world instead of mindlessly watching TV.
Bottom line, it’s an entertaining hobby w/ a beautiful end product & a lot of social contact. And I think a lot of hard working women need just such an outlet in this fast paced world.
Janet Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2000 10:30:14 +0400 From: Xenia Cord <xecordnetusa1.net> Lorraine asked: <Would it not be extremely difficult to execute a fine “Feather” on a large frame.> If what I have already said about the use of quilting frames is true, then all of the fine feathers we see in wonderful antique quilts were done on a large frame. Look, for instance, at the tremendous work done by Amy Emms in England over her lifetime. She used a floor frame, not a hoop.
But what about the question – when did hoops come into use for quilting? My feeling is that this is a fairly recent development, brought about by such things as apartment living, wall quilts, and “new experts” who teach that manipulation of the frame makes quilting easier.
Xenia
Date: Wed, 05 Jan 2000 20:01:37 -0800 | From: Nancy Cameron Armstrong
Dear Kris (and others with interest) UNCOVERINGS 1993 (AQSG) pp. 9-40) has excellent paper by Bets Ramsey “Art and Quilts: 1950-1970” which includes copious notes and references to more reading. The focus is primarily “the Art Quilt” but it speaks well to the general question of quilting during that 20 year period.
nca
Date: Wed, 05 Jan 2000 22:50:52 -0500 | From: laurel horton
Just as any quilt, regardless of what it looks like, made by a person who self-identifies as African American may be described as an African-American quilt, a Jewish quilt would be one made by a person who self-identifies as Jewish. The original question, as I remember, was not “What are the distinguishing characteristics of Jewish quilts?” but more on the lines of “Why do we know so little about quilts made by Jewish people?” The book I described earlier in response to this question was aimed toward Jewish women who wanted to combine a contemporary interest in decorative needlework with a desire to interpret cultural symbols for display in the home. If a Jewish woman followed the instructions given for a patchwork quilt, this would be a Jewish quilt. If I followed the same pattern and made the identical patchwork quilt, it would not be a Jewish quilt.
Laurel Horton
Date: Wed, 05 Jan 2000 21:58:39 +0000 | From: Bobbie Aug
Jennifer, Brittle is the right word. Embrittlement is caused by our environment (impurities in our air), natural sunlight, artificial light, drastic changes in temperature and humidity and soil to mention a few. Sometimes, it is just a good idea to photograph (no flash) these blocks and mount them in a wonderful photo album for the coffee table to be shared and enjoyed by many, while the “real” blocks are resting comfortably in a safe environment. Of course, my main focus is always preserving history so I’m not the “use ’em up” type. There are probably lots of good suggestions.
Bobbie Aug Schmidt wrote:
> A friend of mine from another quilting email list posed the following
> dilemma to all the members. I asked her if I could post her questions
here,
> and she agreed to it. I’ll be sending any answers back to her. So, if
you
> have any ideas for her, please let me know…
>
> She said:
>
> >I have a collection of quilt blocks that were hand pieced by my great
> >grandmother between 1880 and 1940. They vary in size from nearly 6
inches
> >to almost 17 inches. Most are in good shape, but a few have age spots
on
> >them. They were stored in a tin box in an attic for over 50 years
before I
> >got them. I want to use them somehow, but am afraid they may be too
> >fragile. Any ideas? There are too many to frame them. Any tips on
> >”reconditioning” the fabric? Some of them almost feel brittle. The
> fabrics
> >in them are almost as interesting as the blocks themselves. The ones I
> have
> >been able to date seem to be post Civil War to early 1900’s. None of
the
> >ones I would associate with the 1930’s.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Jennifer
> brian_jenprodigy.net
Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2000 08:48:31 +0200 | From: Ady Hirsch
Beautifully summed up, Newbie. As most immigrants to Israel (between late 19th and mid 20th cent.) came from either eastern Europe or North Africa and the Islamic countrie, they brought with them the local decorative traditions of their native countries, which unfortunately did not include quilting. We have seen here embroidery (sometimes depicting religious symbols or used to decorate objects used in religious ceremonies – Talith covers, Challah covers), and plenty of silver-smithing traditions, both eastern Europaen and Oriental. IMHO these again are all cases of local styles and traditions adopted by Jews and taken with them to their new homeland.
Someone mentioned a Jewish man, a quilter who would make quilts you had to wait for, he was in such demand. I may very well be mistaken, but it struck me he may have been making eiderdowns – these, at least in eastern Europe, were very expensive and included in a bride’s dowry. When my own mother married, here in Israel, 45 years ago, my grandmother had 2 eiderdowns made for her. In Turkey, quilted coverlets are made to this day for Turkish brides-to-be – they are made of satin, filled qith really thick cotton and quilted (by men) with floral designs. The stitches are quite large, but the designs are lovely.
The only “older” quilts we’ve seen here, so far, are 30ies Depression quilts brought over by expatriate Americans Again, obviously, cases of local traditions adopted by Jews in a new homeland, and brought with as family heirlooms.
Happy quilting Ady in Israel
Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 10:44:25 -0000 | From: “Sally Ward”
The great tradition of Wholecloth quilts in the UK (Durham, Northumberland, Wales etc ) were as far as I know always executed on a wooden frame of simple bearers and stretchers. Our most well-known ‘modern’ exponent, the late Emy Emms, to my knowledge used nothing else.
I finally got the hang of using my ‘Durham’ frame when I realised that I was allowed to ‘take the pen off the paper’ – i.e. a circle can be quilted right to left over the top, and then right to left round the bottom, rather than having to quilt ‘backwards’.
Also, I have sometimes left parts of a design open and worked all the way in one direction, then re-rolled the quilt at right angles in order to go back and fill in.
Since quilting hoops are different to embroidery hoops by dint of their size and the width of the wood, would it be possible to find out from a major manufacturer just when they made their appearance? Were the first ‘quilting hoops’ in fact embroidery hoops pressed into service for the reasons (space, portability) Xenia suggested?. Does anyone know the history of hoops in general?
Sally W
Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 08:43:14 -0500 | From: “Roger & Brenda Applegate”
I am interested in the time-use of the hoop. As a re-enactor in different time periods I want to correctly represent quilt history. We currently are using a frame. Because we invite others to sit and quilt with us, more are able to join in our “quilting party”. The quilts that we put into the frame are reproduced as close as possible to a dated quilt found in a book. There are times when I have a someone who wants to work on her own project and we need to know if she can use a hoop, or not. People really do ask intelligent questions when we are out and about. Brenda Applegate
Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2000 08:46:37 -0500 | From: roosien
I also love my floor frame. I have a “Jasmine” frame with two rails that I have had for over 13 years. I also have quilted feathers etc. – left and right handed! I also love to quilt on a frame that exposes the whole quilt at one time – but how many of us have room for that? When we do our annual sleep over this year with my bee – we will do exactly that – quilt on the large frame. In the book ” A People and Their Quilts” by Rice – it speaks of a women who quilted bent over her bed!
Now that’s commitment!
In response to when quilting became “popular again”, I started quilting when I was 24. That was twenty years ago, in 1980, and there was and still is a huge group of quilters here in the Grand Rapids area. My bee has been meeting for over twenty years – twice a month.
Chris in MI
Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2000 05:55:14 PST | From: “Anne Copeland”
I have several womens’ magazines from the 20s and 30s showing women using hoop frames to quilt. Perhaps something similar was in use earlier for embroidery, and someone adapted the idea to quilting. Ane Copeland Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2000 21:14:00 +0400 From: Xenia Cord <xecordnetusa1.net> If I can add a caveat to Anne’s reference to women’s magazines of the ’20s and ’30s – the thrust of those magazines with regard to quiltmaking was highly romanticized. They emphasized “doing what our colonial foremothers did” as the romantic ideal, but “colonial” meant anything earlier than 1900.
Many of the illustrations for kit quilts, quilt pattern sources, and for quilting equipment showed women in “colonial” (read floor-length) dresses with mob caps, sometimes quilting in their laps without any supports, sometimes using hoops, sometimes at other frames, often working on the porch glider or in a contemporary lawn chair under the trees. In other words, the illustrations cannot be accepted without some scepticism as to their accuracy.
However – this may still be where the concept of using a hoop for quilting came from. Many women learned their “how to” from what they read, rather than from any traditional support group, so if their favorite magazine showed a hoop, they may have searched for one to adapt to this use.
Xenia
Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 09:16:46 EST | From: JQuilt
resolutions jan 1, 2000 1. no more chocolate 2. walk for 30 minutes every day 3. wont buy any fabric or start any new projects until i finish all of the old ones jan 6 2000 1. dug up the bag of m&ms i buried in the backyard,on New Year’s eve 2.watched the tape of the 99 boston marathon while i ate my frosted choco flakes for breakfast.
- got a flyer,in the mail, for a fabulous sale at my favorite quilt shop..
hmmmmm if i continue on this way…next year the new year’s eve tv program will be one,that take 24 hours to circle me and my pile of unfinished projects..
jean happy new year to all
Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2000 06:30:11 PST | From: “Anne Copeland”
Very true, Xenia. Yes, it is true that the illustrations are very “romanticized.” I did have a rather large circular hoop that I gave to a physically challenged quilter that I purchased from an antique dealer. It was still in the original box (which had been opened) and the frame had been used, but it was supposedly from the 30s. It was made by a company I was not familiar with, but for the life of me, I can’t remember it now. It was wrapped with feedsack that was pink, and rather dusty and dirty. Perhaps one of the old needlework books has some good information about frames used.
You are right, I have never seen very early illustrations showing round frames. They are always squared I think. Now I will have to look more to see the shapes, etc. Anne Copeland Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
Date: Wed, 05 Jan 2000 22:54:02 -0500 | From: Jean Binns Smith
I think the most memorable, quilt I have ever seen was at one of the “Great American Quilt ” shows in New York in I would guesss the early ’90. There, among a group of protest quilts was a one made of strips about 6 to 8 inches long and probably 2 inches wide in a style resembling the Chinese coin pattern. The quilt was of dull browns and grays and my guess was it was made with left overs from men’s trousers when they were hemmed. Attached to the quilt was a yellow Star of David. A note under the quilt said it was sent to the United States after World War II wrapped around a gun sent home by an American soldier. The quilt gave me cold chills and teary eyes as I looked at it, and does now when I think about it. Does anyone know any more history of the quilt or where it is now ?
Jean in central Pa.
Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 07:25:22 -0800 | From: “Robins-Morris, Laura A”
Excuse me if this is a double posting I’m having technical difficulties.)
> Kris was typing out loud :
> > Recently someone asked me why I felt quilting was becoming popular
> > again,particularly in people under 35.
>
> In think it’s also the pendulum swinging back from the “modern”
> preferences of the 50’s and 60’s. Look at what was popular then –
sleeker
> furniture, “modern” conveniences (like frozen foods) and “modern”
> appliances, “modern” miracle fabrics like polyester. Everything new was
> better and they were tired of the “homey” things from the 30’s and 40’s.
> I think that’s part of why quilts weren’t popular in the 50s and 60s,
> because they looked dated in terms of colors, fabrics and design. Also,
> handwork was considered old fashioned and wasn’t valued as much.
> But then in the late 70s and 80s, we got tired of the 50s/60s look in
> furniture, fabrics, colors and styles of home decor and we went back the
> other way. And this “new” look might be especially popular among the
> younger folks who had never had those things in their homes when they
grew
> up in the 60s and 70s and whose mothers might not have done hand work.
> And to extrapolate, I believe that this intertest in quilts will again
> become passe in another 10-20 years. I’m not saying it will completely
> die out, but newer styles and tastes and activities will grab the popular
> interest and the resurgence will slow down considerably and probably
stop.
> And then in another 50 years it may come back again!!
Always a pendulum
> swing in tastes and interests and values.
> My 2 cents.
> Laura in Seattle
Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 11:05:47 -0500 | From: “S&L Herget”
This is my first post to the list, please be patient with me. In the = back of Pat Ferrero’s Hearts and Hands, there is a page of books = available from the Quilt Digest Press. I would like to purchase some of = these books, but haven’t had any success in locating them. Does anyone = know if the comapny has gone out of business or am I just not looking in = the right places?
Thanks, Linda in NC
Date: Thu, 6 Jan 00 14:19:12 -0600 | From: woodford
This is a partial answer to Kris’s question about why quilting may have gone underground from the 40’s to the 80’s.
In those early days, after the war, the goal of most women was to get married, have children and establish a nice home, hence the advent of suburbia. Careers were seldom considered important, and, indeed, the women’s movement had not really gotten going. When I continued schooling after my first two children were born, my husband’s aunt asked me “why in the world I was doing that?” The answer that satisfied her, but that was not at all the truth, was that I wanted to be prepared to make a living if my husband died early.
So,decades later, once we got our little homes up to snuff and our kiddies as clean and as straightened out as we could manage, the battle for getting into medical, law and graduate schools were upper-most in some minds. There were battles to be won, and, frankly a chenille (in the right color) spread was as good as a hand-quilted bedcover. Magazines didn’t have too many quilt patterns.
Actually, I, personally, never saw a hand-quilted bedcover, other than the men’s suiting utilities, until I made one myself out of my husband’s grandmother’s scraps. My grandmother and mother did not make quilts, and probably never gave them a thought.
Just a few thoughts on the dark ages.
Barbara Woodford
Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 15:23:31 EST | From: Kievits
I had to learn to quilt in a frame when we started a church group and it is hard. An old saying one of the ladies teased us rookies about was, ” You can’t quilt until you can quilt a small circle without stopping.” Of course this isn’t true, as I quilt best in a hoop, but none of us would miss the opportunity to quilt once a week in a group setting on a quilt frame. (And we don’t put too many feather or circular patterns in, but we have done so.)
I would like to ask the members if they find in Meller and Elffers’ book Texti le Design , photos of many fabrics in old American quilts since so many are French fabrics shown. Is it a practical book to study 19th and 20th c.
American quilts?
Is the Florence Montgomery book Printed Textiles, seemingly out of print, more practical if one can find it? Thanks.
Katha in cold Cincinnati
Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2000 13:29:53 -0800 | From: Nancy Armstrong
Dear family and friends, The installer just left and I now find that my old address does not work! (Left it active so I could receive letters at that address until I let everyone know!) Oh, dear … best laid plans. More letters floating around in cyberspace?!
Must say I AM IMPRESSED with speed of new connection via cable.
New address <nca-1home.com>
Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 17:00:47 -0500 | From: “Nancy Roberts”
One suggestion for Jennifer’s friend (who has old quilt blocks) is to purchase a copy of “Quilts by Paul D. Pilgrim: Blending the Old & the New” by Gerald Roy (AQS, 1997). The late Paul Pilgrim was masterful at working with old blocks and the quilt photos in this book are sure to give her ideas and information. Nancy Roberts
Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2000 17:40:51 -0500 | From: “jawhitecourant.infi.net”
I learned to quilt 15 years ago in a quilt-as-you-go-class and we had to buy an individual quilting frame – a square hoop if you will. I still have it. It has tapes on each side to pin the block to and it’s put together with screws and wing nuts. It can be adjusted to almost any size block up to about 24″. I quilted with it for only that one quilt because #1. I never want to make another quilt as you go quilt again, and #2. the screws poke into the furniture. I sat on a divan and quilted my first quilt and scratched the heck out of the arm of the sofa with those screws. I don’t know how long these kind of frames have been around, but I have never met anyone else that has one (except for the other people in my first class.)
Judy White – Ct
Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 17:46:43 -0500 | From: “Roger & Brenda Applegate”
In the items that I have received from my Grandmother (no instructions = or idea of what they were), was what I believe is a wooden ring wrapped = with many layers of muslin strips (rather like a mummy style). Around = this is a leather belt to tighten. I have wondered if this would = pre-date the wooden hoops like you have suggested were in the 1930’s. I = have assume that is what you meant when you say the 30’s. Brenda A.
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Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 18:06:10 EST | From: aol.com
charset=”us-ascii” quilts are believed to have been made by the quilt-as-you-go method, but heaven only knows if they were lap quilted or on a frame of some sort (I’m inclined to believe they used a small frame, but there’s no evidence I’m aware of either way). Embroidery hoops and frames have been used since the Middle Ages, so I wouldn’t particularly worry about using a frame or a hoop at re-enactments. Of course, I’m a fine one to talk – I quilted my 14th century style linen quilt primarily on a Q-Snap…. Karen Evans
Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 18:47:23 -0500 | From: “Roger & Brenda Applegate” Karen,
I would be interested in knowing more about your linen quilt. Did you = make your fabric? I am in the process of spinning wool for a back of a = linen/cotton top. This will take me awhile, but that is okay. Brenda = A.
Date: Thu, 06 Jan | From: [from unknown]
2000 18:37:20 -0600
> > > Is quilting really becoming popular “again”? I wonder if maybe it didn’t > go underground for a while.
> During the war years and the following baby boom, women would not have had > the time to work on a
> time consuming project such as a best quilt.
> It’s hard to tell exactly, but I think quilting started to make a comeback
> around the time of the
> bicennenial and the “back to nature” movement. Kris, I would say that the Bicentennial sparked the big resurgence in quilting. I know of several quilt guilds that formed to make Bicentennial quilts. Since then, I’d say the major influences have been the prestigious contests that made stars of the creative new designers, TV programs about quilts and their construction, and the availability of more and more all-cotton fabrics for quilting. My mother started quilting in 1925. She’s currently quilting a top she made in about 1933. Various reasons for not having done it before, but one of the basic ones was that after the Depression was over, people didn’t want those old quilts any more, they wanted new, store-bought things! So while some people quilted during the 40s and 50s, I suspect that they were the ones who really enjoyed it, and the folks who had quilted because of necessity dropped it as soon as their families prospered. As for the back to nature movement, if I recall correctly, that preceeded the Bicentennial by about a decade, and there was more focus on weaving your own fabrics.
Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2000 20:14:38 -0600 | From: Karen Bush I have a friend looking for the Kansas
City Star Quilt book, is there such an animal?? She also said there was a website with it on there. ??? kb —
Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2000 21:42:04 EST | From: Absquilts Karen, your 14th century linen quilt sounds so interesting, could
you tell us more about it? Arlene
