February 4 – 9, 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:
- Oral History vs. Oral Tradition — The group’s ongoing debate over primary sources continues, with a member drawing a sharper line between recorded first-hand oral history and orally-transmitted family tradition.
- Origins of the Quarter-Inch Seam Allowance — Two related threads trace when today’s standard quarter-inch quilting seam and 5/8-inch garment seam became common, tying the shift to the rise of commercial dress patterns in the 1860s-1920s.
- Quilts Draped Over Graves in Tonga — A member shares a photo from a book showing a South Pacific cemetery decorated with patchwork quilts, prompting questions about the custom’s missionary-era origins.
- Regional Notes and Appraisal Questions — Assorted shorter posts on guild activities, a two-sided/curiosity quilt’s potential value, and other regional quilt-history notes from members in the US and UK. (see the article on quilt appraisers)
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2000 11:14:48 EST | From: QuiltFixer
Would like to share that I will be doing workshops and Quilt History Lectures in Sept 29, 30 and Oct 1. at the Columbia River Gorge Quilt Show in Stevenson, WA (50 miles East of Portland, OR). There with me will be Cindy Brick and Jane Clark Stapel who are fellow members. Also appearing, will be
Linda Carlson, Mary Bywater Cross and Bettina Havig. I don’t know if they are members of our list or not. If you are in the area on those date, come and join us. The three of us are just awsome when we get together, on or off the stage. ) Find out more at http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Acres/6986/GorgeShow.html Toni Baumgard
‘The Redwork Lady redworkldyaol www.redworklady.com
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2000 11:29:53 EST | From: KareQuilt
Thank you, Ady, for that great list of State books! I was just asking a friend yesterday if she had ever seen a comprehenisve list! Here are some more I found on my bookshelf.
“Old Line Traditions Maryland & their Quilts,” DAR Museum, Washington, DC (1985) Essay by Gloria Seaman Allen, Curator (Show dates Sept 30-Nov 15, 1985)
“Ohio Quilts A Living Tradition;” M.J. Albacate, Sharon D’Atri, Jane Reeves;
Canton Art Institute (1981)
“In the Heart of Pennsylvania;” J. Lasansky, Oral History Project, (1985)
ISBN 0-917127-00-5 (also a PA quilt history) “Lest I Be Forgotten” by Nancy & Donald Roan; Goshenhoppen Historians, Inc. (1993) ISBN 1-883801-02-8 “First Flowers Early Virginia Quilts,” Gloria Seaman Allen, Curator (Jly 20-
Oct 18, 1987)
“Virginia Quilts First Search for Virginia Made Quilts, Beginning in Northern Virginia;” Text by Hazel Carter; Sponsored by The Continental Quilting Congress (1987) (no ISBN#)
“Women & Their Quilts A Washington State Centennial Tribute,” Nancyann Johanson Twelker, foreward by Carter Houck; pub The Patchwork Place (1988)
ISBN 0-943574-51-X
“The Wilcox Quilts in Hawaii;” Robert J. Schleck (1986); Grove Farm Homestead
& Waioli Mission House, Kauai, HI; ISBN 0-9617174-0-8 Karen Alexander
Vienna, VA
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2000 12:08:53 EST | From: ThreadDog
Back to my WOW quilt (thanks Jean). And Merikay showed be a raft of other WOW quilts at Thursday Bee, yesterday. At another time in my life, I would have called them colorless quilts. Some amazing tufted ones. Sometime ago an editor I was talking with said, we’re not being picky (or words to that effect), we’re just trying to help you say what you want to say. Well, there should be an editor button on this machine as well as spell check.
I consulted two needlework books I happened to have on my shelves to find a name for the fairly distinctive type of embroidery on Nancy Arnold Denton’s quilt. Needlework School, presented by the Embroiderers’ Guild Practical Study Group, a 1984 remaindered book, and the Complete Guide to Needlework, Techniques and Materials, consultant editor, Mary Gostelow. Under whitework in both books, Mountmellick embroidery is described as a distinctive type of whitework, using a thick white knitting cotton yarn, on heavy cotton sateen (the complete Guide to Needlework) and bold surface stitchery sewn with coarse cotton thread on linen or sateen (Needlework School). It is said to have originated as a cottage industry in a rural area in Ireland, Mountmellick, around 1825. If the dates given for Nancy’s quilt are accurate, it was made in KY a little earlier.
Anyhow, that is what I think I wanted to say.
The fabric is loosely woven, 26 ” wide, the same front and back. There is a very sheer cotton batting. The embroidery thread traveling between layers, to make french knots, almost looks like trapunto. The background is quilted in vague lines, about a 1/4 ” apart.
There is an inked laundry mark, and a metal 1/2″ staple type thing, with white fabric glued to it that served as a laundry mark. It hangs onto the corner, through a hole, like a pierced earring. Washing machines have taken some bites out of the quilt, in addition to eating the fringe. Now, do you think I should go to Ireland? Linda Claussen
Date: Fri, 04 Feb 2000 12:34:31 +0400 | From: Xenia Cord <xecordnetusa1.net>
…and don’t forget Quilts of Indiana; Crossroads of Memories. Marilyn Goldman & Marguerite Weibusch, chairs. Indiana University Press, 1991.
ISBN 0-253-32925-6 (acid-free paper).
Xenia, in Indiana
Date: Fri, 04 Feb 2000 15:55:12 +0400 | From: Xenia Cord <xecordnetusa1.net>
Sorry to post this to the list, but DBBSTUFF I have lost the rest of your address. Would you get in touch, please?
Xenia
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2000 16:06:47 -0000 | From: “Audrey Cameron” <audrey.cameronvirgin.net>
Hi Everyone,
To: add to Ady s excellent list of USA state books for Hiranya
Michigan Quits A 150 Years of a Textile Tradition by Marsha MacDowell &
Ruth
D. Fitzgerald pub. By Michigan State University Museum, E. Lansing, Michigan 1987
Missouri Heritage Quilts by Bettina Havig Pub. By American Quilters Society, Paducah, Kentucky, 1985
Women & Their Quilts A Washington State Centennial Tribute by NancyAnn Johanson Twelker Pub. By That Patchwork Place 1988 Oklahoma Heritage Quilts, Oklahoma Quilt Heritage Project, American Quilters
Society, Paducah, Kentucky, 1990
Audrey Cameron in Lincolnshire,England where I wish Spring would come …but there are snowdrops on the front lawn.
audrey.cameronvirgin.net
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2000 19:01:38 EST | From: EllynLK
I just bought a couple of the Cocheco repros from Patchworks, receiving them today… and they are wonderful! I found a great 1870’s 9-patch where all the madder browns (read most of the squares) are rotting and want to put this one back together… the Cochecos are just perfect! Also– a question for those of you over on the appraisal bench -)
My mom has a quilt my great-aunt made (can’t for the life of me think of the pattern). It won a second-place in the Lake (California) County Fair in 1982 (the judge told Aunt Hazel that had she mitred the binding, she would have gotten First!). Just curious– when it comes to the appraisal of ANY quilt, does a ribbon award mean anything in terms of value? I once saw a quilt at an antique mall (1890’s string quilt) and the price was sky-high because, said the stall owner, it had a first place ribbon from 1897 or thereabouts from a fair. I know that the quilt didn’t move for at least a year (I kept hoping the price would fall because I loved the thing but it never did)… was talking to my mom about the fair ribbon and just wondered what being a “winner” does to the overall value of a quilt. Or does there need to be further documentation???
Date: Fri, 04 Feb 2000 21:25:53 -0600 | From: Valerie Davis <vps@>
There’s been allot of discussion on oral history, and I feel I need to join in.
First, we shouldn’t confuse oral history with oral tradition, they are two different things and the terms are NOT interchangeable. Oral history refers to life interviews of first hand experience, oral tradition is stories passed down from generation to generation. The beauty of oral history is that it gives a voice to ordinary people to tell history as they experienced it. Their remembrances put meaning to history. Oral history IS is a primary source of history, and I think it is misleading to use phrases like “solidly accurate primary source.” Sorry, there no such animal. Every source, whether it is in print or a life interview has the potential to have inaccuracies. The importance of oral history is not the accuracy per se, but the meaning the interviewee puts to the history. I also think it is unnecessary for the interviewee to go back over their transcript to check for errors. The way the said it in the first place, and their recording is good enough. Valerie
> > So will my future generations think this was all make believe? How do I go about accurately documenting her past?
> Hiranya,
> Tape the stories, and then have them transcribed. Have your aunt read
them
> and make corrections. When SHE is satisfied that the stories are the way
she
> wants them, then you have a solidly accurate primary source. FWIW, the jury is still out as to whether it’s important to include the ‘uhs’ and ‘ers’ and the grammatical mistakes a person makes. Since your
aunt
> will probably be mortified to obtain evidence that she doesn’t speak as fluently as she probably imagines she does (darned few of us do!) you
might
> want to clean up the transcript.
> If she can’t remember exact dates that things happened, ask for current events. For example, she might not remember the year, but if you know
that
> it was the year a certain person was born, you can trace the date via
birth
> records, or if it was the year of the big flood, you can get that from history books. Be sure and check these back with her, because she might
say,
> ‘Well, no, it couldn’t’ve been 1932, so I guess it was James, not Mary,
who
> was the baby that year.’ There’s an account in my family where my mother
was
> always told that the older child was 8 years old when it happened, but
when
> the family checked birth records, there was not a younger sibling born
that
> year. So the family story is off somewhat, although we don’t know by how much.
> Ask for pictures- go through an album and ask her to tell about every picture. Or name family members, or places, or events, and ask her about
her
> memories of them.
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2000 23:08:55 -0500 | From: “Phyllis Twigg” <ptwiggradix.net>
Does anyone have any information about an upcoming redwork book? It’s called
Red & White American Redwork Quilts by Deborah Harding, Rizzoli publishers.
Thanks,
Phyllis
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2000 23:55:39 -0500 | From: “J. G. Row” <Judygrowblast.net>
I know the rule about not sending jokes to the list. So I am not sending a joke. I have culled some important information from a long humorous post that I thought would interest those on the list who collect old sewing machines………… There is a lot more to the original. ******************************************************************* A Hundred Years Ago — (From a book called “When My Grandmother Was a Child” by Leigh W. Rutledge, which begins, “In the summer of 1900, when my grandmother was a child…”)
The average life expectancy in the United States was forty- seven.
Only 14 percent of the homes in the United States had a bathtub.
The average wage in the US was twenty-two cents an hour. The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year. Most women only washed their hair once a month and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
Some medical authorities warned that professional seamstresses were apt to become sexually aroused by the steady rhythm, hour after hour, of the sewing machine’s foot pedals. They recommended slipping bromide-which was thought to diminish sexual desire-into the women’s drinking water.
*************************************************** Only you can know if this pertains………………
Judy in Ringoes, NJ judygrowblast.net
Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2000 08:36:27 EST | From: Midnitelaptop
Amazon.com writes that the new Red & White book by Harding will be published in June 2000. She has written another book Crafting with Flea Market Fabrics.
Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2000 08:40:57 EST | From: Midnitelaptop
I would reccommend that all historians rent the video tape of the Japanese film.Rashomon. You will never look at oral history in quite the same light again.
Iris
Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2000 09:34:37 EST | From: CToczek
Dear Bobbie,
As luck would have it I worked at the school yesterday, but thought ahead enough to tape your episode of Simply Quilts. I thought you and Sharon seemed quite poised; I didn’t see any knuckle trembling at all! <G> For those who missed it, it was episode #545 and Bobbie Aug and Sharon Newman taught a string quilt project form their book, String Quilts with Style. A nice update on an old technique.
Carla Toczek
West Point, NY where the Hudson River is frozen and the boys love watching the Coast Guard ice breakers plowing through the floe ice. (We’re transplanted Southerners, you understand.)
Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2000 09:56:12 -0000 | From: “Michele Nicol-Hilton” <michelehathawayquilters.freeserve.co.uk>
Hello everyone
It is so long since I posted that you may have forgotten that I am the secretary of the Hathaway Quilters in Stratford upon Avon, UK. I am seeking your help!
I have nearly finished our programme of speakers for the coming year but I cannot find a local speaker who can do a talk on the history of quilt blocks.
Anyone know of a good book or source (still purchase-able today) that we could use. Any suggestions gratefully received!!
Kindest regards, Michele
Date: Sat, 05 Feb 2000 19:55:44 -0600 | From: Jocelyn <Jocelynmdelphi.com>
> Just (((where)) did the l/4 inch seam come to be?? I mean, as dressmakers, we Always used a 5/8 seam, (or larger)….WHERE did the l/4 inch come from?? Did just One person use it and it caught on because that’s what she used for her pattern, and the whole World started, or, is there some subliminal meaning behind this???
Karen,
I believe the reason for narrower seams in quilts is that wider seams for more difficult quilting. Wider seams in garments, OTOH, allow for more fraying before the seam is ‘busted’ (irrepairably separated).
Date: Sat, 05 Feb 2000 19:55:52 -0600 | From: Jocelyn <Jocelynmdelphi.com>
. Oral history IS is a primary
> source of history, and I think it is misleading to use phrases like “solidly accurate primary source.” Sorry, there no such animal. Every source, whether it is in print or a life interview has the potential to have inaccuracies. The importance of oral history is not the accuracy per se, but the meaning the interviewee puts to the history. I also think it is unnecessary for the interviewee to go back over their transcript to check for errors. The way the said it in the first place, and their recording is good enough.
Valerie,
Ok, if you want to say that everything is inaccurate, I’ll buy that. But I think it would be exaggerating to say that all sources are equally inaccurate, and no source is more accurate than another. I would also question whether there is only one importance of oral history, and that the historian’s subjective meaning is it. It seems to me that while the subjective meanings are fascinating and important, there would also be importance in recording chronology of events. One certainly cannot conclude that all oral accounts are flawed beyond use for that purpose. While an individual may misremember facts, most of us can relate our life histories with enough accuracy to be of use to a researcher who is interested in establishing a chain of events.
And I still disagree about the original statements being ‘good enough’. Suppose the speaker mispoke herself? How will you know that, unless she has a chance to review what she said? Not to mention, it’s an opportunity to go over meanings and constructions with her. The listener may think she understood the point adequately, but be very wrong. An example of this is when I interviewed my mother, to obtain oral history about some quilts that were going to be used as part of a quilt history thesis by someone else on this list. I had understood my mother to say, when she gave me one of them, that her mother had had a dress out of that fabric. I interpreted to mean that the scraps in the quilt were left over from the making of the dress. When I interviewed Mom, she corrected that to be that the quilt, which was made by her sister-in-law’s mother, just happened to use the same fabric- my grandmother knew the quiltmaker, but had not given her the scraps. The original statement could have stood alone, but then I would never have known that my understanding of the words ‘my mother had a dress out of this fabric’ did not mean what I thought they did.
Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2000 22:09:56 EST | From: aol.com
There’s another problem with not letting the interviewee review the transcript the typist may or may not have transcribed the tape properly. I’ve supported myself as a secretary for sixteen years, and I have *never* assumed that what is on the dictation tape is precisely what my boss meant. I’ve heard dictation tapes that were clearly random thoughts, or horribly ungrammatical, or repetitive, or confused. Typing up something like that on letterhead and sending it out unchecked would have gotten me reprimanded or fired.
There’s also the recording conditions to consider. As part of a graduate school assignment last year, I had to interview three people associated with my denomination a minister, a district executive, and a committee head from a local congregation. The *only* interview where everything was clear, precise, business-like, and completely on point was the interview with the executive. The committee head is an attorney who has a tendency to ramble and was also clearing up some last minute correspondence during the interview, while the minister has a soft voice and was sitting near a hot air vent. Large portions of the first interview had to be omitted, while I simply couldn’t hear parts of the latter.
That brings up a final point the conditions under which the interview is made can definitely affect the finished product. An interview that takes place in a building near a freeway or under the flight path of the local airport will not be as intelligible as one in a quiet suburban or rural house; a handheld tape recorder will not record the speaker as well as professional equipment; someone with a strong regional or foreign accent may not be picked up as clearly as another person with a ringing voice. All these factors influence a recording session. Ignoring them can result in distorted or misinterpreted data. And isn’t the point of oral history listening to our elders before the colors fade?
Karen Evans
Date: Sat, 05 Feb 2000 22:48:34 -0500 | From: Alan Kelchner <quiltfixmail.jax.>
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=249584412 Polychrome version of the partridge fabric we were discussing this week, in case you’re interested.
Alan
Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2000 00:50:50 -0600 | From: Jennifer Perkins <qltrstoreharlannet.com>
I also wanted to tell Bobbie and Sharon that they did a great job on Simply Quils yesterday!
Have any of you seen the string quilt that is in the James Collection? It was on display in the Home Ec. building this summer and is a real stunner! As I recall, it is a diamond star, and the maker planned her fabrics so it gets a circular motion going with the same color used in the same part of each diamond that makes the star. Wish I had a photo of it! Does anyone know if this is in print anywhere?
Jennifer in Iowa
Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2000 07:29:29 -0800 | From: “Mindy Sharp” <minsha>
I have been to UNL where the James Collection is housed. When I visited, there were a few of the quilts on display, but I do not remember a string quilt. If you get to Lincoln Nebraska, do make an appointment to visit this quilt center. They will give you a tour of the storage area — very interesting. Sometimes part of the collection is on display there also.
Mindy Sharp
Go forward and never lose sight of your dreams.
Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2000 10:20:23 -0600 | From: Laura Hobby Syler <texas_quilt.comail.airmail.net>
Karen,
OK, so now that we’ve been talking about oral history and oral traditions, here’s what I was told when I started quilting in the ’70’s….and it was told to me that “this is what my Grandmother told me……” …..since garments got more wear than quilts <G> they didn’t need an extra large seam allowance. Just enough to make sure that the seam didn’t pull or fray out when used. Many people used scant seam allowances because fabric was at a premium….but more than 1/4 will shadow through too much.So….if one quilted 1/4 ” away from the seam line then you would be pretty sure that you weren’t catching Betty Lou’s seam allowances when you were quilting her top at the quilting bee…..”You know that Betty Lou…..cant never tell which way that child is gonna press her top….if she even does at all….Bless her soul!……”
Now, since then, “flappin quilts” over the years, I’ve seen many tops that appear to have been English Paper Pieced that have a wide variety of seam allowances. Just worked on an 1850’s mosaic that still had some of the papers in it….got some nice little swatches while trimming off the backs…some had an inch or more, some barely enough to catch a thread……..
If I’m not mistaken, isn’t the 5/8th inch seam allowance an invention of the pattern mfgs? When did mfg patterns actually become available to the general public, and not just dressmakers? Like Butterick, Simplicity, Vogue and McCalls?
Anyone know?
Laura
Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2000 11:18:19 -1000 | From: “Laurie Woodard” <lwoodardhawaii.edu>
> Does anyone have any information about an upcoming redwork book? It’s called Red & White American Redwork Quilts by Deborah Harding, Rizzoli publishers.
> Thanks,
> Phyllis
Phyllis, Deborah describes her new book in the following terms “There will be two separate books slipcased together. The first is history, pattern sources, transfer methods, the Kensington School influence etc. highly illustrated with original art from period ads and catalogs. It also features 20 antique quilts in great detail (mostly my own) analyzing individual blocks and matching them up with original sources etc. I would hope that reference/handbook will enable most people to learn to date and document their own redwork quilts.
The second volume contains 100 actual-sze authenic patterns from these 20 antique quilts. Price for the set is $39.95.” (Amazon is quoting $35;
search under Deborah Harding).
The proof sheets aren’t out yet, but from what I’ve seen of the early drafts of chapters on the history of the Kensington school, and on the methods of design transfer (assuming they haven’t been watered down by the publisher) this shoud be a book to die for as a research tool for appraisers and researchers as well as a treasure for redwork needleworkers. I can’t wait to see it, myself.
—
Laurie Woodard
Researcher
Hawaiian Quilt Research Project http://openstudio.hawaii.edu/hqrp/default.html
Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2000 14:08:12 EST | From: KareQuiltaol.com
Don’t know if these could actually be called “funeral quilts,” but didn’t know what else to label them. Anyone ever heard of this custom? Anyone have connections in Tonga? While browsing through a book (“World Textiles A Visual Guide to Traditional Techniques” by John Gillow and Bryan Sentance, 1999, Thames & Hudson Ltd, London), I came across a photo on page 148 of a portion of a cemetery draped in quilts! The caption read “Cemetery on the South Sea Island of Tonga where many of the graves have been decorated with lovingly sewn patchwork quilts. Christianity isn’t the only thing the missionaries introduced to the South Seas.”
Karen Alexander
No. Virginia
Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2000 17:22:19 EST | From: aol.com
Well, the concept of funeral palls made up of appliqued (though not quilted)
blocks goes back at least to Germany in the 14th/15th centuries. There’s a nice example in the Augustiner Museum in Freiburg-am-Main, pictured in Verney’s =Applique=. Mourning quilts have been around since at least the mid-19th century, when the famous Kentucky Coffin Quilt was made (it’s currently being restored, but it’s pictured in many quilting books). The missionaries probably introduced patchwork quilting. Whether the natives had previously placed anything like a blanket or pall on the grave can’t be determined from the passage quoted, so it might be a native custom that was extended to quilts, or it might have been a missionary custom. Either way, very interesting.
Karen Evans
Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2000 18:04:54 +0400 | From: Xenia Cord <xecordnetusa1.net>
Under the generic name of funeral quilts you can include those arising from the tradition of saving the (formerly) silk and satin ribbons from the funeral flowers, and sewing them together to make a memorial quilt. Also, I have in my collection a crib-size whole cloth quilt in cotton sateen, simply quilted in lattice on the diagonal. It has *pinned* to the front a ruched ribbon wreath in pink. It is in a presentation box, presumably from a funeral home. It takes little imagination to understand that the color of the pinned ribbon wreath could be changed to blue if the child were a boy.
Xenia
Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2000 18:05:15 -0500 | From: “Phyllis Twigg” <ptwiggradix.net>
Karen and Karen mentioned funeral quilts.
If you plan to be in Paducah for the American Quilters Society Show you may want to note that Ann Watkins Hazelwood will be giving a lecture on funeral quilts. The following information is from the American Quilters Society web site www.aqsquilt.com
Lectures – Paducah, Friday April 14th
#4021, Eternal Quilts, Ann Watkins Hazelwood
Quilts are eternal in giving comfort to the body and soul. Lecture focuses on how quilts have been used historically as well as presently in the funeral process.
Phyllis
Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2000 20:22:00 EST | From: QuiltFixer
In a message dated 2/6/00 30213 PM Pacific Standard Time, xecordnetusa1.net writes
<< Also, I have in my collection a crib-size whole cloth quilt in cotton sateen, simply quilted in lattice on the diagonal. It has *pinned* to the front a ruched ribbon wreath in pink. It is in a presentation box, presumably from a funeral home. It takes little imagination to understand that the color of the pinned ribbon wreath could be changed to blue if the child were a boy. >>
What time frame do you think this dates to? Does anyone else have more information about the practice of giving the quilt to the family as a memento?
Toni B.
QuiltFixer
The Redwork Lady redworkldyaol www.redworklady.com
Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2000 21:26:38 +0400 | From: Xenia Cord <xecordnetusa1.net>
I would date the child’s funeral quilt I have as 1920-40 because it is cotton sateen.
I once spoke at length with a woman whose mother had been a public health nurse during the first quarter of the 20th century. According to the daughter, her mother made quilts to cover children who had died of infectious diseases. These children, because of the perceived danger from their fatal illnesses, were viewed through a window at the funeral home or family home, and not up close. The quilts were made as a comfort covering for the viewing, and were buried with the child.
Xenia
Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2000 23:49:20 -0700 | From: “Eileen Trestain” <ejtrestain>
A few weeks ago, I called my aunt whom I have not seen or heard from in years and asked her about a quilt she had. She had embroidered the redwork blocks as a girl and set them together. When I was sixteen, she sent it to my mother’s house, and I quilted it. It was sent back to her. I asked her if she had it, could I possibly buy it from her. She sent it to me. Over the last almost 25 years, it has been used and well loved. Many of my stitches are broken or gone. It is the earliest existing quilt I quilted. Along with the quilt she sent some of my grandmother’s quilting booklets, including an original Ladies Art catalog and Grandmother Dexter’s plus others. For those of you who were discussing hoops for quilting the other week, there were ads for quilting hoops in a booklet from the early 1930’s. Also, for Laura and others discussing seam allowances. In the early 19teens, suggestions for making quilts included directions for reducing the seam allowances, in an effort to make quilts lighter weight, which was considered healthier than heavy quilts. (If you have ever slept under one of those woolen comforts, anything lighter would sound good!) In combination with thin fabrics, and more washing than previously, this shortened the lifespan of some of the more delicate quilts. I’ll have to look thgrough my “new” 1930’s books to see what they suggested!
Eileen
Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2000 01:16:40 EST | From: EllynLK
In a message dated 2/6/2000 65527 PM Pacific Standard Time, Laura wrote << f I’m not mistaken, isn’t the 5/8th inch seam allowance an invention of the pattern mfgs? When did mfg patterns actually become available to the general public, and not just dressmakers? Like Butterick, Simplicity, Vogue and McCalls? >>
Without checking in my notes, it seems to be popping into my head that Butterick came to be in the 1860’s….
Lauri Klobas
Pacific PaKarendes California who has pieced 138 of the 144-needed 6-piece blocks for my mom’s quilt and thinks I’ll finish tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Of course, then I have to sew them together for the top. Then baste. Then quilt. But you can’t blame me for getting a bit giddy….
Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2000 08:43:18 -0500 (EST) | From: quiltsnbears (Roberta Geanangel)
For those interested in paper clothing patterns. http://www.butterick.com/aboutus/about.html
–WebTV-Mail-12360-10583–
Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2000 08:44:13 EST | From: Chyral
on oral histories….. About 10 years ago my husband and I did several oral history sessions with his Dad (then in his late 80s and still living on the same NJ farm he’d been born on….) and specifically tried to get him to talk about his mother’s quilting activities. All we could get out of him was “She was none too accurate with her sewing.” (For confirmation of this, see pg.
110 of the NJ Quilt book….)
on seam allowances…… I always though the 1/4″ seam allowance for piecing had everything to do with Mr Singer’s blessed machine, for the same reason it’s still the standard today…. because it lines up with the edge of the presser foot. I’ve seen all kinds of seam allowances used on hand-pieced tops, from itty-bitty threads tearing out at the edges small, to floppy 3/4″
whoppers, sometimes all on the same object!
on archiving oral histories….. A paper “hardcopy” transcription is still the best way to ensure an interview will survive. Audio cassettes will begin to degrade within 10 to 15 years. The life expectancy of a manufactured cd is about 100 years, and for a consumer-burned cd-rom, about half that.
I’m not sure how DAT tapes or minidisks stack up, and there is always the “Will anyone even have the equipment to read it?” factor…… (see also Edison cylinders, reel to reel tapes, eight track tapes, beta format video tapes….
and quadraphonic stereo… on vinyl!)
Happy Monday,
Cheryl
Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2000 10:15:01 -0500 | From: “Jan Drechsler” <quiltdocsover.net>
Hmmmph! I always thought that seams were 5/8 inch on clothes so that one could squeek out an inch per seam when the size of the garment mysteriously shrunk!
—
Jan Drechsler in Vermont
Quilt Restoration; Quilting teacher http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/bobmills/jan.html
Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2000 16:44:46 -0800 | From: Anne Scott <nzquilterxtra.co.nz>
Yes indeed, graveside quilts are a longstanding custom in Tonga. We published an article and photographs on the subject in New Zealand Quilter issue 15 (April 1996). It is now out of print. Basically, missionaries introduced the Tongan people to quilting in the 19th century and they have practised this ever since, relatively unchanged. This is in contrast to the Cook Islanders who also learned quilting from the missionaries but who then proceeded to change it to their own very recognisable style, now known as Tivaevae. In Tonga, there are many quilts, which are usually used in the cooler months and often seen hanging on washing lines to dry (mildew is a problem in such hot humid climates). Traditional patterns such as Drunkard’s Path, Log Cabin and Lone Star are common. Applique flowers are also found.
The graveside tradition is an important part of mourning. When a person dies, family and friends gather for a “wake”. Many bring gifts of cloth, including tapa cloth, which are divided among those who have helped and supported the family and sometimes the village elders. Sometimes quilts are given and the best quilt, or piece of fabric may be used to decorate the grave. Some feature the name of the deceased, appliqued onto the top. Fabrics used are often the brightly coloured synthetic fabrics and consequently they remain bright and unfaded despite the ravages of the weather. The quilts remain at the grave until they literally fall apart. Incidentally, the practice of giving cloth on special occasions remains common among many Pacific island peoples. This is not restricted to funerals. Cloth is given (often in lengths of five metres/yards) at weddings and when important visitors and officials are in town.
Anne Scott www.nzquilter.com
Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2000 00:32:41 -0500 | From: “J. G. Row” <Judygrowblast.net>
I’ve done 7 or 8 oral histories of the older folk in our fast disappearing farming community (no, NJ is not all turnpike and casinos). I have asked the leading questions and have not come up with any quilt history at all. By far the most interesting was of our still practising near 90 year old veterinarian. The little practice that he started in a shed in back of his house has grown into a huge building with at least 5 other vets on staff, plus an army of office help. At least 6 years ago that I know from personal experience, if you had an emergency call, it was his home phone that was picked up, and it was he, not the younger men and women who would meet you at the hospital.
As long as I have known him, perhaps 15 years, he has worn a hearing aid and just doesn’t hear you at all if you are standing to his side. I assume he read my lips when I was asking the questions to lead him into his wonderful stories.
We did the first interview after morning hours in the all stone lobby of the building. That means the floors, walls, and benches were all stone — the easier to hose down. Acoustics were really good. It was like singing in the shower. We had a wonderful interview going, and I was into my second 30 minute tape thinking I shouldn’t wear out my welcome. We moved right into afternoon hours and Doc wouldn’t stop talking! Then the barking started. But Doc didn’t hear it. And there was no way I could politely say “OK, enough! We’ll come back another time” without offending him. I also think he wanted all the folk bringing their small animals in for afternoon calls to see how important he was, being interviewed and all. I’ve transcribed most of the interview and there are only a few minutes obscured by barking, but at the time, I thought it went on forever. And, I am reminded — do not use the longest playing tapes to record. I have been told by recording pros that the shorter tapes will suffer less stretching and distortion. Also, now that home CD burners can be had for fairly reasonable cost, all tapes should be duplicated on CD. The tapes will not last forever. Digital remastering is the insurance for permanence.
And don’t forget to take photos!
Judy in Ringoes, NJ judygrowblast.net
Date: Tue, 08 Feb 2000 05:51:32 -0500 | From: “Diane McGuire” <dianemcgici.net>
Hi, friends,
I have to brag that I am the proud new owner of the two for one antique quilt that Kris featured in her SuperBowl sale.
One side is a goose in the pond in turn of the century fabrics. Several squares have damaged parts. The damage looks physical, like it was mouse chewed or caught in the springs. The rest of the fabric looks in good condition. It is all hand pieced.
The flip side is a 30ties nine patch with pretty floral/geometric sashing. It is machine pieced and in good condition. The “batting” is heavy flannel and the two quilts are tied to the flannel. It looks like the maker was the 30ties lady as she just folded the slightly larger older top and made it fit as a backing for the newer quilt. It is very heavy!
Here is where I need suggestions. I want to take it apart and make two separate quilts. I know I can salvage most of the older squares and make a smaller quilt by using the good squares and recombining the damaged ones to fill out the row. What do you suggest? I would use cotton or wool batting and new reproduction fabric for the backing and hand quilt (a new skill to me even though I have been sewing for 40 years) the older top and maybe machine quilt the newer one. I would of course document my changes. Would I make a big mistake using new fabric for the backing? I don’t think either quilt is so spectacular that it is museum quality and worth the expense of trying to find antique fabric.
I would appreciate any suggestions.
Thanks,
Diane in still icy southeastern Massachusetts
Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2000 07:42:10 EST | From: Midnitelaptop
For some reason i cant get to hickory hills website. Has someone got an address for it?
Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2000 09:42:07 -0000 | From: “Audrey Cameron” <audrey.cameronvirgin.net>
Greetings from rainy England,
As an addenda to the wonderful list on state books that has been made I would like to add one more
Texas Treasures – Texas Heritage Quilt Society 1986, published by the American Quilters’ Society, Paducah
And since we veered off into country books I must add these two Quilt Treasures – The Quilters’ Guild Heritage Search, 1996, Deirdre McDonald Books, London
Rae,Janet- Quilts of the British Isles 1987 Constable, London and
Wettre,Asa – Old Swedish Quilts 1995 Interweave Press, Colorado All 3 of these books have appeared as books at places such as Hamilton Books at very cheap prices lately.
And just as an extra note
Affleck, Diane Fagen –Just New from the Mills Printed Cottons in America Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries From the Collection of the Museum of American is available from Amazon as it has recently been reprinted.
Audrey Cameron in Lincolnshire,England audrey.cameronvirgin.net
Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2000 10:42:09 -0000 | From: “Celia Eddy” <celiaeddy.u-net.com>
Anyone know of any books/references I could use for researching history of Japanese Patchwork? So far I’ve only found Liddell and Watanabe’s Japanese Quilts, which has an excellent chapter on the history and significance of same, but there must be more.
Please could you e-mail me personally with any replies? For some reason I’ve been scratched from the main QHL List and only get the Digest. Don’t know why, because I did pay my sub.
Thanks in advance,
Celia
Date: Tue, 08 Feb 2000 12:51:09 -0600 | From: Laura Hobby Syler <texas_quilt.comail.airmail.net>
Diane,
Honestly, IMHO, I’d leave it two sided. Those kind of quilts are pretty few and far between…….condition would really help determine value, but as a “curiosity” piece, it could be worth more like it is than as two separated tops.
Just an idea.
Laura
Date: Tue, 08 Feb 2000 15:00:28 -0500 | From: Newbie Richardson <pastcrafts@>
I do not think that there is one single date for 5/8″ seams. I do know that the 18th c. clothing that I have studied have very small seams – when there are seams. Much of the construction of robes and petticoats was pleating the full width of the fabric into shape – so that the fabric could be reused. This method of constuction held until the advances in tailoring started to make the garments quite complicated. Most of the early 19th c. clothes of light weight fabrics that I have studied, were “french” seamed to prevent raveling and to make a neat appearance. When there were many pattern pieces in a bodice those seams were small to reduce bulk and so they could curve without pulling. We still clip and trim curved seams today, remember. Yet I have also seen large side and center back seams for exactly the reason already stated – to allow for alteration. We must always bear in mind that clothes were designed to be restyled and remade – unlike our current more disposable view.
I’ll go out on a limb and say that based on what I have studied, the 5/8″ seam was a product of the commercial pattern – but not until the 1920’s. (That is an anecdotal opinion based on my 20 years of experience restoring of antique and vintage clothing. I have worked on pieces from every decade starting with the 1790’s.)
The commercial pattern was a thriving enterprise from the early 1860’s and really took off by the early 1870’s. According to Joan Severa in Dressed for the Photographer, Butterick was producing 23,000 a day in 1871 totalling 23 million for the year. (Mlle. Demorest was equally successful before then.) The net result of this wide disemination of uptodate fashion information was a revolution in the way the “common”
person could access fashion.
But old dressmaking traditons die hard and I think that the universality of a 5/8 seam allowance was a 20th c. invention. I say this based on my study of very “flapper” style 1920’s dresses that were very clearly made by a seamstress trained in late 19th c. tailoring techniques. Needless to say that these dresses did not have the same “lightness” of form that Chanel and Lanvin intended! So saying, I have not spent any time actually researching this, so my theory is just that, a theory.
Newbie Richardson
Date: Tue, 08 Feb 2000 21:23:02 PST | From: “Anne Copeland” <anneappraiser>
Thank you, Eileen for the good words. And about the quilting hoops, I remember that someone actually told me without seeing mine that it was a rug hoop. Unfortunately, the person did not see that I said I had the box with it, which clearly indicated that it was a quilting hoop.
Hope all is well with you. Cheers, Annie
______________________________________________________
Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2000 09:25:59 +0000 | From: Carol Anne Clasper <Carolaptec.demon.co.uk>
Hi,
I have recently joined this list and have been enjoying reading the posts. I bought a pounce from Quilter’s Fancy and I am sure it is filled with chalk.
I was wondering if anyone knows where I can find information on early Scottish quilting – I have heard about quilting in the East Neuk of Fife but would like to know a bit more but I have no idea where to begin – any ideas?
Thanks,
Carol
A closed mouth gathers no foot.
