July 19 - 22, 2004 - QuiltHistory

Oral History & Documentation, Quilt History Resources, Quiltmaking Techniques & Construction

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:

A Heated Exchange Over the UGRR Myth — A QHL member describes a hostile response from a magazine writer after questioning the Underground Railroad quilt-code legend, and the list rallies in support. (see the article on quilt folklore)
Recommended Reading on Traditional Piecing — Members discuss Jinny Beyer’s new book and the Holstein book on the origins of the art-quilt movement.
Ceiling-Hung Quilting Frames — A new thread begins on the tradition of quilting frames suspended from kitchen or parlor ceilings.
AQSG Conference Preparations — Members discuss plans and materials for the upcoming American Quilt Study Group conference.

Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 17:37:43 -0400 | From: Joan Kiplinger <jkip@>

Lynn — I should emend this to mean mousseline de laine [cotton & wool or muslin of wool] which just about in every way was made like challis. Is this the delaine to which you refer.

Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 20:50:40 -0400 | From: “Molly” <ddiamond@>

They (Nuns) also had big rulers to hit your knuckles with… and would call you a “stupid idiot” .. I remember all too well. Molly

Date: Mon, 19 Jul 2004 21:11:35 -0400 | From: “Becky Phillips” <bphillipsxtalwind.net>

Thanks, Barb, and also Jan and Mary for your interesting replies to my query about traditional methods of handpiecing. I don’t have much time to study antique tops (though I would love to), and I appreciate knowing that this idea makes sense and in fact has been observed.

Barb, you pointed out that handpiecers do not shirk set-in seams. You even discovered, as I have, that they are easy to do and “brainless”. AFter having pieced many, many blocks, I sometimes even sew a 4-patch in a concentric way. It requires one less seam. (Sew three of the squares together with a continuous seam, then inset the last piece.)

I have discovered that many can be pieced efficiently by this mehtod. Another obvious possiblity is Lone Star.

Sewing this way feels different. But it also must influence the resulting arrangement of fabric patterns and colors. I suspect that some of the mysterious variability that can be seen in antique quilts can be explained simply by considering the probable piecing sequence. Lately I have been considering this as I review photos of old quilts, and as I do so, I feel a little closer to understanding the choices the quilter made. I do this not only to understand, but also to be able to work in a way that allows me to make old fashioned quilts that are not copies but genuine expressions of my own artistic ideas.

For anyone who may be interested, I photographed a sequence of my hands piecing a trip around the world quilt “concentricaly”. This series is posted in a Webshots album: http://community.webshots.com/album/158876515leRNeh

Thank you! Becky Phillips

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 00:24:23 EDT | From: Jccullencrew@

Hi Becky, I checked out your website and your quilts are just beautiful. And such a variety too. You must be an interesting gal to express yourself in so many ways. Your wavy quilts are wonderful. I’m going to go back and revisit to see if I can figure out how you do it, and also follow your pics of concentric blocks. It’s a little late right now to concentrate. Thanks for putting them where we can see them, and also thanks for setting up the teaching pictures so we can understand them and learn from them. Regards. Carol Grace

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 05:59:06 -0400 | From: Judy Kelius <quilts@>

–=====================_1273250==.ALT Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”us-ascii”; format=flowed

Thanks Becky for all those great photos. This is as good as having you sitting beside me to show the technique! It’s great to see renewed interest in hand piecing – I just may try this.

You are also too modest . . . you obviously have studied some antique quilts based on the wonderful fabric combinations you use in many of your quilts.

I hope you participate in QHL more often . . . this has been a wonderful discussion, very educational.

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 10:03:09 -0300 | From: Barbara Robson <robsonbhhfx.eastlink.ca>

For those of you interested in traditional piecing be sure and read Jinny Beyer’s new book “Quiltmaking by Hand”. I think it should be required reading! Lots of tips and advice and it is a beautiful book to look at. The design and layout are one of the best I have seen in a long time. It has gotten me back to always having a small bag of piecing to take in the car or to appointments, it is amazing how much “found time” there is and what can be accomplished.

No affiliation, just a recommendation!

Barbara Robson Fox Point, Nova Scotia

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 08:58:35 -0700 | From: “Laurette Carroll” <rl.carroll@>

Becky, I have a Mickey’s catalog from the John C. Michael Company who sold kit quilts (among other things) in the 1930’s era. You could purchase a lovely color coordinated kit for a trip around the world quilt. If you couldn’t afford the price of the whole kit, you could purchase it on the “Pay-as-you-go-plan”, sending for a couple of rows or colors at a time, starting with the center and working out. The finished quilt was 86″ x 93″.

Laurette

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 09:34:59 -0700 | From: <chrisa@>

Does anyone know of a place to buy back issues of PieceWorks magazine at a discount?

You can email me privately at quiltdating@

Thanks, Kim Wulfert

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 12:04:01 -0500 | From: louise-b <vlbequetmcmsys.com>

Just finished a book by Rebecca Kelly (from Florida) and wondered if she is a member of this list. She says “her most unusual hobby [is] the uncovering of “hidden” quilts, which are nineteenth-century quilts that have been used as batting for newer quilts. She has restored more than fifty to their former glory.”

Have seen one quilt purchased in the Moberly, MO area that we found two layers under the top layer. As I remember all had been machined quilted and all were worn.

Louise Bequette

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 15:15:33 -0400 | From: “John and Veronica Richmond” <johnandveronica@>

Barbara, I agree about Jinny Beyer’s book. I enjoy reading it. I have to admit, though, I feel I have an even better suggestion!! Linda Franz’s “Quilted Diamonds” and “Quilted Diamonds 2” are by far the best I’ve ever read – and watched, as Quilted Diamonds 2 comes with a DVD Lesson of her handpiecing techniques! They are extremely clear and incredibly well thought out and organized.

I love hand piecing so much I now teach it at my LQS and am working my way through Dear Jane. It’s fascinating to learn about past quilters and their quilts from this list!

Veronica Richmond Oakville, Ontario, Canada http://richmondandco.tripod.com/ http://community.webshots.com/user/johnandveronica

No affiliation, just a recommendation!

Barbara Robson Fox Point, Nova Scotia

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 18:09:08 -0500 | From: Ginny Crosthwait <ginnymarie@>

Hi everyone,

A friend gave me an old quilt that had belonged to her family. I’m no expert, so I really don’t have a sense of its age. It’s white with red and orange applique flowers (and green stems). There are large white spaces with lots of quilting in them.

I’m glad I got to see it, but I’m not sure what to do with it at this point. I don’t have room to keep it. Any advice? Anyone on the list interested? If so, I can try to get a picture of it.

Thanks–

Ginny Crosthwait

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 21:24:47 -0500 | From: “Jocelyn Martin” <jocelynm@>

>>They (Nuns) also had big rulers to hit your knuckles with… and would call you a “stupid idiot” .. I remember all too well.

Those of you who are survivors of the Catholic school system 🙂 might find it interesting to read some history of the orders. It’s appalling to imagine the lives of some of those nuns- being expected to teach (by today’s standards) huge classes, having no say in what you taught (being assigned not on the basis of your interests or skills, but on what was needed), often having little or no training (working on your degree in the summer), and being expected to fast often, eat little on other days AND wear several layers of wool in the summer. No wonder so many of them were cranky. Some orders took the ‘poverty’ vow to extremes such as sharing shoes and underwear. EWW!

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 22:46:37 -0400 | From: “Anita G. Solomon” <solo57@>

I couldn’t resist the detail of a quilt shown on the cover of “Early American Quilts 2005 Calendar” that I came across on Amazon. It arrived today. I bought it for the images. They are large and they seem to be well printed, not that I have ever seen the quilts. The quilts are the gift of Patricia Smith Melton and are from a collection in the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The calendar doesn’t mention “Calico and Chintz” but that is what you would think if you saw the C&C catalog. Some images and details that I don’t think I’ve seen before in the catalog. It struck me as odd that the designer used a typeface I think of as Benjamin Franklin-esque. Guess opinions very as to what “Early American” connotes. The emphasis is on the images though. For each month there are 2 pages, the upper page is the quilt image, a detail. Full bleed, edge to edge. The lower page shows the entire quilt (small image) with some descriptions. No attribution for the author. $12.95 I’m delighted with it.

Anita/NYC www.MakeItSimpler.com

Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 21:44:31 -0500 | From: “Marcia Kaylakie” <marciark@>

Jocelyn, I would be interested in reading this history since it conflicts directly with what my husband (and I) know about religious orders. Please remember that a life of poverty, obedience and chastity is something that each religious person renews his/her vow for yearly until lifetime vows are taken. In some orders, lifetime vows are never taken but a yearly one continues.Nobody is ever forced to remain in an order when they wish to leave. I do not know of any modern order that shares underwear (and I inquired). Why don’t we leave this little diatribe and continue talking about that which we all know and love….quilts! Marcia

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2004 11:02:32 -0400 | From: “Anne Datko” <datkoa@>

For those of us who don’t know, could someone describe the Holstein book available from UNebraska? Is it a must-have? I note that one can pick it up for around $60 from various used booksellers. So the $5 sounds like a bargain. Thanks. AnneD

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2004 13:26:03 -0400 | From: Palampore@

I was just trying to find out how to buy an extra copy of the exhibit catalog from the Charles Museum written by Laurel Horton on Mosaic Quilts. Didn’t find that info, so if anyone knows where to purchase it, please write. But…in the process of searching I saw that they had a quilt exhibit this spring of applique quilts. Did anyone get to the show? How was it? Was there a catalog to go along with it? The show ended May 3 or 4. The Mosaic quilt exhibit was fabulous a couple of years ago!!! Off to try to find the floor in my sewing room. Pepper is off to the beach with her family so I have to take this task on alone. UGH!!! Lynn Lancaster Gorges

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2004 15:35:58 -0400 | From: “Lucinda Cawley” <lrcawley@>

If terrorists had attacked Norristown, PA yesterday they would have deprived the Quilt History List of many of its most loquacious participants. Jan Dreschler, Barb Garrett, J. G. Row, Nancy Hahn, Gail Iingram, Judy Kelius, Candace Perry, Sue Reich and a couple of dozen others (many lurkers) participated in the Studio Quilt Study Group’s meeting at the Montgomery County Historical Society. The staff of the Society could not have been more welcoming. They even came in early to accommodate us. J. G. Row presented each of us with an Underground Railroad poster published by the US Forest Service (so depressing). Carolyn Miller distributed “Texas fat quarters”: two Texas quarters stuck together with double sided tape. It was an amazing gathering with people coming from TX, LA, VT, CT, MD,PA and NJ. Very few of the quilts we saw were the kind that is unmistakably Pennsylvania. Montgomery County is directly north of the city of Philadelphia. The English/Quaker influences predominate in the southern part of the county and in the society’s quilt collection. There were some extraordinary 1840s friendship quilts. Several of them had the kind of gorgeous inking you can see on p. 48 and opposite the table of contents of the Quilt Mania catalogue. Although the quilt in the picture is from just over the line in Bucks Co. the look is the same: not just exquisite calligraphy but tiny masterpieces such as swans, baskets, a mourner at a tomb such as we see on the schoolgirl embroideries. One quilt was a collection of turkey red Mariners Compasses with the inscriptions in the center, another was Album blocks with an astonishing blue sashing so vivid it gave us some pause as to whether it was of the same period as the blocks (it was). A collection of Stars dated 1843 were appliqued to feedsack backgrounds and assembled in the mid-20th century into two twin size quilts with garish yellow calico scalloped borders! Sue Reich observed that quilts made from a large variety of turkey red prints seem to come from the Delaware Valley area (Philadelphia, southern New Jersey east to the Atlantic, Delaware, tidewater Maryland). We believe the fabrics to be imports, probably distributed through the port of Philadelphia. Comments anyone? A Crazy dated 1937 boldly stated the maker’s name and the information “Every stitch done by me age 85, Mennonite Home, Frederick, PA.” The quilt looked like a quilt from the height of the Crazy era. The maker must have replicating the work of her youth. My pick of the day was an astonishing quilt from around 1800. Large (8″) squares of wonderful fabrics were surrounded by appliqued dogtooth borders constructed in quarters (I know this is a terrible description, but believe me the way this quilt was constructed makes no sense at all. You couldn’t conceive of a harder way to do it). We got to see really big pieces of really old fabrics (one late 18th century brown floral chintz and best of all many, many turkey reds with very large scale motifs). Another suggestion re. turkey red: are the really large prints (as opposed to the mignonettes) the really early ones? Many of the fabrics in this quilt had never been seen before by any of us. The icing on the cake of this beauty is the border. It’s a lavish floral chintz which was appliqued to muslin along the curves of the floral motifs. At the corners she fussy cut so that she could applique over the seam lines. Truly amazing! While thinking about turkey red I must tell you about a collection of various turkey red Feathered Stars set on a Prussian blue floral background (the combination takes your breath away–we broke the AH-H-H-H meter yesterday) with sashes and borders of half-square triangles of various reds and the blue. After all the excitement an 1840s Quaker silk Star quilt provided a lovely respite. There were two great framed center quilts. One was a series of pieced frames and the other an exceptional Tree of Life chintz applique with multiple appliqued borders all cut from various chintzes. If you have a copy of Lest I Shall Be Forgotten by Nancy (who was with us yesterday) and Donald Roan you can see two of the quilts. On page 46 is a Carpenter’s Square dated 1846 with a large scale paisley border. This one really does look German since the blocks are ox blood and yellow. On page 80 is a great utility quilt made of banners commemorating the 1844 presidential election: American flags with the names of James K. Polk, George M. Dallas and Francis R. Shunk (candidates for president, vice-president and governor of PA, respectively-all successful). There were quilted petticoats and woven coverlets and a group of very happy quilt historians. Cinda on the Eastern Shore

Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2004 14:57:07 -0700 | From: “Julia D. Zgliniec” <rzglini1@>

Dear All, I can only sigh with jealousy after reading your wonderful description of the Study Group Cinda. Maybe in my next life I can live on the other coast! Thank you Julia Zgliniec, Poway, CA.

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 19:00:00 +1000 | From: “Kate Knight” <kateknight@>

Sigh, After I have picked myself up and cleaned up after all the drooling… I have to ask Will we get to see any photos ?

Jealous in Sydney, Kate ——=_NextPart_000_0009_01C4701E.16BDE510–

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 07:02:37 -0500 | From: louise-b <vlbequetmcmsys.com>

I believe I ordered mine from The Charleston Museum after I saw ads in Piecework Magazine. Curious Works Press, Greenville, SC is listed as the publisher. Laurel Horton wrote one of the essays. (ISBN is: 1-928584-08-X)

Louise Bequette

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 08:20:54 -0500 | From: “Kathy Moore” <KathyMooreneb.@>

The Holstein book is an important book because it covers the beginnings of the art quilt movement. Jonathan Holstein and his partner, Gail vanderHoof (?) curated the landmark exhibit at the Whitney in the early 1970s that got the attention of the art world in the graphical/artistic qualities of quilts. The book is frequently referred to by quilt historians and textile artists and is often used as a reference in scholarly works. In my humble opinion, it’s a very important book to have if you want to build a good reference library. At this price, you can’t go wrong. And you can always sell it on Ebay if you decide you don’t want it!!!! ——=_NextPart_000_001B_01C46FC4.CE865600–

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 11:06:35 EDT | From: Midnitelaptop@

last nite on pbs they had a program “1421:The Year China Discovered America?”…seems this man wrote a book suggesting that China “discovered” america before columbus… well, i learned a lot of wonderful things about the chinese fleet sent out during the ming dynasty and about spice and silk routes…however,in the end… what the author had done with interpretations of maps and diaries was more myth than fact…between nuances and some tweaking…the story of the trip to the americas was good reading…..but fact..well maybe not… however i’m sure many copies of this book have been and will be sold and many people will believe the author, and pass the story on as true…. remind you of any current discussion? jeanL

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 16:29:38 +0000 | From: “jocelynm@” <jocelynm@>

On July 20, 2004, Marcia Kaylakie wrote:

> I do not know of any modern order that shares underwear (and I > inquired). Why don’t we leave this little diatribe and continue talking > about that which we all know and love….quilts!

Marcia, I did not say that a modern order did that; that’s why I called it history.

As for diatribe, I think that is a very unfair word to use. The point I was trying to convey was not, as your note seemed to imply, that nuns were kep t prisoners, but that HISTORICALLY they had very hard lives, and they were asked to do more than they were directly trained to do, and that might well contribute to the perceptions that they were quick to punish. Many of thos e dreaded sisters in the pre-Vatican era were very young women who had litt le training in teaching, and were doing the best they could in a very deman ding situation. If speaking up for them, and asking that the whole picture be considered, is a ‘diatribe’, so be it.

If you, or anyone else, are interested in reading some of the history of th e monastary I am affiliated with, I will be glad to share references.

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 13:08:41 -0400 | From: “Pam Weeks Worthen” <pamworthen@>

Our list mom, Kris Dreissen and husband John drove the new Quilt Bus all the way to Dover, NH on Tuesday. The bus was parked in back of the church where the Cocheco Quilt Guild meets, and we had a good visit with them both before the meeting.

Kris gave a great talk on nineteenth century quilts and women, and best of all, brought her teaching collection to pass around. The reaction from guild members was profound. How often does a group of 150 women have the opportunity to touch, handle, fondle or simply hold old textiles?

List Mom shared children’s clothing, petticoats, quilts, blocks and coverlets to illustrate her talk, and the audience got to touch everything. Kris, I think there was a little more info than they appreciated about out-houses, but then, who am I to say? My auntie still has one at her camp, and they’ve never bothered me. It was a kick!

Thanks, Kris, it was great fun to see you again!

Pam Weeks Worthen, in hot, humid, horrid, New Hampshire, where we start whining the instant the thermometer reads 85 and the trees start dripping with the humidity. And we whine LOUDLY! The cold just doesn’t bother me as much!

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 16:31:59 -0400 | From: Patricia L Cummings <quiltersmuse@>

Dear QHL members:

I received this note today from someone who read my article in The Quilter magazine. Thought you all would want to read it, as I can only bet that it reflects the views of many others.

Pat

To Patricia L. Cummings

I recently read with disgust and disdain your article from the Sept. 2004 issue of The Quilter Magazine regarding the Underground Railroad Codes of the Slave Quilts as being mere fiction. Your article was not only disrespectful but erroneous as well. What gives you the gall or the authority to think that your speculation is accurate? You question the validity of various quilt blocks regarding timeframes, yet that is based on sheer speculation and nothing more!

There WERE, indeed, secret codes in the Slave quilts just as there were secret codes in the Slave songs and spirituals. I certainly believe the revelation of these codes from the book “Hidden in Plain View” conveyed by Mrs. Ozella McDaniel Williams.

Furthermore, your speculation fails to take into account that, at best, the quilts made by the Slaves for their own use were mere scraps of fabric taken from the plantation house. A Slave, of course, was not free to go shopping for fabric. These quilts would not likely have withstood up to the present time! Therefore, we would not even expect to find any of these quilts in existence today.

As an African-American quilter and Speech Pathologist, I will continue to share the story of the secret codes of the Slave quilts as long as I have my being! After having read your article, it makes me that much more determined to continue sharing the Slave stories to both young and old.

You also speak of the economic benefit some persons are making from these presentations. So what!! You are also trying to make money from this by counter-opposing the issue. But it’s the people like you who need to be silenced!!

Slavery was a very horrifying time for this nation and especially for my own people. I can never imagine the horrors endured by my ancestors. The very foundation and wealth of this nation was built on the blood, sweat and tears of my African-American ancestors with no consideration for the least amount of reparation. When I think of how we have suffered through these many, many years I can only hold on to the images of that old Slave grandmother who was determined to escape the ravages of so heavy an oppression by making a quilt so that her fellow Slaves could have a secret code for escaping. When I heard the story of these quilts, I cried!! This is how near and dear this story is to me, personally. Therefore, I will not let people like you rob me of my touch to the past.

Sincerely, Barbara Reeves Hart, MA Speech Pathologist Gastonia, North Carolina cc: The Quilter Magazine The Oprah Winfrey Show Jacqueline L. Tobin Raymond G. Dobard Serena Strother Wilson

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 15:49:02 -0600 | From: Xenia Cord <xenia@>

Pat, you will never be able to sway the opinion of someone whose faith in HIPV is so strongly rooted in her culture. Obviously you are both entitled to your opinions, and yours is the scholarly mainstream view and the stronger voice. Unfortunately, as we are all aware, this has become a race issue as well as a scholarly and historical one. I believe I sent this information before, but it bears repeating:

In her “From Myth to Maturity: The Evolution of Quilt Scholarship,” Virginia Gunn gives very concise but complete summary of how myths related to textiles are perpetuated. Using the Betsy Ross myth, Gunn points out that “…myths are a part of culture. Because they may encapsulate a different kind of truth than historical fact, they form a body of beliefs that have a life of their own. They survive and thrive as accepted truth even when proven to be historically inaccurate.” (195).

Can we hope that your correspondent’s copy to Oprah will open an avenue of very public discussion? Might you be invited to express our viewpoint?

Xenia

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 17:10:03 -0400 | From: “Candace Perry” <candace@>

Pat, May I extend my sympathy to you for having to be on the receiving end of this. I have been on the receiving ends of similar things, and I know it hurts, even if you are thick skinned and don’t take it personally. They can weep over the stories all they want; it doesn’t make them true. Candace Perry

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 14:10:41 -0700 (PDT) | From: Kris Driessen <krisdriessen@>

Pat, et al,

Is the article as printed by The Quilter available on line? If it has any relation to the one you wrote at http://www.quiltersmuse.com/symbolism_in_quilts_as_part_of_t.htm, I just don’t see the speculation in it.

I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but, geez, it’s impossible to prove a negative. All you can do is STATE that certain information has never been corroborated. Which you did.

I don’t understand why she would want to deliberately pass on information she knows to be untrue to the next generation. It seems to me that is a disservice to the African American community. Speculation stated loudly isn’t more valid than softly spoken truths.

Kris

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 17:44:11 -0400 | From: “sue reich” <suereich@>

Keep in mind that in Barbara Reeves Hart’s world, we are the different point of view. I sincerely hope that this article will anger her enough that she shares it, and just maybe, a particle of doubt will be cast on the authenticity of the HIPV myths. Just back from an awesome trip to the Quilter’s Hall of Fame grand opening and the study center at the Montgomery Historical Society. It will take me a few days to touch earth again. sue reich

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 18:13:52 -0400 | From: Patricia L Cummings <quiltersmuse@>

Kris wrote:

Is the article as printed by The Quilter available on line?

No, this particular issue (September 2004) is brand new. I received a copy in yesterday’s mail and it is just now becoming available to the general public.

The article is four pages long and has blocks that I made for purposes of illustration, as well as some antique blocks. The tone and information is somewhat the same, but additional information has been included.

Thanks for all of you who have written in response to my posting. When I ran out into the yard to tell Jim that someone thinks I should be silenced, from his ladder where he was painting, he called down, “Good luck to them! It would be a first. People have been trying to get you to shut up for years”. Lovingly said, of course! Humor is what gets us through.

Pat

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 15:24:55 -0700 | From: <chrisa@>

Times like this are no fun Pat. Glad you shared it with the group. Will the magazine print it?

I think Barbara speaks for many people who have accepted this myth. They tend to confuse the horribleness of the slavery years and desire to escape from such, with the HIPV myth. I don’t see an overlap, but they seem to. I think it’s a terrible put down on the salves. They were intelligent people, even if unschooled, and didn’t need or require the simplistic symbols assigned to these mythical blocks.

Kim Wulfert www.antiquequiltdating.com

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 15:26:05 -0700 | From: <chrisa@>

Sue- can you give us a little feedback about the big event and about the book on the honorees? it would be appreciated.

Kim Wulfert www.antiquequiltdating.com

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 18:00:30 -0600 | From: Xenia Cord <xenia@>

For those you planning to attend AQSG/Portland, there will be a copy of the Quilters Hall of Fame Honorees book, signed by as many of the honorees and their authors as I could corral. I will donate it to the live auction, along with a QHF T-shirt. Because the event may have been a “one of a kind” gathering, it may not be likely that other fully signed copies will be available.

Xenia

(I’ll let Sue and others post a review of the weekend; the Midwest Fabric Study Group also met there last weekend, and had an exciting show & tell; info will follow from someone.)

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 09:32:50 -0500 | From: “Jennifer Van Haaften” <jasvanhaaften@>

The first thing that struck me about the web site on quilting for kids was the way they described how you put the layers together. I’ve always seen my mother lay out the backing, batting and quilt top out on a flat space of floor to pin or baste together and then put it into the quilt frame. The person who wrote the description obviously has never made quilts. Although it is for kids, it always bugs me when people give wrong information to kids (and teachers). If those kids are never exposed to quilting again, they will always incorrectly assume that quilts are put together on the frame, instead of layed out smoothly, basted by thread or pins and then put into the frames. Even if you think you know how something is done, it never hurts to double check. I might email the web site about it, because it does bother me that much.

Thanks for bringing it to our attention.

Jennifer Van Haaften email: jasvanhaaften@

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 18:50:29 -0600 | From: Xenia Cord <xenia@>

There are many ways to put a quilt in a frame, including laying the layers together on the floor and then basting or pinning them together before putting them in the frame. Some even use tagging guns instead of pins to do the job.

I learned early from a dear Amish friend how to put a quilt into the frame layer by layer, without basting or pinning, and without help. The layers are pinned to the sides of the frame and rolled tautly into place, one at a time, until all three layers are in place. Then I was taught to begin quilting in the center, quilt toward me to the outside edge, and go back to the center to begin quilting the other half.

Works for me –

Xenia, in Indiana Amish country

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 21:06:24 -0400 | From: “gb-best” <vitale@>

Hello,

I need the help of our list members.

This quilt was bought to me. I know it’s an import quilt, but don’t know who made it.

The stitch count is only 3-4 stitches per inch and there is no binding.

Does anyone know who produced this import or where I might find out information about it?

Take a look at our photos by clicking on the two links I have added.

http://home.ptd.net/~vitale/quilt1.jpg

http://home.ptd.net/~vitale/quilt2.jpg

Thanks for any help. You can email be direct too.

Donna

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 22:51:44 -0400 | From: “Karen” <charter.net>

Pat – my sympathies. Is there any way to open up a dialogue with this good lady, such as putting her in touch with the gentleman in New Jersey who’s researched this subject so thoroughly? She seems sincere, and her concern about the evils of slavery being swept under the rug (or quilting frame) is a valid one.

This has become such an emotional issue…I don’t know what the answer is. The slave code in the quilts is such an appealing story that it *should* be true. But the way that Jacqueline Tobin ducked my questions, and those of others, bothers me greatly. Until she releases her interview tapes or transcripts and gives her complete bibliograpy, there’s no real way to be sure.

*sigh*

Karen Evans

Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 20:28:36 -0700 | From: “Laurette Carroll” <rl.carroll@>

Hello Jennifer, Perhaps your mother didn’t use a frame like the one pictured on the LOC site. One of the greatest advantages of using that type of frame is that basting is not necessary. The layers can be stretched out securely and pinned, the backing to a strip of fabric tacked to the frame, or even pinned to the frame itself, and then the batting is laid on the backing, then the top is pinned to the backing. The quilt sandwich is so secure that you can actually start quilting from all sides at once, working your way in, which is handy for group quiltings. I used to belong to a group that quilted many quilts in such a frame, including quilting at the county fair.

That was always fun and we had so many folks come up and tell us how their Granny or Mom or Aunt used to quilt, and we would hear all about how the kids would play under the frame or how Granny always made sure the stitches were tiny. And we would always get several converts, with ladies asking us all sorts of questions and wanting to know how they could get started making a quilt. I would always direct them to a quilt shop to take lessons and get further information, thinking they might as well get off to a good start with a class in the basics. I taught myself to quilt, and I later learned that I could have had a better teacher, LOL.

Laurette Carroll Southern California

Look to the Future With Hope