November 3 – 4, 2004
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:
- Hmong Textile Research Continues — The Hmong story-cloth and needlework thread continues, including a search for a reference book by Carla J. Hassel.
- Old Sturbridge Village Textile Weekend — Members plan and recap a textile-focused weekend event at Old Sturbridge Village.
- Removing Wax, Rust, and Smoke Stains — Practical restoration advice for removing wax, rust, and smoke residue from antique quilts. (see the article on stain removal)
- Tracking Down a Quilt Reference Book — A member seeks help locating a specific out-of-print quilt reference paper.
Date: Wed, 3 | From: kerrybrack@
hi everybody did i imagine that this quilt has been reproduced and there is a book on it???i have taken a fancy to it…does anybody know?? i thought i saw it on a website but nothing comes up on my web search. tia. i dont remember seeing at the two times i have been this year to the shelburne???
kerry in sydneyx
From: “Karen Musgrave” <karenmusgrave@>
There are also three interviews from Hmong quiltmakers on The Alliance for American Quilts website (www.centerforthequilt.org) in the Quilters’ S.O.S. – Save Our Stories project. The interviews are in the Pennsylvania State project.
Karen Musgrave
From: “Audrey Cameron” <audreycameron@>
Dear All,
I have a book on teh Hmong work: Creating Pa Ndau Applique by Carla J. Hassel, published by Wallace-Homestead, Lombard Illinois, 1984 ISBN 0-87069-390-5. It is essentially an “how to do” book but lots of information & descriptions of the work & what synbols mean.
Audrey Cameron in Lincolnshire, England audreycameron@
From: macdowel@
Re. Quilts and Museums Michigan State University Museum is the home of the Great Lakes Quilt Center. The museum has a collection of over 500 quilts (including some significant sub-collections), initiated and maintains the Michigan Quilt Project, always has one quilt on display, has periodic on-site exhibits, regularly tours quilt exhibits, publishes on quilts, organizes public programs on quilts, launched and supports H-Quilts, and is a leader in The Quilt Index. http://museum.msu.edu/glqc/index.html PS: A planned new exhibition facility will host a textile gallery devoted to rotating displays of quilts and other textiles.
Re. Hmong textiles Meanwhile, the MSU Museum also holds a substantial collection of Hmong paj ntaub and clothing made in the U.S. , Thailand (refugee camps), and Laos. Some pieces date from the early 1970s, others are as recent as this year as we continue to collect examples that show the evolving changes in Hmong textile work — including the making of quilts. In addition we also have examples of clothing and textiles made by members of other Southeast Asian hill tribes. We have mounted and circulated exhibitions on Hmong textiles, hosted sales of Hmong work, and organized–in partnership with members of the Hmong community–lectures, performances of Hmong music, and demonstrations of Hmong foodways, games, and textile work. Here is a bit of information on the collections: http://museum.cl.msu.edu/s-program/mtap/Collections/hmong.html. We also produced two publications that accompanied early exhibitions: Michigan Hmong Arts (1983) is now out of print but we still have copies of Stories in Thread (1989). Go to https://museum.msu.edu/MTAPStore/ to get additional information on these as well as other textile publications.
— Marsha MacDowell
From: Patricia L Cummings <quiltersmuse@>
The book mentioned below is a wonderful book, but like the other books on quilting that Carla wrote, it is out of print and hard to find. Your best bet is to locate it in a library.
Pat Cummings
From: macdowel@
one I posted earlier… https://museum.msu.edu/MTAPStore/
the correct one is… https://secure.museum.msu.edu/MTAPStore/main.asp
Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2004 | From: “Patricia Keller” <berrett@>
Regarding Hmong textiles – Heather Gibson recently completed her M.A. thesis on Hmong story cloths through the Early American Culture program at Winterthur/ University of Delaware. Her work was based in part on videotaped oral history interviews with makers and is an excellent study!
Pat Keller
Date: Wed, 3 Nov | From: “Karen Evans”
Question: how many of us are planning to be at Old Sturbridge Village this weekend? The tea with Patricia Cox Crews is sold out, but there are quilt-related lectures and activities all weekend.
I know Lynne Bassett was planning on attending, and I’m going for at least part of the day on Saturday – anyone else?
Karen Evans
Date: Wed, 03 Nov 2004 | From: Palampore@
I vote for the teal of the NC quilts I own to fall more in the area of a combination of #168 and #169. I am up to my eyeballs with several projects so I can’t do this….but would anyone who has a ton of state project books be interested in finding the teal/oxblood/orange quilts in the state books? I know that there are some in the Arkansas, Texas, and NC books. How is Florida going to divide their quilts? I am sure that lots of the quilts they will see are from many other states due to the immigration down there. Is there a Florida style? How will they be recognized? What is the best book for identifying paisley shawls? There are soooooo many and I can’t afford them all. I recently went to Myrna Bloom’s site and there were about 18 pages of reference books on the subject of Indian, Persian, Kashmir, and Paisley. Overwhelming….. Thanks in advance for any help with all of these things. Lynn Lancaster Gorges Historic Textiles Studio New Bern, NC
From: “Monica MacDonald”
I am going and am looking forward to the tea and other activities. I am crossing my fingers that our weather forecast is all wrong (some freezing rain and…sigh…snow flurries). I don’t get to go to these events very often so Mother Nature better not interfere! Monica in Maine jmacdon6@
Date: Wed, 3 Nov | From: “The Motl’s” <motl@>
One of her OOP books is on ebay, not the one about Hmong quilting. Chris —– Original Message —–
From: “sue reich” <suereich@>
I’ll be there on Saturday. Looking forward to seeing QHLers. sue reich
Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2004 | From: ARabara15@
Wink works wonders. The best I’ve used. Donald Brokate
From: “Sharon in NC”
Wink will eat the fibers within seconds. I use it on newer cottons but wouldn’t even take a chance with vintage pieces.
Sharon in NC
Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2004 | From: “Karen Evans”
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I seem to recall that the old buttermilk recipe removed rust stains? And wouldn’t a mild lemon juice bleach work?
Date: Wed, 3 | From: “Julie” <quiltappraiser@>
Judy asked “Does anyone here remember anything about Hmong needlework in either Uncoverings or Blanket Statements? I would swear there was something but I’ve dug through all of mine and can’t find any.”
I was looking through some of the early uncoverings (80s) and saw an article on Hmong appliqué. Julie Crossland, Hudson, NH
From: “Rosie Werner”
Are any of you collectors of toy sewing machines, or do you you know someone who collects them? I have information about a collector who is selling her collection of 93 vintage toy sewing machines. If you are interested, e-mail me privately and I will give you the contact info. She also has a collection of Featherweights, but is not selling them at this time. Rosie from Minnesota
From: mopalka
Nancy, How would I find a copy of this paper? Thank you, Susan(in Alaska with lots of new snow!) * * * * * * * An article in the 1988 “Pieced by Mother” symposium papers, by Sally Peterson is titled, “A Cool Heart and a Watchful Mind-Creating Hmong Paj Ntaub in the Context of Community.” Could this be what you were thinking of, Judy Anne?
Nancy Hahn
From: “Judy Anne” <anne_j@>
Wow! Thanks to everyone for all the great information on Hmong quilting resources..
>>I was looking through some of the early uncoverings (80s) and saw an article on Hmong appliqué. Julie Crossland, Hudson, NH<<
Julie, I still can’t find it. I’ve looked at the index of all the ones I have. Do you know what year it was? I would sure appreciate it.
Judy Anne
From: “Pam Weeks Worthen” <pamworthen@>
Hi all,
Lorie Chase and I will be at Sturbridge on Saturday. We’re planning on getting there at lunch time or a bit earlier, and have tickets for the tea.
See you there!
Pam Weeks Worthen in NH, where the leaves are nearly gone.
Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2004 14:45:03 | From: “Karen Evans”
That makes about five or six of us, then…would people like to meet up at some point? I’m considering wearing my green cloak anyway and should be pretty noticeable…:)
Karen Evans
From: “Audrey Cameron” <audreycameron@>
Dear All, There are copies of the Carla J. Hassel book “Creating Pandau Applique” (Hmong Work) on Amazon for about $9.00. I put in the name Carla J. Hassel & the book came up with several used copies available.
Audrey Cameron on a beautiful sunny day in Lincolnshire, England audreycameron@
From: Judy Schwender <sister3603@>
Whink contains hydrogen fluoride, which is used in the glass etching industry. For the Material Safety data on Whink go to http://www.whink.com/msdsrr.pdf.
Lemon juice is an acid. Cream of tartar is an acid. Any acid will continue to eat away at a textile if all of it is not completely removed. Ditto on sodium hypochlorite (Clorox bleach.) My question is: How can you be sure you have removed every last little bit of it from a quilt?
Buttermilk contains butterfat- and that is an animal product. It can attract pests, and go rancid. Even butterfat content of 1% or less can do this if it not completely removed from the quilt once the cleaning is done.
In all these instances, the catch is: Can you remove the cleaning chemicals (and all of these are chemicals, folks) one hundred percent from the quilt?
In any case, if you do clean a quilt, keep a record of the product(s) used, and the location on the quilt where you used them. Keep this with other documentation on the quilt. This will aid the conservators of the future who may end up caring for the quilt.
Date: Thu, 4 Nov | From: “Dale Drake” <ddrake@>
To all:
AbeBooks (www.abebooks.com) had four copies, ranging in price from $24.95 to $250. (!!!) It now has three copies. Thanks for the heads up on the book, Pat. And for those who don’t know about it, AbeBooks is a wonderful place to pick up out of print books.
Dale Drake
From: “Newbie Richardson” <pastcrafts@>
Although this is NQR, it is a handwork issue, so forgive my post. As many of you know, I am a long time smocker of childrens clothing. I recently was given a fellow (retired) smocker’s stash of patterns and design plates. As there are many duplicates, I’d like to pass these goodies on to a happy home. So if anyone has a friend – or knows a recent grandmother (!)- who would like these, please email me privately. Newbie Richardson
From: “Larry Wohlge”
I have a quilt with candle wax on it. My dd used it as a table cloth.(no I did not kill her, but the thought crossed my mind.) Is there any way to safely clean this? It is not an antique, it is just 14 years old. It is the baby quilt I made her.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks, Sherrie
From: “Karen Evans”
If it’s white wax, this method will work.
First, scrape off as much of the wax as possible. Then take a brown paper grocery bag, lay it over the wax, and quickly run a hot iron over the wax. The wax will melt and be absorbed by the grocery bag, and the quilt should be fine.
I’ve never had to remove colored wax so am not sure if the dyes would be set by the heat, but this should work with white, ivory, or beeswax.
From: “Larry Wohlge”
No It could not possibly be white or clear. Oh no! she had to use red!! yes you heard right it is red candle wax. I was hoping there was some king of wax remover that would not harm the fabric.
Sherrie
—
bag method suggested by another list member. Once all the wax has been removed applique a nice big heart over the area and make sure dd knows she has a special place in your heart and to be glad you didn’t kill her!! LOL I have had the worst thing happen to a quilt.. fingernail polish! The urge was really great especially since this WAS an antique quilt from the ’30’s. And, yes, I was able to get the polish off and there is a very faint stain there but it fits in well with all the other stains from that era. Hugs, Babette
Larry Wohlge <larryw@> wrote:I have a quilt with candle wax on it. My dd used it as a table cloth.(no I did not kill her, but the thought crossed my mind.) Is there any way to safely clean this? It is not an antique, it is just 14 years old. It is the baby quilt I made her.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks, Sherrie
From: Sally
> I have a quilt with candle wax on it. My dd used it as a table cloth.(no I > did not kill her, but the thought crossed my mind.) It is > the baby quilt I made her.
A furniture restorer once talked to me about old pieces having ‘honourable scars’ and this surely counts as one? I’d be thrilled if my DD wanted to use/show off her baby quilt in that way, even if candles were involved <G>
Sally W
From: “Jeff & Sheri Lesh”
All this talk of Carla Hassel (she was from the Des Moines area), has brought many fond memories to me. I met her not long after I joined the Embroider’s Guild in the Cedar Falls/Waterloo area of Iowa, in the 1980’s. Which is where I met all my quilter friends I have today. I think her’s was the first “workshop” I had ever been too. I met many more quilters there and happen to sit close to those that I am friends with today also.
We did a applique basket quilt with bias handles that were intertwined. My first applique and certainly not my best, but I still have the piece, a nice example of how far one can come in skill. 🙂
Then some time later, she was invited again, maybe through Iowa Quilter Guild, I don’t remember, but I kept her in my home. And at that time, she was leaving the quilting arena and heading back to school, to become a medical dr. She had a great sense of humor and was very fun. I have a couple of her books all signed by her, not the one that is being talked about, though. Quilt history had not hit my radar screen at that time. Thanks for letting me stroll down memory lane!!
By the way for anyone passing through the Waterloo, Iowa area. There is an exhibit at the Grout Museum of seasonal wallhangings. I am sorry I can’t remember the official title of the show. It is up into the month of January. I have heard very nice things about it, but have not been to see it yet. I have several pieces in the show and have had several people come up to me with compliments for my work. 🙂 Also have several friends with pieces on display too. Just for your information, you might want to check it out, if you are in the area!
Sheri in Iowa (waiting for my migraine meds to kick in! Yuck!)
From: “Laura
Sherrie, If you are able to, or in an area where it is already cold (definitely NOT Texas!) freeze the baby quilt and “pop” off the wax. You will be amazed as to how much comes out of the fibers. Much more than if you scrape it off. The brown paper bag trick will work for the remainder…but the red dye might not make it out that way. If you keep the wax cold and are very diligent, you can even use a seam ripper and tweezers to carefully remove the cold and hardened wax particles. Washing in warm water with my favorite organic orange oil may get the final wax residue out. Good luck! Laura Hobby Syler Richardson, Texas where we had Fall for a couple of days………..
First put the item in the freezer and let the wax freeze hard…then chip away the frozen wax. I often repeat this process several times. If stain left then attack the stain.
I read some where a long time ago…if a red fabric bleeds into a lighter color on a quilt to dampen the red area, apply BIZ detergent/laundry booster powder to the dampen area. That it would absorbe the red dye.
I did try that on a quilt my mother-in-law made my husband and I when we were married which had red applique fabric that bled into the white or off white background fabric. It worked on that. After removing the Biz…I vacummed it to do that. I then washed the quilt and rinse several times. So far, I have not noticed any deteriation of the background fabric that had been affected. That was maybe 20 years ago.
One antique shop I know of that specializes in antique laces, linens, etc. the owner says she only uses Snowy Bleach.
I’ve saw on tv many years ago on a sewing show a mixture of liquid dove dishwashing detergent and clorox 2 powder was used to clean George Washington’s christening gown. I’ve used that on baby stains when my 24 year old was a baby…worked on those kinds of stains…don’t know if it works on dye stains. But that antique shop lady nearly had a spell when I mentioned that to her.
Good luck!
From: “Steve and Jean Loken”
This is how I remove wax from tablecloths. I lay the area over an empty bucket (sink would work it you’re tall) with a slight depression (sag). Then I boil a tea kettle full of water. I pour the boiling water over the stain from the highest height I can. It seems to drive the wax through the fabric and into the bucket. I don’t know what would happen with the various layers of a quilt, but at least it wouldn’t be on the top. The height seems to help add pressure to the water stream. Of course, first scrape any hard wax off. I think water is considered harmless. If the quilt were antique, I suppose I would use distilled water. Jean in MN
Date: Fri, 5 | From: “Karen Evans”
I’ve never tried this with wax, but I can truthfully say that if you try to *dye* a quilted piece, the batting will absorb much of the dye, especially a cotton batt. I’d try this with a test piece first.
Karen Evans
From: “Lucinda Cawley”
Before I forget all the great stuff (it’s been a busy week) I’ll tell you about Halloween with Bunnie and Hazel. The theme was “Quilts for Halloween.’ This was loosely defined. One of the most appropriate was a candlewick spread (dated 1823!!!!) with pumpkins in the border. A super Crazy was embroidered with larger than life bugs: a roach, a beetle and an amazing spider.
I don’t know how to describe an 1890s curved pieced spiderweb. It’s far more sophisticated than the string pieced variety and had a great graphic impact when viewed from across the room. It seems most of us consider an orange quilt appropriate for Halloween, for instance a Lancaster County Streak of Lightening strippy alternating green, orange and oxblood. there was also a wonderfully typical Amish Trip Around the World and what I guess you’d have to call a Bowmansville Squares (like a Bowmansville Star made of tiny squares).
We some great baby quilts. My favorite was a two-sided quilt circa 1840 with a One Patch back and a Four Patch strippy set on the front (lots of fabulous fabrics and pristine!). An 1860 baby Ocean Waves has a pieced diamond border. A framed center baby quilt with tape binding (1st quarter) came from the Ball estate (descendants of G. Washington’s uncle) in Northern VA.
Mary Lou McDonald from BAS brought her reproduction of the Mary Simon quilt in the DAR collection. The Baltimore ladies who made the original Album quilts would have joined us in giving Mary Lou a standing ovation. Her work is amazing!
One of the most unusual quilts we saw was a framed center surrounded by crazy patch blocks with occasional small appliques (ears of corn, tassels). The fabrics were all cotton and looked (except for an 1880s border) to date from the 1840s. The strip back is definitely 1840s. Very curious. This quilt prompted the most interesting discussion of the day (that sophisticated design and technical precision do not occur in chronological order) and led to the realization (it happens so often) that the more we know the less we’re sure of.
We saw some wonderful Maryland quilts. A framed center Sunburst (circa 1820) from Frederick was surrounded by a zigzag, flying geese, a solid strip, 2 rows of 4″ stars, more flying geese, 2 rows of 8″ stars, geese again and a lovely pink and beige stripe border. Another Sunburst (circa 1840) had 25 blocks. Another quilt had setting blocks and borders of an 1840 robin’s egg blue chintz that we agreed we would have thought to be 1940s if seen out of context.
A stunning 1840s Carolina Lily had not only wonderful quilting but used pistachio green for the stems and leaves, turkey red and chrome yellow for the flowers. An 1850s President’s Wreath with red sashing and borders came out of the same pillowcases. We really saw fewer PA quilts than usual but an 1890 Ocean Waves in double pink, chrome yellow and double blue helped to keep us from feeling deprived.
Last but certainly not least was a 1926 outline stitched quilt (black embroidery floss) with borders of every animal you can imagine in different scales and no apparent order. Cinda on the Eastern Shore
From: “Margaret Geiss-Mooney”
Thank you, Judy, for saying it so I didn’t have to! <g> Regards, Margaret (Meg) Geiss-Mooney Textile/Costume Conservator Professional Associate, AIC mgmooney@
>>Whink contains hydrogen fluoride, which is used in the glass etching industry. For the Material Safety data on Whink go to http://www.whink.com/msdsrr.pdf.
Lemon juice is an acid. Cream of tartar is an acid. Any acid will continue to eat away at a textile if all of it is not completely removed. Ditto on sodium hypochlorite (Clorox bleach.) My question is: How can you be sure you have removed every last little bit of it from a quilt?
Buttermilk contains butterfat- and that is an animal product. It can attract pests, and go rancid. Even butterfat content of 1% or less can do this if it not completely removed from the quilt once the cleaning is done.
In all these instances, the catch is: Can you remove the cleaning chemicals (and all of these are chemicals, folks) one hundred percent from the quilt?
In any case, if you do clean a quilt, keep a record of the product(s) used, and the location on the quilt where you used them. Keep this with other documentation on the quilt. This will aid the conservators of the future who may end up caring for the quilt.>>
From: “Larry
I will try the freezer first and let you know how well it works. I appreciate all the tips. Sherrie
From: Judy Knorr
I have an elderly friend whose home burned a year ago. She just moved back into the “new” replacement and is finally dealing with other issues. She has a quilt made by her mother which still smells like smoke and appears to have a dark smokey residue on it. She asked me how to clean it and I’m asking all of you. Thanks, Judy Knorr
