January 26 - 28, 2006 - QuiltHistory

Quilt Block History, Quilt History Resources, Regional Quilt History

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:

The Bowmansville Star Quilt Pattern — Members trace the regional origin, naming history, and construction of this Lancaster County, Pennsylvania quilt pattern.
Researching the Vogart Embroidery Company — A member corrects earlier information about the Chicago-based transfer-pattern company’s history and catalogs.
Numbering and Documenting a Quilt Collection — Bill Volckening asks how to set up a numbering system for a mid-sized collection, and members point him to the IQSC museum standard.

Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2006 20:29:54 -0800 | From: Alice Kinsler <alicek@>

Just one last comment on the comments about Japanese indigo fabric…the discussion brought to mind a wonderful exhibit at the San Francisco Museum of Folk Art & Craft in 2004. It was of boro, Japanese bedding covers and other functional textiles created in the 19th and early 20th centuries from recycled indigo-dyed cotton rags and scrap fabric. Though only a listing of it is on their past exhibits, I found a review that will give you a sense of the exhibit and the fabrics at http://www.absolutearts.com/artsnews/2004/08/20/32297.html

Alice Kinsler

Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2006 23:34:49 -0500 | From: “J. G. Row” <JudyGrow@>

Cinda mentioned that making a Bowmansville Star quilt was on her list of things to do. I’ve seen Nancy Hahn’s repro and it is a marvel!

I fell in love with Bowmansville’s the first time I saw my first one. Now I’m trying to compile a database of every one in the country. Not just the Stars, but the “Trips” quilts made in the same style. I made one, full size, a couple of years ago, reproducing one that I saw and was able to photograph in detail. I’ve posted photos of both, the original and my repro in the gallery.

If that doesn’t take you there, go to www.quilthistory.com, click on Gallery, and then click the quilts tab.

Just a couple of weeks ago I was able to buy my very own original Bowmansville Star quilt top. I haven’t taken a full photo of it yet, but it is almost a duplicate of the quilt I repro-ed. If it wasn’t made by a friend of the maker of the first, I’ll bet the maker could look in the mirror to see the maker of the first!

I am thrilled by this purchase, like none other I’ve made.

Judy, now in Flemington NJ aka The Ringoes Kid judygrow@

Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2006 21:08:14 -0800 | From: “Margaret Geiss-Mooney” <mgmooney@>

Good evening, QHLers – A posting of great interest from a museum discussion list. I haven’t had a chance to take a look at the lectures and workshops to see if UGRR quilts (!) are mentioned. So if you do peruse the website, let us all know!

Regards,

Margaret (Meg) Geiss-Mooney

Textile/Costume Conservator

Professional Associate, AIC

mgmooney@

^ ^ ^^ ^ ^^ ^ ^

Please excuse this post for an upcoming conference. It is not directly for a museum but our organization has been doing research on our local area on this topic and in the process discovered an unknown UGRR site and we are seeking to tourn it into a house museum on the UGRR. This conference is part of a collection of programs our group does as we work toward a musem. It will continue as an important part of our education program. We feel this conference is an outstanding one. We would love to have you attend! Thanks.

-Paul Stewart

The Underground Railroad History Project of the (New York) Capital Region, Inc.

“The Underground Railroad: Connecting Pathways To Liberty”

A Conference On The Underground Railroad Movement In New York State (For more information and to register: HYPERLINK “http://www.ugrworkshop.com/conference”www.ugrworkshop.com/conference

Friday, Saturday, Sunday – February 24, 25, 26, 2006 To be held at Russell Sage College in Troy, New York

Featuring Speakers: David Blight, PhD – Director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition of Yale University

and

Erica Ball, PhD – Assistant Professor of History at Union College in Schenectady

( See their photos at HYPERLINK “http://www.ugrworkshop.com/conference”www.ugrworkshop.com/conference )

and

Earl White – The leading, and award winning, African American Old Time and Appalachian fiddle player in the country featuring music in the spirit of Solomon Northup

and

a tour of Troy Underground Railroad sites and features

and

35 workshops featuring young people, teachers, scholars, musicians, drummers, dancers, archeologists, historians, and independent researchers…including…

Mayeesa Mitchell, student presenter Amy Murrell Taylor, Assistant Professor of History, SUNYA Don Papson, Vivian Papson, Rev. Fred Shaw, independent researchers and re-enactors Students from New Covenant Charter School, Albany Dr. Elaine Hadley, Empire State College Neil B. Yetwin, independent researcher and educator Stephen Marc, Prof. of Art, Arizona State Univ Fergus Bordewich, author Binod Sundararajan, Doctoral Candidate, Literature and Communication, RPI Greg Mosley, Music artist, Operation Unite Education and Cultural Arts Center Julia Killey, Meghan Vacca, Zippy Gilmore, Alexandra Ktenas, Regina Morgan, RSC Student presenters Prof. Jennifer Ball, Adjunct Professor, Russell Sage College Vibetta Sanders, clinical social worker, school administrator, multi-cultural consultant, independent researcher Dr. Mary Nell Morgan-Brown, Associate Professor, Empire State College Norman K. Dann, Prof. Emeritus of Social Sciences, Morrisville State College

Maren Stein, Assoc. Prof. Emeritus, Russell Sage College Billie Luisi-Potts, Executive Dir., National Women’s Hall of Fame Walter Gable, Seneca County Historian Dr. Milton Sernett, Professor Emeritus, Syracuse University Harry Bradshaw Matthews, Associate Dean and Director, US Pluralism Programs; Executive Director, USCT Institute Wanda Webster, Artistic Director, UGR Players Elena Mosley, Dance artist, Operation Unite Education and Cultural Arts Center Hugh C. Humphreys, retired Madison County judge and adjunct professor at Syracuse University Jane Williamson, Director, Rokeby Museum Scott Christianson, researcher and author Kevin Cottrell & Jessica Thrope, co-owners, Mo Better Buffalo Robert K. Wallace, Regents Prof., Northern Kentucky Univ. April L. Harris, Adjunct Faculty, Sonoma State Univ., Syracuse Univ. Clifford Oliver, independent researcher, artistic photographer Nancy Marie Payne, storyteller Karen Anderson, Bioarcheologist Corey McQuinn, archeologist Cordell Reaves, Heritage NY Paul Stewart, URHPCR Edward Shaughnessy, Prof. of Sociology and Law, John Jay College, CUNY Oscar Williams, Asst. Prof., Africana Studies, SUNYA Sheri Jackson, Northeast Regional Coordinator, National Park Service Network to Freedom Program Donald Hyman, educator, writer, actor, singer Steve Tyson, independent researcher Amy Godine, independent scholar, curator, and author

Organized by Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region, Inc., dedicated to researching, celebrating, and preserving the Capital Region’s Underground Railroad story, with an emphasis on African-American Abolitionists and Freedom Seekers.

URHPCR, Inc. – P.O. Box 10851 – Albany, New York 12201 – (518) 432-4432 – HYPERLINK “http://www.ugrworkshop.com”www.ugrworkshop.com

— No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 267.14.23/240 – Release Date: 1/25/2006

Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 22:31:47 +1100 | From: “Lorraine Olsson” <svenpnc.com.au>

Two months ago I had a wonderful month in Japan, just touring and basically backpacking around the country. It is a most amazing place.

My search was for Indigo fabrics, and try as I might, getting to any fabric,either new or vintage, in the big cities brought me nowhere. Leigh (my husband) can not sit still for more than an minute, and likes to run in the evenings. On a particular November evening in a town called Onomichi(on the coast of the inland sea near Hiroshima), he found a fabric and quilt shop with the real thing…. genuine Aizome (indigo) fabrics. The store was closing, so I had to wait till next morning to go see what he had found. I was doubly lucky!! The store owner spoke English and he had so many different patterns. It did not take long before I had spent 40000yen and had enough fabric to fill a large posting box. I had to wait 2 months for the box to arrive, and just after New Year here it was.

In the same town, almost next to our hotel, there was a department store with a display of clothing, handmade, with locally dyed, and vintage Aizome fabrics. The woman who had made these items was sitting making sashiko patches of fabric that she was preparing to put into thick jackets. Sadly I was only able to buy little from this display, I do not have a delicate Japanese figure, and I had spent most my fabric budget on the fabrics in the fabric shop. I was only able to buy small swatches of vintage hand dyed fabric. But I did learn about the practice of Persimmon dyeing. It is not as popular as Aizome, but the fabrics produced are equally beautiful. The colour produced is a rich nutty brown. There was no yardage to be found, but I was able to find a small fabric purse, so I have a very small example to keep. The persimmons need to be unripe and crushed to produce the dye.

I also visited the Nishijin Silk factory in Kyoto, but was disappointed by what they had for sale there. I was there 20 years ago (before there were too many tourists) and they had heaps of inexpensive offcuts of the silk fabrics. I was looking for a friend at the time, and bought her heaps , but thought I would go back another time for myself. I have been back 3 times since, but it was never the same. I was able to buy a variety of smallish Chirimen fabrics, but I think they are synthetic, not silk. There were no Aizome or Persimmon dyes that I could find. In the few fabric stores that I did find, other than the one in Onomichi, there were plenty of imitations of indigo, and until you see the real thing against the imitation, one may be deceived. It is certainly worth the wait for the genuine article.

The main use of Aizome that I could see was for clothing, bed covers (not quilted) table linens, and Noren (door curtains). I did not see many quilts as we know them, except in the shop in Onomichi. The shop was downstairs, and very crowded with fabric, and up a steep staircase there was a classroom. The scene there was much like quilt classrooms here in Australia. I would love to hear from anyone who has any of the Persimmon dyed fabric. I would love yardage, but if that is am impossible ask, small samples would be fabulous.

I know this is not really about Antique quilts, but anyone who appreciates quilts, just loves fabrics too……………

Cheers, Lorraine in Oz

Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2006 11:46:42 -0800 (PST) | From: Melissa Slaton <orangelemonbruner@>

Dear List members,

This is my first time posting to the listserv. I’m a graduate student working on an exhibition that will be on display next summer at the International Quilt Study Center. I have a question concerning a quilt that I am considering for my show. The quilt is actually composed of twenty individual cross-stitch samplers. Each one contains an image and a saying. I found a sampler identical to one featured in the quilt with the following printed along the bottom: “No. 1040 Pure Linen Colonial Sampler S-35 Vogart N.Y.” I’m wondering if anyone has seen these samplers before and if you have any information about them. I’ve done some searches on the Vogart company, but haven’t found any information on their history. I’d really be curious to find out when the samplers were sold, so a firmer date could possibly be established.

If you go to the IQSC website you can see an overall image of the quilt.Click on the link and type 1997.007.0946 into the space for “IQSC Object Number” and click search. http://www.quiltstudy.org/search/index.html

I’ve also posted three close-up images of the individual sampler on the listserv photo board under the Quilts category.

Thanks for your help! Melissa Slaton

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From: Margaret

Pray tell, what is a Bowmansville star?

Margaret

Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 07:50:22 -0600 | From: “Karan Flanscha” <SadieRose@>

I wrote Judy & asked about Bowmansville quilts (se photos on the QHL board). Judy meant for this to go to the list. I tried to forward it, but got an error message saying I had tried to quote more than 4 lines of a previous message 🙂

I’ve catalogued about 30 quilts which have the star design (with variations in star interior, corners and borders) and Philadelphia Pavement, usually a large diamond with 4 smaller ones in the corners. Most of both types have a 5 or 7 row border in the rare swirly pattern, or pyramid triangles, or offset triangles, set off by a 1-3 row straight line inner border. Most are 45 – 47 squares square, always an odd number.

They were made between 1880 and the late 1920’s although I’ve seen one all in red fabrics with white that was much later — but don’t know if it was made in the Bowmansville area. Bowmansville is very near the Pennsylvania Turnpike exit in Lancaster County Pa.

I don’t know if they were made by women in a religious group or just neighbors who bounced design ideas off each other. There is reason to believe that the designs were made not just in Bowmansville but in a radius around the village. There is enough variation in the ones I’ve seen beyond the 2 basic formulas to think that the makers got the idea somewhere and then struck out on their own, embellishing to make new and exciting images.

Certainly all you would need is graph paper, which you could line off yourself on a paper bag if need be, and a pencil, and you could copy off the design easily while standing in front of a quilt at the local ag fair. Just marking an R for red, or Y for yellow, etc, in the appropriate boxes would get you an idea of color placement. You wouldn’t need to mark the entire quilt — one quarter of it would be sufficient since they were all symmetrical around a center square.

You’ve seen them in many quilt history books — you’ve just never noticed or you’ve forgotten. There is one pictured in the Lancaster County Documentation book, and another in the Holstein book. The Quilt Index on-line shows 2.

One of the members of Studio Quilt Study Group has shown a Philadelphia Pavement, made mid-nineteenth century in Connecticut I believe, which is without question a precursor of this group of designs. Which proves, there is nothing new under the sun!

I am looking at them closely for design variations and fabrics used to see if I can track them down that way. I am just nutty for this kind of symmetrical geometric design.

Judy Kelius, Trish Herr, or Barb Garrett may be able to give more historical information. They all live in the general area and own or have owned quilts of the types. Ladies?

Judy, now in Flemington NJ aka The Ringoes Kid judygrow@

Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 08:58:31 -0500 | From: “Lynne Z. Bassett” <lzbassett@>

Dear Melissa,

The person who is the expert on colonial revival samplers is Paula Richter, curator of textiles at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass. I suggest you contact her about this quilt.

Good luck with your research!

Best, Lynne

>The quilt is actually composed of twenty individual cross-stitch samplers. > I’m wondering if anyone has seen these samplers before and if you >have any information about them.

Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 09:34:10 EST | From: JLHfw@

The Boman Star quilts featured on the eboard are wonderful. What era were these quilts popular? Janet in Fort Worth

Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 10:27:08 -0500 | From: “Teddy Pruett” <aprayzer@>

The Ringoes kid sez: <<I fell in love with Bowmansville’s the first time I saw my first one. Now I’m trying to compile a database of every one in the country.>>

It brought to mind something I think about quite often, have never mentioned “out loud” but I think it bears mentioning. (I feel the slings and arrows coming my way already…)

Those of you doing research and compiling databases might want to remember that those among us who are appraisers know thousands of quilts in private homes that have not been published nor documented anywhere. DISCLAIMER: YES – Our files are private and confidential, but basic information can be shared if the client actually wishes to be part of research. It has been my personal experience with my clients, that they are thrilled beyond measure to think that their quilt might be important, and that someone wants to know about it.

Incredibly enough, one of those experiences was actually a Bowmansville Star quilt. When I knew the actual name and location and a bit of rudimentary history of this quilt, the client nearly floated off the floor. ALso, in my research into rural quilts of the deep south, I contacted several of my clients whose quilts fit the criteria I had established and asked if I might include their quilts in my research. Not only did they jump at the chance, two of them asked if I would notify them of any printed mattter, and asked to be notified when I gave any lectures about my research. They were delighted that I had contacted them, and thrilled to think that their family quilts could add to our knowledge of quilt history.

I’m not advocating that appraisers rifle their files and pester clients about their quilts. But I do think it is important that scholars and researchers remember that we have basic information we can share. I think several of us have added to Merikay’s database of 1933 World’s Fair quilts, for example. Why, oh why, do I dread hitting this “send” button? But I’m gonna do it anyway – Teddy

Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 09:38:14 -0600 | From: “Charlotte Bull” <charlou@>

RE assuming things. In a way, Quilt related, I guess.

I knew at once what Gail meant in her comment about setting up a booth that might sell quilts for more money. I could chuckle and say “Well, if I dressed like an Amish or Mennonite lady, could I sell my quilts for more?” We do jump to conclusions. That is being Human!!! My goodness, a good friend recently moved into an Amish rural area and was quite surprised that none of her new neighbors quilted! It was evidently an image they did not care to accept. But it is one we would expect.

Last summer some family members visited me, bringing friends with them. The middle aged friends assumed, they admitted, that a little old widow living in a log cabin on a farm in the Ozarks would be like Gramma Yocum of Hillbilly Cartoon fame – you know, rundown cabin, ragged dress with apron, smoking a pipe and talking funny.

I gathered that I blew their minds when I did not fit that mold! When I found this out, I immediately became that image for them and acted out that roll. Which further blew their minds. They had, after changing their first assumption, suddenly decided that a writer/artist/historian with a MA degree, who was also computer literate, would not have a sense of humor.

So, let’s agree that each of us may have a sense of humor and may be joking or teasing us, even though this friend, and you are ALL my friends, can also write extremely intelligent, literate, thought provoking, well informed letters! I try to read between the lines and be both taught and entertained by each of you. I hope you can feel that way too. I don’t think that Kris has a rule against being amusing, but I’m sure we need to think about our sly comments too. Whatever, we are all friends and we can accept personal comments without rejecting our friend. Right? cb

Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 10:39:47 -0500 | From: Judy Kelius <quilts@>

I live less than a mile from the little village of Bowmansville, in the heart of the area where these quilts were made! Antique examples of the “Bowmansville Star” are very hard to find and highly prized by collectors . . . I have one in my own collection. If they have any provenance, they were always made in or around Bowmansville, Brecknock Township in Lancaster County, a very tiny area. The quilt I own is one of the earliest I have seen, probably 1890s – most documented examples were made between the 1880s and 1920s.

I have asked some of the local Mennonite women if they are familiar with the pattern, and they are puzzled if I use the name “Bowmansville Star,” which is a name collectors use. But one woman, probably in her 50s, said she remembered working on a “Star in a Trip Around the World” when she was younger. As J. G. Row commented, almost all of these quilts have pieced borders, also made from little squares – I have seen some variation in those borders, but the star part of the design is usually the same.

I find these regional quilt patterns fascinating, especially (or so it seems) in Pennsylvania. There is an excellent chapter on quilts made just from squares called “Playing with Blocks” in Trish Herr’s Book Quilting Traditions, on the quilts of Lancaster County. She also includes the Bowmansville Star in the chapter on “Only in Lancaster County.” By the way, Gai Perry gives the pattern for this quilt in her book “24 Quilted Gems” but unfortunately gives no indication that this was taken from an antique quilt design. The squares usually measure between 1 and 1 1/2″ – most of them I have seen in person measured about 1 1/4″. If you make them any larger that that, you lose the design unless you stand back from the quilt.

Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 10:57:32 -0500 | From: jeanlester@

Gail’s reply reminded me of “the good old days” when we used to do quilt frame quilting demonstrations, in public places, to promote our quilt show or someone else’s venue. I always wanted to wear a “power” suit, just to startle the folks that always assumed that we smoked a corn cob pipe, didn’t wear shoes and could barely speak English!

Jean

Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 11:05:59 -0500 | From: “J. G. Row” <JudyGrow@>

If you go to the IQSC website http://www.quiltstudy.org/search/index.html

Type in Bowmansville Star and three images will appear.

Go back and type in Philadelphia Pavement, and three images will appear as well.

Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 11:07:23 -0500 | From: Jane Hall <jqhall@>

Hi Bill — I call this a Flying Geese Pineapple…and teach a Pineapple class where this is one of the options. It’s basically an eight-sided figure, as in Pineapple Log Cabins, but the four diagonal pieces, “logs”, are the same-sized triangles. Pieced the same as if they were changing sizes as in an ordinary Pineapple. It is a beauty…Jane Hall

Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 10:53:05 -0500 | From: “J. G. Row” <JudyGrow@>

Very strange, because I got my message from QHL at 11:58 last night. It did go to the list after all, but might have taken longer to show up in some mailboxes.

Judy Kelius has given a very good explanation of Bowmansville star and Trip/Pavement quilts this morning — as I knew she would!

Judy, now in Flemington NJ aka The Ringoes Kid judygrow@

>I wrote Judy & asked about Bowmansville quilts (se photos on the QHL >board). > Judy meant for this to go to the list.

Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 11:13:16 -0500 | From: “J. G. Row” <JudyGrow@>

The wonderfully decorative stencils for paste preparation of indigo dyeing are put together with persimmon pulp and threads of silk where necessary. They are a wonderful rich brown.

I’ve found a few at antiques shops — the dealers had no idea what they were. They are beautiful framed.

There is a book that was published along with a show of the stencils a number of years ago from a museum in Los Angeles CA. I have the book, but like so much of my stuff it is still boxed and unreachable since our move.

Judy, now in Flemington NJ aka The Ringoes Kid judygrow@

Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 11:21:24 -0500 | From: “Sharon in NC” <patchworksecrets2@>

I love the information everyone hands out so freely here. I had another one of those “thoughts you wonder if others have” while reading about these beautiful Bowmansville quilts. When I see these Bowmansville Stars and read about the distinctive regional origin I have to wonder.. Did these women originally belong to the same church, quilt bee, buy the same magazine, read a farmers almanac or somewhere saw something that they all got the idea from or pattern from? Could it have been an original design given to a bride that was viewed at a heavily attended wedding? Was there a local fair or display of some sort they all had the good fortune of viewing? Since it is regional it would be interesting to do research on local periodicals to see if there is a connection to all of the quilts and makers. I have noticed locally, in just the few months our guild has been formed, that many of us have saved the same clippings or ads depicting quilts we all like. One recent one was over 15 years and 3 of the members had the very same ad ripped out of a local electric co-op magazine sent to members, I believe. So these would be a regional find if the members all decided to make them, correct? Has anyone found this to be true with the antique quilts that are very region specific? Sharon in NC http://community.webshots.com/user/sharonsews

Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 08:43:00 -0800 (PST) | From: Laura Fisher <laurafisherquilts@>

I feel compelled to defend NYC following the inrerchange about the “packing blkanket” quilt selling for so much here last weekend. May I say I am often stopped in my tracks by prices asked for things at shows and in shops elsewhere across the U S of A, things which would never have such high prices attached in NYC, where we know better.

NYC is a clearinghouse for goods from all over, to pepole from all over, so dealers here need to be competititve. Elsewhere, where access to variety in material may be limited, what’s available is often valued as way more scarce and collectible than it actually is.

If you read the postings on eBay, you would never think that the educational system in the US is in such turmoil, because many sellers wax poetic in their listings, throwing in every possible “designer label”, reference and historic connection to increase the allure of their pieces.

I’ll never forget channel surfing one day and hearing a QVC host talk authoritatively about the quilts on view, available for $39.95 I think, using language that sounded so familiar. It was, because the host was quoting from something I wrote in America’s Glorious Quilts to sell their cheap-o repros!!

Caveat emptor. Don’t believe everything you read or hear, just like in the news.

On another note, I have been asked to put together a quilt exhibit in honor of Libby Kramer at Heart of Country in Nashville. As you may know, she and husband Richard developed that show and inspired related antiques activities in Nashville . Libby died this past year. I understand herstore was called soething like Patchwork Sampler. True memorial quilts are hard to find, so I am putting together a friendship quilt exhibit- THINKING OF YOU……Community Quilts in honor of Libby Kramer.

I barely knew Libby If any of you have had close connections to her and might share some quilt reminiscences with me for the brochure I want to do for the exhibit, that would be most appreciated.

Also, if any has an interesting and unusual or particularly pertinent friendship quilt (hopefully something even from Nashville) you would like to loan us for about a week, please contact me privately at laurafisherquilts@. The quilts will be insured while on display, and a wall caption giving credit to the source will be made.

Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 10:43:30 -0600 | From: “Charlotte Bull” <charlou@>

I really love seeing quilts on the vintage eboard. Thanks for the recent ones with questions. I knew what I thought each one was named, but I checked up in Brackman’s Block ID book. She agreed with me! (Do smile! I’m teasing.)

Of course, I have no relationship to her or the publisher and I don’t sell books, but I really do think each of you should get a copy and enjoy the fun of looking up blocks for both names & history. There is also the fun of disagreeing with what others think or of finding what may be a slight variation on a standard block. There are several other good block ID books but they don’t offer the history aspect.

One of the problems in a recent discussion of a block name is that we cannot see the actual seams – which definitely would identify the distinction between a Flying Geese or a Pineapple Log Cabin variation. The seams usually equal the lines in the drawings and are a deciding factor.

I tend to say a variation of Flying Geese, such as Goose in the Pond Or Rambler. You have to adjust for direction of geese, for number of geese, & for the Square in a Square center unit. I don’t see Pineapple. But that is just my humble opinion! Oh, by the way, a totally different block is also named Goos in the Pond! So this is a fun quilter’s puzzle! Thanks for sharing the pictures. cb

Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 09:02:31 -0800 (PST) | From: Jackie Joy <joysbees@>

In the most recent issue of Mary Emmerling’s Home Companion, there is an article featuring three artists. Denyse Schmidt is one of them. When I look at her quilts and see what they cost, I am reminded of P. T. Barnum.

Jackie Joy

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From: “Pepper Cory” <pepcory@>

Hello all, Would appreciate any info, opinions, anecdotes etc about another PA quilt type–the Bars quilts sometimes called Joseph’s Coat. I recently bought one–huge 83×98–in four colors. The largest stripe (7″ wide) being a wonderful Lancaster double-blue, then a triple stripe (2″ pink, 5″ butterscotch calico with red dots, 2″ pink) then blue again. Is quilted allover in a 1 1/2″ diamond and the back’s a c.1885 brown with red leaves calico. Somewhere I read these were often made for weddings but cannot confirm. The dealer was ignorant (he thought it had been made c1950!) plus not forthcoming with where the quilt was made other than PA. Can those with experience with Bars/Joseph’s Coat quilts maybe email me back? I can email you a digital image of the quilt. Were these made all over PA or in a particular region? Who by? Inquiring minds would love to know- Pepper

Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 12:07:55 -0500 | From: “gb-best” <vitale@>

I have one in my collection from the same area as Judy.

I live close to Bowmanstown. Any connection?
—
At 11:05 AM 1/27/2006, you wrote: >If you go to the IQSC website http://www.quiltstudy.org/search/index.html > >Type in Bowmansville Star and three images will appear.

Looks like they call it “Postage Stamp Star” so you need to use that search term.

Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 18:32:14 +0000 | From: Sally Ward <sallytatters@>

By now you’re used to me talking about the Red Cross quilts from WW2, but this is something different. Someone who heard about my interest in the quilts has come forward with a doll which she received from the Red Cross when she was orphaned during the war. The back of the doll’s neck is stamped made in Canada, and the recipient is convinced it was a ‘Red Cross gift’.

Does anyone know anything about items like this being sent as well as quilts?

Sally Ward Yorkshire, UK

Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 16:06:24 -0500 | From: “Lucinda Cawley” <lrcawley@>

Wow! J. G. Row that is wonderful. Now, tell me how you went about reproducing the B-ville Star. How do you keep all those little squares in order? Cinda

Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 22:00:59 -0500 | From: “Louise” <ltiemannstny.@>

Hello, I was wondering if there would be any interest in starting a Quilt Study Group in the Binghamton, New York area (aka the Twin Tiers or the Southern Tier). I would be willing to host the meetings (find a location, set times, etc.). I thought we could meet every other month – possibly at a local library or church. It would be an informal group open to anyone studying textiles or interested in quilting.

I am an avid collector of quilt related ephemera from the late 1800’s to the mid-1900’s. I specialize in the Ladies Art Quilt Co, KC Star patterns and series quilt patterns printed in the newspapers (McKim, Foland, LaGanke, Techy, etc.)

I also collect patterns from the batting companies – Lockport, Rock River and Stearns & Foster. I have many blocks, tops and old quilts from these patterns and have made Ruby McKim’s Fruit Basket using many of my hand dyed fabrics.

I am currently making Eveline Foland’s Memory Bouquet (only 1 block done so far). If you have any interest, please contact me and I will get started at finding a location. With kindest regards, Louise

Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 17:01:31 -0500 | From: “gb-best” <vitale@>

I remember a few months ago a discussion about Simple Green cleaner. I think someone used it to clean a quilt.

I thought this product was strong to use on a quilt. We use it at our gym to clean equipment. Recently I had an allergic reaction to this product.

Does anyone have any information about it? I have searched the web looking , but I am not finding out much about it.

Thanks for your help.

Donna

From: RAGLADY@

http://consumer.simplegreen.com/index.php They have a product FAQ section as well as contact information on the site. Gloria raglady@ vitale@ writes: Does anyone have any information about it? I have searched the web looking , but I am not finding out much about it.Thanks for your help. Donna

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 00:02:54 -0500 | From: “J. G. Row” <JudyGrow@>

Cinda,

I treated it as a giant nine-patch plus border, so I was working with manageable squares. Everything repeats at least 4 times except the center of the star, and that is symmetrical 4 ways by itself.

The hard part was keeping the striped fabrics in the same horizontal alignment, as in the original(s). I don’t think I’ve seen one where any of the striped fabrics go any way but one way.

Another way suggested would be to used the gridded fusible interfacing that was produced for the watercolor quilts. That would make a much stiffer quilt and you’d be locked in to just one size, but your squares would stay put. You’d also have to be infallible. It would be awfully hard to correct a mistake.

I made the border the way we used to make bargello quilts — long strips to form closed circles, move the strip and open the seam. I know what I mean here — I hope you can suss it out.

Judy, now in Flemington NJ aka The Ringoes Kid judygrow@

> Now, tell me how you went about reproducing the B-ville Star. How do you > keep all those little squares in order? > Cinda

Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2006 19:18:52 -0600 | From: “Rosie Werner” <rwerner@>

Melissa, The Vogart Company originated from Chicago, not NY. (At least the catalogs and embroidery guides I own have a Chicago address.) Vogart made needlework projects that were sold in stores such as Murphy’s and Woolworth’s. The embroidery guides were given to the customer so they would have directions for color placement – many projects in one booklet. I don’t know much about the company, but I have booklets from 1936, 1937, 1940, 1945, 1946. There are cross stitch samplers pictured in them – not the one you posted, though. If you want photocopies, let me know. Rosie Werner

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 08:13:39 EST | From: Kaytriplet@

In a message dated 1/27/06 11:07:26 PM Central Standard Time, qhl@ writes:

> Subject: Simple Green Cleaner >

http://www.biosci.ohio-state.edu/~jsmith/MSDS/SIMPLE%20GREEN.html

Here is the material safety data sheet for Simple Green. Some of the ingredients may not be considered so “eco-friendly” and I would never personally drink the formula. I understand the the creator of the product used to drink the cleaner (diluted as suggested on the bottle) in demos. I am not the type of chemist (actually chemical engineer) who can tell you the effect on fabric, but no doubt someone on this list knows enough to help us out. Also, these are only the chemicals that the Federal government tells us have to be disclosed. There are other ingredients which may or may not react with fibers.

Kay Triplett

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 10:55:08 -0500 | From: Paul and Nancy Hahn <phahn@>

Dear Cinda and others who are asking how I started my Bowmansville Star quilt,

My Bowmansville Star is 28 1/2″ square, the individual postage stamp type pieces were cut 1 1/4″, finishing at 3/4″. The main area of the star itself is 25 rows square (625 pieces). I began by cutting out hordes of 1 1/4″ squares of my vintage fabrics. I found that I liked the definite look of fabrics that read as a true color from a distance, not muddy or highly figured or large prints with many colors. This, I thought. helped to define the rows of color. I kept my squares in a highly technical contraption, a muffin tin with 12 mini-loaf indentations. I guess if I was smart, I would create and patent a “Bowmansville Star Fabric Sorter!” Yes, with this unmathematical method, I cut too many of some fabrics and not enough of another, but, maybe next time I attempt this, Barb Garrett will help me sort out the numbers <VBG>. But, this also gave me the flexibility of trying different color combinations.

I had a few Bowmansville Star quilt pictures in some of my books, including an old Quilt Engagement Calendar. I propped these up around my workroom, so that no matter at what angle I was working at the tables, I could look up and get a visual. I didn’t draft anything and I found that working a quarter of the center star at a time was confusing. (And, I was still playing with color placement so I felt I needed the whole star in front of me). I started in the exact center and began building out from there. As I explained to Cinda at Quilt Nirvana, it was like doing a jigsaw puzzle-I’d look at the picture, them look down at the work surface and add a piece of fabric or two. Sewing it together was where it sometimes got a bit jumbled as I would carry sections to the machine on a cookie sheet and hope I’d kept it in the right order. (This is beginning to sound like a cooking show). The pieces were too small for me to do the Barb Garrett “pin for placement not for sewing” method-which is a whole other subject, but a sure time saver!

Hope this makes sense. You just have to cut out lots of squares and try it. In fact, each time I attempt to straighten out my sewing room, I come across the muffin tin still overflowing with unused vintage fabric squares. I guess it is time to make another one!

Nancy Hahn, Bowie, Maryland

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 12:33:14 -0600 | From: “Charlotte Bull” <charlou@>

Okay, you win. The block is a pineapple!20

I went back and maximized the quilt on eboard and put on my glasses and I can now see a few differences in color in the black strips. The seam lines DO tell us the block construction & its name.20

But I’d still personally prefer to hand piece it as 4 Flying Geese strips with a Square in a Square in the center and 4 big outer triangles. I’d love the big triangles for a quilting design. But the pineapple would be fun if machine piecing! Or maybe paper piecing? Whatever works best for you IF making it. But in IDing it, then it is a Log Cabin variation or Pineapple.

By the way, are all those little red spots a bit of red tied yarn or are they fabrics? Just Curious.

But wasn’t this fun to find two different ways to get the same long distance appearance? We really do need to examine Up Close with a Microscope or by being “touchy feely” – with gloves on, of course. I did find some marvelous blocks by other names and that was fun too. Much more fun than unpacking boxes of pictures of a 50 year marriage or organizing boxes of fabric scraps. Again, Thanks.

You know, I may just go & piece the block in the 2 different techniques and put them into a quilt together. Try to fool someone in the future.

from C in much needed rainy MO OZ

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 14:11:02 -0500 | From: “Bill Volckening” <williamvolckening@>

Hi Charlotte,

I have posted a detail shot of a block at:

http://www3.eboard.com/eboard/servlet/BoardServlet?

Or go to www.quilthistory.com, click on “gallery” and then click on “quilts. The message is in green, toward the bottom – “Another Mystery Pattern”

You should be able to see the seams in the photos, plus the red dots, which are multicolor yarn ties.

So, if I was going to catalog that quilt for an exhibit or publication, would the primary pattern be “Log Cabin Variation” and would the alternate patterns be “Pineapple” and “Wild Goose Chase”?

That leads me to other questions about documentation, related to the International Quilt Study Center method…but I’ll start a separate thread for that topic.

Bill

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 14:34:20 -0500 | From: “Bill Volckening” <williamvolckening@>

Hi All,

If you had to document a medium-sized collection of 19th and 20th Century quilts, how would you do it?

I’ve been asking a lot of questions and taking a lot of notes here lately, but I haven’t really determined the best way to organize the documentation.

Recently, I’ve been looking at the method used by the International Quilt Study Center at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. Their catalog system contains several fields, such as: Primary Pattern, Alternate Pattern, Brackman #, Title, Quiltmaker, Geographical Origin, Date, Style/Type, Dimensions, Primary Technique, Other Techniques, Primary Fiber, Primary Fabric, Quilt Stitches/Inch, Binding, Inscription Type, Exhibitions, and the collection and catalog number. It appears the IQSC Object Number has three segments, the first being the year the piece was acquired. I’m not sure if the other two segments represent order of acquisition, but it looks like they could be that.

If you visit their web site at: http://www.quiltstudy.org/ – you can browse the collection and see how their catalog system works. To get a better idea for some of the fields, you can check out the drop-down menus in the advanced search.

So, I’m thinking about adopting (and adapting) this system for my own cataloging project. I would probably add fields for condition, purchase value, appraised value, year of appraisal, publications, etc., and would have all related notes be contained in the document. I like the IQSC system because it’s done like a library or museum would do. I’m thinking about using that system to preclude more narrative descriptions of each piece.

How do other collectors document and catalog their collections? Has anyone used the IQSC method? Are we allowed to borrow that method or others?

Thanks for reading… Bill

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 15:21:29 -0600 | From: “kim baird” <kbaird@>

The IQSC uses a standard museum numbering system. It includes year/donor/chronological number. If you are documenting your own collection, you won’t need to allow numbers for different donors. Go to the library and find a book on museum cataloging or the Museum Registrar’s Handbook

Your collection should be fairly simple to work with, since all the items are quilts (not cars, tools, underwear, games, books, etc.)

One thing you should do is label each quilt with the number you assign it in the database. Attach a piece of cotton twill tape in one corner that has the number written in Pigma pen. DO NOT use nice tiny stitches for this–just enough loose stitching to attach the label, so you don’t put stress on the quilt fabric. Use white or off-white twill tape and thread, no knots.

Also in museum databases, but not visible in the on-line version of the IQSC database, is location and loan information. The more quilts you have, the more important that becomes. You might look something up on the computer, but spend a lot of time trying to find the quilt if you don’t have the location noted.

IQSC maintains records of any conservation work done also, including vacuuming. And photographs!

Kim

—–Original Message—– From: Bill Volckening Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2006 1:34 PM To: Quilt History List Subject: [qhl] How to document a collection?

Hi All,

If you had to document a medium-sized collection of 19th and 20th Century quilts, how would you do it?

I’ve been asking a lot of questions and taking a lot of notes here lately, but I haven’t really determined the best way to organize the documentation.

How do other collectors document and catalog their collections? Has anyone used the IQSC method? Are we allowed to borrow that method or others?

Thanks for reading… Bill

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 21:02:27 -0500 | From: “Teddy Pruett” <aprayzer@>

In the process of cleaning my house – which hasn’t happened nearly enough since going back to school – I’ve moved some bookcases ( oooohhhhhmybaaaacck) and about a hunnerd thousand books. As I perused them – just quilt-related books, mind you – while putting them back, I told my husband that if I had cover price on some of the more common books, and market price on the out-of-prints, I would have to get a floater for my insurance. It is frightening and yet enlightening to see how the dollars have frittered away across the years. But Lawd, don’t we love those books??!!

I would like to know how many books there were in Jeanette Lasanky’s “Pieced by Mother” symposium series. They didn’t all go by that name, but they were the same size and presentation. Yall know the ones I mean. I have a number of them, but would like to know if I should be on the lookout for more.

Some of my fellow appraisers and I have discussed appraisal of sewing room contents, which often includes books. To give credit where due, Chris Moline has developed an amazing strategy for accomplishing this feat. I was discussing it with a friend not long ago. SHe lives in a mobile home, and she decided that her sewing related supplies/books/machines, etc., were actually worth more than the cash value of her home. Geez, if her husband ever finds out……….

Reminds me of yet another friend. Her DH peeked into her studio one day and with awe in his voice, said “Wow! You’ve probably got five hundred dollars worth of fabric in here!” We laughed hysterically at this, of course. Poor disillusioned, uninformed guy. I recently went to a quilt shop and came out with a small paper bag the size you used to pack a school lunch in. $175.00.

Okay, so while I am on the husband stories – I must tell you about a gal whose husband hated to go to quilt shops with her. He begged off over and over, and in exasperation, she finally demanded to know why he wouldn’t go. His answer: “Quilt shops make me fart.” Okay, I’m going now…. Teddy Pruett

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 21:17:50 EST | From: JLHfw@

Dear Bill, Contact the IQSC and address all of your unanswered questions and assumptions. They are generous and helpful. Why invent a new system when theirs works so well? You are on the right track. Janet in Fort Worth

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 21:51:26 -0600 | From: Xenia Cord <xenia@>

Here’s what I have, and I have always assumed this was the full series:

In the Heart of Pennsylvania, 19th & 20th Century Quiltmaking Traditions (1985) In the Heart of Pennsylvania, Symposium Papers (1986) Pieced By Mother, Over 100 Years of Quiltmaking Traditions (1987) Pieced by Mother, Symposium Papers (1988) Bits and Pieces, Textile Traditions (1991) On the Cutting Edge, Textile Collectors, Collections, and Traditions (1994)

These are wonderful books with terrific articles – well worth reading, or re-reading, for their scholarship, insights, beautiful tight writing, and the same topics that we continue to discuss today.

Thanks for the reminder, Teddy!

Xenia

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 21:11:24 -0600 | From: “Rosie Werner” <rwerner@>

My email on the Vogart company had some incorrect information in it. I have NO address on the brochures and catalogs I have. I guess I got Vogart mixed up with Wonder Art which I keep in the same notebook. Sorry. Rosie

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 22:56:33 EST | From: Elpaninaro@

Good evening all,

I read with much interest the discussion here about these quilts in recent weeks.

Tonight on Bravo they are showing Silence of the Lambs (second showing just started- if anyone wants to spot the quilt I mention below I would estimate this second showing of the film tonight on Bravo will get to that point around 11:15-11:30 PM Central Standard Time.)

In that film, towards the end when Jodie Foster is ringing the doorbell and the serial killer is getting dressed- he reaches for a gun under his bed and there is a brief but very clear look at a quilt covering his bed- white ground with orange swastikas.

But the odd thing is that this particular quilt had swastikas shaped exactly like the symbol adopted by the Nazi Party- they are squared off and have 8 rectangular pieces of equal size.

I have not seen a ton of swastika quilts, but always the swastika was more rounded in those pieces- with curves edges and often with pointed tips.

This may be more a history question, but was the swastika shape as adopted by the Nazi party the precise shape that was used at times previously as a more positive symbol?

I just ask since I have never seen a quilt with that symbol in that precise hideous form the Nazi’s used.

So I am wondering if they used an actual vintage quilt for the film, or if perhaps that piece was made especially for the film. It would seem a great expense of effort to have something like that made just to randomly appear in the backdrop of the movie for a mere second or two.

Apologies for the discomfort of discussing this topic- I cannot help feel uncomfortable myself.

But that quilt really stuck out oddly and it raised the question in my mind whether or not the swastika as it once existed was ever used in the precise shape and form prior to the Nazi’s adoption since I have never seen a non-Nazi swastika that was in that exact same shape.

Take care,

Tom.

Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2006 22:19:59 -0800 | From: Colleen Keirn <ckeirn@>

I’ve been reading with interest all of your posts regarding fakes on eBay, and also the market for fakes and genuine stuff in NYC. (I hear Canal Street is the place to shop for $20 “Guchi” handbags. 🙂 )

Anyway, today the NYTimes has this: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/29/technology/29ebay.html?hp&ex3D1138597200 &en3D2d9fd6c2b6f37545&ei3D5094&partner3Dhomepage

If it doesn’t come up with that link, try searching for the headline, “Seeing Fakes, Angry Traders Confront EBay”.

This particular article is about some jewelry afficianados who are going after eBay for allowing people to sell fake items. They’re not getting anywhere so far, but now they have Tiffany and Co on their side (really, on Tiffany’s side, but still) so it should be interesting.

Hope this finds everyone warm and dry!

Colleen Alameda, CA