August 11 – 20, 2006
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:
- Icky Discoveries and Quilt Washing — Members trade stories of silverfish, roaches, and a rattlesnake quilt, and recommend Orvus for getting body oils out of a well-used quilt. (see the article on cleaning antique quilts)
- Correcting the Underground Railroad Story — Members suggest taking the issue to educators and the History Detectives TV show, and report on guild programs and shows that still treat the quilt code as fact. (see the article on Underground Railroad quilts)
- Virginia and Connecticut Events — Announcements cover Virginia antiques seminars and a Richmond quilt tour, AQSG wait lists, and Sue Reich’s Connecticut textile trail tips for AQSG 2006 visitors.
- Exhibits and Calls for Entry — The New England Quilt Museum’s Happy Birthday, America exhibit and The Quilters Hall of Fame’s She Left Her Mark juried show are announced, each followed by a date correction.
- Research Requests — Members ask for LeeWard catalogs, a December 1917 Modern Priscilla, page numbers for a Magazine Antiques book review, and news of a Woman’s Day needlework kit.
- Gee’s Bend Stamps — A newspaper supplement article on the Gee’s Bend commemorative stamps prompts offers to share copies.
- Southern Quilt Trip and Study Groups — Gail Ingram asks where to see southern quilts, Nancy Roberts describes a small Florida museum, and the Eastern Shore Quilt Study Group reports on a blue-themed meeting. (see the article on quilt study groups)
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 08:40:28 -0400 | From: Teddy Pruett (aprayzer)
Pepper wrote: <<I’ve had the unpleasant experience of unfolding an old, otherwise mint, quilt at an auction and there, along the white flour markings, were carcasses of enormous roaches—eeeewwwww!>>
Reminds me of a similar experience. I was assisting at a quilt documentation day in the deep south of Georgia many many years ago. Someone who lived in a historical house locally had brought in a stack of quilts she found in the attic – they had once belonged to a locallly famous political personality. Anyway, we took the first quilt and opened it on the table – and it was MOVING!!!!!! It was so full of silverfish it was literaly alive. One of the gals I was working with was so cool – I am impressed to this day. She calmly – but rapidly – folded the quilt back up, and said “I think this may be a very special quilt Let’s take it outside to see it in the light.” How briliant was that!!! The person who brought the quilt was saved from total mortification, and the room was saved from the bugs. I’ve always been glad for that experience. If it ever happens at my appraisal table, I’ll know what to do.
I’ve often opened quilts that had remainders and vestiges of various carcasses, but never have I seen anything like the million silverfish. Hope I never see it again. Teddy Pruett
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 09:08:44 -0500 | From: Xenia Cord (xenia)
And on a related note, a friend who buys for resale and I had met at an auction; he bought a hide-a-bed, among other things. Later that day he called and said he had found a rattlesnake quilt in the folded bed, and did I want to buy it. That was enough to send me to his shop, where indeed there was a “Rattlesnake” quilt, composed of segmented sections like Mohawk Trail or Baby Bunting, complete with embroidered flat heads, eyes, and tongues, and rattle tails! The thing had been inside the bed for so long that there were v-shaped strings of lint imbedded in the quilting lines!
I don’t usually wash quilts (you know me, I’m known for “Lie down until the urge goes away!”), but this one went from the gentle vac to the washer!
Xenia (The quilt has found a home with a dedicated researcher.)
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 06:23:33 -0700 (PDT) | From: Gary Parrett (gparret1)
My son came home with his quilt and said, “Mom, you need to wash this.” He confiscated a quilt I made a few years ago and has been using it. It has been through a wash before and held up well, though I take care in the cleaning of it. The problem this time is not dirt, but oils. You know how young men seem to have an abundance of body oils – how does one go about getting that out in a delicate cleaning? Any ideas are most welcome.
Thankyou in advance. Karen
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 11:11:40 EDT | From: HKnight453
Orvus is your friend. It’s designed to clean farm animals, and all their greasy coats. It works well to wash the solid sheep digestion byproducts from raw wool, and cuts the lanolin. I use it for laundry regularly. It can be bought at your local Agway/Tractor Supply etc.
Heather
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 16:17:32 -0400 | From: Newbie Richardson (pastcrafts)
Dear list, for those of you with experience with going to AQSG – I have just been informed that all of the study sessions/tours I signed up for ( at least a month ago) are “sold out”. I have been offered the option of going on the waiting list. Can anyone tell me whether a place opening up is feasible? is it in the realm of “fat chance”, or a “cold day in hell,’ or ‘could be,’ “probably will happen”? I know that some groups do have a certain last minute switching of attendance, while others don’t. I don’t mind taking a chance on the waiting list – but not if the odds are not even. Funds are limited and if I cannot justify the expense by the scholarship I will be part of, then I need to husband my reserves for other ventures – as much as I would LOVE to see many of you..
A.Newbold “Newbie” Richardson The Costume and Textile Specialists Appraisals, Conservation, & Exhibition Alexandria and Richmond, VA 703-684-0863/804-261-4998 www.costumeandtextile.net
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 11:08:11 EDT | From: DDBSTUFF
I just learned something that most of us posting here can use.
If you right click on your email form, you will open a menu and you will see at the bottom, “Compose in Plain Text” By clicking on it, you email will be sent in “Plain Text” and we won’t have to try to read through all the funny & strange numbers and gibberish.
Who knew? Certainly not me, obviously!
Now I use AOL so I’m not sure this works on all systems.
Darwin
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 17:26:01 -0500 | From: Susan Wildemuth (ksandbcw)
Would anyone with LeeWard Mills, LeeWards, or LeeWards Creative Crafts catalogs e-mail me off-list?
Thanks– Sue
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 17:34:46 -0700 | From: ChrisA
Short of a special library database that I can’t get to right now, does anyone know where I can find page numbers for a book review in a 1970s issue of The Magazine Antiques? I have the title and author, not the pages. Any help would be appreciated! Please contact me at quiltdating if you have that year’s back issues and the time to look it up or if you know of a public website that lists this, that would be great, but I sure haven’t found a public one.
Thanks, Kim Wulfert www.antiquequiltdating.com
Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2006 10:24:58 -0400 | From: Bobbi Finley (bobbi_finley)
There is hope. At the Peninsula Piecemakers Quilt Guild meeting on Friday morning, we had a program billed as “Civil War Quilts”. I don’t know if this was the speaker’s title or the program person’s. My friends were concerned that they had no duct tape to put over my mouth so I wouldn’t get hostile because I was already grumbling about the quilt hanging on the stand that was obviously a UGRR code quilt. To my extreme pleasure, the speaker, Suzie Bedford from Virginia Beach, first told the “code” and then went on to explain the errors in the code, including that slaves from Charleston went to Florida to escape, not to Canada. Something I hadn’t heard before — not that I consider myself an expert. She also talked about the black center log cabin quilt myth. When I thanked her for her work to dispel the myth she responded that she has also talked to area school groups. So, as I said, there is (a little) hope. 20
Bobbi Finley Williamsburg, VA
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 17:51:08 -0400 | From: Newbie Richardson (pastcrafts)
LEARN ABOUT VIRGINIA THROUGH ITS ANTIQUES
OCTOBER 10th SEMINAR on
“THE FOUR CENTURIES OF VIRGINIA QUILTS”
Colleen Callahan, a costume and textile historian with experience in conservation and theatrical costumes, will present the second antiques seminar of the season sponsored by the McLean Great Falls Celebrate Virginia 2007 and the McLean Community Center. She will discuss the history of Old Dominion quilts and their makers over time. Quilts have been part of domestic and artistic life in Virginia since the settlement of Jamestown in 1607. The slide presentation begins with whole-cloth quilts of the 1600s followed by the plantation-made beauties of the late 1700s and early 1800s. Quilts from the revivals of the 20th century include those by well-known Virginia quilt makers of today whose styles range from the traditional to the avant-garde.
In 2003, Colleen Callahan retired as curator emeritus of costumes and textiles at the Valentine Richmond History Center, formerly the Valentine Museum, and started a consulting firm, The Costume & Textile Specialists, with Newbie Richardson of Alexandria, VA. While at the Valentine, Ms. Callahan managed the museum’s 40,000-piece, internationally recognized collection and curated over twenty art and social history-themed exhibitions. She consults with large and small institutions nationwide on exhibition, collection management and documentation, conservation, and reproduction clothing projects. Former President of the Costume Society of America, she is a sought after lecturer and contributor to popular and scholarly publications.
It is McLean Community Center Course #1997.260, $30 for McLean residents; $35 for non-residents. For more information, contact Francine Proulx, ISA AM, at 703-395-7015 fpappraisals. Register beginning August 21 at <http://www.mcleancenter.org/> www.mcleancenter.org
The McLean-Great Falls Celebrate Virginia 1607-2007 Community Program is part of “Jamestown 2007” and aims to commemorate the Jamestown 400th anniversary by promoting the Commonwealth through educational opportunities. Colonial Williamsburg is a founding sponsor of the overall Jamestown 2007. Coordinating this series is Board Member, Francine Proulx, ISA AM, an independent antiques and decorative arts appraiser, consultant, lecturer and freelance writer on antiques and appraising.
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Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 17:53:17 -0400 | From: Newbie Richardson (pastcrafts)
LEARN ABOUT VIRGINIA THROUGH ITS ANTIQUES
OCTOBER 17th DAY TRIP – FROM A CURATOR’S VIEW:
OLD DOMINION QUITS AT THE VA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
AND JOHN MARSHALL’S RICHMOND FURNITURE
Wrapping up this season’s antique programs co-sponsored by the McLean-Great Falls Celebrate Virginia and the McLean Community Center is a one of kind trip to Richmond October 17th. At the Virginia Historical Society, textile historian and former curator of the Valentine History Center, Colleen Callahan, will lead the tour of the third and last rotation of VHS Old Dominion Quilts exhibition. Twenty quilts display a progression of the art over time including five modern examples. After time to browse other exhibits and lunch at the historic Jefferson Hotel built in 1895, the group will move on to the historic home of Virginia native and our longest serving Chief Justice of the United States from 1801-1835, John Marshall. There APVA Preservation Virginia Curator of Collections, Catherine Dean, will give a personalized tour of the house highlighting the largest collection of early 19th century furniture made in Richmond. The house includes personal items from his traveling desk and saddlebag to French porcelain purchased in Paris as well as a sampler made by Mrs. Marshall during her Yorktown childhood. Comfortable shoes will help you enjoy this “up close and personal” antiques day in the Virginia Capital.
This is McLean Community Center program, 1018.260, $140 for McLean residents, $145 for non-residents. Cost covers transportation, guides, admissions, lunch, snack and driver’s tip. Make checks out to Excursionaire and mail to McLean Community Center, 1234 Ingleside Avenue, McLean, VA 22101. For more information, contact Francine Proulx, ISA AM, at 703-395-7015 or fpappraisals. Register beginning Aug. 21 at www.mcleancenter.org <http://www.mcleancenter.org/>
The McLean-Great Falls Celebrate Virginia 1607-2007 Community Program is part of “Jamestown 2007” to commemorate the Jamestown 400th anniversary by promoting the Commonwealth through educational opportunities. Colonial Williamsburg is a founding sponsor of the Jamestown 2007. Coordinating this series is Francine Proulx, ISA AM, an independent antiques and decorative arts appraiser, consultant, lecturer and freelance writer on antiques and appraising.
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Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 17:56:36 -0400 | From: Newbie Richardson (pastcrafts)
LEARN ABOUT VIRGINIA THROUGH ITS ANTIQUES:
SEMINAR ON SOUTHWEST VA ANTIQUES OCTOBER 2ND
Monday, October 2nd, Betsy K. White, author of Great Road Style: The Decorative Arts of Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee, the first and only treatise on antiques from this region, will begin the McLean-Great Falls Celebrate Virginia 2007 Fall Antiques Seminar Series, 7:30-9 PM, at the McLean (VA) Community Center. Her pictorial presentation will showcase the best examples of “back country” antiques. As settlers traveled the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road in the late 18th/early 19th centuries, they arrived with a learned sense of preference blending into a unique local style. These stylistic characteristics will be highlighted from pies safes with intricate pierced-tin work to high-style cupboards with distinctive inlay to salt-glazed pottery with cobalt decoration to the region’s rich tradition of women wool coverlets.
Betsy K. White is Director of the William King Regional Arts Center, Abingdon, a position she has held since 1988 except for a three-year period when she led the research for the Arts Center’s Cultural Heritage Project. That research resulted in a permanent archive of over 2,000 records of 19th century decorative arts and material culture from Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee and is the basis for her newly published book by University of Virginia Press and fifteen original exhibitions. Books will be available for purchase and signing after the program.
It is McLean Community Center Course #1996.260 and costs $30 for McLean residents; $35 for non-residents. For more information, contact Francine Proulx, ISA AM, at 703-395-7015 or fpappraisals. Register beginning August 21st at <http://www.mcleancenter.org/> www.mcleancenter.org.
The McLean-Great Falls Celebrate Virginia 1607-2007 Community Program is part of “Jamestown 2007.” Its goal is to commemorate the upcoming Jamestown 400th anniversary by promoting the Commonwealth through educational opportunities. Colonial Williamsburg is one of the founding sponsors of the overall Jamestown 2007. Coordinating this series is Board Member, Francine Proulx, ISA AM, an independent antiques and decorative arts appraiser, consultant, lecturer and freelance writer on antiques and appraising.
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A.Newbold “Newbie” Richardson The Costume and Textile Specialists Appraisals, Conservation, & Exhibition Alexandria and Richmond, VA 703-684-0863/804-261-4998 www.costumeandtextile.net
Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 13:27:55 -0700 (PDT) | From: Laura Fisher (laurafisherquilts)
Much as I hate to add one more word to the dialogue about this subject, to help correct the misinformation, perhaps someone can write a paper and submit it to a teacher’s newsletter, history teachers’ journal, or some other education periodical or website so the information gets out from QHL talking to itself, into the proper arena of educators who might be passing along erroneous information.
Also, there is a PBS show History Detectives that airs after Antiques Roadshow (in NYC anyway). I will write host Wes Cowan concerning this issue, and suggesting they try to track a quilt pieced in one of the UGRR supposed patterns. They will be unable to verify that the period quilt was used on the underground railroad, consulting with QHL experts and others knowledgeable about UGRR, and in the process share correct information to a wider audience than we can reach.
Laura Fisher
Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 16:48:51 -0400 | From: Newbie Richardson (pastcrafts)
Laura, Your idea about putting the UGRR issue in the hands of Wes Cowan and the History Dectectives is brilliant. As Wes is a well respected auctioneer in Ohio – he does the Early American History Auctions – do any of our members have connections to him to help get this idea moving? I have a good friend who does (Civil War stuff) – but she is absolutely not a quilt person, so she might not be the best person to approach him.
A.Newbold “Newbie” Richardson The Costume and Textile Specialists Appraisals, Conservation, & Exhibition Alexandria and Richmond, VA 703-684-0863/804-261-4998 www.costumeandtextile.net
Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 17:13:47 -0400 | From: Jean Lester (jeantomlester)
I just judged a show where the featured theme category was The Underground Railroad quilts. I’m afraid that I jumped on a short soapbox. I think most of them were glad to hear another opinion, since they had no idea that it wasn’t an accepted fact. A local quilt shop is teaching a class and is swamped with students.
Jean
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 08:20:25 -0700 (PDT) | From: Laura Fisher (laurafisherquilts)
I already emailed Wes Cowan about the idea of tracking a “UGRR” quilt. Coincidentally a colleague called me with great excitement about the UGRR quilt she found among her mother’s belongings. She brought it in, dissecting each motif on this Victorian silk crazy quilt so that it related back to the info in the book! She was dismayed that it could not be an UGRR quilt; her quilt would be a likely candidate for that show. Laura Fisher
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 11:38:01 EDT | From: Mitzioakes
Hi – I really don’t like to piggy back items on your recent email pertaining to the UGRR. But, I have offered to set up a small display/table at our upcoming show (Nov. 4-5) that will have information about, and information available, the History of Quilts (and this will include coverage of the UGRR/Quilts). If anyone reading this could send me places to look for such information I sure would be indebted. I am planning a simple display with pertinent questions (and answers) displayed.And there will be a small hand out of places for people who are interested in the history of this art (from way back to Egypt) to find (email, snail mail, quilt shop publications, current publications, etc.) Mitzi Oakes ‘A Symphony of Quilts’ Show – Nov. 4-5,06, Coach Barn, Shelburne Farms, Shelburne, VT Champlain Valley Quilters Guild So. Burlington, Vermont
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 14:54:19 EDT | From: TEXTIQUE
Considering the nature of Ann-Louise Beaumont’s post concerning our volunteer publicly touting her personal approval of HIPV, the museum has decided to turn this unfortunate incident into a learning experience. We will be researching (I have more stuff on this subject than the author of the book I think) and writing a paper for our online newsletter. Hopefully, when our website is revamped soon we will add a revolving educational history page to tackle subjects such as this.
We eagerly await the publication of B.B.’s new book.
Jan
PS: if any of you have suggestions for creating a good quilt museum website, I’d be interested in hearing from you.
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 16:22:18 -0700 | From: Karen Alexander (karenquilt)
Dear QHL members,
Whether you want to honor a living woman or create a memorial tribute to one who has passed, this may be the exhibit for you. The Fiber Arts Connection of Southern California is preparing a special juried exhibit — “She Left Her Mark” — to hang March 1 – June 15, 2007 at The Quilters Hall of Fame in Marion, Indiana. This is your chance to honor a woman in your life whom you have greatly admired. Please pass this on to any interested quiltmaker or post on your guild website or in your guild newsletter.
Click on the word “Prospectus” when you reach the website below and a pdf file will automatically download for you.
http://www.fiberartsconnsocal.org/shemadehermark/markintro.htm
Thank you,
Karen B. Alexander President The Quilters Hall of Fame P.O. Box 681 Marion, IN 46952 QHF Office: quiltershalloffame WEBSITE: www.quiltershalloffame.org
The Quilters Hall of Fame is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in the restored home of early quilt historian and quilt designer Marie D. Webster. Marie Webster’s home was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1993, the highest honor bestowed by the National Park Service on America’s most treasured historic and cultural resources. Membership dues and donations to help maintain this historic site are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2006 11:35:11 -0500 | From: Susan Wildemuth (ksandbcw)
Would anyone with a copy of Modern Priscilla December 1917 please e-mail me offlist?
Thanks– Sue
Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 16:51:18 -0700 | From: Christine Thresh (christine)
Laura Fisher said: “Also, there is a PBS show, History Detectives….I will write host Wes Cowan concerning this issue, and suggest they try to track a quilt pieced in one of the UGRR supposed patterns…. [C]onsulting with QHL experts and others knowledgeable about UGRR, and … share correct information to a wider audience than we can reach.”
Good for you, Laura. I think that is a great idea. I suggested it on this list well over a year ago and the suggestion was dismissed.
Christine Thresh on an island in the California Delta http://www.winnowing.com
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 12:26:34 -0700 (PDT) | From: Anita Loscalzo (aloscalz)
“Happy Birthday, America!” August 17 – October 22, 2006
The year of 2006 is the 230th Birthday of the United States of America. A quilt exhibition that celebrates the birthday of America is a fitting event to acknowledge this occasion. “Happy Birthday, America,” curated by Sue Reich, will be shown at the New England Quilt Museum from August 17 to October 22, 2006, and travel to the Museum of the American Quilter’s Society in Paducah, Kentucky for display from November 18, 2006 to January 20, 2007. The exhibition features a collection of 22 Centennial and Bicentennial quilts made to commemorate our nation’s monumental birthdays and a selection of fabrics and ephemera meant to enrich and enhance the experiences of viewers of the exhibition with their profound reminders of times gone by.
The Centennial Exhibition allowed the nation to show the world its accomplishments, and presented a view of the outside world to the Americans who visited the exhibition in great numbers. Both the Centennial and Bicentennial celebrations awakened a sense of pride in the history of the United States and its traditional crafts, including quilting.
The Centennial Exhibition was also responsible for popularizing many trends in quiltmaking, such as charm and crazy quilts, and a revival in interest in “colonial” style quilts. Fabric manufacturers across New England printed designs with symbols specifically to mark this occasion. Centennial quilts are of particular importance because they were often made with fabrics printed especially to be available for the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. Bandanas and fabrics depicting scenes and buildings from this exhibition are commonly found in quilts made around 1876. The selection of Centennial quilts on display exhibit all of these features. There are quilts, a collection of Centennial fabric, and an extensive amount of ephemera from the Centennial to place these quilts within the context of the time.
Inspired by the Bicentennial, many of today’s quiltmakers began their artistic endeavors as a result of a renewed interest in America’s traditional art form. Several of the Bicentennial quilts in “Happy Birthday, America” include designs specifically created as commemorative symbols, many of which were made from kits that are very identifiable to 1976. Other quilts made by groups of quilters from towns and villages across the United States depict charming scenes and historical landmarks from their different locales. Also on display are quilt kits and fabrics from this era.
The Museum will host two lectures during the exhibition. On Saturday, August 26, 2006, at 1 p.m., the exhibition’s curator, Sue Reich, quilt historian and co-author of Quilts and Quilt Makers: Covering Connecticut, will give a gallery talk on Centennial quilts and the impact of the Bicentennial celebration on the quilt revival that started in the 1970s. Sue Reich’s talk is funded by The Quilter’s Guild of Dallas.
On Saturday, December 9, at 1 p.m., Xenia Cord will present her illustrated lecture, “American Spirit: Patriotism and Quilts, 1800-2001,” focusing on quilters’ means of visually conceptualizing their emotions, thoughts and feelings about their country throughout the centuries. Xenia Cord’s lecture is funded by The Quilter’s Guild of Dallas and Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine.
Both lectures are free with admission to the Museum. A CD catalog of the exhibition will be available for purchase in the Museum Shop for $9.99. This exhibition is funded with major support from a grant from The Quilter’s Guild of Dallas and in part by Fairfield Processing , P & B Textiles, and Quilting Treasures.
Museum hours are 10 AM – 4 PM Tuesday – Saturday; and Sundays 12 – 4 PM. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for students/senior citizens; Museum members are admitted free. Handicapped parking is available.
Anita B. Loscalzo, Curator New England Quilt Museum 18 Shattuck Street Lowell, MA 01852 ——– email: Curator telephone: 978-452-4207 Ext. 11
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 09:21:50 -0700 | From: Karen Alexander (karenquilt)
Oops, mistyped my ending date last night! Sorry! Karen Alexander
WHAT: “She Left Her Mark” juried exhibit by The Fiber Arts Connection of Southern California WHEN: exhibit goes up March 1 – ends June 25, 2007 (NOT the 15th) WHERE: The Quilters Hall of Fame in Marion, Indiana ENTRY DEADLINE: January 5, 2007
Prospectus available here: http://www.fiberartsconnsocal.org/shemadehermark/markintro.htm
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 10:00:36 -0700 | From: Laura Robins-Morris (lrobins)
Laura, I have never heard of or read a description of an older quilt with any UGRR connections before. Only the quilts being made recently. Can you please tell us more about this one — what blocks or symbols it had and how they related to the UGRR. Also, any family stories that made the owner connect it with the UGRR. Anything you can share. Thanks very much. Laura R-M
Laura Fisher wrote:
>…Coincidentally a colleague called me with great excitement about the UGRR quilt she found among her mother’s belongings… Victorian silk cazy quilt … >
Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 09:10:17 EDT | From: Mitzioakes
Crazy quilts were not introduced until many years AFTER the Civil War and the UGRR. Just an observation from a questioning quilter. Mitzi
Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 05:57:42 -0700 (PDT) | From: Anita Loscalzo (aloscalz)
Hi, all:
As Xenia Cord quickly pointed out to me, her lecture is on SEPTEMBER 9, not December, as appears in the notice!
Anita
Anita B. Loscalzo, Curator New England Quilt Museum 18 Shattuck Street Lowell, MA 01852 ——– email: Curator telephone: 978-452-4207 Ext. 11
Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 09:19:19 -0400 | From: joan kiplinger (jkip)
I don’t know if any of you get the Life weekend magazine supplement with your Friday newspaper. Today’s issue carries a nice article on the quilters of Gee’s Bend quilts about their quilts and the making of the commemorative postage stamp series which will be available next week. There’s also sidebar giving an inside look in the printing of this series. I know some of you are doing research involving GB for various displays and exhibits and other documentation. If anyone would like my copy for their use, let me know off list. It’s yours with gratis postage.
Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 08:40:23 -0500 | From: avalon (malthaus)
http://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/cgi-bin/news.pl?display116
http://www.vintageandvogue.com/
Here are two shops that have this kit on their websites.
Mary
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 23:56:45 -0700 | From: suereich
The focus of AQSG 2006 will be on pre-1840 quilts and quilts with Connecticut provenance. Like the other New England states, Connecticut also has a rich history in our country’s early textile production. We do not have planned tours for these sites but that doesn’t mean you have to miss them. There are many places of interest if you are extending your trip to Connecticut or if you have time for an off-site (Marriott) jaunt. Keep in mind that it takes one hour to drive from Connecticut’s southern border, Long Island Sound, to Massachusetts, the northern border. East to west is a two-hour trip. Corner to corner is about 2.5 hours. Everything is relatively close by and easily accessible. The acme of Connecticut’s textile history is around 1876, the Centennial celebration of our country. There were multiple sewing machine industries and thread industries in our state. Manufactories of cotton, silk and woolens were everywhere. If it is sericulture that interests you, visit Mansfield, CT. About 1760, Nathan Aspinwall, a native of Mansfield began to promote silk culture in Mansfield and nearby towns. He planted an mulberry orchard, then in 1762, he brought the first silkworm eggs to Mansfield. The CT legislature further encouraged the culture of silk by sending a half ounce of mulberry seed to every parish in Connecticut. In 1824, Mansfield was considered the center of American silk production with the first silk factory in the U.S. Silk culture remained a home industry in Mansfield until 1844. http://mansfieldct-history.org/Silk/SilkProductionInCT.htm http://mansfieldct-history.org/Silk/TourOfSilkMills.htm http://www.smith.edu/hsc/silk/papers/macdonald.html (When we first moved to Connecticut in the 1980s, we had mulberry trees in our yard.) In 1838, six Cheney brothers established the Mount Nebo Silk Company in Manchester, CT. The company adopted the family name in 1843. The company reached its peak in 1923, after which it quickly declined due to industry wide overproduction of silk, and competition from new synthetic fibers such as rayon. Although it revived slightly during World War II, the family sold the company to J. P. Stevens and Company in 1955. In 1978, the mills and surrounding neighborhood were declared a National Historical Landmark District. The mill was permanently closed in 1984. The mill buildings were sold to developers who converted them into luxury apartments and offices. The area of known as Cheneyville is about 15 minutes from the Marriott. It is very drivable and provides the visitor with a hint of what life might have been like living and working in a company village. If you want to research the holdings of the company, the University of Connecticut at Storrs and the Wadsworth Athenaeum are the places to go. The Wadsworth also archives an extraordinary collection of silks brought back from China by the Cheney Brothers to be copied here in Manchester. http://www.manchesterhistory.org/old_manch_museum.htm http://library.ci.manchester.ct.us/ra/readlists/manchbib.html http://www.cthistoryonline.org/classrm_lessplan_family_ch.html http://www.nyc-architecture.com/MID/MID062A.htm http://www.lib.uconn.edu/online/research/speclib/ASC/findaids/Cheney/MSS19840026 .html The Manchester Historical Society is supposed to have a working silk jacquard loom. One of my personal favorites is Willimantic, CT. The Willimantic Linen Company, later known as the American Thread Company was one of many textile mills in this small eastern Connecticut town, nicknamed Thread City. The former company library now houses the historical society. They provide you with a nice tour. The second floor is setup as replicas of the mill workers homes. They also have a decent sewing machine collection on display. The historical society is surrounded by the 6 mill buildings in various states of restoration. A highlight is the famous Frog Bridge across the Willimantic River built to commemorate a famous legend and the city contribution to textile history. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willimantic,_Connecticut http://www.threadcity.org/49/?form_57.userid2&form_57.replyids1 http://www.kurumi.com/roads/ct/br-frog.html
The site below is an historic timeline published in the Willimantic during the bi-centennial celebration of the town in 1892. http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Fields/4791/windhams2ndcenturywillimanticmanu factures.html
The earliest sewing machine manufactories began here in Connecticut. Howe, Wheeler & Wilson, Weed, Singer and a few others have roots to our state. The Howe papers and archives can be found in the Bridgeport Library. His statue can be found today in Seaside Park, Bridgeport. > http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blEliasHowe.htm > http://www.skyweb.net/~channy/CTGuideNHart.html > http://www.newhartfordhistory.org/eliashowe.html > http://www.sewmuse.co.uk/w&w.htm
There are so many more places to send you. You can visit Eli Whitney’s grave in the Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?pagegr&GRid1099 There’s Humphreysville in Derby, one of the very earliest factory towns in CT founded by General David Humphrey. http://www.seymourct.org/history.aspx Mary Kies of Killingly, CT became the first woman to receive a U.S. Patent May 5, 1809. She developed a process of weaving straw with silk or thread. http://www.killinglyhistory.org/jol7/page5.htm You will find the greatest concentration of old textile mill towns if you drive along the Quinebaug River valley in eastern Connecticut. Some of these still standing mills have been turned into Antique malls; others have fallen into ruins. Traveling here will give you an excellent idea of the large amount of industrial endeavors in this part of our state. thelastgreenvalley.org/publications/printerfriendly/pfv_unigrid.pdf
The list goes on from the Ward Printworks in the far northwestern corner to the Palmer Brothers Quilt Company in the southeastern tip. I hope that you will find time to stray from the manic I-84, I-95, I-91 corridors. Upon leaving those super-highways, you will find yourselves on meandering roads that traverse villages and small towns to really enhance your stay. sue reich
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 20:42:21 -0500 | From: Kim Baird (kbaird)
Do I remember a recent discussion about the Woman’s Day Book of American Needlework by Rose Wilder Lane?
I’ve come upon the boxed set of Patterns and Instructions for American Needlework that accompanied the book. Was there someone who was looking for this?
Reply directly to kbaird
Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 13:44:29 EDT | From: Mitzioakes
I personally would like a copy of your article (we do NOT get the Friday supplement you mentioned in our daily paper). I am doing a display on quilt history for an upcoming show that our guild is having and the Gee’s Bend quilts keep coming up in my research. Mitzi Oakes 48 East Terrace So. Burlington, VT 05403-6144
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2006 21:36:38 -0500 | From: Gail Ingram (gingram)
It is so hot here in North Louisiana and so dry that nobody can go outside. So all we’re doing these days is sitting around and thinking thoughts that are as sweet as we can think in this terrible heat and playing quiet games like “what if” (e.g., What if our ancestors had had sense enough to stay in the Shennadoah Valley or perchance in Middle Tennessee or even on some mountain top where there were cool night breezes in August…).
Here’s my “what if”: What if you were planning a trip to look at southern quilts–the good, the bad, and the not-so-bad-but-bad-enough, what places would you include on that trip? From Virginia/Md, West Virginia, Ky south? Characterize or describe collection/holdings if you will.
I know we will come up with places like the Valentine Museum, but don’t forget the small holdings either.
For instance, the little museum in Athens, TN, is not gifted with good preservation facilties, but it includes several historically interesting quilts, well worth the trip off the main highway between Knoxville and Chattanooga.
This is a dream trip, so you don’t have to take interstates or fly into major cities. You can just twitch you nose and be there.
Oh, and if your great aunt Bertha’s back bedroom happens to have a 19th-century Whig’s Defeat on the bed, do include that <g>,
From the hot hot hills of North Louisiana, not far from the state’s highest point, Mt Driskoll (374 ft above sea level),
Gail Ingram
Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2006 09:37:52 -0400 | From: Nancy Roberts (aquilter)
One interesting place you might visit is the Levy County Quilt Museum. It’s not a museum in the usual sense, but it’s interesting nonetheless. Location: Levyville, Florida, which is about 12-18 miles outside of both Chiefland and Trenton (Suwannee Valley Quilt Shop there–excellent and has some vintage quilts, too). Contains: Several old quilts which have been donated to the museum; home-craft items for sale such as thread minders, aprons, pot holders, pre-cut pieces for applique project like SunBonnet Sue, quilt tops you can finish, quilts the museum guild has finished, many “cheater cloth” projects, etc.. Wilene Smith is the name of the lady who resides at the museum and it’s from her vision that the Cracker style log building was built using inmate labor. She has a scrapbook telling the story of the place, and you can sit on the wrap-around porch in a comfy rocker while perusing it. My husband likes to sit and rock and read the paper while I poke around inside. It’s not large and won’t take much time to have a visit, but it’s certainly a unique place. Annual quilt show: early December each year–a few vintage quilts, quite a few cheater-type, a few other made in traditional methods. A guild meets there weekly (Thurs. I believe) and quilts on frames bee-style. No website that I know of, but if you do a web search you might find more info than I’ve provided here. If you want contact info, e-mail me and I’ll try to locate the card I have with that info. So, an interesting and unexpected mix of quilty things there, plus a pretty drive to the country in an out-of-the-way place might make this a place to add to an itinerary. Anyone else been there? Nancy Roberts
Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2006 15:39:45 EDT | From: Mitzioakes
Just to make you feel a bit better, it is hotter than H… in New Orleans too! (our daughter lives there and just called complaining about the heat and her lack of AC (we own an AC/refrigeration business so she has been used to cooling systems all her life.) It is raining like nutso here in Vermont today and is kind of damp and cool. Probably didn’t help much. Your what if’s for a quilt display ‘hop’ sounds interesting that is for sure. Mitzi from Vermont
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2006 15:02:11 -0400 | From: Lucinda Cawley (lrcawley)
The Eastern shore Quilt Study Group met on Wednesday. We’ve decided to choose a color as the theme for each meeting. We started with blue. We had such an embarrassment of riches that we didn’t get to see everything in the allotted three hours. this is the sort of problem I love to have. We started with two early quilt tops. One was a simple Four Patch with a large scale floral indigo resist as the setting block; the other was an Oak Leaf and Reel with a Tree and Swag border made from a recycled indigo and cheddar print which may have been bedhangings or curtains in a former incarnation. We don’t insist on sticking to the topic so next up was a beautiful turkey red and chrome yellow Double Irish Chain with a dogtooth border made right here on the Eastern shore around 1840. We saw two quilts from the Shenandoah Valley which the owner’s mother had bought many years ago to use on the beds. First was a turkey red Feathered Star with cutout corners, 1/4 inch grid quilting and a half square triangle border, circa 1850. The second appeared to be all white but was actually a pieced block which had lost almost all of its color; it also was beautifully quilted and very early. Getting back to the blue were a couple of scrappy quilts from Texas: a String Star and a Bow Tie. There was a deliciously crisp Double Irish Chain in a single indigo print with white; the individual squares measured 1″ as did the quilted grid. A Touching Stars was made from the ubiquitous tiny white stars on indigo print, absolutely beautiful with a half square triangle border. We saw two Amish baby quilts: a Bow Tie from Holmes Co., OH crudely made and quilted but wonderfully graphic with ties in various shades of blue and purple and a simple Center Square from Mifflin Co., PA made from two chambray, blue and green. The most organized (and heaviest) Yoyo ever had scrappy yoyos arranged in blocks with blue yoyos forming the sashing. We saw an Anne Orr design of pink and blue flowers inside a blue chain that the owners mother made in 1940 (the only quilt she ever made). Right on cue another member said “I have an Anne Orr” and produced a quilt that you can see on p. 209 of “A Maryland Album.” Made in Annapolis by Katherine Chance about 1932 it’s the pattern that Anne Orr called The Dresden (nothing to do with the Plate of the same name). It was published by Good Housekeeping in 1932. The quilt is pristine and a joy to see. Getting back to Texas we saw two quilts made by the owner’s great grandmother. A Sunflower/Farmer’s Fancy was made in the 1940 of scrap fabrics with blue background, no sashes or borders. A scrappy Fan quilt had blocks set side by side, no borders, with the colors arranged in orderly rows. The outstanding quilt of the day (IMHO) was a very worn, but still amazingly beautiful, 9-Patch on point composed of 2″ Lemoyne Stars alternating with white squares. It had an inner border of the tiny stars. All the fabrics appear to be first quarter 19th century. The prize for serendipity went to the member who showed us a fragment that she’d acquired from a friend of a friend who had been taking apart a 9-Patch with “ugly” setting fabric so that she could reuse the blocks. The “ugly” fabric is a glorious circa 1840 chintz in browns, gold and greens. The original owner had thrown away many of the “ugly” pieces before it got to the present owner. The 9-Patches that she admired are quite nice, but not in the same league as the “ugly” fabric. It’s good that so many of are known to offer refuge to unwanted textiles. We saw a spectacular, circa 1880, Prince’s Feather from Pittsburg, a charming collection of brown and indigo 5″ Churn Dashes (small is always wonderful) and a surprising 1930s Feather Star in pink and baby blue. A special treat was seeing examples of blue as a neutral. Of course, these were PA German quilts. Green and pink Flying Geese were sandwiched between strips of double blue. An original (rather kinky) Oakleaf and Palms (we had no idea what to call the pattern) was appliquéd to a double blue background. A red, claret, butterscotch Jacob’s Ladder had lots of different double blues as the background and the piece de resistance (for me) pink and yellow Rolling Stone blocks with double blue setting blocks. A soothing touch at the end was added by a pastel blue Basket quilt alternating with Snowflake blocks. Our next meeting will be Nov. 15. We’re always happy to have new members or visitors. Cinda on the Eastern Shore looking forward to the Dating Club tomorrow
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 23:15:22 -0400 | From: Fawn Valentine (fawnvalentine)
In the year 2000 I attended a lecture by Raymond G. Dobard, Ph.D. (co-author of HIPV). As part of the lecture, he presented a Victorian crazy quilt as a slave-made quilt–so you can see how misunderstandings start and grow.
This summer my town, Alderson WV, had a wonderful quilt show. Several new quilts were made in the Underground Railroad pattern–apparently a commercial pattern with blocks purported to tell the story of the Underground RR.
At some point we need to honor the elements that have collalesced to create the story. I teach quilt history on the college level through a distance learning program. My students of color take a good deal of pride in the prevalent view of the UGRR quilts. For example, one of these students interviewed Mrs. Viola Hickman (born 1924 in Poncho WV, the fifth of eleven children) who told the student interviewer that her mother and especially her grandmother told her about UGRR quilts. Mrs. Hickman stated “back in those days African Americans had to be very sneaky.”
Fawn Valentine Greenbrier County, WV
Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 22:05:46 -0700 | From: Karen Alexander (karenquilt)
Thursday August 17 front page article in the Wall Street Journal “Why Ping-Pong Star Had to spend a Week In a Cucumber Patch” about one of China’s star players caught my eye this week — he and his partner brought home the gold in table tennis doubles in the 2004 Athens Olympics. Very interesting to see the head coach’s solution to persistent discipline problems — send him to the country for a week to do manual labor on a farm, <<not as punishment, but so he could see how others live, to see that he has it so good….this is a pilot project. If it works, I’ll send the whole team down,>> the coach is quoted to have said. (The average Chinese makes less than $2,000 a year. The Ping-Pong stars about $100,000 with endorsements, according to the article.) The village head was very reluctant at first to accept the young man because he didn’t want <<hoards of celebrity seeking-gawkers disrupting his domain.>> Long, interesting story made short ….about how most of the young people in China find it hard to believe the Cultural Revolution happened, according to the coach…., the villagers readied the best house in town for him….a 14-room air conditioned house…. and added television in his bedroom. Now here is the point of my sharing….The young man brought three items with him (besides his clothes, I assume): an MP3 player; his cell phone; and his own QUILT from home.
Now wouldn’t you just love to know what the quilt pattern is?
Oh yes, and “he worked unless he didn’t feel like it.” Cultural revolution indeed! Talk about change in the world!
Karen Alexander
Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2006 08:21:53 -0700 | From: Karen Alexander (karenquilt)
Check the list at the back of the new Virginia State quilt search book – “Quilts of Virginia: 1607-1899” for places to see quilts in Virginia. There are so many little out of the way places scattered all over Virginia!
You can order it at http://www.vcq.org/ Just click on the photo of the book on that first page that comes up.
Karen Alexander
