December 7 - 16, 2006 - QuiltHistory

Quilt History Resources, Regional Quilt History, Restoration & Conservation

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:

Books Worth Reading — Karen Alexander shares quilt references from a novel and a book on Gee’s Bend, and Gail Ingram praises Laurel Horton’s Mary Black’s Quilts.
Rosie Lee Tompkins and Glenna Boyd — Members share the New York Times obituary for quiltmaker Rosie Lee Tompkins and news of the death of Aunt Kate’s Quilting Bee founder Glenna Boyd.
Sewing and Design in the News — Members discuss a Times article on the young taking up sewing, Etsy, the Nishijin center in Kyoto, and Project Runway as a lens on design.
Nine-Patch and Four-Patch Dating — Sharon in NC asks about dating these blocks, Ark Quilts points to Brackman, and Laura Fisher notes that in Mifflin County the Amish allowed only nine-patch and four-patch. (see the article on dating quilts)
Restoration Referrals and Marie Webster — Karen Erlandson asks about quilt restoration and members answer, and Carroll asks about an eBay quilt listed as a Marie Webster design. (see the article on quilt restoration)
Museum Demonstrations — Sally Ward and Brenda Applegate discuss hands-on quilt demonstrations and re-enactments in museums. (see the article on quilt museums)
The Walmart Fabric Closing Begins — Pepper Cory asks for thoughts on Walmart closing its fabric departments, and Karen Evans, Elpaninaro and others start the long thread.

Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 11:55:30 -0800 (PST) | From: karenquilt

Dear QHLers,

I recently stumbled across an old copy of the novel “Oldest Confederate Widow Tells All” at our annual Thanksgiving Used Bookfair here on the island and started reading it a week ago during the unusually deep snowstorm here. (I’ve lived here only 2 years but the papers say this was the worst snowstorm in 20 years. The County Commissioners immediately applied for Emergency Disaster status in order to get funds to help pay for all the power outages and cleanup. Only one tree down near our house plus a few large branches on the quarter-mile long dirt road out to the tarmac. However, some friends had up to 20 trees down on the long dirt roads back into their homes. Ugh. Many of us were housebound for 3 days. Thank goodness we were without electricity only overnight two different nights. Feather duvets are gifts from the gods!)

Anyway, just wanted to share a couple of paragraphs with you because the word quilt popped up in the story. The setting at this point is that Mrs. Lucy has out lived her Confederate veteran husband who was the last livin g veteran on either side. She has never and a chance to tell her own story about the war. He was only 13 when he served in the war and she is quite a bit younger than he. He supposedly died in the 1950s (the last vet actually did die March 16, 1959). In the novel Mrs. Lucy lived well into the 70s and she is now in a nursing home where the orderly (Jerome) wears a T-shirt under his orderly jacket that reads “Disco Ain’t Dead Yet” and “hand stitches quilts to order”. People finally want to hear Mrs. Lucy’s stories (now that the “Captain” is dead) and she is trying to educate the “young, fresh skinned, open faced, wide-eyed ones” that come around wanting to interview her. \<g>

“Folks expect me to act all cute and all. Makes me sick. You don’t see n o African violets in my room. Folks want I should tell them how to churn butter, what it was to weave cloth. How I saw some Indians onct. You thin k I am going to play like that Miss Priss Betsy Ross? Momma always held her up as Miss Johnny-on-the-Spot, what women can do. Some glory. She just go t to sew some more. They didn’t let her featherstitch her name in that Constitution’s lower left, I notice. She just made another quilt, warm stripes, a applique of stars, a quilt men chose to run up their erect old flagpole and fight for. One track-minds, men’s ups and downs.”

“Honey, you don’t want the truth. You’re just hunting some sharp old gingham gal that’ll fit into a Sunday Supplement Ladies’ Page. She’d tell you how to make gentle soap and slow candles. You think the past was just one long class in handcrafts? Oh, I’ve had others in here glad-handing me for household tips. Listen, as a child, I hated being near the candlemakers. Rendered fat stinks! Show me a butterchurn or some margarine, I’ll grab that margarine stick any day of the week. You ain’t looking to hear my particular rough news. I ain’t an antique, was never such a fine lady. I don’t have no blue-book value whatever. All I am is stringy and cross–with a good memory for grudges. I’m no more than what you see: just old, old, old.”

So far I am finding the book full of references to the kinds of “myths” all of us buy into when we are young without realizing it because we “don’t yet know what we don’t know.”

I have also just finished reading “The Last Folk Hero: A True Story of Race and Art, Power and Profit” by Andrew Dietz. (I did not realize when I ordered this particular book from Amazon.com that it also contained the story of the Gees Bend quilters. It is a fascinating read.)

Happy Holidays to you all!

Karen

PS: I will post a report about my Prague interviews of Czech quilters soo n.

Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 12:24:26 -0800 (PST) | From: karenquilt

Rosie Lee Tompkins, a renowned African-American quiltmaker whose use of dazzling color and vivid geometric forms made her work internationally acclaimed despite her vehement efforts to remain completely unknown, was found dead on Friday a t her home in Richmond, Calif. She was 70. …In everyday life, Ms. Tompkins was Effie Mae Howard, a fiercely private woman who lived quietly in Richmond and worked as a practical nurse. As Rosie Lee Tompkins, the pseudonym under which her quilts were shown, she was exhibited, much to her chagrin, in prestigious museums and galleries in the United States and Japan. Lavishly praised by critics, Ms. Tompkins’s quilts are in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Oakland Museum in California. Her workwas included in the Whitney Biennia l in 2002. … See the complete and lengthly obit at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/06/obituaries/06tompkins.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Karen alexander

Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2006 22:12:31 -0500 | From: Anne Datko (datkoa)

.for Rosie Lee Tompkins whose quilts are in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum and the Oakland Museum in California. Her work was included in the Whitney Biennial in 2002. … See the complete obit at

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/06/obituaries/06tompkins.html?_r=1&oref=slogin.

Date: Fri, 08 Dec 2006 11:28:07 -0600 | From: Gail Ingram (gingram)

I’ve just finished reading Laurel Horton’s “Mary Black’s Quilts: Memory an d Meaning in Everyday Life” for the third time in the year since its publication. It gets better each time. I’m almost an upcountry South Carolinian by now.

If you have not yet read this book, or if you are thinking about a gift for someone interested in quilt history/cultural history/women’s history, this is a book that deserves your attention. And for all those who wish to bette r understand the South, its history, its culture, its quilts, and its women, I can imagine nothing better than “Mary Black’s Quilts: Memory and Meaning in Everyday Life.”

This book is not a catalog of quilts or a “picture book,” though it is richly and beautifully illustrated. Over a hundred fine, sharp images, 32 o f them in well-rendered color, not only depict the family’s quilts but complement the text in pulling the reader into the intricate daily life of a South Carolina family as its members move through time.

Its author’s use of a behavioral approach to study the quilts of the Black family is a step that advances the possibilities of thinking about the entire process of quiltmaking. In his introduction to the book, Michael Owe n Jones uses the concept of “material behaviors,” a concept that takes in the entire range of behaviors associated with the creation, uses, valuation, an d preservation of material objects like quilts as well as the material object s themselves. Motive; the ways quilts are conceptualized and then rendered; their roles as responses to personal, familial, and communal events and needs; the responses they generate; the ways in which they are products of and speak of a specific time, place, and maker; the history they body forth in their materials and construction techniques—these and more make up the intricate net of material behavior.

So often the lack of a name for a technique limits scholarship, and I believe this is a one of those cases. “Material behavior” is a concept that deserves to become better known among those of us who study quilts. It will help us render more accurately the manifold meanings of quilts.

In Laurel Horton’s hands, the approach yields bounty. To discover the identities and meanings of the Black family quilts, the author has turned t o genealogy, community histories, letters and archived documents, journals, commercial inventories, economic history, interviews with family members, church and school records——well, it is hard to imagine the resource that sh e has not brought to bear on her study of this collection of quilts.

The result is an intimate, complex understanding of the Black family, the communities and times in which its generations have lived, and most importantly, the quilts that open a world to the reader and become memorabl e objects in the reader’s experience.

We don’t see these quilts as lone artifacts, located behind glass and identified with the conventional museum cards. By the last pages of this wonderfully readable book, they are vibrant with meaning. Very talkative quilts, these Black quilts are!

Laurel has been studying the same terrain for perhaps 20 years. She knows i t from personal experience, from her study of the Scots-Irish who formed its backbone, from her study of American textiles and the quilts of America and the British Isles. And she is a researchers’ researcher: no pebble is too small or plain to be ignored for the light it might shed on her subject. He r understanding of the deeply narrative South Carolina upcountry culture attune her to the stories that reveal personality, values, and worldviews.

The result is what I consider a ground-breaking study of a family of quilts . Its achievement invites the scholar to employ her model with other such collections. And it reminds us of the tremendous importance of the concrete detail in the study and communication of meanings in history, the sound or fragrance or shred of fabric from which explodes a world of meaning.

“Mary Black’s Quilts” uses as an epigram a passage from James Deetz’ “In Small Things Forgotten” and I think it deserves citing in this forum: “Material culture may be he most objective source of information we have concerning America’s past…If we bring to this word, so reflective of the pat, a sensitivity to the meaning of the patterns we see in it, the artifac t become a primary source of great objectivity and subtlety.”

“It is…important that the ‘small things forgotten’ be remembered. For in the seemingly little and insignificant things that accumulate to create a lifetime, the essence of our existence is captured. We must remember these bits and pieces, and we must use them in new and imaginative ways so that a different appreciation for what life is today, and was in the past, can be achieved.”

Apply that to those Southern quilts that have been dismissed as “big old fa t batts,” and you will never put the words in your mouth again. Read “Mary Black’s Quilts” and then come to the Southern Quilt Conference the weekend of March 23-24. That will be two treats you can enjoy.

Feeling a batch of Lizzies coming on, Gail Ingram

Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2006 13:48:44 EST | From: KathrynHerrmann

Gail, This really is one of the best quilt history books I’ve read. I have a Spartanburg group of friends I’ve driven down from the mountains to have lunch with for nearly 20 years. They’re not quilters, but are passing this book around because of the Mary Black/Spartanburg historical connection. I’ve seen copies of this book being sold in Spartanburg’s little coffee houses and tea rooms along with other books of area history.

Kathryn Herrmann Hendersonville, NC

Date: Fri, 08 Dec 2006 16:21:47 -0500 | From: Velia Lauerman (velialive)

Dear Gail, THANKS SEW MUCH for the information on Mary Black’s Quilts. Another wonderful worth reading is TREASURES IN THE TRUNK , Mary Bywater Cross…Quilts of the Oregon Trail . If anyone has missed this one as I did you will wonder Where Have I Been. We need to let those comments out to realize how the struggle continues. My little ten year old charge asked me “Why there were no Women Presidents.? I told her she would see one in her lifetime but the question about the struggle does continue. Hillary Swank was great in The Iron Jawed Angels. We have watched that movie to help Shianne Grace Gutierrez 10-30-96, my grand niece and others interested in that question. Wouldn’t it be great to see a film of the Quilts of the Oregon Trail ? Velia Lauerman

Date: Sat, 9 Dec 2006 08:06:42 -0500 | From: Sandra G Munsey (munsey)

Gail:

Once again you have provided an outstanding description of something I have been “feeling” but not articulated so well as you! I believe that Laurel Horton has set, not only a new standard, but The Standard by which those of us who aspire to research quilt history should measure our own efforts. “Mary Black’s Quilts” is everything you describe and more. I have been telling anyone who will listen that Laurel’s book is a Must Read. Yes, there are other excellent books – I am a member of the Mary Bywater Cross’ fan club, too, and Linda Lipsett’s and a few others. But, Laurel’s meticulous research and delving into the cracks and crannies of family and local records brings the book to a level not achieved so well before this. Laurel is a role model for us all – writers or readers.

Sandra on Cape Cod – a dyed-in-the-wool New England Yankee

Date: Sat, 09 Dec 2006 10:17:25 -0600 | From: Gail Ingram (gingram)

> I am a member of the Mary Bywater Cross’ fan club, too, and Linda Lipsett ‘s and a few others. But, Laurel’s meticulous research and delving into the c racks and crannies of family and local records brings the book to a level not ach ieved so well before this.> Sandra on Cape Cod – a dyed-in-the-wool New England Y ankee

First, please let me say I blush crimson every time I see that “southerngal.” Because my email address had changed and because I had never posted to AQSG2, thinking it probably redundant, I had a lot (as in “a whole lot”) of difficulty just using the site for a post. A combination of genera l ignorance and specific unfamiliarity and new address. When the “i.d.” box snapped open, I thought it was calling for something codified—not one’s real name. So I popped in the name by which Missus Julie Silber often addresses me——”rebelgal.” Therefore, any impertinence or otherwise might be attributed to the aforesaid Northern Californian, whose Michigan forebears wore coats of blue in the Civil War (and I have never—well, seldom—said a word about that) while mine wore coats of butternut, when they were lucky enough to own coats.

Second, I too am an admirer of Mary Bywater Cross’ work in particular, as well as that of a number of others on and off this list who have written about quilts and their history. I think of Mary first because she and her writings have been so helpful to me personally as I have sought to understand the Democratic quilts of the 1844 and subsequent American elections. I’ve learned one of Mary’s footnotes is worth a lot and that her files for that note are even more extensive. They also can be located with relative ease and speed, something I cannot always say about my materials.

And the Lipsett books have been enormously useful to me personally as well. I’m searching for one to complete my set right now, owing to one of the footnotes in “Mary Black’s Quilts.”

Frankly, for me, this list and AQSG have opened doors that would have been unimaginable only a few years ago. To be able to pick Julie Powell’s brain, to know that any question that involves political history and textiles will have an answer in that location, or to know Nancy Hornback is out there wit h her eye out for quilts I’ve asked about; Merikay Waldvogel and her buldging file of patterns and a generosity equally full; Bets Ramsey and Hazel Carte r and Cuesta Benberry and Xenia Cord, who will copy an article that no amount of independent effort has turned up; Judy Roche, who is often my personal encyclopedia re quilts and textiles, and who, with Sue Reich and Lynn Bassett, taught me to understand New England quilts; Fawn Valentine, whose superior book on West Virginia quilts set me off on one of the most productive paths imaginable and gave me a new approach to southern quilts; to J. G. Row, who will always ask the tough question—well, so many people on this list have been so generous with their knowledge and materials that I could never begin to make an inclusive list.

I wrote about “Mary Black’s Quilts” because I had found that book particularly interesting in its critical approach and because I found mysel f in the thrall of Laurel Horton’s achievement in it. And, truth be told, I hoped to encourage some others to read it so I would have people with whom to discuss it. I felt I could do that without falling into Click & Clack’s category of Shameless Commerce because it was not my book.

Incidentally, there might be some of you who are unaware that the International Quilt Center now has easily accessible online videos of presentations. I drank my morning coffee while watching Mary Gormley discus s her collection of doll and baby quilts, a collection I had first seen in Omaha and fallen in love with several years ago. I know there are lots of folks out there in cyberspace watching porn, making dates with people of dubious repute, and plotting ways to blow us and our quilts to smithereens. But I’m just going to depend on the appointed officials in our nation to deal with those folks, while I watch videos of quilts, pull up the results of state quilt searches, and drink my Community Dark Roast coffee. And blus h at “rebelgal.”

Gail Ingram

Date: Sun, 10 Dec 2006 11:31:59 -0800 (PST) | From: karenquilt

Did some of you catch that major two page article \<\<Circling Back to Sewing ? An old craft is gaining new appeal among the young, hip and nimble-fingered>> page 100 & 101 in the Dec 4, 2006 issue of Times Magazine? Here’s hoping that this younger generation will also be drawn t o quilting once they become addicted to handling and manipulating fabric. \<g> Strange that quiting is not mentioned at all since we quilters consum e an awful lot of fabric too! I found this particular statement interestin g \<\<And as sewing regains popularity, it’s also evolving. Since many new sewers never learned from their moms who were often too busy earning a paycheck to spend hours cutting out patterns on the dining-room table, they’re looking outside the home for guidance. Sewing clubs on high schoo l and college campuses are flourishing, and there are even summer sewing camps and after-school classes for kids as young as 9. Some older newcomers are heading to chic urban sewing lounges…>>

An article like that always makes me wonder about the \<\<story behind story>>. Is the author a sewer herself? Did many of her friends suddenly start sewing? Does she have an “in” in the business of sewing somehow? Di d someone in the sewing industry “lobby” her? What did inspire her to tackl e this particular subject and what convinced her editors to publish it?

Karen Alexander

Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2006 12:08:59 -0500 | From: Candace Perry (candace)

I’d like to point out a crafters’ website, www.etsy.com , that has a lot of items for sale that are sewn. And it’s mostly younger people. (one of my favorite websites!) Candace Perry

—–Original Message—– From: karenquilt Sent: Sunday, December 10, 2006 2:32 PM To: Quilt History List Subject: [qhl] Sewing in the news

Did some of you catch that major two page article \<\<Circling Back to Sewing ? An old craft is gaining new appeal among the young, hip and nimble-fingered>> page 100 & 101 in the Dec 4, 2006 issue of Times Magazine? Here’s hoping that this younger generation will also be drawn to quilting once they become addicted to handling and manipulating fabric. \<g> Strange that quiting is not mentioned at all since we quilters consume an awful lot of fabric too! I found this particular statement interesting \<\<And as sewing regains popularity, it’s also evolving. Since many new sewers never learned from their moms who were often too busy earning a paycheck to spend hours cutting out patterns on the dining-room table, they’re looking outside the home for guidance. Sewing clubs on high school and college campuses are flourishing, and there are even summer sewing camps and after-school classes for kids as young as 9. Some older newcomers are heading to chic urban sewing lounges…>>

An article like that always makes me wonder about the \<\<story behind story>>. Is the author a sewer herself? Did many of her friends suddenly start sewing? Does she have an “in” in the business of sewing somehow? Did someone in the sewing industry “lobby” her? What did inspire her to tackle this particular subject and what convinced her editors to publish it?

Karen Alexander

Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2006 17:24:51 -0500 | From: Sharon in NC (patchworksecrets2)

Since I have been cleaning out and can’t find all my notes right now, I am in need of some help from all of the wonderful folks here.. Does anyone have the dates for the first published pattern of the 9-patch and 4-patch? I want to use them in a BOM for guild tomorrow night but I can’t for the life of me find my notebook where I have been preparing all year….ARGH…. Another other historical anecdotes are also appreciated… Sharon in NC

From: Ark Quilts

Why don’t you look in Brackman’s encyclopedia of pieced quilt patterns or the dictionary by Yvonne Khin? They usually have dating information. Good luck–C. Ark, NW Ohio

Sharon in NC wrote: Since I have been cleaning out and can’t find all my notes right now, I am in need of some help from all of the wonderful folks here.. Does anyone have the dates for the first published pattern of the 9-patch and 4-patch? I want to use them in a BOM for guild tomorrow night but I can’t for the life of me find my notebook where I have been preparing all year….ARGH…. Another other historical anecdotes are also appreciated… Sharon in NC

Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 09:22:48 -0800 (PST) | From: Laura Fisher (laurafisherquilts)

In scanning some of my books on Amish quilts as I tried to organize my “library” and see what I have duplicates of, in one source (which-? would be too organized if I noted down that!) discussing regional distinctions among Amish communities, it said in Mifflin County, Pa. the only pieced patterns permissible were 9 patch and 4 patch. Those were achieved most likely before the aid of printed patterns.

Laura Fisher

From: Donna Keating (donnakeating)

I am a long-time lurker from the Dallas/Fort Worth area. In today’s Fort Worth Star Telegram was an obituary for Glenna Boyd, which appeared as follows:

Glenna Flawn Boyd, also known as “Mee-Maw” and “Aunt Kate” to her family, went to be with her Lord on Sunday, Dec. 10, 2006, at a local nursing home. Glenna was born Dec. 15, 1919, in Tennyson. She was the founder/publisher of Aunt Kate’s Quilting Bee. Funeral: 10 a.m. Wednesday at Laurel Land Memorial Chapel. Burial: 4 p.m. Wednesday in Evergreen Cemetery in Ballinger. Visitation: 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home.

Published in the Star-Telegram on 12/12/2006.

I understand from what little research I did by computer today that Ms. Boyd was a important part of American quilting publication history. Therefore, I felt I should pass this information on.

Donna Keating from N. TX

Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 19:31:26 -0500 | From: Velia Lauerman (velialive)

Dear Group, Thanks Donna for the update on Glenda Flawn Boyd…Yes , it would be very interesting to me to know more about Aunt Kate Quilting Bee as our group here in Hudson will be joining the quilt study group in a couple of months. Our first meeting will be a book review and discussion of airing quilts. Keep us in mind and add comments and suggestions as we are open to learn more. Velia

Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2006 22:12:55 -0500 | From: Anne Datko (datkoa)

Washington Post Wednesday, December 13, 2006; A23 features an article “Twilight for the Kimono:….” which can be found online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/12/AR2006121200997_pf.html

Anne

Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2006 07:58:11 -0600 | From: Karen Erlandson (Karen)

Good morning from North Texas where all hopes of winter weather fade away with forecast highs in the 70’s and yes – 80 degrees!!! Send me some snow!!

I have a request: I am conducting some research on quilt restoration. I have a very short questionaire that I would like to send to anyone who is willing to answer it. If you would like to do this – answers will be confidential (not that I’m asking anything that needs to be!!) please email me at Karen

You can be an experienced or beginning quilt restorer to answer these questions. Thanks and Happy Thursday!! Karen Erlandson

Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2006 07:10:42 -0600 | From: Karen Erlandson (Karen)

To those of you on AOL who kindly responded to my request for help in some research on restoration: I can’t send any sort of email to you!! If you could email me again with a snail mail address, I will happily send the questions to you that way. You could email me the answers. Thanks, Karen

Sorry for the interruption, I now return you back to your regularly scheduled quilt chat!!

Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2006 08:48:24 EST | From: Mitzioakes

Hi Karen – if you have quilt restoration questions contact the following: Mitzi Oakes 48 East Terrace So. Burlington, VT 05403 I will pick a lot of my quilting friends brains in hope to answer your questions/concerns. Mitzi from HOT Vermont – poor old Santa will have to turn his sleigh into a 4WD truck I am a thinking.

Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2006 09:29:55 -0600 | From: quilt25

Karen,

I have done some restoration, taken classes from Nancy Kirk and others. I think of myself as a novice.

Peg in North Texas

Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2006 09:25:23 -0500 | From: Linda Eaton (LEaton)

I notice that there has been some discussion on the list recently about restoration recently and thought that people might like to know that in conjunction with our quilt conference at Winterthur (Quilts in a Material World March 31 2007) we have a workshop (being held on March 30 and April 1) that will discuss the differences between conservation and restoration, and some of the short and long-term issues of each approach. For more information go to our website: www.winterthur.org.

Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2006 19:04:06 +1100 | From: Lorraine Olsson

Thank you for the link to the article Anne. The Nishijin centre is a favourite place of mine to visit whenever I am in Kyoto. Sadly, when I was there last year I noticed that the centre had become very much like any other tourist spot, selling mass produced items. There was still the fashion parade of kimono, and to go with the times, they were presented in a very modern and youthful way. I first saw the parade 20 years ago, and it was so formal and traditional. I take pictures each time I go and the changes are very evident.

To make this quilty, the time before when I was there in the 1990s, I bought a whole heap of silk offcuts for a friend (you know, the one who says bring me some silk home), and thought seeing I had no room in my bag for myself, I will get some next time. Well, there will be no next time. They do not do “scraps” any more so I missed out. I was able to pick up a very small amount of locally dyed indigo fabrics, but these are available in other places too.

Moral of that story is “Never put off till next time, cos there won’t be any left”

Thanks again Anne

Lorraine in Oz (madly saving my frequent flyer points for my next trip)

Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2006 11:09:11 -0500 | From: Newbie Richardson (pastcrafts)

Dear List, I am famous for not being “with it”, so it has been a bit of an eye opener to have a 16 year old German Exchange student live with us and go to the local high school. My kids are 24 and 25 – so he really is from a “different generation”!

– As a result I actually watched a couple of episodes of “Project Runway”. Then, co-incidently, my stock broker, who is also an old friend and neighbor, called me up to get my take on Joanne’s Fabrics, and on Hancock Fabrics. Appearantly, there really is a resurgence of interest in sewing due, in large part, to that cable TV show! Who knew/? It is enough of an interest to get Wall Street to sit up and take notice of potential good investments. He also told me that Wal-Mart is getting out of the fabric business – which might present a hardship for many who live far from any other basic fabric source. I love the Internet – but you got to handle the fabric – and color tones just aren’t the same.

Ho Ho HO Newbie

Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2006 08:20:00 -0800 | From: Alan

Project Runway is probably a hit because the contestants are actually doing something worthwhile. Not only do you get to see them sew, but you get to see the various creative processes. Also, the challenges often make the sewing seem attainable to us ordinary folk. Add in Bravo’s ability to choose very different, and often argumentative, personalities and you have a good show to watch.

Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2006 11:33:17 -0500 | From: J. G. Row (judygrow)

Thank goodness Newbie and Alan spoke up about Project Runway. I thought I was the only one in the world addicted to that show — and now Top Chef too (Go Sam!).

I never picked the winner during any show last season and was terribly disappointed in their judge’s choice as the ultimate winner. I also thought their initial selection of participants could have been better, but I understand they were not just choosing for skill and talent, but for how

they would interact and play on the small screen.

J. G. Row

Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2006 11:58:17 -0500 | From: joan kiplinger (jkip)

I too watch Project Runaway and thought all along the winner should be in theatrical design, someone not definitely for street wear. I also feel it is both talent and their screen presence which gets candidates on the show.

It is also heartening to see a resurgence in sewing and the directions it will take. As for Walmart going out of business, yes, they feel the floor space is needed for electronics and gadgetry.

I also hear Joann’s has and is closing its stores which do not bring in $1 million a year. Some people in very small communities are now internet dependent for sewing needs.

I wish everyone on this list had the experience to know what it was like to go from department store to department store which dedicated entire floors to fabrics, and to find independent fabric stores in every neighborhood.

J. G. Row wrote:

Thank goodness Newbie and Alan spoke up about Project Runway. I thought I was the only one in the world addicted to that show — and now Top Chef too (Go Sam!).

Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2006 16:16:52 -0500 | From: Candace Perry (candace)

It’s now my personal favorite, though the season with Santino et al was much more fun — from an entertainment standpoint. The folks on this past season were a little grim. I think that Tim Gunn is one of the smartest, and most decent personalities on TV. In January there will be “Top Designer” in addition to “Top Chef” (love it also!) Top Designer is an interior design competition. Candace Perry

—–Original Message—– From: joan kiplinger Sent: Friday, December 15, 2006 11:58 AM To: Quilt History List Subject: [qhl] Project Runway

It is also heartening to see a resurgence in sewing and the directions it will take. As for Walmart going out of business, yes, they feel the floor space is needed for electronics and gadgetry.

I also hear Joann’s has and is closing its stores which do not bring in $1 million a year. Some people in very small communities are now internet dependent for sewing needs.

J. G. Row wrote:

Thank goodness Newbie and Alan spoke up about Project Runway. I thought I was the only one in the world addicted to that show — and now Top Chef too (Go Sam!).

Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2006 07:59:19 -0800 | From: Carroll (rl.carroll)

Hello, I came across this auction for an appliqué quilt on ebay. The seller says it’s a Marie Webster design. I think I am familiar with all her quilts and don’t find it in any ofthe Webster books or her Practical Patchwork catalogs. Anyone have documentation that it’s a Webster design?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&sspagename—ME

If that link doesn’t work for you here’s the auction number. ebay #160062486793

Laurette Carroll Southern California

Look to the Future with Hope

Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2006 10:26:39 -0600 | From: Mary Waller (mswaller)

I love Project Runway and I especially love and respect Tim Gunn. The world would be a better place if there were more Tim Gunn’s on TV and in positions of responsibility. As I’ve watched the three seasons so far, I’ve wondered if the show might help stimulate interest in sewing. I hope so.

Mary Waller Vermillion, South Dakota, USA

Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2006 16:30:23 -0500 | From: Nancy Roberts (aquilter)

Add one more to the growing list of those who watched Project Runway. I find the show challenges are so well thought out, and, like others, enjoy seeing what creative process goes on as each designer responds to it. One season’s opener was for each competitor to create a design using only 6 yards of muslin, that good old quilter’s staple. The visits to Mood Fabrics and the notions/findings stores in NYC are interesting. I find much of the “drama” and language to be over-the-top, but the basic concept of the show is intriguing and entertaining. And they actually show the contestants sewing at their machines, pinning to the dress forms, embellishing their garments by hand, cutting with their rotary cutters, and more in the skilled sewing department. In case you’ve missed the series and would like to find out more about the show, Seasons 1 and 2 are available on DVD. Sometimes re-runs are found on Bravo network as well. Nancy

Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2006 17:52:42 -0500 | From: Pepper Cory (pepcory)

Hello Friends-I am doing a talk at the Spring Quilt Market about WalMart and would appreciate your thoughts as consumers and quilters on the subject. Here’s the teaser article that Quilts Inc. put out–it’s a short read-

http://www.quilts.com/newsletter/viewer.php?page=vol1no2/PepperCory

In particular, I’m pondering what WalMart closing all but 600 of its fabric departments means to the quilting industry. Is this an opportunity for great growth or is it a catastrophe? How should quilt shops react to this news? What can quilt shops do better? Any comments would be appreciated- Sincerely, Pepper Cory

Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2006 22:55:21 +0000 | From: Sally Ward (sallytatters)

This question is slightly quilt related because it is something I have become entangled in because I volunteered to help wrangle quilts at a large local museum and demonstrated that I know how to use a needle \<G>.

‘Interactive experience’ is the current buzzword/phrase in UK museums, and the powers that be in this particular museum (dedicated to social history from the 1800s to present day) have decided to change some of the exhibition space into ‘interactive rooms’. As part of this they want to create an ‘at the dressmaker’s room’. They want hands-on stuff/exhibitions/demonstrations. The brief is incredibly vague, I’ve been invited to a brainstorming session in the new year.

Although as a lifelong needlewoman who bemoans the disappearance of the skill this prospect should excite me, at the moment all I can think of is negatives allied to space, funding, staffing, equipment, health and safety requirements etc. etc. As I know there are museum professionals and re-enactors on this list, I wonder if any of you have pearls of wisdom to share. What works, what doesn’t, and why? How can you get interactive without putting artefacts at risk?

Sally Ward In unseasonably warm Yorkshire, head nowhere near accepting that Christmas is a week away.

Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2006 17:09:22 -0600 | From: Kim Baird (kbaird)

Sally– Museums have this problem all the time. The solution is two-fold: you use some historic artifacts, ones that you can spare. If the museum has 50 flat irons, they can afford to wear 2 of them out–if that is even possible.

For other items, you use replicas.

Colonial Williamsburg has dressmakers at work in a shop. I found it fascinating.

Kim

Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2006 18:24:52 -0500 | From: Brenda & Roger Applegate (rbappleg1)

I have been a quilt demonstrator and re-enactor for over 12 years. I think the public has been very interested in what my small group does. We have developed a time line of quilting and made a note book of quilts that we feel represents the progression of quilts. As the years have progressed, we have tried to re-produce the quilts in the notebook. We have a quilted petticoat, the beginnings of a broderie perse, nine patch, stenciled quilt, and so on. We always have a quilt in the frame that people can sit down and quilt with us. There is a 2 fold purpose for this. Many people don’t know how to quilt (and children love to do the stab method), some have not quilted on a frame – only the lap method, and of course the option to try out different types of thimbles. The quilt is in the frame for many years because we only quilt on it at events. Re-peat people look to add a few stitches each year. So through this group we are not only teaching about the facts and myths of quilting, but teaching how to quilt. We have even made the Underground Railroad quilt to ask the questions about the legitimacy of the code.

There is no money involved in it. We are not paid to do this, but really do get a lot of satisfaction. If you get a quilt shop to donate the fabric, then maybe you can make referrals to them. People are always asking for classes, people to hand quilt inherited quilts, or someone to do repairs. It is a good referral resource. I will be glad to answer any questions as to what has worked or didn’t work. We did raffle off quilts in the very beginning. They were blocks that were won at a quild meeting. Half of the money went to start a new quilt and the other half went to the event that we were at. We since keep the quilts as part of the time line of the history.

Brenda Applegate rbappleg1

Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2006 18:52:16 EST | From: RAGLADY

Hi Pepper On my 2,000 member YahooGroups list, we have a discussion going about Walmart’s decision to close their fabric departments — from the quilters/customers point of view. For many, it is close to being a catastrophe.

Many quilters cannot afford quiltshop (LQS) prices. Many live in towns/areas that do not even have a quiltshop nearby — the closest ones may be from 30-60 miles or more. Buying online (which is where I do a high percentage of my fabric shopping) isn’t an answer as many of the WM shoppers just do not do “business” over the Internet. Some do and will shop online but they call in their orders by phone. Either way means they’ll have to pay shipping charges, which means $$ for shipping chrgs, so less fabric purchased.

Some will be forced to switch to Joann stores or Hancock Fabrics, if there are any near of those stores where they live. HobbyLobby stores are another option and you can buy some name brand fabrics there. But again it depends on their location. I live in the Detroit-Metro area of MI; the closest HL store to me is near Ann Arbor – a 1.5 – 2 hr drive via the expressway.

One sector that normally benefits greatly from the generosity of quilters — charities! Thousands of quilters every year make and donate quilts to charities and/or provide to those in need. Many very productive charity quilters (guilds also?) can only afford to spend X dollars to make quilts they give away or donate.

In addition to the economic impact of Walmart’s decision, it is also taking another toll — the emotional health of their quilting customers as they may not be able to continue a craft they had done and loved for many years. IMO, it may also inhibit many new young quilters with limited “disposable” $$ from even considering learning to quilt.

I realize this doesn’t fit exactly what you are asking about. But it is something that quiltshops should consider if they hope to gain any business of former Walmart quilters. I’ve suggested to all of my list members who shop at WM stores to bombard WM’s corporate headquarters with snail mail, email, and phone calls to “make their voices heard”. It may not change anything, but at least they can vent to the right people.

Gloria raglady

pepcory writes: > In particular, I’m pondering what WalMart > closing all but 600 of its fabric departments means to the quilting industry. Is > this an opportunity for great growth or is it a catastrophe? How should > quilt shops react to this news? What can quilt shops do better? Any comments > would be appreciated- Sincerely, Pepper Cory

Date: Sun, 17 Dec 2006 00:24:55 +0000 | From: Sally Ward (sallytatters)

Hi Brenda, thanks for your thoughtful response.

I think the key sentence in your reply is this one: >

> We are not paid to do this, but really do get a lot of satisfaction.

My biggest concern is that there is no pool of willing volunteers to do this. When I have volunteered to work with the quilts my reward has been in getting up close to wonderful pieces that don’t even see the light of day. I would never have access to them otherwise. But it does cost me money to get there and be there (car parking etc.) and I am one alone. I can’t see how I would raise a team of people who would be willing to be there on a consistent basis and share their knowledge when they would need convincing that there was ‘something in it for them’. What I’m actually faced with is trying to find a way of creating either something which the public can ‘play with’ on their own, or something which unskilled volunteers or museum staff could be trained to demonstrate. I have seen the former in action in the museum of Costume in Bath, where a room was equipped with corsets in many sizes made from wet-suit neoprene, with large fluorescent laces. The addition of mirrors meant a great deal of fun for visitors which needed no supervision. Commissioning the corsets must have been extremely expensive.

I had ideas about using interactive computers to recreate a visit to the dressmaker – a sort of 21st century version of dressing paper dolls. Pick out your fabric, your style, superimpose the result on your own figure/face and make visitors realise that clothes didn’t always come ‘off the peg’. But again there’d be no funds for that.

I’d love people to be able to handle bolts of cloth, flat irons, treadle sewing machines, etc. etc., but my experience as a sewing teacher in Council employment showed me that it would involve reams of risk assessment paperwork and the necessity for close supervision of any such equipment. Its actually likely that suggestions like that would be ruled out as ‘too dangerous’.

How often does your group demonstrate? How many people do you need ‘on tap’ to maintain that level of involvement? I think my starting point would have to be working out how much support would be needed.

Sally

Date: Sun, 17 Dec 2006 00:27:40 +0000 | From: Sally Ward (sallytatters)

Apologies to the list, I meant to write privately to Brenda.

Its half past midnight here, I should have gone to bed instead \<G>

Sally Ward (head hung in shame)

Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2006 20:05:01 EST | From: Jccullencrew

In a message dated 12/16/2006 7:26:53 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, sallytatters writes:

Hi, Just a thought about this. Have you thought about applying for a grant from the state or arts group in your area?

What I do is very different from quilting, but it is under the umbrella of the arts. I teach mentally handicapped adults and wanted them to be able to do something musically so I applied for and wrote a grant application asking for $1500 to purchase a set of hand bells as well as someone to teach the subject.

You have to use the right phraseology…that is list of the things that your patrons will learn/accomplish by using the interactive computers. You could even focus partially on handicapped groups who would certainly get a sense of satisfaction from doing something as creative as “designing” their own clothes (ie, dressing the dolls). It would also give them a museum experience, raise awareness, the list of things is only limited by your imagination and what you want to accomplish. It could raise awareness of sewing, design, etc. It would be fun for younger children who, BTW, are computer savvy and would be encouraging their use of the facilities you have.

BTW, we did receive the grant, spent months practicing and finally the group went to a rehab hospital in the area and performed ONE song for the group, who were very positive and encouraging. If you could have seen the pride on the group’s faces, you would have cried–it was a beautiful night for all.

Hang in there, I know money is tight, but with some research you may find grants out there to help you do this.

Good luck. Carol Grace

Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2006 18:34:47 EST | From: Elpaninaro

Hi Pepper,

In 2004, my interest in quilts and quilting was rather suddenly ignited and within a matter of months- courtesy of an inherited desire to stockpile fabric and a lot of travel for work out to Midland and Odessa- I managed to assemble a literal closet-ful of fabric purchased from just about every fabric store in the aforementioned cities, Houston and Austin.

Earlier this year, I sold almost 80% of it off to someone for next to nothing just to be rid of it.

Why?

As I began actually making my first quilts and really handling and working with all my fabric (3 projects- all still in progress), I found an incredible difference in the quality of what I had purchased at places like The Quilt Store in Austin, Rachel’s in Midland and Festival in Houston versus the bargain racks at Hancock or Hobby Lobby- and most of all Walmart. And unfortunately, most of what I had purchased was cheap stuff from cheap stores.

To be blunt, the majority of the fabrics I got at WalMart turned out to be pretty junky- and not just the $1 a yard bargain table, but the stuff for which they were charging $3-5 a yard.

And quite frankly, I never did think that any of the many WalMarts I visited had much of a good selection of quilting fabric. Yes they had lots of fabric and I usually found a few I wanted to buy- but in terms of material I would use to make a quilt, the selection was not all that great.

Granted, when you are in Midland, Odessa or Austin (especially in North Austin where we have several really top fabric stores within a few miles of each other)- it is easy to dismiss WalMart because of what else is around to compare them to. But price-wise, WalMart fabrics for quilting were not all that different from the prices for places like Jo-Ann’s or Hancock, and the latter stores have far better selection, are located in a lot of smaller towns in Texas and tend to be of a much higher quality- if not quite always at the level of places like The Quilt Store (can you tell how much I love that place? 🙂 )

In the big picture beyond just fabrics- I have found that WalMart and other discount stores do a brilliant job of marketing lower prices, but they are not necessarily always the best priced- and almost never are you getting the same value for your money. If more customers were as savvy as they like to think they are, I do not think WalMart would be the huge operation it is today.

Trouble is- the above discussion is academic for most people because they will never have the interest or passion to really research what they are doing when it comes to quilting. Many people will not learn the lesson I did, because they will never even bother to shop around and really compare and learn fabrics. And by failing to learn and compare, they will never get beyond the mentality of “Why do you pay $8-10 a yard for fabric at store X when you can get it for $3-5 a yard at WalMart?” The false sense of security that one is getting a good deal, combined with actually saving money, is a pretty powerful one to overcome with the majority of the public when it comes to any hobby or special interest.

What you find at WalMart vs. a quilt besides fabric is also very telling when considering the target audience.

At a good specialty quilt shop, you will find racks and rows of pattern books, plastic templates and other guidance for serious enthusiasts.

At WalMart or Hobby Lobby you will find a lot of cheap kits. I once saw a “Santa Quilt” kit that came with stiff plasticy spray painted fabric panels that had been pre-quilted in that cheap “chicken wire” pattern you find on a low end comforter. All the pieces were pre-cut and all the buyer had to do is sew together the front and back, with the precut binding in between, and then sew on a few buttons. It was complete junk and $20. For the same price, you could have gotten all the same materials in top quality- but then you would have to make it yourself 🙂

I think that demonstrates, even better than fabric selection, how widely different the target customer is between these two types of operations.

Given that, I am not sure what quilt shops can do- or even should do- to fight a WalMart presence. They could stock some cheap fabric and junk kits to appeal to that other audience, but then what will their primary customer base think to see such things being sold and promoted in the store?

I am not sure about other areas, but here in Texas I do not think the departure of WalMart from the fabric world is going to change things too much for the specialty shops. They will surely get a little more business, but most of the lost WalMart business will instead go to places like Jo-Ann and Hancock that are able to more flexibly serve the full variety of customers in the world of quiltmaking and which have a huge presence here. They have good material in those shops, but they also have the inexpensive things and the marketing aim to reach out to those who go on price first.

As for the impact on the market at large, it might push some people away from the hobby. But those are the very people who do not care too much about it anyway. If they do care, then the loss of WalMart fabric will push them a little faster to the places where their growing interest can be served.

Personally, I think it is a good thing WalMart is out of the fabric game. Even if a person is just making one small piece and wants to go cheap and easy- that person is putting their time and love into what they make. Regardless of their interest in quilting as a whole- I prefer a world in which the places where they can get they want will also be able to give them good customer service and a decent product that will look good and last.

For many this will surely mean more eBay and internet buying, but that is not so bad. I think a little trial and error online, and especially at the low prices that are often to be found, is still going to be a less expensive learning process than what I went through a couple of years ago.

On a final note, I think much of what I have said above can be said about just about any other hobby or non-essential life function where WalMart and other similar stores have a presence. I do not see this as unique to the world of quilting.

Just my humble opinion 🙂

Tom.

Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2006 21:18:21 -0500 | From: Karen Evans

Quilt shops need to start stocking less expensive fabric. I’m not saying “cheap,” not by any stretch, but I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that I *cannot* afford $8-10 fabric for quilts. Period. End of statement. I can’t stretch my budget that much except once or twice a year, and given the prevalence of rural poverty (especially in the outlying areas where Wal-Mart is likely the only source of fabric), I’d bet a lot of WM quilters won’t be able to afford quilt shop prices either.

Gloomy, yes, but poverty does, alas, make a difference.

Karen Evans