July 31 – August 6, 2007
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:
- Cornbread, Hominy, and Regional Cooking Traditions — The ongoing food-nostalgia thread turns to cornbread recipes, hominy, and regional cooking differences.
- The Phase-Out of Dry-Cleaning Solvents — A practical, conservation-adjacent exchange on the slow phase-out of perchloroethylene (perc) and organic cleaning alternatives. (see the article on cleaning antique quilts)
- A Newly Discovered Quilt Inheritance Seeks Documentation — A member offers to help research and document a quilt recently inherited by a stranger who reached out to the list.
- Documenting Quilts by Region: Philadelphia, Delaware Bay, and Beyond — Members compare notes on regional quilt documentation projects, including the Philadelphia area and the Delaware Bay.
- Citation Software for Quilt History Research — A practical exchange on EndNote and similar tools for managing research sources and citations.
- Quilters Hall of Fame Induction and Study Group Meetings — Announcements for the Quilters Hall of Fame’s 38th honoree induction and the Eastern Shore Quilt Study Group’s next meeting. (see the article on quilt study groups)
- Everyday Quilt Use: Sleeping Under Them, Tucking, and Care Habits — A friendly debate breaks out over how people actually use, tuck, and care for their quilts day to day.
- Guild Histories and Anniversaries — Notes on a Minnesota guild meeting continuously since 1924 and an upcoming guild 75th-anniversary research project.
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 06:26:21 -0400 | From: “Bill Volckening” <williamvolckening@>
Hi All,
Sorry I haven’t been participating in the discussion over the last couple years. I’ve been very busy and have started a new magazine for US Masters Swimming – called SWIMMER – of which I am editor. I have received the qhl digest each day for the last couple years, but haven’t been reading them – and at this point I need to drop off the list for a while and relieve my e-mail box of one of the 100+ e-mails I’m receiving daily.
I may be back at some time in the future, but at this point I just wanted to say hi, and bye. I don’t imagine anyone here would really need me for anything, but just in case, you can reach me at:
Best Wishes, Bill Volckening Portland, Oregon
PS: QSG in Portland never got off the ground, for same reasons mentioned above, so if someone could remove my name as contact I’d appreciate it. If not, no biggie – I haven’t gotten any e-mails about it lately.
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 1 | From: Palampore@
The quilt that was given to my quilt guild is now on Kris’ quilt history site. Please view and let me know that you think. I added the history of the person who made it. She was born in WVA 1860’s (don’t have notes before me) and then moved to Ohio in 1881. She died in 1949. Her name was Mary Huston (I think). Running to check out a quilt that needs work. Thanks for any help you can give my guild. I don’t have clue about the age, whether it should be quilted and sold, etc. You can see that the 3 calicoes in it have been reproduced many times so it is is hard to use those to date. Thanks, Lynn Lancaster Gorges, New Bern, NC
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 13:38:36 -0700 (PDT) | From: Gary Parrett <gparret1@>
With our quilt guild’s 75th anniversary coming in 2011, we are working on different angles of related history. Today, I made an excursion to the local history department at the downtown library and perused some microfilm, starting at the earliest newspaper on film, which happened to be dated in the year 1834. We had a cotton mill up here: the Rochester Cotton Manufacturing Company. “The factory is now in full operation and will sell at their store…” Drat! It didn’t give any information on the actual mill. I’ll have to dig deeper.
On another note, as there were a few posts about corn bread, here is a recipe taken from the American Farmer, Virginia, Feb. 1, 1834, and posted in the paper. “Take one quart of corn flour, one half spoonful of lard, half a spoonful of salt, two spoonfuls of yeast, and warm water sufficient to make a batter that will drop freely out of the spoon. Set it in a pitcher or other vessel by the fire to keep moderately warm. It will become very light in eight or ten hours, and should be baked in a Dutch oven or spider, at the same time greasing the oven wall. A cooking stove will answer equally well. The bread will be soft and spongy if properly managed, and greatly superior to what is termed pone.” The article goes on to talk about good meal, that it depends on the kind of corn. “The best I have ever seen for family use is what we call in Virginia hominy corn. The grain is white, very ?linty,(can’t make out that word) and clear.”
So, does anyone still sell hominy corn? The only hominy we have up here is that canned stuff.
Eyes still rolling with the microfilm, Karen
From: HKnight453@
Flint corn is best for corn meal. Stone ground flint cornmeal is used for cornbread, grits, and johnneycakes. The last never contain eggs.
Heather
Date: Wed, 01 Aug 2007 16:24:31 -0500 | From: Gaye Ingram
> Flint corn is best for corn meal. Stone ground flint cornmeal is used for > cornbread, grits, and johnneycakes. The last never contain eggs. > > Heather
What is flint corn?
Gaye
Date: Wed, 01 Aug 2007 16:12:05 -0500 | From: Gaye Ingram
Karen, what an interesting recipe for cornbread. It contains yeast. Will try it and let you know.
Hominy is white because it is soaked in lye water first. In Louisiana, traditionally the lye water is gotten by soaking fresh oak ashes in the water, then draining the ashes from the water. Dried corn kernels are then soaked 24 hours or so, or until the hulls loosen. They are then either cooked in the lime water or in fresh water.
Grits, that most delicious of grain products, is made from corn that has been roughly cracked, then processed like hominy.
When I first tasted hominy, I hated it. But then I had it at an elderly relative’s home for breakfast and thought I was eating manna. The great aunt had seasoned the canned hominy and cooked it over low heat with butter. Had an almost creamy taste. Delicious with Community Dark Roast Coffee.
Keep us posted on what you’re finding.
Gaye Ingram
Date: Wed, 01 Aug 2007 16:23:39 -0500 | From: Gaye Ingram
I think all hominy is canned, Susan. That is the method of preservation.
Just take it out of that can and start working with it. Real butter, salt, black pepper. Can be added to salads too. My mother always said it added calcium to our diets—as if our family, the owners of a Jersey cow equal to that owned by Marjory Kinnan Rawlings, needed to add calcium to our diets. I’ve seen it displayed at county fairs in the canning section. If you can find some at a health food store, esp. one run by member of Church of Latter Day Saints, you will likely find the best product.
gaye
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2007 18:36:29 -0400 | From: Amy Korn <amyokorn@>
I just spent a long weekend in NJ/NYC and noticed signs for “Organic” Dry C leaning. Since this wonder has not yet reached Ohio, I wonder if anyone is familiar with the process? The locals were able to say that it is 1) expens ive 2) biodegradable and 3) involves a chemical process that is easier on y our clothing. I’m wondering of course if this will impact the dry cleaning of quilts. Has anyone tried this process? Thanks for your help. Amy Korn
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2007 18:51:53 -0700 (PDT) | From: karenquiltrockisland.com
What: Induction of 38th Honoree into The Quilters Hall of Fame Sponsor: The Quilters Hall of Fame Dates: July 17-20, 2008 Place: The Quilters Hall of Fame located in Marion, IN CONTACTS: Becky Faulstich – quiltershalloffame@ Karen B. Alexander, President 96 karequilt@ Office: 765-664-9333 Website: www.quiltershalloffame.net
The 2008 inductee is internationally known quiltmaker, author, columnist and teacher Helen Kelley of Minneapolis, MN. Lectures & workshops multipl e quilt exhibits and a vendors mall; tours of The Quilters Hall of Fame in the restored Marie Webster. E-mail us for complete details.
The Quilters Hall of Fame is pleased to announce the selection of Helen Kelley of Minneapolis, MN as the 38th Honoree to be inducted into the Quilters Hall of Fame, July 2008. Kelley has made her home in Minnesota since 1962. Familiar with a sewing machine since her youth, Kelley taught herself to quilt as an about-to-be bride. In 1972 a story about a family quilt she had made from quilt blocks garnered from friends around the world for her daughter92s wedding was featured in the Minneapolis Tribun e. The unexpected news coverage opened opportunities to teach quilting in th e Minneapolis community. In 1978 Kelley founded the Minnesota Quilters and served as its founding president, a guild that today numbers over 1500 members. An international teaching career was born. Crisscrossing America , Europe and New Zealand, Kelley soon spread the gospel of quilting wherever she went. Today she is the author of seven books and has been a columnist since 1983 with Quilters Newsletter Magazine, the oldest continuously published magazine dedicated to quiltmaking and quilt history. Her book, Every Quilt Tells a Story, is a compilation of her column Loose Threads and has been such a success that a second book , Joy of Quilting, followed on its heels.
Among the many honors that Kelley has received throughout her career in quilting and service to her community are: 1995 – Artist of Distinction, Fiber/Metal Arts of Minnesota; 1998 – Minnesota Quilter of the Year; 1999 – Renaissance Quilt was selected by a prestigious national committee of quiltmakers and quilt historians organized by the International Quilt Association as one of the 100 best quilts of the 20th century; 2000 – Minnesota Textile Center92s Spun Gold Award. Kelley continues to lecture , teach, and exhibit her work. A 30-year retrospective of her work will be on exhibit in Marion, Indiana, at The Quilters Hall of Fame during Celebration 2008.
For additional information about The Quilters Hall of Fame’s Celebration, July 17-20, 2008, at which Kelley will be inducted, please send a self-addressed stamped envelope to P.O. Box 681, Marion, IN 46952-0681 or email us at quiltershalloffame@ and request that your name b e added to our mailing list.
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 15:17:44 -0500 | From: “Jan Masenthin” <quiltsrme@>
I’m not an author, but a retired paralegal (2 weeks & 4 days retired — it’s awesome!), and it was my job to gather and organize huge amounts of information that came in all kinds of forms and formats. I’ve tried numerous litigation support software applications, databases, and even one designed for libraries. I always come back to my old WordPerfect tables. I like the combination of simplicity, flexibility, easy data entry, and the ability to sort by any category I choose. If I worked on a case similar to one I had previously, I simply copied the table over to the new case. If it was totally unfamiliar to me, I could make up everything from scratch and change it as needed. If you can’t find something that you find suitable, email me privately and I’ll be glad to share anything that might help.
Jan Masenthin
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2007 18:07:42 -0700 | From: “Margaret Geiss-Mooney”
Good evening, fellow QHLers – Perchloroethylene solvent (perc) is being phased out slowly but surely and is being replaced with four alternatives: wet cleaning (yup! using water and detergent); carbon dioxide under pressure (so it’s a liquid); DF-2000 another hydrocarbon-based solvent; and a silicon-based solvent (usually called Green Earth cleaning). Perc is an extremely efficient (and so can be too harsh, causing dyebleed) solvent and escapes containment thereby polluting water supplies. Not even going to go over all of the human health hazards either. I’ve had direct experience with the “Green Earth cleaning” and historic textiles/costumes. I was very pleased with the results.
BUT please remember that it is not JUST about which solvent/process is being used but also the personnel and machinery involved. All of these processes use front-loading very large capacity machinery – that’s how they can stay profitable: by doing the process “by the pound” versus “by the piece”. Your one-of-a-kind quilt is going to be thrown in to the machine with a whole bunch of other textiles/clothing to equal a certain weight. All of these pieces are then run thru the cycle which entails a lot of tumbling action. The new machines can be programmed to just slosh but that means the personnel actually handling your quilt will be careful and not treat it like all of the other bedspreads that are coming thru. This usually means that the owner is operating the equipment and not the minimum wage employees.
If your quilt/textile/costume is physically strong and in excellent physical condition and you can develop a good personal relationship with the owner of the business (so they will do the processing personally and ideally will allow you to tag along in the shop/plant while they are processing your item), then do consider using “Green Earth cleaning” (remember that fastness testing still should be done on all coloured elements). I don’t know if I believe all of the press about “biodegradable” and “better for the Earth”, etc., etc.
I am still in the process of developing a working relationship with a cleaner that uses the liquified carbon dioxide method.
….noticed signs for “Organic” Dry Cleaning. …The locals were able to say that it is 1) expensive 2) biodegradable and 3) involves a chemical process that is easier on your clothing. I’m wondering of course if this will impact the dry cleaning of quilts. …
Regards, Margaret (Meg) Geiss-Mooney Textile/Costume Conservator Professional Associate, AIC
From: Trishherr@
Lancaster, Pa. August 1, 2007. After being closed for nine month s, the newly renovated and expanded Lancaster Quilt and Textile Museum in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania is scheduled to reopen on November 9th of this year . The renovations to the museum include expanded exhibition space, a 1,000 square foot textile-related museum store space and an old-fashioned ice cre am parlor. Visitors will notice an increased street presence and a bright, welcoming appearance to the museum. Anchoring the museum exhibitions will be the premier collection o f Lancaster County Amish quilts, formerly owned by the Esprit Clothing Compan y. The 82 world-class Amish quilts are rotated periodically throughout the year. T he inaugural exhibition in the new changing galleries will be Rags to Rugs: Pennsylvania Hooked and Handsewn Rugs, an exhibition featuring both traditi onal and contemporary hooked rugs continuing until December 31, 2008. Back for a second year will be the exhibition, The National Christmas Center Presents a Lancaster Christmas, featuring a walk through Christmas past beginning in t he 1850s and continuing until the 1960s. This exhibition is open until January 12, 2008. The Lancaster Quilt and Textile Museum will be open Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.; closed Sunday. Admission for adults is $6 and free for children 17 an d under. Special holiday hours may be obtained by visiting the museum website at _www.lancasterheritage.com_ (http://www.lancasterheritage.com/) . Discount rates are available for groups of 15 or more through advance registration. Formal programs for school groups are available upon request . Call 717-299-6440 for more information. The Heritage Center of Lancaster County operates the Heritage Center Museum at 5 W. King Street, and the Lancaster Quilt & Textile Museum at 37 N. Marke t Street. Until the big day you can still see quilts on exhibit at the Heritage Cente r Museum’s location on Penn Square in the center of Lancaster City. The exhibit is “Stars Over Pennsylvania.” Admission is free and the museum is o pen every day but Sunday.
Trish Herr
Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2007 16:26:33 -0400 | From: “Lucinda Cawley” <lrcawley@>
The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani is a novel about women and carpet making in 17th century Iran. Cinda on the Eastern Shore
Date: Fri, 03 Aug 2007 00:04:39 -0500 | From: Gaye Ingram
Please send information about upcoming events of interest to AQSG members to my email address. Label such information “For BLANKET STATEMENTS,” so it will not get mixed up with personal emails.
I will acknowledge receipt of all materials sent to me. So if you send me something and do not receive an acknowledgement, please send it again.
We begin work on the fall issue of the newsletter Monday.
All of us who work with BLANKET STATEMENTS appreciate members’ efforts to keep it up to date and to make it an important agent for the dissemination of new information and research about quilts and quilt history.
We welcome and value suggestions for ways to improve BLANKET STATEMENTS.
We look forward to seeing many of you at the informational meeting sponsored by the Board and chaired by Lucinda Cawley for all who wish to know more about presenting research in AQSG publications.
Thanks to all who have helped us fulfill the mission of the newsletter.
Gaye Ingram, Editor BLANKET STATEMENTS
Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2007 11:59:27 -0400 | From: “Lucinda Cawley” <lrcawley@>
Just a reminder that the Eastern Shore Quilt Study Group will meet on Wednesday, August 22 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Caroline County Public Library in Denton, MD. The theme is “orange.” For lunch we’re going to try the new restaurant, Emerson House, just across the street from the library at noon. New members are always welcome. Contact me for more information. Cinda
From: Donald Beld
I was contacted yesterday by a lady who has inherited what appears to me (I have seen around 20 photos of the quilt) to be an authentic 1864 Sanitary Commission Quilt.
It is signed and dated by the makers, with their group name, location, patriotic and religious verses and contains 54 blocks. It is stamped on the back of the quilt “Sanitary Commission” and appears to have been made as individual potholder type blocks sewn together with a one inch pink sashing. The quilt was made in Massachussetts.
The woman who owns it wants it appraised for estate purposes. I am not willing to share her name or location or post a photo of the quilt.
But I feel this is a major, historical find.
What I need help with is where to refer her for an appropriate appraisal and authentication. This quilt desparately needs to be in a museum and I feel it is a national treasure.
Please help. Best, Don
Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2007 12:40:19 -0400 | From: “Lynne Z. Bassett” <lzbassett@>
Well, Don, if the quilt is from Massachusetts, clearly it needs to come here! I’ll contact you privately about getting this quilt appraised, and possibly donated to a Massachusetts museum.
Best, Lynne
Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2007 14:20:39 -0400 | From: “Lucinda Cawley” <lrcawley@>
If you don’t get the International Quilt Study Center’s Quilt of the Month email you might not know about what a great online resource it is. Go to the homepage, click on “online resources” and then on “podcast and
videos.” Among other goodies there’s a talk by Merikay Waldvogel on the Sears Quuilt Contest that adds lots of juicy details to the story of Margaret Rogers Cadden and info on the judges that is very interesting. Shame on you Mary McElwain! Cinda on the Eastern Shore
http://www.quiltstudy.org/index.html
Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2007 14:30:09 -0400 | From: “Lucinda Cawley” <lrcawley@>
Is anybody documenting quilts made in the Philadelphia area? Cinda on the Eastern Shore
Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2007 16:28:23 -0400 | From: “Candace Perry”
If they are no one’s announced it…when you say Philadelphia, Cinda, do you mean the city, or the Delaware Valley? Candace Perry
Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2007 16:02:37 -0400 | From: “Lucinda Cawley” <lrcawley@>
Hi Candace, I mean the whole DE Valley area. Great news about Chester County. Cinda
From: jocelynm@
> It has become extremely difficult to cite properly now – no matter what info I get from websites, particularly when they are quoting someone els e’s writing, such as a newspaper article – the “formula” for citing never actually fits. Teddy, This may make you feel better: a colleague came to me several years ago, with a copy of the APA Manual (for those who don’t know, APA style is ‘TH E’ official style of citations in the social sciences). She had me read t he rule on a particular example, then showed me an example they gave on a nother page….the second example being wrong, according to their rule! I checked in my previous edition of the APA manual, and sure enough, the m istake was in the previous edition, too. Talk about the right hand not kn owing… I actually got through the majority of my grad school classes before any professor called me on my mis-use of APA style citations, which I guess g oes to show how few people CARE. <G>
From: Donald Beld <donbeld@>
Thanks everyone for your responses. At this time, the owner of the quilt has gotten in contact with Lynne Bassett who is completing the Mass. S –0-1189479671-1186184272:3009–
Date: Sun, 5 Aug 2007 11:28:15 -0400 | From: “mary voss” <maryjvoss@>
BlankLibby Capps of Cincinnati is looking for a few antique Dutch Quilts for an exhibit on the Netherlands Oct. 5-7, 2007 If anyone can
help her out – she is willing to pay shipping etc. please contact her at ebcapps@
Date: Sat, 4 Aug 2007 17:38:12 EDT | From: MargaretFahey@
Cinda wrote:
” We got some tips on using scrap booking supplies to store blocks and fabric.”
Would you share the tips on using scrap booking supplies to store blocks, please.? We have some from late ’30’s and 40’s which need to be stored differently. Thanks Cinda.
Margaret Fahey
Date: Sat, 4 Aug 2007 09:17:41 -0700 | From: “Kimberly Wulfert, PhD” <quiltdating@>
Teddy and Jocelyn,
Your experience is my experience. Last century the APA style for psych was easy and always the same format. One book was all you needed to check. So the history (Chicago style usually) citation variations were a total surprise to me. What I have done in response is follow the manner used by the publication I am writing for and not follow the manner in the Chicago style book. Also the editorial guidelines from the publication make suggestions if they are sticklers on aspects, or they tell the writer to read past issues for direction. In unusual situations the editors have been helpful when asked directly.
The book I have found useful which includes citing websites is “A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Chicago Style for Students and Researchers” 7th edition, which is the newest. The original author is Kate L. Turabian. It’s revised by the U of Chicago Press, so sticks to the style but it is easier to find what you need then the big book is.
It is precisely this reason, the variety of citation styles that has kept me from using software for conversion. I was hoping to hear there is a way around this from someone on this list or that there are actually fewer variations than it seems, so that a combo software could be used. It’s easy however to memorize the style variation for common citations in each paper as it proceeds since there are so many opportunities in each paper. (LOL)
From: JLHfw@
Good morning, Am I the only one on the list who has received multiple blank messages the past few days? This has not occured with other lists I belong to. Kris, can you tell what might be going on? Janet Henderson
Date: Sun, 5 Aug 2007 12:12:10 -0500 | From: “Karan Flanscha”
I often read my e-mail via webmail when I am at work or away from home. I have received several e-mails that are ’empty’ when I open them via webmail… but later when I download them & read on my home computer, there is a message there. I have no idea what the reason for this is… but thought it might worth mentioning. The Iowa-Illinois Quilt Study Group met in Kalona yesterday, what a treat! We saw wonderful Amish and English (non-Amish) crib & doll quilts. Plus the excellent exhibit of red and white, blue and white, and red, white and blue quilts in Marilyn’s “Patriotic” quilts exhibit. Karan from soggy Iowa
Date: Sun, 5 Aug 2007 18:02:43 -0400 | From: “Greta VanDenBerg” <maquilter@>
Since March I have volunteered a number of times to demonstrate quilting at Winterthur during their “Quilts in a Material World ” exhibit. Every other time I have been seated at a table in the Exhibit Area where THE QUILTS are displayed – which more than one visitor has pointed out makes those of us volunteering museum ehxibits.
Today two of us were located in the Gallery area downstairs where quilts from area guilds have been displayed throughout the show. As is customary we had samples of completed quilts laid out on the table in front of us while we worked on hand quilting our respective current projects.
Mid afternoon a gentleman came up and asked me, “Are there any Gee’s Bend quilts in the quilt exhibit up stairs?”
As I struggled to maintain my composure I responded simply, “No, but the quilts in this exhibit are extraordinary.”
Pointing to the guild quilts hanging overhead he then asked me, “Are any of these quilts Gee’s Bend quilts?”
I again had to disappoint him by answering, “No, and before you ask none of the ones on the table in front of me are either. If you are really interested in seeing some Gee’s Bend quilts you can visit the current travelling exhibit at The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore.”
He walked away in dismay and I don’t think he ever went to see the quilts upstairs. His loss!!!
Greta VanDenBerg-Nestle Hoping for rain in Lancaster, PA!
Date: Sun, 5 Aug 2007 19:32:10 -0700 | From: <suereich@>
Donald, Check out the Connecticut documentation book “Quilts and Quiltmakers Covering Connecticut.” There are two Sanitary Commission quilts on pages 76 and 77 with excellent documentation. The quilt made for the Tarrytown Fair is in very good condition. It is now in the collection of the Tarrytown Historical Society. The quilt made by the Ladies Benevolent Society of the Second Baptist Church of New London, Connecticut was not in great condition, but it photographed well for the book. The similarities between the two quilts are amazing. One is dated 1864 and the other 1867. Benevolent societies in New England were donating quilts to the Sanitary Commission for quite some time after the Civil War ended. I would be happy to put you in touch with the person who did most of the historical research for those quilts, if you would like. sue reich
Date: Sun, 5 Aug 2007 22:10:01 -0700 | From: “Alan”
Also, if you go in the main screen, click on Tools, Then Options, you’ll have a new menu. You’ll want to click the tab marked Send. At the bottom of the resulting box you can chose to have all email sent as text rather than HTML.
Alan
From: “Beth Davis” <bethdan533@>
Hello everyone, I am a member of the Genesee Valley Quilt Club of Rochester, NY. We are coming up on our 75-year anniversary and we are looking into the history of the club. One of the issues is that we claim to be the “Oldest continuously meeting quilt club in New York State”. We began meeting in January 1936. But there is also the notion that we may be the oldest in the U.S. There was an article in QNM in October 2005, which states that the Friendly Circle Club of Ohio has been meeting continuously since 1917. This would mean that our information is not true. So we are wondering if there is any older club/guilds/socials that have records that would indicate that they are the oldest?
Any help would be appreciated. Regards, Beth Davis AQS Certified Appraiser of Quilted Textiles/Quilt Historian bethdan533@
Date: Mon, 06 Aug 2007 08:51:15 -0500 | From: Mary Persyn <mary.persyn@>
For those of you interested in the Chicago’s World Fair of 1933 there is an article in today’s issue of the local newspaper about the World’s Fair Houses that were moved to Beverly Shores Indiana when the fair was over.
http://www.nwi.com/
http://nwi.com/articles/2007/08/06/news/top_news/doc67b0941abe04ac0e8625732f00086d30.txt
Mary
Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 10:55:34 -0500 | From: Carolyn K Ducey
Cinda, I’m researching a small group of quilts made in the Delaware Bay
area. I’m just beginning my research now!
Carolyn Ducey Curator of Collections International Quilt Study Center HE 234, University of Nebraska Lincoln, NE 68583-0838 402/472-6301
Is anybody documenting quilts made in the Philadelphia area? Cinda on the Eastern Shore
From: jocelynm@
Kimberly, I’ve heard many people in my field praise EndNotes; I don’t know if it’s just for APA or if it includes other styles, though.
Jocelyn
From: “Stephanie Hanson”
Hi All, Thought you might be interested in an article one of my friends at work brought me this morning. The very nice article is about Marcia Kaylakie’s new book Texas Quilts and Quilters: A Lone Star Legacy. It’s in the Texas Co-op Power magazine that goes out to those using co-op electric services. I went to the website to order a back copy, and here’s a Texas treat—the magazine is also in PDF form right on the site: http://www.tex as-ec.org/publications/documents/tcp0807.pdf .
Enjoy, Stephanie
Date: Mon, 06 Aug 2007 14:04:38 -0500 | From: Gaye Ingram
Stephanie,
What a terrific magazine. And put out by a co-op!
You Texans do things well.
gaye
Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 16:27:52 -0400 | From: “Lucinda Cawley” <lrcawley@>
Hi Carolyn, Are these quilts in the IQSC collection? Delaware, PA, New Jersey or all three? I would love to see a Delaware Valley documentation project. Cinda
Date: Mon, 06 Aug 2007 16:03:01 -0700 | From: Laura Robins-Morris
Excuse me if this is a silly question, but I did not grow up with quilts. For those of you who sleep under quilts (both old and new), are they usually long enough to tuck in at the foot of the bed, or most often not tucked in? I have always assumed not (based on sizes I’ve noticed in books), but
just want to be sure. Thanks. Laura
Date: Mon, 06 Aug 2007 18:05:40 -0500 | From: Gaye Ingram
For those reading the Texas Co-Op for article on Marcia Kaylakie’s new book, you might also want to check out the article on red hair. I was dismayed to see the prediction that it would be virtually extinct by 2010.
My father was one of seven red-headed sons of a red-headed father, and everyone was delighted when my first child turned out to have the most gorgeous auburn hair I’ve ever seen. Not the freckle-faced kind of red hair. One of my sister’s sons had the freckled face to go with the hair and now has a daughter who also has both. I don’t think I was ever in a elementary school class that had fewer than three red heads.
Oh, what is the world coming to?!
SOUTHERN LIVING should issue an alarm. Maybe the red heads of childbearing age across the South would take more care when choosing suitable spouses.
Bewildered, gaye
Date: Mon, 06 Aug 2007 18:44:38 -0500 | From: Gaye Ingram
Laura wrote:
> For those of you who sleep under quilts (both old and new), are they > usually long enough to tuck in at the foot of the bed, or most often not > tucked in?
Laura, I don’t know there is a standard practice. Maybe every household is idiosyncratic. Good question!
In my family quilts not made for use as a coverlet were not tucked in at bottom. I don’t tuck quilts in at the foot of beds. The quilt hangs to the bottom of the mattress, though.
Gaye
Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 18:57:49 -0700 (PDT) | From: Stephen Schreurs <schreurs_ss@>
There is a hazard to tucking quilts in, especially on old fashioned beds…the quilt can get caught in bedsprings and tear….
Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 22:18:41 -0700 | From: “Alan”
I don;t think there is a hard and fast rule on this. I’ve been doing the vintage thing for about 20 years and have never heard of it. Some people tuck and other do not. I’m of the tuckless variety. The sheet is tucked to keep the bed neat and the quilts are draped in place. I can tell you that a lot of quilts suffer from tucking wear. One or both ends will show waer from being tucked, sometimes tears from metal bed springs.
Alan
Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 22:54:49 -0700 | From: “Alan”
I have got to tell you about this afternoon’s adventure. You;ll get as quivery as I am.
I went to the City to have lunch with a friend of mine. This was the first time we spent just he and I. Morris and I are both artists so I viewed his watercolors. I also brought my portfolio and he saw my quilts in person. I found out the he was a professional pianist once upon a time. He has a glorious hand-painted walnut grand piano. He played, and is extremely good. Surprise #1. Surprise #2 came in his collection. It turns out that he used to deal in antiques and vintage quilts. He told about one he sold, for $3000. It was a c. 1840 quilt using vegetable dyes. It must have been marvelous because he told me that the dyes were ruining the fabric, yet he sold it for that much. He did pull one out, a RWB Lonestar. 12 stitches per inch, feather wreaths in the corners. I placed it at 1870, possibly 1860. Which is hard to do as it is in solids. I listen to my gut in these instances.
Then we got to his fabric. Wheeeeee! He has quite a collection. Bobbin lace, 20’s tie dye, a fabulous piano scarf, all c. 1900. Then he pulled out the old stuff. I was shocked. Fabrics from all over the world anywhere from 200 – 500 years old. Some of it used to be in a museum and was in their wrappings. China, Turkey, etc. I was in heaven. One Asian piece we had no idea of the country of origin. He guessed Tibetan. What was amazing that the back was almost identical to the front. Oh, I’m not sure the name of the toe of work. This was only the second time I’ve seen one. Huge embroidered piece from maybe Afghanistan. This piece had to be 6’x6′. Completely embroidered in what appears to be 50 weight thread. When I say completely embroidered I mean just that. Not a surface is undecorated. What’s worse, the motifs were appliquéd on before being embroidered. I saw no reason for the appliqué other than as a guide, since the appliqué is not visible from the front. I should return to the shop I saw the first one in because the owner had asked me if I was interested in restoring it.
He also pulled out a c.1800 crewel work picture of a pair of hunters at rest in the wood with the hounds at their feet. There was a sampler, dated 1839, that had a lot of fading, but was still desirable.
BUT.
He also brought out three pieces that floored me. I found it incredible that they were even in his home. These were from the museum collection.
First was a Coptic textile, most of the original piece. It had four same motifs, a red pointed oval, flanked by what looked like paisley-shaped leaves. The floral sections had been worked separately and then sewn into openings in the ground. The leaves and the ground were an off white.
Probably 800-1000 years old.
He also has two fragments of Mesoamerican textiles!! These are the things you never see outside of a book or the museum. 1000 years old. He even allowed me to <GASP> touch the three. My fingertips are still tingling! You never have the opportunity to touch them with your bare hands. Rest assure I barely touched them. I was able to lift the one and do something I’ve never done. Look at the back of the Mesoamerican work. I got to see how they accomplished the work. Lots of threads running across the back. Neatness obviously wasn;t important <g>. But wow. To get to see this so up close and personal.
Of course, I’m going to have to go back and visit his collection!
Blessed be, Alan
Alan R. Kelchner Mixed Media/Textile Artist http://alanrkelchner.com
Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2007 06:02:47 EDT | From: KathrynHerrmann@
Alan, How cool is that? It’s like you stumbled upon a textile historians dream! Be nice to this guy so you can go back. Next time, take a camera and post to us. We’d love to see all of it-even the little scraps of fabric.
Have a great day. Again.
-Kathryn Hendersonville, NC
Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2007 04:40:05 -0700 (PDT) | From: Barbara Burnham <barbaraburnham@>
My preference is for a quilt to hang far enough down to cover the mattress sides, but allow a dust ruffle to show. One quilt that I enjoy using, the bottom corners touch the floor and become a tripping hazard. So I gently slip just the corner tip under the mattress; probably “incorrect” but safe. An antique or precious handmade quilt would not be “used” in my house, except for very special guests who would understand that privilege. Barbara Burnham
Laura Robins-Morris <> wrote: For those of you who sleep under quilts (both old and new), are they usually long enough to tuck in at the foot of the bed, or most often not tucked in? Thanks. Laura
Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2007 09:00:26 -0500 | From: “Steve & Jean Loken” <sandjloken@>
Beth, in the book, Minnesota Quilts; Making Connections… a guild that has been meeting since 1924 is documented. It meets in the Stillwater, MN area. Originally called “Helping Hands Quilters” they still have minutes from all the meetings from the past. It’s on p. 91. Jean in MN
Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2007 10:59:42 -0400 | From: “Beth Davis” <bethdan533@>
Jean, Wow-thank you for this information. This is exactly what I am looking for. I’ll check out my copy of the Minnesota book. See-without the QHL, there would be no way to check even a fraction of guilds in the U.S. to determine who are the earliest ones. Now I have three that were established in 1920’s (or earlier). Funny thing that I am finding that they are in the Mid-West or Western region!!
Thank you again! Beth
Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2007 09:15:35 -0500 | From: “Andi”
I have no affiliation with the following, just thought it would be of interest.
On page 51 of the September 2007 issue of Quilters Newsletter is a brief description of LaundryPure System, which says this is a “green” alternative to soap and cleaning agents for laundry. It uses oxidation and silver ion. It is made by EcoQuest International, www.ecoquestintl.com.
That said, at Saturday’s IIQSG meeting, Jennifer Perkins shared two examples of what can happen when cleaning vintage fabrics. She had two original four patches of 19th century browns. Then she had one each of the same blocks, washed. One was cleaned with OxyClean and was very faded. The other was cleaned with only water, and it was almost transparent! Her message was to be very careful about cleaning browns, but my thought was, better know what’s in your water; most of it has too much chlorine to be safe for our purposes. The system described above has an optional unit that removes chemicals from the water source.
I would be happy to post photos comparing these blocks, but when I have tried to use the eBoard before, I can’t figure out how to actually paste or insert the photo; the edit mode doesn’t say how to do it. It’s probably too simple.
Andi in Keota, Iowa
Date: Tue, 07 Aug 2007 14:37:29 -0400 | From: Judy Knorr
Beth, Although I now live in NY I was born and raised in southeastern Ohio in the town where the Friendly Circle Club is located When the article about the club was in QNM I showed it to my mother who was very interested. She recognized many members from the older pictures and remembers the club from her earliest memories. My mother did not belong to to the club as she wasn’t a quilter. (She made one quilt and pieced one top!) I have some friends from high school who belong to the club now and I occasionally meet them at Quilt Shows in PA. I am sure the age of their club is accurate. Judy Knorr
