December 27 – 31, 2003
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:
- Shape-Note (Sacred Harp) Singing Traditions — Sparked by the film Cold Mountain, members compare shape-note and Sacred Harp singing traditions across New England, Alabama, Iowa, and Louisiana.
- Cleaning a Linsey-Woolsey Quilt — A member seeks advice on safely cleaning a linsey-woolsey (wool-linen blend) quilt. (see the article on cleaning antique quilts)
- 19th-Century Mattress Sizes and Quilt Dimensions — A theory connecting historic mattress standards to typical antique quilt sizing is discussed and researched.
- Year-End Reflections on the QHL Community — Gaye Ingram reflects on what makes the QHL list a remarkable community as the year closes.
- Closing Out 2003 with New Year’s Wishes — Members exchange closing sentiments and hopes for the coming year.
Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2003 | From: <mreich@>
Since we are on the topic of the Red Cross, I thought that I would dip into my newspaper articles about WW I and the Red Cross. Here is an article about one chapter’s activities. In case you are wondering just what a scultetus is; it is a binding-type cloth dressing that is used on an abdomen to keep the contents of said abdomen in, that is from dehiscing. There are a series of wraps that go from one side of the abdomen to the other to hold everything in. Scultetus binders were still being used when I was in nursing school in the late 60s. Just in case you wanted to know. To all you nurses out there; how was my description? sue reich
Atlanta Constitution Atlanta, GA May 5, 1918
Third Ward Red Cross Auxiliary
The Third Ward Red Cross auxiliary work room will be open Wednesday, the 8th, when underwear will be made. All members are urged to attend, as there will be some special business to come before the auxiliary, and visitors are cordially invited. The business meeting of this auxiliary took place last Wednesday, with a large attendance of members and many visitors present. It was decided to adopt one of the fatherless children of France through this auxiliary, and an “orphan” box will be provided in the work room for contributions by members and all interested in this most worthy cause. At the close of the meeting a pleasant social half hour was enjoyed, and refreshments were served. A May festival will be given Friday, the 31st, on the large lot, corner Oakland and Woodward avenues, and the general public is cordially invited to attend, thereby aiding in Red Cross work being done through the Third auxiliary. A splendid program, including musical and other features, is being arranged for, and ice cream cake, sandwiches, candy and other delicacies will be sold. All those having promised feather pillows will kindly get them to the work room as soon as possible; also those having quilt squares are urged to send them in promptly, in order that the quilt may be completes at an early date. Following is report of work done by this auxiliary during April: Made 1,-14 face masks, 134 outing scultetus, 55 triangular, 5 abdominal and 5 many-tailed bandages, 18 operating gowns, 10 hospital bed shirts, 34 pairs of socks repaired for Red Cross house, 2 pairs of socks, 4 pairs of wristlets, and 2 mufflers knitted and 5 feather pillows furnished for the unit at Fort McPherson which is soon to go to France.
Sue Thanks for the poem. As I said my mother used to sing it with slightly different 2nd and 3rd verses. Never the less I am very happy to have this. Will forward it to my children and niece who have fond memories of it. Martha
Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2003 | From: Pat Kyser <patkyser@>
re: Cold Mountain/OT Loved the site given for the woven reproductions. Thank you. An aside on the movie, not quilt related: a small church at Henager, Alabama provided background singing in shape note or sacred harp singing style. I found it incredible that one of the singers is project manager at the super computer for NASA here in Huntsville. Remarkable and lovely that people very much “into” the 21st century at the same time are maintaining a very old religious singing style. In most cases, whole families participate in the singing. Can’t wait to see the movie now, both for story which I loved in book form, and now for music and reproduction textiles. Thanks to list for sharing such interesting insights on it. Pat in Alabama
Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2003 | From: “Suzanne Cawley” <ccawley@>
Hi All!
I just received my copy of “Toile de Jouy”, a newly published book by Melanie Riffel, et al. Published earlier this year in French (Melanie is curator at the Musee de la Toile de Jouy near Paris), it is now out in English from Thames & Hudson publishers. If you love old fabrics (okay, who amongst us doesn’t?), you will really like this book. It covers the history of toile and includes wonderful color photos.
P.S. Did you know that if you receive a gift certificate for Borders Books, you can use it at Amazon.com? That’s how I got this book at 30% off (plus free shipping). No affiliation, just sharing a way to save money.
Suzanne Cawley In wild, wonderful Keyser, WV
Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2003 | From: Gaye Ingram
Pat,
Does this group sing from The Sacred Harp hymnal? Singings from this hymnal still take place all over the South and have a long communal history, though many people like your project manager at NASA have grown interested and eventually involved with them.
I’ve just recently discovered a Sacred Harp group in our area who are active and am eager to attend a singing.
The late Donald Davidson of Vanderbilt University has an interesting essay called “The Sacred Harp in the Land of Eden” in his collection of essays titlted “Still Rebels, Still Yankees,” widely available in public libraries. It is an “appreciative” essay (Davidson was a singer himself and much influenced by the old ballads), not “technical,” but most readable.
Gaye > > re: Cold Mountain/OT
Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2003 | From: “Cheryl Wolf” <cwolf@>
The NY Times ran an article about this last week; it should be available on the site for another week or so before it slips into the paid archive: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/23/arts/music/23SHAP.html
pax- Cheryl
Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2003 | From: “Lisa Erlandson” <quilter@>
Does anyone have any hints/experience/advice on cleaning a linsey-woolsey quilt? Only slightly soiled. Thanks, Lisa
Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2003 | From: Pat Kyser <patkyser@>
RE: Shape note singing/Cold Mountain The group at Henager and Ider, Alabama, are folks who have a long family history of sacred harp singing. Generations of them have been involved. There was a great article on them in The Huntsville Times over the holidays. I went to the movie yesterday and when the voices began singing there was a noticeable twitter in the theater as folks realized it was this group. I want to go again just for the detail in the movie. In one scene I’d swear Nicole Kidman was wearing a quilted petticoat or skirt. It moved too fast to study. I recommend the movie, think they did a good job of the original book. I have heard of rural “singings” ever since I moved here 28 years ago and never realized what it was, will try to go to one now. Go to a search engine and put in shape note or sacred harp or fasola and you’ll find a lot on it. There is info on our Alabama group in the movie at www.fasola.org/ I discovered in following those leads that a genealogy friend of mine is a part of the local group.Can’t wait until she returns from Christmas trip to get her talking about it! Isn’t it wonderful how we have contacts in one area of interest and haven’t a clue about other facets of their lives? Pat in Alabama
Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2003 | From: Marilyn Woodin
In Kalona, Iowa some Mennonite church hymnals have shaped singing so it is not only in Alabama. The singing is beautiful with harmonies and no accompaniment. Marilyn Woodin
Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2003 | From: Kittencat3@
Sacred Harp singing is quite popular in New England. There’s a major sing in Northampton every March, plus several groups in the Boston area. I’ve done it off and on for years and have two copies of the Sacred Harp, the Christian Harmony, and the Southern Harmony, plus a couple of 19th century shape note hymnals. It’s a rich tradition, and wonderful to sing and listen to.
Lisa Evans Easthampton, MA
Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2003 | From: Gaye Ingram
‘Lest we in North Louisiana be completely outdone by North Alabama and Iowa, I feel duty bound to add that the Cox Family, whose singing provided the background and the best of the foreground for “Oh Brother, Wherefore Art Thou?,” live within a few short miles of Ruston, LA. And when the elder and father-of-them-all Cox was in a rehabilitation hospital where one of my students’ mothers is a nurse, one of the items he insisted on bringing from home was a Seven Sisters quilt for his bed.
My daughter’s first piano teacher, a classical pianist and a woman with a voice trained for opera, is a member of a family that sings both from The Sacred Harp and from an orally perpetuated repertoire of sacred music. When her father died a year ago, the family covered his casket with a quilt and the children in the group sang him to Heaven, I think, with all the old songs through which they had learned the pathway.
Like indigenous quilting traditions, music traditions enrich and sustain community life in the hinterlands, where the lack of self-consciousness keeps it vital even today. Which is one reason I love living in the hinterlands.
And which, if I might veer slightly, is why Nicholas Cage should have played the role George Clooney played in “Oh Brother,” as anyone who has seen “Raising Arizona” and heard a real Sacred Harp singing will understand.
from the red clay hills of North Louisiana, Gaye
Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2003 | From: “kerrybrack@”
hi guys
yes we have this book in the new south wales art gallery bookshop looked at it and thought will i pay 100 aussie dollarsand put it back for a moment as my birthday is january 7so you know how it goe sbig grin and it is a great bookkerry in sydney
From: Suzanne Cawley ccawley@alleganyinternetnet Date: Sun, 28 Dec 2003 18:08:02 -0500 To: qhl@lyrisquiltropoliscom Subject: [qhl] New Book on Toile
Hi All!
I just received my copy of “Toile de Jouy”, a newly published book by Melanie Riffel, et al Published earlier this year in French (Melanie i s curator at the Musee de la Toile de Jouy near Paris), it is now out in English from Thames & Hudson publishers If you love old fabrics (okay, who amongst us doesn’t?), you will really like this book It covers the his tory of toile and includes wonderful color photos
PS Did you know that if you receive a gift certificate for Borders Books, you can use it at Amazoncom? That’s how I got this book at 30% off (pl us free shipping) No affiliation, just sharing a way to save money
Suzanne Cawley In wild, wonderful Keyser, WV
Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2003 | From: “Lynne Z. Bassett” <lzbassett@>
Dear Lisa,
Are you talking about an antique quilt? I have seen a number of antique whole-cloth wool (aka “linsey-woolsey”) quilts that have been ruined by inappropriate washing. I really think you should have it evaluated by a professional textile conservator. If it is only slightly soiled, a gentle vacuuming through a fiberglass or nylon screen may be all that is needed. See: “Protecting Your Quilts,” published by the American Quilter’s Society, or “Preserving Textiles, A Guide for the Nonspecialist,” by Harold Mailand and Dorothy Stites Alig (Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1999) for more information.
Best, Lynne
Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2003 | From: “Lisa Erlandson” <quilter@>
I guess I should have been more precise in my original question. I am aware of the dangers of improper cleaning of quilts and other textiles. I do quilt restoration and find that most of my work comes from exactly this problem. I have a client with an antique linsey-woolsey quilt that needs some minor repair and she wanted to have it washed too. I told her I wouldn’t – but that I would check with those who might have experience washing this type of quilt. So, thanks to all who replied to me by saying “don’t” – I already knew that answer, but am still looking for someone with experience in such things.
Thanks, Lisa Erlandson Quilt Appraiser, certified AQS Professional Quilt Restoration Quilt Historian and Lecturer
Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2003 | From: Sandi or Mike Hardy
In reading all the information about Sanitary Commission quilts I remembered one that was displayed at the Vermont Quilt Festival last summer. It is owned by the Vermont Historical Society and there was a nice article printed in the Times Argus paper about it.
Here is the article – http://www.timesargus.com/Story/73007.html
It was great to actually see it in person. I don’t know when it will be exhibited again. Hopefully the museum will be able to display it.
Sandi in Vermont
Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2003 | From: “Cinda Cawley” <lrcawley@>
I’m exhausted; 1300 miles on the odometer! Naturally I had to see what quilts were within a reasonable distance of my family. The Newark Museum is exhibiting quilts from their collection: from a wool Wild Goose Chase c. 1800 to Michael James. We were there on the Sunday before Christmas and I was excited that there was to be a gallery talk that afternoon. I hate to complain, but it was painfully obvious that the Museum had done nothing to train the docent who led the tour. She was a very nice lady, but she didn’t have a clue about quilts. For instance she thought that the dates on the labels, for instance 1840-1850, meant that it took the maker 10 years to finish the quilt. I’ve done a lot of quilt-related volunteer work with museums and I know from experience that a plea for help to local quilt guilds always meets with an enthusiastic response. The MD Historical Society did a marvelous job of training volunteer docents for the Baltimore Album Quilt Tradition exhibit in 2001. Enough complaining! The quilts are wonderful. There’s a Dover publication: Antique Quilts Postcards from the Newark Museum, ISBN 0-486-28919-2. My copy cost $4.95. Not everything in the exhibit is in the book, but it gives you an idea.
There was a glorious, unfinished piece of hexagon patchwork from New Castle, DE. The foundation papers date between 1792 and 1803. It was pieced by a mother and daughter who must have owned a great pair of scissors–the fussy cutting is phenomenal. The quilt top is displayed on a tilted board which allows you to get really close and appreciate the wonderful array of early chintzes. A first quarter 19th century Star of Bethlehem coverlet from Perth Amboy, NJ has an unusual color scheme (predominantly various shades of green and beige) with chintz applique birds between the legs of the star. The show stopper is a Princess Feather variation with alternating Mariners Compasses surrounded by a primitive floral vine (everything including the compasses is appliqued. All the feathers are a large scale turkey red stripe. There’s a wonderful whitework signed Jane Vorhees 1830-1831. The Jacobean motif quilting designs are straight from the New England wool quilt tradition. The quilt was a gift of Florence Peto. The most unusual quilt consist of diagonal strips of a pink chinoiserie chintz appliqued across a white background with fabulous quilting of grapevines echoing the strips. I’ve never seen anything quite like it; it’s attributed to two sisters from Charleston, SC. New Jersey album quilts are distinctive and this exhibit shows enough examples (1850 to 1880) to make the point.
My favorite has 90 small, simple applique motifs enclosed in a Garden Maze set. It was made in Hackensack, NJ for a wedding in 1876. Speaking of 1876 there’s a wonderful collection of Centennial commemorative prints framing a bandana from the Philadelphia Exhibition. The exhibit includes 35 quilts; there are a number of pieces by African American quiltmakers of the mid-20th century and a couple by contemporary artists, Michael James among them. QuiltArtQuilts is an annual exhibit at the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center in Auburn, NY. These are all contemporary quilts (many of them quite wonderful) which give me a much needed jolt out of my 19th century mind-set. The little town of Auburn which sits at the top of Owasco Lake has realized that quilts bring people and a number of local sites have jumped on the bandwagon. The Seward House (a wonderful Victorian mansion, home of Lincoln’s Secretary of State), the Harriet Tubman House, the Tiffany Chapel (designed and furnished by Louis Comfort Tiffany) and the Cayuga Museum all key into the two month long quilt exhibit. Another great thing about going to Auburn is that it gives me an excuse to go through Skaneateles, the prettiest village in New York State (IMHO), and to have lunch at Doug’s Fish Fry!
The Cayuga Museum is showing a group of contemporary Amish quilts from the Swartzentruber Amish community. These are not the glorious wool quilts of Lancaster County. They are quilts produced by women of one of the most conservative Amish communities (the Swartzentrubers arrived in St.Lawrence County, NY in the winter of 1974-75 from Michigan and Ohio; they settled on farms that had been abandoned.) who are making quilts to sell outside the community to supplement the family income. Some of the quilts contain print fabrics and bright colors which are allowed only if brought to the quilter by a non-Amish person who then takes away the quilt and any remaining scraps. In this way the standards of the community are preserved while the quilter is allowed to please the tastes of her customers. I found this exhibit extremely interesting in its presentation of the commercial side of 21st century Amish quiltmaking. I almost got through the season without buying a quilt until I stopped in a shop in Cazenovia (another beautiful village).
On the floor was a red and green Whig Rose that had reached the end of the line. The shopkeeper dismissed it as “too worn even for a cutter.” Them’s fightin’ words! This quilt was somebody’s treasure. I told my daughter who had come with me in hopes of a nice lunch, that there is a special place in hell for children who don’t take care of their mother’s quilts (she already knows this, of course). So this lovely wraith is now airing on my porch. It’s 72″ square. Sixteen 12″ Whig Rose blocks set on point alternate with plain blocks quilted with feathered wreaths. The border is plain strips alternating red, white, red with Nine Patch blocks at the corners. The flowers are plain turkey red and double pink; the stems and leaves are a two-step green and black print. The central rose has eight lobes and there are two diagonal branches with large leaves and buds and two with smaller leaves. It’s the quilting that makes it wonderful: 14 stitches per inch, a quarter inch apart, except for the roses which are quilted in 1/8″ diagonal lines; the other appliques are outlined in double lines of quilting about 1/16″ apart. The quilting is holding it together; the green fabric is almost completely worn away in places. I live by Phyllis Twigg’s four foot rule, “If it looks good from four feet away, it looks good enough,” and this little beauty has a home with me. Hope you all had a much fun as I did over Christmas. Cinda on the sunny Eastern Shore
Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2003 | From: EMetcalfe@
Have really enjoyed all the posts about the Cold Mountain film, and especially the remarks about the textiles. Does anyone know if quilted aprons were common during the Civil War? I have read of quilted petticoats, but not of quilted aprons. Is there any referance online pertaining to the aprons?
I also enjoyed the information on shape note singing, thanks so much. Schultz in Ga.
Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2003 | From: Gaye Ingram <gingram@>
Yesterday something happened that reminded me what a remarkable thing QHL is and how fortunate I am to be a part of the community it creates and serves.
As many of you know, some of us are endeavoring to begin a quilt study group in the Deep South and environs. Spurred by admiration of the gatherings reported by Cinda, Xenia, Judy Grow, and others, I had posted a query to this list asking whether any Southerners out there might be interested in joining for such study. And ‘lo and behold, responses came in almost immediately from Atlanta, Huntsville, Dallas, Houston, and parts in between and tangential. To say I was surprised is to deal in rank understatement. Imagining a group of possibly 10 people, I volunteered Ruston, LA, as a gathering place for an organizational meeting and oggling center.
At the time, I did not know a single soul within 45 miles of Ruston who was interested in the study of the history of quiltmaking. I had contacted guilds, posted notices in quilt and fabric shops, dialed up people I knew who owned older quilts–all to no avail. Lots of people interested in making new quilts, nobody interested in studying the new quilts other generations had made.
Then Judy Grow gave a presentationat LA Tech on the history of quiltmaking. I had posted information on our wannabe Deep South Quilt Study Group at the entrance to the auditorium where Judy’s presentation took place. After Judy’s talk, two women from a town 25 miles away answered that “altar call.” For years, they had faithfully attended the Internation Quilt fest in Houston, had taken classes, collected books on quilt history, and were, as we say in these parts ‘raring to go with a study group. Kindred souls! Those of you who live in historic quilt conscious areas probably cannot understand the excitement I felt, knowing that just down the road lived someone with whom I could talk about old quilts as well as about new quilts.
Yesterday, one of those women, Martha Gilbert, spent the afternoon with me. We had intended to discuss the February meeting of the southern quilt study group, but you know how it is: first, we had to look through quilts and tops and fabrics. And as we talked and looked at quilts and bits and pieces of old fabric and reproduction prints and discussed future projects, I found myself saying, “I sent a jpeg to Xenia Cord, who specializes in quilt kits, and asked her about this quilt before I bought it.” And Martha would reply, “And Xenia had not seen one like it?” Or I when I showed her the fabrics for the quilt I want to reproduce, I said, “This Lancaster Blue print is Pepper Cory’s design. Xenia found some for me, but I need just a little more of it. I asked Pepper if she knew where I could find some.” To which my New Friend replied, “Pepper just tickles me, the way she presents things.” And when we were talking about making miniature quilts as a way to satisfy our desire to copy old quilts (Martha makes exceptionally lovely miniature quilts, I must add), I ventured, “Barb Garrett, who lives in Southeastern PA, has made over 100 miniature reproductions, which she uses in her presentations.” Martha said, “Yes, I’ve seen some of Barb’s quilts.” Well, it went on that way for much of the afternoon.
I was a little surprised that she seemed to know these people whom I had come to know gradually and sometimes only slightly though QHL over a period of 2 years and on whom I had laid eyes for the first time in Dallas this past October. I assumed she had met them in Houston, and yet I knew that some of them were not regulars there. We Southerners tend not to use first names until we’ve gotten to know people, and she was using first names. Finally, my curiosity got the better of me, and I asked, “How do you know Barb, Pepper, Jane Staples, et al?”
Well, wouldn’t you know?—–Alex Anderson’s “Simply Quilts”!!! Turns out my new friend had faithfully watched, copied, and catalogued every episode of “Simply Quilts.” Through watching that program and her homemade “re-runs,” she had indeed come to know all these people and to be affected by them in a very personal way. She had learned from them, been inspired by them.
Suddenly, it occurred to me how much we tend to take for granted. At least, how much I take for granted. Here were all these “stars” whom my friend had “met” on “Simply Quilts,” a program my work schedule and inability to program my vcr with reliability generally precludes my seeing, and for two years I had thought nothing of posting questions to them via QHL. I had access to their knowledge, could follow up on questions as one who only saw them on Alex Anderson’s program could not. In some cases, they had become nothing less than friends, people whose successes elicited my joy and whose sorrows concerned me deeply.
Among them were Barb Garrett and Judy Grow, who had taken the time to provide me with a terrific Pennsylvania antiquing itinerary; Xenia Cord, who had sent pages of historic textile samples when I first taught a directed-study class on quilt history and who earlier had sent me membership forms for AQSG with a personal encouragement to send them in pronto; Valerie Rake, who had taken the time to send me via email her doctoral dissertation; Teddy Pruett, who (bless her!) had shared a bit of fabric bearing the image of Stonewall Jackson; Pepper Cory, who had shared one of the most endearing stories I know and one to which I recur often—that of being sure her dear mama had on bright red lipstick when she left this world Well, just too many to name indiviudally here. But these and many more were people of whom I had thought many times as I baked and decorated and reflected over friendships at Christmastime, They were friends.
Now that might not seem much of an insight to many, but it struck me forcibly—-how QHL confers routine access to a likeminded community on all of us stuck in places where we have no physical contact with people who share our interest in historic textiles and quiltmaking; how it creates a community in the truest sense.
And so as this year ends, I want to acknowledge my own debt to Kris Driessen, who has kept this community alive even when she was dealing with a home-destroying fire, and to all those members of the community who have so generously shared their knowledge and understanding of the history of quiltmaking and of quiltmaking techniques with me.
And I would like to introduce Martha Gilbert, from Jonesboro, LA, and a new member of this list and AQSG. I told Martha she needed to introduce herself, but she seemed reticent about that. Martha is particularly interested in miniature quilts and southern quilts and knows a lot about both. I purchased one of her little quilts recently at our regional artist tour and sale, and it hangs, beautifully mounted (she is also a framer) in the hall just outside my study.
May the coming year bring health, peace, and happiness to each member of QHL. And thank you to each of you who has brightened my days and so generously enlightened me in the year past.
Gaye Ingram
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 | From: Donald Beld <donbeld@>
Hi everyone, someone whose knowledge I respect recently told me that it was fairly “standard” in the 1840-60’s for quilts to measure 85 inches square. I found that very interesting. Although I know that other sizes were made, can anyone speak to this issue?
If that was a routine size for quilts, when did “double” bed size become more popular?
Also, thanks for the info about the Sanitary Quilt in Vermont. I am going to contact the reporter and see if there is a way for us to get a photo of it. (that makes six now)
Don Beld
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 | From: Xenia Cord <xenia@>
I’m going to venture a guess that 19th century mattress sizes affected quilt sizes, so we will need to learn when standard sized mattresses became available, replacing home made mattresses. I know that the kit quilt industry in the 20th century made double (“full”) sized kits to be a standard 72″ x 90″ finished. Stearns & Foster (also makers of Mountain Mist batting) began business in 1851, so possibly their history would yield information on standard bedding.
We might also look at the mobility of the American population as an aspect of bed and quilt sizes; those who migrated west in non-mechanized conveyances took bedding, but sometimes not the cumbersome bedsteads themselves. These could be replaced by carpenter/craftsmen at the destination, or could possibly be obtained commercially if there were major towns within reach. Consider, for instance, the Mormons who walked to Utah from departure points in Missouri and elsewhere the trains stopped, pushing all of their possessions in 2-wheeled hand carts. Anyway, the point is that under those conditions beds were non-standard sizes, so quilt sizes would also be varied.
Following that line of thought I looked at the 1897 reproduction Sears catalog under mattresses, and discovered that filled mattresses in excelsior, wool, cotton, moss, and hair could be had for just a few dollars, and that the purchaser was to inform Sears of the size of the bed! No sizes are given for the mattresses, just contents and price. I also looked at blankets and found a notation for “regular 10-4 size.” Sears also sold brass beds and iron beds; the iron beds were 6′ 2″ long by either 4′ or 4′ 6″ wide. Brass were 6’4″ long and came 3’6″, 4′, or 4’6″ wide.
Enough musing for this last day of 2003 – Happy New Year, everyone!
Xenia
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 | From: Judy Schwender <sister3603@>
I used the International Quilt Study Center’s on-line data base (www.quiltstudy.org) to start looking at the claim of 85 X 85 as being standard for the period 1840-1860. I’ve worked through 20 of 153 examples, and none are 85 square. I’m going to check this out more thoroughly later today and will post the results, probably by tomorrow. Some thoughts occurred to me: Should the search be limited to dated quilts? Medallion quilts are most typically square, and they are earlier than block-style quilts. The block style easily allowed less for less square quilts. Could your resource be thinking of medallion quilts? Xenia’s info on bedsteads would help modify the results to reflect the bias of survival- the quilts that didn’t make it to today, well, who knows what sizes they were. Judy Schwender
Donald Beld <donbeld@> wrote: Hi everyone, someone whose knowledge I respect recently told me that it was fairly “standard” in the 1840-60’s for quilts to measure 85 inches square. I found that very interesting. Although I know that other sizes were made, can anyone speak to this issue?
If that was a routine size for quilts, when did “double” bed size become more popular?
Also, thanks for the info about the Sanitary Quilt in Vermont. I am going to contact the reporter and see if there is a way for us to get a photo of it. (that makes six now)
Don Beld
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 | From: “Judy Kelius (judysue)” <judysue@>
Most PA quilts up to the early 1900s were square, but based on quilts in the PA Quilt Museum’s collection, the size ranges from 72 to 90″ and even larger (we have one that is 107″ square!). We don’t find as many rectangular quilts prior to 1900 and then it is often the result of the pattern not producing a square design. I think this is because either (1) most beds had high foot boards, and there was no room for a drop at the bottom or (2) quilts were not made as decorative bed covers but as covers for warmth and they did not have to fit a bed. I have never heard of a standard size such as 85″ – I can look when I go back to work (not until after the New Year) to see if we have any that are in the range of 85″. (Remember that the size tended to be smaller after quilting so you will also need to look at quilts close to this size but not exact – also, many quilts are nearly but not quite square – I count them as “square”.)
Date: Wed, 31 Dec 2003 | From: Litwinow@
Help, A finish up files for ’03 and begin ’04, I’ve misplaced the note on the Museum in Michigan that has/will publish a catalogue of their quilts. Who, where and how? Plus, Iowa/Illinois Quilt Study Group will be meeting in Kalona, IA Feb 7th. Contact : Sue Wildemuth at ksandbcw@ for mor information. Catherine Litwinow
Date: Wed, 31 Dec 2003 | From: “Laura Fisher” <laurafisher@>
If anyone is making a trip to Newark to see that wonderful quilt exhibition described in such picturesque detail by Cinda, hop the PATH train or NJ Transit to NYC and go to the Met Museum, where there is an (unpublicized) exhibition of Amish quilts. They hang in a long corridor in the American Wing . A visit there gives the opportunity to spend time up close, unencumbered by the crowds for El Greco, to see lovely workmanship and vivid graphics.
Don’t you agree that there should be a universal New Year’s resolution that there must be a quilt exhibition on view within a twenty-mile radius of wherever one is!
Concerning quilts of the Red Cross, consult Woodard & Greenstein’s Twentieth Century Quilts for a full page view of one from the West Point/Newburgh New York area. It is signed all over, has town names, the names of the Hudson River Dayliner boats, etc. it is made in the fashion of a redwork quilt with embroidery, but the squares are all original, as I recall. When I bought it, it came with no provenance, so anything known about it has to be deciphered from the inscriptions.
I have had several Red Cross quilts. One was a single large red cross in the center, and red white and blue narrow borders. I think it must have been a published pattern, though it is the only one I’ve seen, similar in feeling to the five-point star Air Force quilt that has insignia appliques in the corners. Does anyone (Xenia?!!) have information on the origins of either design?
I also had a Red Cross quilt made up of small squares each centered with the embroidered (by machine I recall) little Red Cross insignia that was sewn to one’s white uniform on the arm and in the center of the hat, circa World War I. I think there’s a picture of the red cross workers in the 20th Century book There were dozens of patche, each probably less than 3″ square each.
I heard somewhere that red crosses on a quilt signified membership in or sympathy with the Ku Klux Klan!! just as blue and white quilts in the late 19th century were supposed to symbolize membership in the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.
Does anyone know if this is true? If so, do the crosses differ? Is the cross the elongated Christian-type, or the equilateral red cross type?
Happy new year to all. Keep the information flowing in 2004……!!
Laura Fisher
Date: Wed, 31 Dec 2003 | From: “Nancy Kirk”
Warm wishes for a wonderful new year to all on this list. Hug your children, tell someone how much they have meant to you this year and save a quilt or make a new one. God bless us every one.
Yours,
Nancy Kirk The Kirk Collection www.kirkcollection.com
