August 15 – 19, 2005
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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:
- Making and Finishing T-Shirt Quilts — A long thread trades techniques for turning shirt collections into quilts, including batting choices and quilting methods.
- Wholecloth, Trapunto, and Boutis History — Patricia Cummings announces a new website article covering the history of these historic quilting techniques. (see the article on early American quilts)
- American Folklore Society Sessions on African American Quilts — An announcement highlights AFS conference panels examining Gee’s Bend quilts and the Underground Railroad quilt-code narrative. (see the article on quilt folklore)
- World War II Era Quilts Exhibit — Anita Loscalzo announces an exhibition and lecture series on WWII-era quilts at the New England Quilt Museum.
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2005 12:06:26 -0400 | From: Patricia L Cummings <quiltersmuse@>
A recent news article said this:
While on the Underground Railroad tour, Donald Ellis, 72, marveled at the ingenuity of the runaway slaves who navigated hundreds of miles of wilderness to reach the Canadian border, marking the trees so they always knew which way was north and communicating through quilts made in various patterns.
To read the full story, click here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/
Pat Cummings www.quiltersmuse.com
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2005 21:05:33 +0000 | From: k-poneil@
Recently I was involved in a quilt exhibit that was co-sponsored by the church I work for and the group I belong to of volunteer quilting teachers. We had over 50 separate exhibits ranging from queen sized to individually framed blocks, some made this year, some over one hundred years old.
Personally, I am very interested in quilt history, but what we decided was to share the history of quilting one quilt at a time. A write-up was made for each exhibit describing the known history as well as the relevance of the piece to the current owner. We called the exhibit “Piecing Together Our Past”.
For a first time effort we think is was very successful. It took about an hour to tour the entire exhibit and the conversations that were initiated were very insightful (sp).
Discussing quilting history can be overwhelming to some people, like discussing the history of the Roman Empire. But when you break it down to one quilt at a time the interest by the general public was heightened to a new level and soon everyone walked away feeling a little bit more informed.
The event was a complete success and we are looking forward to hosting it again next year. Remember, each quilt tells a story, we just have to stop and listen to it.
Good quilting,
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2005 21:14:40 -0400 | From: “Teddy Pruett” <aprayzer@>
Hi all. I adore quilts that show me the mark of the maker – I love off beat quilts that make me want to know the woman who made them. I was so very fortunate to be in Mass last week (the state, not the church service) and got to see Julie Silber’s Mavericks exhibit at the NEQM. Be still my heart!
Anyway, I use a lot of these bizarre quilts in my lecture entitled “Other People’s Fleas.” One of the quilts I show is a spiderweb quilt made of 1950’s seersucker pajamas. The labels are still in many of them, and one of the labels reads “Easy On – Easy Off.” I’ll say no more.
SO, our own dear Xenia, not to be outdone, gave me a quilt top made of peachy-fleshy colored brocades from a Gossard corset company in Logansport, IN. It is a Dresden Plate, of very nice workmanship, and actually quite lovely. When I show it in my lecture, my audience is usually full of retired folks from upnawth. They are also old enough to remember girdles!! SO I show this top, and ask if anyone can identify the fabrics. Occasionally, someone does. One time a lady gasped “Oh!! I worked there!!!” All in a day’s work. Teddy Pruett
From: “Teddy Pruett”
Okay, so I am making a tee shirt quilt. Please stop laughing long enough to pay attention to my question!! This has to be very soft and comforting, so I am using a low loft poly batt. I can just see all yall natural fiber bigots shuddering. So, for those of you who have tee shirt quilt experience and the guts to admit it, what is the best way to finish them off? I know hand tying is very soft, but doesnt seem like quite enough. It is a very large quilt, and I am the world’s worst machine quilter, so I am afraid to try to machine quilt it. I have even thought of having a long arm quilter finish it, but they all have huge waiting lists, and I need this one ASAP.
Now I’ll tell you why. I have a commission to make a memory quilt in honor of a beautiful young 23 year old who was killed in the WTC on 911. The mother sent an enormous number of articles from which to make the quilt, but there were nearly 30 tee shirts. SO, I am still going to make the really truly amazing and wonderful memory quilt, but in the meantime, I want to send the tee shirt quilt to the mother so that she can have it before Sept 11. I am truly hoping that it will be a physical and emotional comfort to her. Because it is a special quilt for a very special reason, I thought I would ask for your opinions or thoughts. But what I really want you to say is that tying is a good idea.
This has been a very humbling experience, and I have been surprised at some of the emotions I have experienced. For instance, I grabbed a spool of thread from the rack that had been sitting there for a while and was dusty. I pulled the entire outer layer of thread off, and threw it away to get to the clean thread. I’ve never done anything like that before. And let me tell you – when I was cutting the logos from the tees, and throwing the rest of the shirts away – I had a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. Discarding the shirts was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done! And this is just on the tee shirts – oh, Lawd, can you imagine what I will be like when I begin work on the quilt that is the story of her life??? “Teddy the Tender-Hearted” Pruett PS: CindyB – If you read this, don’t tell!!
From: “Karen Erlandson”
Dear Teddy, I have made several tee shirt quilts and have also used a poly batting, after all, the shirts are poly-cotton – keep like and kind together! I have never been happy with one if I tied it, sorry to tell you. I have had them machine quilted, lightly, so that they remain soft. Don’t you think that there is someone around there that is soft hearted enough that you could tell them the story and see if they can’t get that quilt quilted ASAP? Good luck with it, Karen
Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2005 07:31:53 -0400 | From: Patricia L Cummings <quiltersmuse@>
The following comment was made by a certain “aprayzer” from down south, ahem:
When I show it in my lecture, my audience is usually full of retired folks from upnawth. They are also old enough to remember girdles!!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Well, Teddy, I am from “upnawth” and I remember cramming my then svelte figure into a girdle…a long, long time ago. The stupid things women do, all in the name of fashion! I not only remember girdles, I wore them. Oh, man, am I feeling old this morning.
Thanks for the chuckle.
Pat www.quiltersmuse.com
From: “JESSICA VAUGHN”
I’ve done a couple of T-shirt quilts and I’ve had them long arm quilted……They turned out quite nice if I do say so myself. I don’t like the idea of tying……. Just my .02.
Jessica M. Vaughn vaughn8047@
Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2005 07:31:19 -0500 | From: Mary Waller <mswaller@>
Consider joining the three layers of t-shirt quilts with bar tacks – short sections of zig-zag stitching, commonly seen at stress points on jeans.
One of my sewing machines has a bar tack option that is pre-programmed but select a short stitch length and a medium width and sew about 1/2″.
I’ve done this for many denim quilt projects recycling jeans and it works great. It saves my hands, it’s fast, durable and gets the job done.
Mary Waller Vermillion, SD, USA
Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2005 08:10:53 -0700 (PDT) | From: Donald Beld <donbeld@>
This message is for our friend Sally Ward in Great Britain (Leeds, I think).
As you know I am the National Coordinator for the Home of the Brave Quilt Project that is making replica Civil War soldiers’ quilts for the families of the fallen heroes of Afghanistan and Iraq. The project by the way is going very well–we have active groups in approximately 40 states and have made and delivered around 700 quilts so far–with more going out ever day.
The response has been overwhelming and heartening.
I came across the name of a fallen Army soldier who listed a town in the United Kingdom as his home–although he is from the Chicago area, he lived for many years in the UK, in fact graduated from a UK school, married there and his wife still lives there.
So my problem is this: I NEED TO KNOW IF THERE IS A WAY TO FIND AN ADDRESS FOR HIS WIFE? He listed Wilstead Bedford, UK as his home, and I assume that is still his wife’s home.
This is a recent death so she probably is still at that location.
In the U.S. we have search engine’s I utilize to find family addresses.
SALLY: IS THERE ANY SIMILIAR ENGINE FOR THE UK–OR CAN YOU MAKE ANY SUGGESTIONS ON HOW I CAN FIND THIS FAMILY.
Please e-mail me off the list. Thanks, Don Beld
From: “Jan Drechsler” <quiltdoc@>
Teddy, Yes, you will cry when you present it to the parents. About 10 years ago, I made a t-shirt quilt for the parents of a pre-teen who had died of multiple dystrophy. Although I didn’t know the family, I became very emotionally involved with this quilt and the mother, with whom I chose the t-shirts for the quilt.
I love the thought of being an all natural fiber bigot, but that quilt would be for comfort for the family, cuddling on the sofa, watching T.V., snacking, etc. I used a low loft poly bat. T-shirt quilts tend to be heavy, so I did machine quilt in the ditch, in straight lines up & down, outlining the blocks. It was a large quilt, bulky & a pain to machine quilt but with a standard Bernina & a walking foot, I could roll and quilt it.
Putting ties through the T-shirts and their ironed on interfacings would not be a picnic either, and if it were not machine stitched, I would want to put ties in the t-shirt blocks also.
Either way will work. If you are concerned, tell your clients that if the quilt shifts or the ties appear to be damaging the quilt within five years, you will machine quilt it or otherwise correct the problem.
Th e first t-shirt quilt I made as a gift had one magenta block that I feared would run and signatures that I feared would fade if washed improperly. I offered a lifetime washing or repairing service. When I saw the quilt on teir bed years later, it had been washed by them and was fine.
We obsess about our own quilts more than anyone else. I am sending you some instructions about interfacings on t-shirt quilts, privately. Good luck and don’t wear mascara when you present the quilt.
Jan
— Jan Drechsler NEW E-MAIL ADDRESS: quiltdoc@
Quilt Restoration; Quilting teacher
From: joan kiplinger <jkip@>
This is for anyone who collects magazines — if you have women’s and needlework magazines between 1961-70 which contain ads for Indian Head, please contact me privately. This would also include Saturday Evening Post, Colliers and similar.>
From: “Arlene Marin”
I too have collected lots of t-shirts for my 16 yr old son. My current project (to be finished before he goes to college…) is to make a cathedral windows quilt with t-shirts as the centers. I did not intend to interface those pieces. Do you see any problem? I also considered using muslin as a base for “paper-pieced” squares. I thought that would stabilize the stretch. Any thoughts on either approach?
Batwoman522 aka Arlene Marin in NJ
Date: Sat, 13 Aug 2005 | From: Beth Donaldson
Subject: Nancy Page Quilt Club >From: “Brenda & Roger Applegate” <rbappleg1@> > Date: Sat, 13 Aug 2005 21:41:43 -0400 > >I am looking for a photo of a quilt made from the Nancy Page >Grandmother’s Garden Quilt. I am looking for a photo of one or maybe >where I can find copies of the original patterns. I have Eleanor Burns’ >quilt book that gives some information and found a photo of the Garden >Bouquet in The American Quilt. > >Brenda Applegate
Brenda, See page 98 of Michigan Quilts: 150 Years of a Textile Tradition, for a picture of another Garden Bouquet Quilt. Beth
From: “Andi”
Hi list,
The Sunshine State Quilters Association is hosting a training day for quilt documentation to jump start the next phase of logging the state’s quilt history. As some QHL members/visitors may have quilts with Florida roots, thought you’d like to see this information.
Andi in Keota, Iowa
SSQA is hosting a documentation training day on Saturday, September 10, 2005 at 9:00 a.m. at the Oviedo Presbyterian Church (2400 Lockwood Blvd, Oviedo) for anyone interested in learning to document quilts. Please join us to learn the process. If you already have experience in documentation, please join us and lend us your expertise. If you have quilts you would like included in the documentation process, please bring them.
Please let us know you are coming and if you will be bringing quilts to document either by dropping the registration form in the mail or by sending an email to Artha Callinan artcallinan@ with your registration information.
An Executive Board meeting will be held Friday night at LaQuinta Inn and Suites, 11805 Research Parkway. If you would like to book a room, they can be reached at 407-737-6075. They have a standard and senior rate. Go to the LaQuinta Inn & Suites Website to check out rates.
REGISTRATION FORM
Phone _______________________________
e-mail _______________________________
I am interested in participating in the Documentation training _________
I will be bringing _____ quilts to be included in the documentation
I am willing to bring a _______(type of camera) camera and tripod to help photograph the quilts _____.
(if you have backdrops, please bring them also)
(Please either send above information to Art by e-mail artcallinan@ or mail it to her at
Art Callinan, 1540 N. Leavitt Avenue, Orange City, FL 32763)
If you have any questions, please contact either Sarah Hough at dougandsarah1@ or Gloria Comstock rg10001@
We are looking forward to getting our long-anticipated program off to a great start and would encourage anyone interested in learning the procedure to attend this program. Guilds, please feel free to send representatives. We hope to get representatives familiar with the process in every part of the state so that we can go out and assist guilds and other groups in documenting Florida’s quilts. We would like to be included in the national data base. What is a Florida quilt? That’s a good question. In my mind, it is a quilt that has been created in Florida or has been brought here which is a part of its history. If you don’t agree with my definition of “Florida quilt”, come anyway and let’s discuss it. It promises to be a very interesting and productive day.
Sarah
Directions to the church: Oviedo Presbyterian Church (2400 Lockwood Blvd, Oviedo) ~ behind UCF (east of UCF) ~ from 417/Greeneway, take the Red Bug exit and go east, all the way till the road ends (it will change names to Mitchell Hammock). Turn right (south) and go about 1 to 2 miles, the church is on the left all by itself. ~ from University: turn left on Alafaya, go less than 1 mile to McCoullagh, turn right. Travel to Lockwood and turn left. Travel 3 miles or so, the church is on the right. ~ enter the sanctuary/classroom from the side door near the parking lot.
This information appears on the SSQA Documentation Days <http://www.ssqa.org/aqsg.htm> webpage, along with a printable registration <http://www.ssqa.org/regisDocDay.htm> form.
From: Laura Fisher
Tracy Jamar. textile restorer extraordinaire and hooked rug designer, loves using t-shirts and knits for her hooking material. contact her at tjamar@ for tips, I bet she knows how best to handle those t-shirts for your quilt.
Laura Fisher
From: “Beth Davis”
Hi Teddy, I made a pair of wonderful quilts a few years ago. Believe me- it was far from winning any prizes at a quilt show, but was one of the most rewarding quilts that I have made.
I was asked by a co-worker to take old worn flannel nightgowns that had been worn by her sister, who had passed away. She wrote a note, which was incorporated into the labels: “Someone suggested that I create a quilt using Kathie’s clothing. What came to mind were her flannel nightgowns that she loved. Every evening, she would take a hot bath and get into her flannels, no matter what the season. She loved the evenings when the house was quiet with everyone safe and sound. She used this time to catch up on phone calls and just to reflect on the events of the day. Her greatest joy in life was her children. The only joy that could compare would be seeing her children’s children. May the child who wraps up in this quilt find the same comfort that she did. The two quilts were made for her sons. Each tag on the quilt has a picture of Kathy with her son with the words: I wish I could be there to wrap my arms around you. However, when you are wrapped in this quilt you will feel my warmth and my love.”
the quilts were given to the sons as each was expecting a new baby!! I then made a third quilt for my co-worker and did not tell her until I handed all three to her–let me say that there was not a dry eye in the office! I even to this day, feel so honored to have been given a chance to do this.
Beth Davis
This has been a very humbling experience, and I have been surprised at some of the emotions I have experienced. For instance, I grabbed a spool of thread from the rack that had been sitting there for a while and was dusty. I pulled the entire outer layer of thread off, and threw it away to get to the clean thread. I’ve never done anything like that before. And let me tell you – when I was cutting the logos from the tees, and throwing the rest of the shirts away – I had a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. Discarding the shirts was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done! And this is just on the tee shirts – oh, Lawd, can you imagine what I will be like when I begin work on the quilt that is the story of her life???
From: “Lynne Z. Bassett”
Dear All,
Thank you to all of you who have asked for a copy of my complete-with-footnotes article from the recent Blanket Statements. I was amazed at how many requests I got! I really appreciate your interest in my article. I want to let you know that Blanket Statements will be printing the footnotes in the next issue (I’m not sure if they’re reprinting the whole article), so those of you who want the footnotes but haven’t gotten around to asking yet, you can get them that way. If you really can’t wait for the next issue, then I would be glad to email you a copy of the article.
However, my husband (the computer guru) informs me that I am in imminent danger of a hard drive crash and so he wants to fix my computer now while I’m between writing deadlines. So, I’ll be off-line for awhile. Just wanted to let you know in case you write and ask for a copy of the article but don’t hear from me for a few days. Thanks for your patience!
Best, Lynne
From: Patricia L Cummings <
We have just posted a new file on our website, “Wholecloth Quilts, Trapunto, and Boutis: History and Techniques”. Before formatting it with publishing software, the text was already 24 pages long. We have divided this article into five sections and have facilitated navigation with links.
Our own Karen Evans’ marvelous quilt and her words of explanation about its symbolism are featured in Section V.
So many of you have had questions about these topics, over the years, I hope that this overview is helpful. While more can always be said, on any topic, I hope that you enjoy reading what we have written.
One other item of interest: Another article will be published tomorrow in UnRavel the Gavel newspaper. We visited the American Independence Museum in Exeter, NH and have written about its history and photographed some artifacts. The most stunning piece in the collection, to me, is an original “purple heart” (not called by that name then) given by George Washington to a Connecticut soldier. This small, lavender heart was found on a coat, in a barn, in 1920, in the small NH town where I grew up. The heart is one of possibly three still in existence.
Best,
Pat and Jim Cummings www.quiltersmuse.com
From: Laurel Horton
If you are interested in African American quilts and can arrange to be in Atlanta on Saturday, October 22, 2005, you may wish to attend the annual meeting of the American Folklore Society. at the Renaissance Atlanta Hotel Downtown. Instead of registering for the entire meeting, you may register for Saturday only for $25. The AFS registration table opens at 8 am, and the first panels begin at 8:15.
Among the many concurrent sessions are the following two panels:
Panel 17-02: Ethnographic Complexities in the Study of African American Folklore
Peachtree Room
Chair: Patricia A. Turner
8:15 Deborah Smith Pollard (University of Michigan, Dearborn), Praise Is What We Do: Praise and Worship Music in Detroit’s Black Church Community
8:35 Carol L. Hall (Alabama A & M University), African American Quilts and African American Communities: A Case Study of Gee’s Bend
8:55 Susan Roach (Louisiana Tech University), Re-Presenting the Quilts of African Americans in Lousiana and Beyond
9:15 Patricia A. Turner (University of California, Davis), Southern Comfort: Black Quilts and Black Colleges
9:35* Diana Baird A. N’Diaye (Smithsonian Institution), Discussant
Panel 18-02: The Underground Railroad Quilt Code
Peachtree Room
Chair: Laurel Horton
10:15 Courtney Brooks (East Tennessee State University), Contravenes, Quilts, and Codes
10:35 Laurel Horton (Kalmia Research), The Underground Railroad Quilt Code: Traditional Narrative Strategies in Promoting a Good Story
10:55 Marsha MacDowell (Michigan State University Museum), The “Secret Code” in Quilts: Creating Authenticity
11:15 Deborah R. Grayson (Georgia Institute of Technology), Who Can Speak For Others?: Race and Place in Debates About Hidden in Plain View
There’s another paper in an oterhwise unrelated panel on Saturday afternoon:
Panel 20-12: Contesting Culture as Property
Marietta Room
2:00 Teri Klassen (Indiana University), Contested Representations of African-American Quiltmaking
For more information about the American Folklore Society and its meeting, go to www.afsnet.org. For more information about these panels, contact me off list.
Laurel Horton
Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2005 09:30:33 -0700 | From: “Judy Anne” <anne_j@>
Just think how fascinating tee shirt quilts will be decades from now when fashions have changed. We talk about quilts bringing memories of clothing loved ones wore. Now with tee shirt quilts we can preserve memories of a person’s passions whether it be a specific sport or the person’s travels. We are creating the the history of the future and here is a great example.
Judy Anne
Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2005 14:10:26 -0700 | From: “Judy Anne” <anne_j@>
>>Mary Oliver, a Maine poet, is but one contemporary writer who argues that it is only through imitation that one learns to write. From the writers of the past, we learn technique, manipulation of genre, manners of handling subjects which help us express our own unique voices. Naturally, most writers before the 20th century were taught to write through the use of models of past writing<<
I love Mary Oliver’s poetry and own the book about writing that suggests doing this. I’ve tried it and it’s a fascinating experience to write this way. I’ve never thought of it in relation to reproducing a historic quilt but now that I think about it it’s so true. I feel as if I’m in another place when reproducing a quilt from history especially when I know something of the history of the quilt.
Judy Anne
Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2005 18:41:55 -0700 (PDT) | From: karenquilt@
I’m sure many of you have heard of Deidre Scherer. If you’re in or near Chicago, you can visit her and see her work at the American Craft Exposition in Evanston where she will be presenting her newest work in fabric and thread at Booth# 113 on the following days:
Friday August 26, 10 am – 8 pm Saturday August 27, 10 am – 6 pm Sunday August 28, 11 am – 5 pm The show is located at the Henry Crown Sports Pavilion on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. For more information or to purchase tickets call 847.570.5096 or see their site at www.americancraftexpo.org
Home
No affiliation. I just love her work!
Karen Alexander
Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2005 09:31:53 -0400 | From: Sandra G Munsey <munsey@>
Hello Laurel –
Does the American Folklore Society publish the papers presented at its meeting?
And if so, how does a nonmember go about obtaining a copy? Curious minds would like to know.
Sandra on Cape Cod
Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2005 12:54:20 -0700 (PDT) | From: Anita Loscalzo <aloscalz@>
WORLD WAR II ERA QUILTS AUGUST 18 – OCTOBER 30, 2005 To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, World War II Era Quilts is an exhibition of quilts made during the early 1940s curated by Connecticut quilt historian, Sue Reich. The exhibition is a fitting tribute to those whom Tom Brokaw has called, “the greatest generation.”
Some quilt historians believe that women were not quilting from 1940-1945. Ms. Reich has found numerous newspaper articles and surviving quilts that indicate that this was not the case and has gathered a fascinating group of quilts for the exhibition. Among them are numerous patriotic quilts, a quilt made from parachute material, a “roll call” quilt listing the names of the men who served in the armed forces from a town in Texas, and quilts made from conserving fabric scraps. Notable among the items on display are two quilts made by Bertha Stenge, the “Four Freedoms” and the “O.P.A.,” on loan from the Illinois State Museum.
There will be a gallery talk given by Sue Reich on Saturday, August 27 at 1:00 PM, free with admission to the gallery.
On Saturday, September 24, Sue Reich will present an illustrated lecture on quilts of the World War II era; $10 Members/ $15 Non-members; (reservations requested).
Museum hours are 10 AM – 4 PM Tuesday – Saturday; and May through December only, Sundays 12 – 4 PM. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for students/senior citizens; Museum members are admitted free.
See http://www.nequiltmuseum.org/Exhibitions.shtml for more information
Anita B. Loscalzo, Curator New England Quilt Museum 18 Shattuck Street Lowell, MA 01852 ——– email: CuratorNEQuiltMuseum.org telephone: 978-452-4207 Ext. 11
__________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.@
From: Blackeyesandysue@
Alice, I think that you should definitely include the yo yo quilt. They are a bed covering and were made by quilt makers. As you say, they are even made from the same fabrics. Yo yo “quilts” have a niche in quilt history. And they are charming. Polly Mello
From: karenquilt@
If any QHL/AQSG member is thinking of or planning to go and would like to share a room for one or two nights so that we can attend the Saturday panels that Laurel Horton mentioned, please contact me off List.
Laurel wrote: <<If you are interested in African American quilts and can arrange to be in Atlanta on Saturday, October 22, 2005, you may wish to attend the annual meeting of the American Folklore Society. at the Renaissance Atlanta Hotel Downtown. Instead of registering for the entire meeting, you may register for Saturday only for $25. The AFS registration table opens at 8 am, and the first panels begin at 8:15.>>
Karen Alexander
Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2005 15:03:20 +0200 | From: Margareta.Faustcec.eu.int
This sounds so interesting… The usual question from one on the other side of the Atlantic: will there be a catalogue? Thanks, Margareta in Europe.
From: Laurel Horton
>Does the American Folklore Society publish the papers presented at its >meeting? > > No, the AFS publishes only short abstracts (75-100 words) in the meeting program. Hundreds of 20-minute individual papers are presented orally in concurrent sessions during the three-day meeting. The majority of them are not intended for publication. Marsha MacDowell and I want to publish something on the UGRRQC at some point, and we set up this AFS panel as a preliminary step toward that aim. As we all recognize, it’s a complex issue, and we need to hear voices other than our own.
It’s premature to ask about copies of papers that do not yet exist. Panel members typically work on their presentations up until the time of the meeting. If there is an interest in publication, the papers would then go through the typical review process for academic publication. Since this is such a volatile issue, I, for one, would not want to circulate unvetted copies of my oral presentation. If I am to be quoted, I want my thoughts and findings to reflect thoughtfulness and objectivity.
I posted the announcement of the these panels early for the benefit of those who might wish to attend the meeting. As a folklorist, I am aware that the actual /performance/ of the panel will be a very different experience that goes beyond the texts of the individual papers. This panel is part of an ongoing /process/. I can’t promise that it will lead to publication; I can only tell you that there’s an interest in working in that direction.
This topic is clearly going to be with us for a long time, and I think that anyone who expects us to come up with a definitive response or quick fix is likely to be disappointed.
Laurel Horton
From: Kris Driessen
Well, my husband and I are just back from a longish Quiltbus trip in which I got to catch up with quite a few QHL-ers. Y’all have been talking about a lot of things I would have loved to discuss at the time.
One of them was the topic of quilt history. I offer a number of quilt history lectures as part of my the Quiltbus experience and I would say they are chosen by the guild program person about as often as the regular quilt stuff. Could be because it is not an easy topic to find a speaker for, though.
Usually the audience is pretty attentive. I am not a bad speaker and I pass stuff around so they get to actually touch and examine what they have just seen me hold up and discuss. If I just horrified some of you, let me hasten to add that all the quilts and textiles I bring with me are teaching quilts, bought specifically for that purpose. I am sure the educators on the list can give you the different ways people learn: some by seeing, some by hearing, some by doing. I try to hit all three when I teach/lecture.
So on the question of “are people interested in quilt history” I would say, yes, they are BUT by far my most popular lecture is the one I do on 19th century women and how their lives influenced their quilts. I get non quilters in that one, and that is the one chosen most often by museums and historical societies.
Followed quickly by Putting it in Perspective: The Symbolism of Underground Railroad Quilts, the text of which can be seen at http://www.quilthistory.com/ugrrquilts.htm . People who have studied history enjoy that one, but quilters who want to hear about black centered log cabins are disappointed.
This past week, I happened to give that lecture and one of the women stopped me afterwards to tell me that Jo Diggs, (not the quilter, this one is a Pennsylvania woman) gives lectures on her great great grandfathers experience in the Underground Railroad. He was a logger, who found a way to conceal escaping slaves in a false bottomed boat. According to family story, quilts were used as signals on this trip by their COLORS.
This makes a lot of sense to me. Granted, a quilt hung on a tree branch by a river is a bit suspicious, but if you were looking for a specific color quilt, that would certainly be easy enough to see from a distance during the daytime when a logger would be working.
So if this is true, it is another piece to the puzzle.
Speaking of puzzle (I am changing the subject completely here), is Clues in the Calico back in print? I was poking around Amazon and found it here http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0939009277/quiltweb/ for $19.77. Unless maybe Amazon is going back in time, too…
Kris
From: elpaninaro@
Fingers crossed- I ordered it at that price already and no word yet. Says there is a 3-5 week delivery time though which seemed a bit long. Take care, Tom.
From: Sue in Illinois
The photos from the August 6, 2005 meeting of the Iowa-Illinois Quilt Study Group – Kalona, Iowa are up on our web page.
http://www.quilthistory.com/study/IISQG.htm
Our next meeting is going to be an overnighter in Kalona, Iowa —
Friday – March 31, 2006 – Evening Basket lecture with Catherine Noll Litwinow and an IIQSG meet and greet afterwards. (Check out the September/October issue of PIECEWORK – which features one of Cathy’s signature quilts on the cover.)
Saturday – April 1, 2006 — Morning Show and Share (any antique quilt), Tour of the Kalona Quilt and Textile Museum, Kalona, Iowa , lunch, afternoon show and share with quilt study on basket quilts.
Also wanted to give you a heads up about another IIQSGer and QHLer — Andi Reynolds has an article in an upcoming issue of Quilters Newsletter Magazine about Quilt Museums.
Look for an article in the September/October issue of PIECEWORK about a Schuyler County Illinois Signature Quilt which mentions QHL and features a sidebar about the Iowa-Illinois Quilt Study Group and photographs of signature quilts from the Litwinow and Woodin Collections.
— Thanks Kris for all you do for the regional study groups. We appreciate it.
Sue in Illinois
From: Laura Robins-Morris
This discussion has been very timely. A young man we know, the son of very good friends, died suddenly this week. My husband flew across country to help out, but I’m stuck at work wondering what I can do to comfort the parents. The light bulb went on when I read these recent QHL postings, and I was able to phone DH just in time to have him save all the Tshirts which in one more day would have been tossed. There should be enough (I hope) for 2 quilts, one for the parents and one for his long-time girl friend. One tangible way to remember a very fine young man, gone too soon. Laura in Seattle
From: “Doug and Sarah Hough”
Just a little bit off subject, but we are planning a trip to Spencerville, Ontario for my husband’s grandson’s wedding on September 24. We will be there for about a week. We plan to fly into Ottawa, visit friends in Kingston and Cornwall and in general around the area.
Anyway, are there any not-to-miss shows, etc. in the area?
Thanks,
Sarah in the hot, sticky Panhandle of Florida where we still have hurricane shutters up because it’s too hard to take them down and put them back up again and YOU NEVER KNOW.
From: “kim baird” <kbaird@>
I’m going to be in Nashville, TN for 3 days in October. Any recommendations for interesting quilt/textile visits?
Kim
From: Karen Alexander
OK, there is now an order form for The Great American Quilt Revival documentary on the QHF website at http://www.quiltershalloffame.org./ On the QHF Home page go to the far right hand column and click on the DVD order form; print it and mail it to QHF with their check or credit card. To reiterate, in case there are new members, the DVD includes the 55 minute television program that will be seen nation wide beginning this fall (on those PBS stations that order it) PLUS 45 minutes of additional footage that didn’t make the time limit set for the television. You’ll even catch the QHF Ribbon Cutting that took place July 16, 2004, and a glimpse of the inside of the restored Marie Webster House which is now the headquarters of The Quilters Hall of Fame. Please call your local PBS station and ask them to screen it in your area! (Yes, the UGR issue is addressed by Barbara Brackman and Jonathan Holstein.) The first public screening of the documentary was held during The Quilters Hall of Fame Celebration 2005 in Marion, Indiana, July 15th at Bets Ramsey’s induction. As far as I am aware, the QHF website is the only place the DVD can be bought for the next couple of months. You can catch a one minute trailer of the film at http://bonesteelfilms.com/GAQR.html
Can you tell I am excited!! It was two years in the making from concept to screenig. (This must be what it feels like to have a quilt juried into Houston!)
Karen Alexander President The Quilters Hall of Fame
From: Mary Anne R <sewmuch63@>
I’m going to Nashville next week for the AQS quilt show. I’d be interested in the replies as well as far as quilt history-related opportunities.
Mary Anne (in hot, steamy north FL)
From: karenquilt@
Sorry folks. I put in an extra (.) at the end of the QHF address when I posted about how to order The Great American Quilt Revival documentary DVD last night. The correct address is http://www.quiltershalloffame.org/ Thank you Xenia for bringing it to my attention so promptly when the address I posted didn’t work for you.
Karen Alexander
From: Anita Loscalzo
There will be a CD catalog of the exhibit for $9.99 plus $2 for domestic shipping [contact our shop manager for overseas shipping].
Shortly there will be an order form online at http://www.nequiltmuseum.org/Shop.shtml
In the meantime, you can contact our shop manager Mary Walter, at ShopNEQuiltMuseum.org or 978-452-4207 Ext.13
Anita B. Loscalzo, Curator New England Quilt Museum 18 Shattuck Street Lowell, MA 01852 ——– email: CuratorNEQuiltMuseum.org telephone: 978-452-4207 Ext. 11
From: karenquilt@
I think Amazon simply hasn’t kept up with the books that are out of print. I ordered BB’s Clues in the Calico from them 6 weeks ago on a lark, not really believing that they would ever follow through and fulfill my order. And they still haven’t. Instead I keep getting “delay” notices. My suspicion is that this is all computer generated and that the computer will eventually send me an email saying the book is no longer available — and eventually…after say 2-3 months. (Perhaps Amazon’s buyers don’t keep track of every book that is out of print because they feel that just might stumble across a hidden stash somehwere sometime?) The wonder of their system is that right below the “Clues” copy they “say” you can order, they usualy have a used version of Clues and when you click on it, it is selling for $150 and up — yet Amazon is offering it at $19.95?? Doesn’t make good business sense at all. It’s simply got to be that they don’t know that quilters across the country hav wiped out all sources of new copies. <g>
Karen Alexander
From: Judy Schwender <sister3603@>
If you can find transportation, The Museum of the American Quilter’s Society is 2 1/2 hours from Nashville in Paducah, Kentucky. An easy drive, interstate all the way. See the MAQS website at www.quiltmuseum.org. Currently there are about 100 quilts on exhibit, including Jonathan Shannon’s Airshow; this year’s AQS Best of Show winner, Bird’s ‘n’ Roses by Margaret Docherty (she turned down the purchase award money and is keeping the quilt but has agreed to loan it to MAQS until December); Corona II: Solar Eclipse by Carol Bryer Fallert; Conway Album: and I’m Not from Baltimore by Irma Gail Hatcher. Judy Schwender Curator of Collections / Registrar MAQS
Mary Anne R <sewmuch63@> wrote: I’m going to Nashville next week for the AQS quilt show. I’d be interested in the replies as well as far as quilt history-related opportunities.
Mary Anne (in hot, steamy north FL)
From: “Judy Lyons” <judy.lyons@>
Hi Sarah, All quilts shows are not-to-miss, and on that note if you check out www.canadianquilter.com then go to events, it will show you all shows in Ontario. Arnprior, is close to Ottawa. Belleville, is not too far off, I guess it depends on how much time you allow for travelling and if you have a car. If you need more info contact me at judy.lyons@. I will be working at a few of those shows. Judy Lyons AQS Certified Canadian Quilt Appraiser judy.lyons@
