February 1999
Date: Sun, 31 Jan 1999 22:05:34 -0800
From: “R & L Carroll” <Robert.J.Carroll@GTE.net
Hello! Rebecca to answer your question about your GFG quilt top, I always
try to find period fabrics for repairs or finishing tops. Replacement
fabrics should not be difficult to find. Finding a piece large enough for
the backing may be more difficult. So many quiltmakers in the past used
plain white or off white for their quilt backs that you would be safe with
these. But I would use a reproduction if I wanted to add a little color to
the back. But then again I’m not a purist. I would use cotton for the
batting so it would have the old look. Have fun finishing your top.
Laurette from So. California
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 1999 07:54:05 EST
From: Baglady111@aol.com
To: ttsw@ttsw.com, QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: QUILT SHOW
Message-ID: ae4d95fb.36b5a3ed@aol.com
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PIONEER FLORIDA MUSEUM ASSOC.
9TH Annaul Quilt & Antique Show & Sale
located on Pioneer Museum Rd
Dade City, Florida
Sat & Sun Feb 6 & 7, 1999
Special event this year is an exhibit of Feedsack quilts an memoribilia
JANE CLARK STAPEL of THE FEEDSACK CLUB, will be the guest speaker on Sat and
Sun.
For added info call Donna Swart at 352-567-0262
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 1999 08:44:27 EST
From: Baglady111@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: lost address
Message-ID: 5f7bd095.36b5afbb@aol.com
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I am in need of an email address for ELIZABETH JOHNSON from CHALFONT, pa
please email me at baglady111@aol.com
Many thanx that there is a place where one can get the help when needed..Jane
of THE FEEDSACK CLUB
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 1999 09:42:38 EST
From: EllynLK@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Re: Thread and Fabric Questions
Message-ID: 6353533c.36b5bd5e@aol.com
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In a message dated 1/31/99 6:53:29 PM Pacific Standard Time, Rebecca writes:
<< Also, I have a Grandmother;s Flower Garden that will need replacing of at
least one ‘flower’ — should I use repro fabric or should I try to date quilt
top and look for some vintage fabric that will work — or does it matter??
Guess this same question goes for the fabric that I will eventually need for
the back of the quilt. >>
Speaking for myself, in every restoration I do, I always put in fabric that
complements the existing ones– but is thoroughly modern. The first life of
the quilt was what happened after the maker finished it. With me, it enters a
new phase of existence as I manipulate blocks, repair pieces, replace fabrics
or what have you to increase the life span of the quilt. The quilt is now not
the sole “intellectual property” of the original maker. We share it. So I
put in a fabric (most people can’t even find them until I point them out) that
represents THIS period of the quilt’s life… I restored a 1930’s 9-patch.
It was born in the 1930’s but repaired and restored in the ’90’s and there are
some 1990’s fabrics to represent that. You’d have to be something of a fabric
detective to find them as they match– but it’s just my own fun thing to do
with an old top.
Of course, if it were museum quality I would never do such a thing!
As far as the backing, it would be a lot harder and more expensive to find
vintage fabric in quantity enough to back the quilt… or go to the flea
market and find an old quilt of the same vintage with a good back and
“harvest” it for your current project. I bought a beat-up and crooked 9-patch
for a song– because it had a great 1940’s white ground with blue and red
apple barrel patterns for the back in very good shape. Dumped the front….
the “batting” was old baby blankets sewn together… One is in the garage
that the cat has adopted; the other is folded as padding under a cushion on a
wicker settee… and I have the back waiting for when I need it on a 1940’s
top!
Still working on the turn-of-the-century Trip Around The World… it’s
turning out to be a scrap gem!
Best,
Lauri Klobas
Pacific PaKarendes, California
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 1999 11:36:07 EST
From: Baglady111@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: subjects
Message-ID: 51bcc45.36b5d7f7@aol.com
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have we had a discussion on friendship quilts? When they were popular, why,
etc..also, THE ISLE OF MAN..I thought I had read something about the isle or
was it in a quilt mag…never fails…I’ll see something that does NOT
interest me at the time..but later…down the road…it appeals to me..Jane of
THE FEEDSACK CLUB
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 1999 09:49:09 -0800 (PST)
From: bevquilt@sprynet.com
Oops Rebecca, I meant Grandmother’s Flower Garden…..
Beverly Dunivent
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 1999 09:48:24 -0800 (PST)
From: bevquilt@sprynet.com
In answer to Rebecca’s question about replacing the pieces
in a Dresden Plate, in my opinion she could either use
reproduction or vintage fabric. I have seen pieces replaced
in these quilts with reproduction and if I hadn’t recognized
the fabric as being repro. I wouldn’t have guessed. On the
other hand it is always a bit nicer to use vintage fabric.
You can obtain this from The Kirk Collection. Bev.
Beverly Dunivent
Date: Mon, 01 Feb 1999 12:45:22 -0700
From: Sharon Harleman Tandy harleman@micron.net
Hi all,
Sorry to ring in late; been off-line for almost two months and
catching up. My mid-1940s quilt had a wool batt made from the fleece of
my two pet sheep, Punch and Judy. The batt was made locally (Washington
State coast, near Puyallup) and was covered with cheesecloth.
Unfortunately, I became allergic to wool and have kept them separated
for years. Now, I’d like to quilt the pink and white top (it was tied)
and have the batt cleaned and re-batted; it’s so thick, it will probably
make two regular batts! Have sources for such, just never get around to
it. Sharon Harleman Tandy, Quilts & Answers, Boise, Idaho.
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 1999 18:53:48 -0600
From: Dale E Watts dpwatts@ott.net
I would like to contact Carol Elmore of Manhattan, KS but am unable to find
her email address. This is in regard to the Quilt Restoration Conference in
Omaha.
If someone can provide me with her address or if Carol would contact me, I
would be most appreciative. Thank you!
Peggy in Ottawa
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 1999 20:35:42 EST
From: Baglady111@aol.com
I know you are’nt going to believe this..but I need a source for the white or
off white cotton that is a reproduction of the old timey feedsacks..it is for
toweling and pot holders…anyone one know of a wholesaler??? Jane of THE
FEEDSACK CLUB
(I heard that chuckle)
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 1999 22:28:02 -0800
From: “Edie Idleman” eidleman@ipa.net
Hi all, I am a lurker but need some info. I do not have the book
“Hidden in Plain View” yet. I understand that Dr. Dobard specifically
mentions Bear’s Paw, Crossroads, Flying Geese and Drundard’s Path were
used as signals. If that is so, will someone please let me know how
these designs and any others were used. I need this rather quickly as I
am doing a program for some 4th graders on Wednesday and they are
studying the Civil War.
My Barnes and Noble still has not gotten the books that they expect;
their computer says they are getting it, but still have not at this
time.
My program was about history and quilting in general until I heard they
were studying the Civil War and this is so appropriate that i think I
should talk about it with them.
Sure hope someone can help and thanks, edie idleman
Date: Tue, 2 Feb 1999 08:08:03 EST
From: JQuilt@aol.com
and so…the story goes
if you are in school and your teacher reads from a book and tells you… this
is part of Civil War History…you will probably think it’s absolutely
true…. and that’s how myths and legends begin and continue..
before I read/taught anything “historical” especially this book to
impressionable minds….I would preface it with…..this is a story not
history and it may or may not be true..even then there are some students who
will retain it as history…
jean
jquilt@aol.com
Date: Tue, 02 Feb 1999 09:36:09 -0500
From: Peggy Notestine notestine.11@osu.edu
Hi friends,
Well, I got a real treat yesterday afternoon. My husband'sgrandmother (age 94) lives in a retirement home about 5 minutes from our
house and she mentioned that there was a lady down the hall who had a bunch
of old quilts. well, I passed along a note to her saying that I would love
to see them next time she aired them out. To make a long story shorter, I
got to see 10 quilts yesterday afternoon and they were all gorgeous! Most
were handpieced by Murl herself, and then in most instances either she or
one of her sister’s would handquilt it. She had two that were sent to
Missouri to be machine quilted in a really pretty design as far as machine
quilting goes, and another one she had hand quilted by a lady in Kentucky.
None had labels. Two remain very vivid in my mind. One was a saft, pale
yellow double wedding ring quilt in just the most beatiful colors. The
quilting was magnificant and I told her that I had always been a little
intimidated by that pattern because of the number of pieces and all those
curves. “This one?!”, she said, Why, that was done entirely by my little
sister before she was even a teenager! She thinks she was about 10 years
old when it was done….I just couldn’t believe it! Anyone ever hear of
little kids doing more complex patterns and with such beautiful stitching!?
The other quilt that really stood apart was a quilt Murl’s mother’s church
circle made as a raffle during the depression. This was a lone star( which
was never one of my favorites), and it was in pristine condition. A white
background and the diamonds were in white, nile green, hot pink and an
orange the color of an orange creamsickle. For some reason, those colors
worked for that quilt. The quilting was outstanding and the interesting
part of this story was that she said that her mother’s church circle spent
many hours on this quilt to raise money, then the depression hit very hard
where they all lived and no one could afford to even take a chance on a
ticket, so it just sat….and sat… and sat. Finally, her mother begged
her daughter to offer something to the circle so she saved up a dollar here
and there, and when she finally had 8.00 dollars, they happily gave her the
quilt. Unbelievable! I told her I would help her make labels for the
quilts, even if they don’t get sewn on, we could at least pin them to the
back. Each quilt was wrapped in a feed sack or pillowcase and I also
mentioned to her that Jane of the Feedsack Club was coming to our guild
meeting soon for a presentation and she thought that sounded very
interesting. Finally, I also wanted to mention that she had also displayed
a wonderful ivory crocheted bed spread that looked like lace, the stitches
were so tiny. She said it took her 12 years to make and that she worked on
it all the time. So that was my wonderful Sunday afternoon.
Peggy Notestine in Columbus, OhioDate: Tue, 2 Feb 1999 14:08:59 -0000
From: “Sally Ward” sward@t-ward.demon.co.uk
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: And so the story goes…(NQR)
Message-ID: <003501be4ed0$c25ea820$eb58e4d4@bob>
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charset"iso-8859-1"Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Here in the UK my 15 yr old daughter is about to take History exams which
include American history. Her teacher has suggested that the class watch
‘Dances with Wolves’ as part of their revision. Is this a good idea?
Sally
Date: Tue, 2 Feb 1999 21:50:56 -0000
From: “Sally Ward” sward@t-ward.demon.co.uk
So many of you responded to my question about this film I have to thank
you all here. All comments were very helpful, and gave my dd a renewed
perspective both on the history of America and the generosity of present
day Americans in taking time out to help her!
Thanks
Sally
Date: Wed, 3 Feb 1999 22:21:35 EST
From: Xroadclown@aol.com
My grandmother pieced and hand quilted her first quilt when she was 13. She
had the help of some of her cousins, and was so upset about the quality of the
work they did, that she ripped out their work overnight, and re-did it. She
would have been 121 now, and luckily i still have that quilt. It is a
tumbling block quilt. and i love it!!!
a new quilter, but it is in my blood!
melanie (xroadclown@aol.com)
Date: Wed, 3 Feb 1999 21:58:41 -0600
From: “GRichter” richter2@frontiernet.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Re: Precocious quilters
Message-Id: 199902040405.XAA45300@node21.frontiernet.net
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>
In a message dated 2/2/99 10:36:19 PM Eastern Standard Time,
QHL-Digest-
request@cuenet.com writes:
>
<< Anyone ever hear of
little kids doing more complex patterns and with such beautiful
stitching!?
>
Hi,
What about the old needlework samplers? Weren’t they done by very
young girls learning embroidery, etc?
Gail R
in NE Wis.
richter2@frontiernet.net
kegar@aol.com
Date: Thu, 04 Feb 1999 07:24:20 +0400
From: Xenia Cord xecord@netusa1.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Kids quilting
Message-ID: 36B912E3.62F7@netusa1.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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When my granddaughter was 6, she wanted to make a quilt for mini-4H and
enter it at the county fair (10 years ago). I had given her my old
Singer 185J and taught her to sew lines on paper with an empty needle.
She and I carefully cut pieces for a small Nine Patch, and she sewed
them together and put on a border. Then we sandwiched the quilt and she
sewed diagonals through it by machine. I made binding and she sewed it
on, and I did the hand finishing. This took about 8 weeks of one step a
week.
On judging day she proudly entered her little quilt (about 12″ x 18″).
The judges couldn’t decide where to put it because Mini’s were not
“allowed” to enter the textiles division. So they put it with “Crafts”
and I actually saw the judge (a woman) pat my granddaughter on the head
and say, “That’s nice, dear,” as she dismissed the effort. Needless to
say, my granddaughter lost a lot of interest in quiltmaking – and in
4H!.
Xenia
Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1999 08:05:30 EST
From: JQuilt@aol.com
To: notestine.11@osu.edu,
wouldn’t the elderly quiltmaker in the retirement home make a perfect person
to invite to a guild meeting and have her display and tell stories about her
quilts?…… or maybe have someone go to the retirement home and make a video
tape of her and her quilts/stories?
jean
jquilt@aol.com
Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1999 08:30:15 EST
From: HKnight453@aol.com
get your stories on tape form the elderly about quilts, geneology, or anything
else, and make transcripts. I wish I had asked my Grandmother Knight more
about her family in Ireland, her childhood etc. She died at 93, with a
perfect memory, or nearly so. Ask now, or regret later. Most persons are
more than willing to talk on the record, and it’s a good way to preserve the
past…
Heather
Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1999 09:34:36 EST
From: JQuilt@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: 1000 years ago
Message-ID: 4a25de5b.36b9affc@aol.com
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1000 years ago when I was 6 years old and lived in NYC…my mother began
teaching me needlework, knitting and crocheting…It was not unusual for girls
that age to learn these “homemaking” skills…..
I learned these wonderful crafts, so that I could make my dolls clothes, and
hankies for my aunts and grandmother…they were not for any competitions…my
dolls, aunts and grandmother all loved them and as a result I still love doing
all of them today..
competitions are not always the best avenue for children…..or grown ups, for
that matter.
jean
jquilt@aol.com
Date: Thu, 04 Feb 1999 09:52:58 +0000
From: Shirley McElderry tigersoup@lisco.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Die-cut butterflies
Message-ID: 36B96DF7.164F@lisco.net
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Audrey and QHLers: The Warren Textile Co. in Boston, Mass offered
die-cut butterflies and other die-cut appliques such as pansies, tulips,
etc. in 1933 and 1934 in Comfort, Needlecraft, and a few other
periodicals. In an undated catalog of Warren’s are many different
appliques, including both large and small butterflies, in either plain
or prints. There is also a “Sunbonnet Duck” that is a real hoot!
I haven’t found any reference to die-cut quilt kits being sold before
1929; but that doesn’t necessarily mean there wasn’t any! (G)
Shirley Mc from Iowa
Date: Thu, 04 Feb 1999 11:08:53 -0800
From: Sue erroof@wcoil.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Re: Die Cut Butterflies
Message-ID: 36B9F044.115294FB@wcoil.com
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Hi Audrey and All,
I have a one page advertisement from “Needlecraft – The Home Arts
Magazine” called the “Quilt Block Service Sheet” it shows not only the
die cut Butterflies, but also Star and Diamond Quilt Blocks, and Dahlia
Quilt Blocks. The adds actually say the blocks are “die cut”. The bad
news is there is no date on the sheet. The good news is the pictures are
definitely of 20’s and 30’s prints.
The prices are as follows:
Star and Diamonds - 72 Gay print diamonds 39 cents.
Gay Print Butterflies - 64 4 X 6 inch assortment 39 cents
30 8 1/4 X 6 inch assortment 39 cents
Dahlia - 72 Gay print flower petals and 9 contrasting centers finished size 10 1/2 inches just the right size for a
15 inch background block 39 cents.The star and diamond block and the dahlia block are shown in the photo
button hole stitched.
Sue in gloomy, cold, NW Ohio
Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1999 09:56:38 -0800 (PST)
From: bevquilt@sprynet.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Re: QHL-Digest Digest V99 #33
Message-Id: 199902041756.JAA16645@m9.sprynet.com
Content-Type: text/plain
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Audrey and all kit quilt fans: I totally agree with Xenia
that many die-cut kits were sold during the 1920s and 30s. I
have many of these, including countless homeless die-cut
butterflies, in my collection. Anne Copeland and I also did
an article on kits for AQSG and ours is found in Uncoverings
- At the present time I am working on an article for
Chitra Publishing on the quilts of the 1930s and this
article will include more information on Butterfly quilts
made from kits and from scratch, and will include a pattern.
While I was working with RJR Fashion Fabrics on the
Butterfly Hope Collection last year I did research on
butterfly quilts and their meaning during the Depression. I
found them to be used as a sign of hope and new life for the
women of that era just as they are for many people today.
Beverly
Beverly Dunivent
Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1999 18:53:28 -0000
From: “Sally Ward” <sward@t-ward.demon.co.uk
When each of my two children left primary school I made leavers quilts with
the top class as a once a week volunteer. First time they used a medley of
techniques according to their individual designs – I was amazed how well
some of the (otherwise fidgety and troublesome) boys could embroider and how
hard they all concentrated. The second time everyone made an ohio star
using a hand sewing machine and fabrics from their own clothes.
The quilts hang in the school hall and are stunning, I am very proud of the
kids who made them. However, the local Countrywomens Association meet
there, and on more than one occasion I have heard people remark how nice the
quilts are but such a shame the teacher ‘obvously did all the work’.
I have said before on another list, we should expect more of our children
not less. We are never surprised how adept they are at computer games et al,
so why do we think they can’t sew?
Sally in UK
Date: Thu, 04 Feb 1999 13:30:24 -0700
From: Adella <adellaharris@earthlink.net
The discussion about butterfly patterns caught my eye as I am working
with a local community hospice to plan a commemorative quilt. One of
our volunteers suggested a butterfly theme just yesterday. And today on
the digest I read:
bevquilt@sprynet.com wrote:
>
While I was working with RJR Fashion Fabrics on the
Butterfly Hope Collection last year I did research on
butterfly quilts and their meaning during the Depression. I
found them to be used as a sign of hope and new life for the
women of that era just as they are for many people today.
Beverly
>
Does anyone on the mailing list have a suggestion for finding butterfly
die-cuts or patterns? Thanks!
Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1999 16:31:25 -0800
From: “pepper cory” pepcory@bmd.clis.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
I agree that we under-estimate what kids are capable of doing and what they
want to do. I have a friend named Marie, now in her late 60’s, who pieced
her first quilt, a Grandmother’s Flower Garden, when she was seven years
old. Her mother did help her quilt it, I think. She’s never stopped
quilting and still makes beautiful Flower Garden quilts all by hand. She
says it’s relaxing!
Pepper Cory
Date: Fri, 05 Feb 1999 08:37:05 -0700
From: Sven Olsson <sven@pnc.com.au
I have a wonderful 8yr old neice, Elizabeth, whose mother died when she
was just 3yrs old. She and her brother Tristan (now 11) have been raised
by a wonderful father who is a brilliant Dad.
Over the 5 years since their mother’s death, I have had the children
stay over a number of times, and each time Elizabeth wants to play in my
fabrics. When she was about 4yrs, we sat all one day and made a clown
face doll quilt. Elizabeth cut the fabrics and placed them on a large
piece of muslin to make the face, and I machine appliqued the pieces
down. We used colouful buttons and bits of lace and ended up with
“Lizzies Clown Quilt”.
Lately nothing had been said about fabrics or quilts, so I have not
pressed the point. That was until the week before Christmas. Her answer
to the usual “what would you like for Christmas” was, “Can you teach me
to make a real quilt”
We now have five Ohio Star blocks made from fabric that Elizabeth chose.
It is going to be a full sized quilt, and hopefully finished in time for
her 9th birthday in April. We will tie it, as I am not a quilter.
Lizzies dad is remarrying in March and she will be with me for 2 weeks.
I am so lucky.
Lorraine in Oz
Date: Thu, 04 Feb 1999 17:37:24 -0500
From: Nancy Roberts <robertsn@norwich.net
Hello to all. I’m still cleaning and reorganizing my sewing room. This time I
came across two scrapbooks, each containing more than 30 pages of patterns
and clippings from the 1970’s. A friend purchased them at a church jumble
sale, so I don’t have the history of whose they were. Some of the magazines
represented include Women’s Circle, Women’s Household, Family Circle, Women’s
Day, and Girl Scout Leader. The latter has a piece in it about bicentennial
quiltmaking. There’s also an article about Ernest B. Haight, “father” of
machine quilting. Many of the clippings are glued down to pages while others
are paper-clipped or loose.
When I first looked them over, I didn’t think they were all that old.
However, they’re nearly a quarter of a century. Hmmmm… I feel dated all of
a sudden.
They’re fun to look through, but I don’t care to keep them any longer. If you
collect ephemera like this and are interested, make me a trade offer of
fabric from your stash (your choice). I would also need postage to mail these
items to you. I don’t think they’ll make weight for the $3.20 priority mail,
but would probably come in around $5 or $6. I can check this when I know the
zip code they’ll go to.
E-mail me if these old-time scrapbooks sound like something that belongs in
your collection. Hope someone will enjoy them. Nancy
Date: Thu, 04 Feb 1999 20:11:44 -0600
From: Valerie Davis vpse@globaldialog.com
To: Sally Ward <sward@t-ward.demon.co.uk
Dear Sally,
Viewing "Dances With Wolves" would be an entertaining way for students tolearn about American history IF, and this is a big if, they are made aware
in the beginning that it is very idealized. . . Indians all good, white men
all bad. Neither case is true. However, the movie was celebrated as one of
the few Hollywood movies which depicted the Native American in a more
realistic, humanistic way. I have read that all the props used (iron tools
etc.) were authenticated reproductions. Just my opionion.
Valerie
Sally Ward wrote:
Here in the UK my 15 yr old daughter is about to take History exams which
include American history. Her teacher has suggested that the class watch
‘Dances with Wolves’ as part of their revision. Is this a good idea?
>
Sally
Date: Thu, 04 Feb 1999 20:57:26 -0600
From: Russell-Hill russhill@ctesc.net
To: Valerie Davis vpse@globaldialog.com
Valerie Davis wrote:
>
Dear Sally,
Viewing "Dances With Wolves" would be an entertaining way for studentsHi Everyone,
Well as someone who does reenacting I have a problem with a lot of the
movies all though I must say that they have improved a great deal in the
last few years. There is a very good made for TV movie and that is the
Buffillo Soldier. That maybe a little closer to true. There are far
better documentaries out there from the History Channel than Hollywood.
It is if we should look at some of the movies made about England as
being historically correct. I am sure that you would find many of them
to be incorrect as well.
This is my .02 of course the clothes are incorrect most of the time.
Debbie
Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1999 22:53:54 -0500 (EST)
From: “Joanna E. Evans” jevans@bluemarble.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Hello:
My twin five-year-old boys go to a wonderful Montessori school where they
have been doing lots of fine motor activities like sewing. They also
learned to use an iron at school (when they were 4 years old) before I had
the nerve to try it.
Last year they started making four patches with me. I leave the bin of the
fabrics (mostly 30s reproduction conversation prints that they have chosen
at quilt shows) along with their other bins of toys. Whenever they pull it
out, I help them with their projects. I try to keep it simple, light, and
fun. They choose and iron two fabrics. They or I mark their squares. They
cut the fabric. I pin their squares with safety pins; they prick themselves
enough with the needle. And we always use a 1/2 inch seam allowance so when
a cutting line isn’t followed exactly or a stitch goes astray, it is no big
deal. Recently, I did a program on antique quilts for their class (of 3 to
6 year olds) at school. And now the children are working on making
classroom quilt tops. (I will machine quilt them for strength; they have to
be machine washed each week.)
On Tuesday evening, I took my sons to our guild meeting since my babysitter
canceled. The president asked me to introduce them, so I did and I showed
some of their completed work. They spent some time watching a portable tv
(with earphones) and then came and sat on my lap for show and tell. (They
wanted to see the quilts more than the movie. Yea!) Fortunately they were
not disruptive; I would have left immediately (and they knew it) if they
had been.
Tonight at a school gathering, I was surprised when the mother (a quilter
herself) of a 7 year old boy told me that her stepson (whose mother died
when he was 4) has been asking her to teach him to quilt. She had told him
maybe when he was older. He replied that he had been sewing since he was
three (at school). She said that after seeing what my boys had done, she
went home and told him that she would start helping now. I hope they have
as much fun with it as we have. Quilts are important to my boys and I hope
they always will be.
I get so upset when I hear of people like the woman Xenia described who
cause so much damage with so little effort. I think it is important for
children to be exposed to a wide variety of activities and to be encouraged
to follow their interests (and to have a chance to see ours). I’ll step
down from my soapbox now. Thanks for listening.
Joanna
Date: Thu, 04 Feb 1999 23:00:10 -0800
From: Audrey Waite <awquiltr@sedona.net
Hi Adella:
Just by coincidence I received an advertisement in the mail today from
Foust Textiles Inc., P. O. Box 576, Kings Mountain, NC 28086 for
precision-cut patchwork fabric quilting pieces. They’re called
“Granny’s Quilting Shapes”. You can reach them at 1-800-258-9816, FAX
1-800-358-3949 or www.foustextiles.com (no affiliation,etc.) They may
be wholesale only but they can probably tell you where you can purchase
these shapes. There are diamonds, squares, heart appliques, triangles,
squares, hexagons, bow tie, lancaster rose, tumbling blocks, birds in
flight, dresden plate, butterfly (not as pretty as the ones from the
30s!) baby blocks and tulip.
Thanks to everyone for the information on the die-cut butterfly. I’ll
pass it along to my friend. You are all so knowledgeable and gracious
in sharing information you have.
Audrey Waite in rainy Sedona, AZ (boy did we need it!)
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 07:50:53 EST
From: @aol.com
Sally –
If you can find it, Ken Burns’s documentary series =The Civil War= is a superb
(if long) account of our great national tragedy. A fictionalized version of
the climactic battle of the Civil War, Gettsburg, is the movie of the same
name – very accurate, very literate, and beautifully acted and cast. All
the extras were members of Civil War re-enactment groups, and their uniforms
and equipment are completely accurate.
As for a movie about Native Americans…my vote goes to =Last of the
Mohicans,= set during the French & Indian War (aka the Seven Years War).
Native American activist Russell Means plays Chingachgook, the Mohican chief,
and all the Native American extras were actually members of local tribes.
The props, sets and costumes were again quite accurate (although I have some
trouble with Daniel Day-Lewis’s hair, as gorgeous and charismatic as he is).
The movie itself is about as romantic as it’s possible to get…and yes, the
Appalachian mountains do look like that.
I can’t think of any good documentaries about the Revolution, although Burns
made a terrific film about Thomas Jefferson a few years ago. It came out
before the DNA evidence connecting him to Sally Hemings’s children, though.
Good luck – I’ll try to think of more.
Karen Evans
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 08:06:45 EST
From: JQuilt@aol.com
To: QUILTNET@LSV.UKY.EDU, qhl@cuenet.com
for anyone going to lancaster the following website is great for info about
Lancaster.
jean
jquilt@aol.com
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 08:15:21 EST
From: JQuilt@aol.com
thank you so much for the foust textile address …you left out a t in the
website address
www.fousttextiles.com
jean
jquilt@aol.com
Date: Fri, 05 Feb 1999 08:18:59 +0400
From: Xenia Cord <xecord@netusa1.net
Uncoverings is the annual journal of the American Quilt Study Group.
Membership is relatively inexpensive, the annual conventions are full of
energy and teeming with interesting people, all of whom are high on
quilt research and quilt history
Xenia, who gives herself a membership each year for her birthday!
Date: Fri, 05 Feb 1999 08:18:13 PST
From: “Kim Heger” <kheger@hotmail.com
Joanna, I think that’s wonderful that you and your boys are so involved
with quilting! Awesome-they chose the quilts over the movie–I love it!
I had my 5th grade social studies class make a quilt when we were
studying pioneer. Several teachers thought, “Oh, she’ll never be able
to get the boys involved.” I had 100% participation from every child!
I even had the mother of one boy tell me that he was so excited about
his quilt block and he told her about the progress he had made everyday
when he went home from school. And this was one of the “cool” kids,
too! Quilting is something even kids can identify with because most all
of them have a loved blanket from childhood. Many of my students even
brought theirs in to share with the class! Needless to say, that was
the most enjoyable unit I’ve ever taught!
Kim Heger
southwest Kansas
Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1999 22:53:54 -0500 (EST)
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Hello:
My twin five-year-old boys go to a wonderful Montessori school where
they
have been doing lots of fine motor activities like sewing. They also
learned to use an iron at school (when they were 4 years old) before I
had
the nerve to try it.
Last year they started making four patches with me. I leave the bin of
the
fabrics (mostly 30s reproduction conversation prints that they have
chosen
at quilt shows) along with their other bins of toys. Whenever they pull
it
out, I help them with their projects. I try to keep it simple, light,
and
fun. They choose and iron two fabrics. They or I mark their squares.
They
cut the fabric. I pin their squares with safety pins; they prick
themselves
enough with the needle. And we always use a 1/2 inch seam allowance so
when
a cutting line isn’t followed exactly or a stitch goes astray, it is no
big
deal. Recently, I did a program on antique quilts for their class (of 3
to
6 year olds) at school. And now the children are working on making
classroom quilt tops. (I will machine quilt them for strength; they have
to
be machine washed each week.)
On Tuesday evening, I took my sons to our guild meeting since my
babysitter
canceled. The president asked me to introduce them, so I did and I
showed
some of their completed work. They spent some time watching a portable
tv
(with earphones) and then came and sat on my lap for show and tell.
(They
wanted to see the quilts more than the movie. Yea!) Fortunately they
were
not disruptive; I would have left immediately (and they knew it) if they
had been.
Tonight at a school gathering, I was surprised when the mother (a
quilter
herself) of a 7 year old boy told me that her stepson (whose mother died
when he was 4) has been asking her to teach him to quilt. She had told
him
maybe when he was older. He replied that he had been sewing since he was
three (at school). She said that after seeing what my boys had done, she
went home and told him that she would start helping now. I hope they
have
as much fun with it as we have. Quilts are important to my boys and I
hope
they always will be.
I get so upset when I hear of people like the woman Xenia described who
caus so much damage with so little effort. I think it is important for
children to be exposed to a wide variety of activities and to be
encouraged
to follow their interests (and to have a chance to see ours). I’ll step
down from my soapbox now. Thanks for listening.
Joanna
Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1999 11:26:13 EST
From: Palampore@aol.com
I just ordered and received a NEW palampore from the PAST TIMES Catalog. They
call it a Tree of Life Cotton Throw (108″ X 70″). It is a lightweight cotton
fabric. It is really very pretty. What a lovely catalog. Anyone who loves
beautiful textiles will enjoy it. I could spend tons of money with those
folks. For anyone who wants their catalog it is: 1-800-621-6020 I am not
advertising because I have no connection with this company.
I will be taking a class tomorrow under the direction of Pepper Cory on
quilting. Can hardly wait!!!
If any of you have pictures of, or patterns of 1800’s “huswif” sewing cases or
other rolled sewing cases I would love to hear from you. I am interested in
civilian and military rolled sewing cases. (I guess the words case or kit can
be used.)
Thanks, Lynn Lancaster Gorges in New Bern, NC palampore@aol.com
Date: Fri, 05 Feb 1999 16:50:45 -0600
>
I agree that we under-estimate what kids are capable of doing and what they
want to do. I have a friend named Marie, now in her late 60’s, who pieced
her first quilt, a Grandmother’s Flower Garden, when she was seven years
old.
Pepper,
My mother started her first quilt when she was 4!
Not surprising she started me on quiltmaking when I was 8......>
Jocelyn
ocelynm@delphi.com
Date: Fri, 05 Feb 1999 19:21:53 -0600
From: “Kris Driessen, Hickory Hill Quilts” oldquilt@albany.net
Does anyone know anything about this site?
It looks interesting, but I don’t recognize any of the names connected
with it.
Kris
Date: Fri, 05 Feb 1999 21:35:09 +0400
From: Xenia Cord <xecord@netusa1.net
To Kris and QHL – I tried that new site: http://www.quiltcollector.com/
The name Diane Leone is certainly familiar – in the early 1990s her name
was on the selvedges of every good piece of double pink and related
seaweed calicoes made! Her collection, if it is auctioned as promised,
should be something to see and participate in.
No association – just a comment.
Xenia
Date: Sat, 6 Feb 1999 09:07:29 -0000
From: “Sally Ward” <sward@t-ward.demon.co.uk
This is the name on the spine of one of the best beginner instruction =
books I have come across – The New Sampler Quilt.
Sally
Date: Sat, 06 Feb 1999 08:32:32 +0400
From: Xenia Cord <xecord@netusa1.net
May I inject an historical note about the current fad for “Civil War”
fabrics? BQL (Bristish Quilt List) may not find this a burning issue,
but in the US we should not let romanticism cloud our understanding. I
think in our interest in creating ever-new design fields for fabric
reproduction, we have lost sight of the fact that few – if any – cotton
dress goods were produced in the US (read northern states) during the
Civil War. After all, raw cotton was a southern product that was not
being shipped north for manufacturing, and the north was blockading
southern ports to keep ships from carrying raw cotton to England for
production. This was an attempt, of course, to cripple the South’s
economic base; at the same time, English-made cotton goods (and related
sources) were not being imported into the northern states because
England was sympathetic to the southern cause.
Small amounts of raw cotton were being shipped from Utah and other
areas outside the States (Utah was still a territory). Mountain Mist,
for instance, got its raw cotton for ammunition cartridges, gas masks,
quilt batting and mattresses from Utah. But supply, distance, and
difficult transportation made this a token source compared with what had
been available from the south.
Bottom line? We probably should not be talking about “Civil War”
fabrics, but rather “C.W.-era” cotton prints, pre-1861, and in the
latter years of the 1860s, as production and manufacturing were
haltingly resumed. What do the rest of you think?
Xenia
Date: Sat, 6 Feb 1999 10:53:34 -0600
From: Dale E Watts <dpwatts@ott.net
I am searching for an address for Rocky Mt. Quilts in Grand Junction, CO.
Betsy Telford is the owner I do believe.
If anyone can supply her address, please email me privately. Thank you so much.
Peggy
Date: Sat, 06 Feb 1999 14:48:10 -0600
From: Russell-Hill <russhill@ctesc.net
Hi all,
Well I quess I will put my two cents in on this. I have done some
research of the period for correct clothing. The mills in Massachusetts
were still running and were producing cotton during that time. Ladies
groups up North were not in such straights as the South and were able to
make the quilts for the SanCom and shirts and such. the South was to a
point near the wars end of making their own fabric and tearing up their
linens to make things for their soldiers. At almost $20 a yard the
south was suffering. It was written that a woman in the South saw a
piece of cotton for $20 a yard and bought 5 yards just because she could
not stand to be with out such nice fabric anymore. This was near the
end of the war.
Now the production of cotton may not have been as great as it was prior
to the war but the North was able to do it. This is were things failed
for the South. With out industry as in the North they could not take
the raw and turn it into a product for sale. Sherman said “The North can
make a steam engine, locomotive, or railway car ; yet hardly a yard of
cloth or a pair of shoes you ( the South) can make”. So even if cotton
would not come from England it came from New England. I believe a lot
of fabric also came from France.
Debbie
ate: Sat, 6 Feb 1999 16:58:19 -0500
From: Steve Greco <GrandmasAttic@compuserve.com
First, does anyone have any information regarding the Nancy Cabotadvertisements for patterns that were in the Chicago Tribune newspaper in
the 30s and 40s? I have “inherited” tons of booklets with Nancy Cabot
patterns and Nancy Cabot advertisements in them. These came from the estate
of Wilma Smith who was quite the quilt historian before her death in the
early 1990s. I would like to be able to continue the research but don’t
want to “reinvent the wheel” if it’s already out there. Perhaps someone
can guide me to more information. I would like specifically information
regarding the three women who wrote the column and sources for where I
might go to learn more.
Secondly, does anyone have any information about Edna Van Dos. Edna
published a series of “scrapbooks” under the name of Dutch Girl
Publications (at least I think that’s the title–the actual scrapbooks are
at home and I’m at work on the computer trying to remember all this stuff).
This was during the 1970s. Edna Van Dos was also a very big quilt pattern
historian and very active with this. Edna Van Dos and Wilma Smith were
correspondents who collaborated with each other at times and shared
information. This is how I came to know about Edna. An early subscriber to
Edna’s “scrapbooks” was Cuesta Barberry (are you on our list?). I am
familiar with Cuesta’s wonderful work through Quilter’s Newsletter magazine
and other sources and am awed by the knowledge that she has as well! (If
you’re on this list Cuesta, thanks for writing such great articles!j)
Thirdly, if any of you have any information about Wilma Smith herself, I
would be very grateful. I know some things about her but not a great deal.
It is Wilma’s collection of goodies that I was able to purchase at a garage
sale (and not before some of it was pilfered by local antique dealers) that
has inspired me to continue on with quilt research and documentation.
Rachel Greco
Grandma’s Attic Sewing Emporium
155 SW Court Street
Dallas, OR 97338
1-503-623-0451
e-mail: GrandmasAttic@compuserve.com
I would be grateful for any information that you have.
Date: Sat, 6 Feb 1999 16:58:21 -0500
From: Steve Greco GrandmasAttic@compuserve.com
I just want to reiterate what Heather said about getting your stories down
on tape from the elderly about quilts, genealogy or anything else and make
transcripts. My grandmother died at the age of 85 this past October. I was
in the process of typing up everything she ever told me, doing scrapbooks
on genealogy, information on quilting, etc. I thought I had a ton of
information. Ever since she passed on I keep wondering “why wasn’t I
listening? how come I didn’t think to get more information?” As Heather so
aptly put it, “Ask now or regret later!”
Rachel Greco
Grandma’s Attic Sewing Emporium, Inc.
155 SW Court Street
Dallas, OR 97338
1-503-623-0451
e-mail: GrandmasAttic@compuserve.com
Date: Sat, 06 Feb 1999 20:30:38 -0600
From: Matti2000@aol.com (
Hello quilters…I am brand new to this list and I have a question…I am
working on a play about the Underground RR that will be presented to
elementary schools in NY state and PA…I need to find info about quilts being
used as signals…Any suggestions?
Date: Sat, 6 Feb 1999 21:40:35 EST
From: KareQuilt@aol.com
Dear QHL readers,
Have you heard about the Smithsonian seminar March 19-20? Sounds like a real
treat. I just got my announcement Friday. The title is : “Common Threads:
Creating A Cloth For Empowerment.”
“An International Symposium: The Role of Textile Collectives in Women’s
Empowerment And Recent Research on African-American Quilters.”
The Group for Cultural Documentation (TGCD) is co-sponsoring it with the
Smithsonian Institution’s Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies,
and the Smithsonians’ Anacostia Museum and Center for African American History
and Culture. The flyer reads:
“We will bring together an international group of representatives of women’s
groups that have coalesced around textile work…Included groups and their
work…Alabama Freedom Quilting Bee, Mississippi Cultural Crossroads Quilters,
Cabin Creek Quilters, Tierra Wools, Native American quilting groups, and Hmong
textile groups, Africa (including Zamani Soweto Sisters of South Africa and
Liberia’s Arthington Women’s Self-Help Quilting Group), Latin America
(Chilean,Columbian and Peruvian groups), Eastern Europe, Asia, and Australia.
The common thread among these groups across th globe is that quilting,
weaving, and the creation of similar tapestry works plays a central role in
their efforts to empower women….
Recent research on African-American quilts…A panel is anticiapted to include
Cuesta Benberry [1983 Quilters Hall of Fame Honoree], Raymond Dobard, Roland
L. Freeman, and Carolyn Mazloomi.
To pre-register ($10) make check out to TGCD and mail to 117 Ingraham St., NW,
Washington, DC 20011. PH: (202) 882-7764; FAX: (202) 829-6814. Their mailing
also includes a list of those representing each ethnic group and one page on
Roland Freeman’s book and national exhibtion schedule.
I saw Mr. Freeman’s exhibit, ” A Communion of Spirits: African-American
Quilters, Preservers, and Their Stories” a coupl of weeks ago at the
Smithsonian. I loved his book, which I read some time ago, and found the
exhibit very exciting. Just today I registered for the Common Threads
seminar.
Karen Alexander
Research Focus: Quilts of the Shenandoah Valley
Member of AQSG since 1981
Date: Sat, 06 Feb 1999 20:54:41 -0600
From: KAREN BUSH <Birdsong@worldnet.att.net
Not to mention, on this documentary, you can listen to Shelby Foote
narrate…what a voice… West Virginia drawal like smoooooth
molasses……got the whole set and watch and listen to it all the time
while I’m quilting….aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh….:) kb
— if you can find it, Ken Burns’s documentary series =The Civil War= is
a superb
(if long) account of our great national tragedy. A fictionalized version of
Date: Sun, 07 Feb 1999 18:32:52 +1100
From: nomad1 <nomad1@ibm.net
Dear Debbie, Karen and All,
Over here in Oz guess what I watched and recorded last night?
Gettysburg! Karen thanks so much for giving that added info about the
costumes etc being accurate. I was thrilled as my 11 yr son John
Frederick watched it with me and commented on the sadness of war.
Needless to say I have a million answered questions now!
Debbie, in regards to prices of fabrics during the civil war and your
comment:
” At almost $20 a yard the south was suffering. It was written that a
woman in the South saw a piece of cotton for $20 a yard and bought 5
yards just because she could not stand to be with out such nice fabric
anymore.”
It might interest you all to know that here in Australia, this or even
$22 is what we are paying for the Civil War fabrics, as well as other
great quilting fabrics e.g Shelburne museum collection, Moda’s,
Hoffman’s etc ! And exactly, as that lady in the South mentioned, at
times we do buy a lot and spend huge amounts as at times we just feel we
cannot do without a particular fabric! Imagine the guilt we go through
with UFO’s at this price!!
TTFN, Hiranya :> from Sydney, Australia
P.S. Re Diane Leon’s wonderful quilts for sale, I want to contact a
museum here so that, that c.1880Aussie quilt hopefully can be purchased
and brought home as we have such a minuscule quantity of such Aussie
Quilt treasures.
Date: Sun, 07 Feb 99 00:43:08 PST
From: “dhaynes5” <dhaynes5@rmi.net
Date: Sun, 07 Feb 1999 08:52:30 -0500
From: “jawhite@courant.infi.net” jawhite@courant.infi.net
To: Quilt History list QHL@cuenet.com
I sounds like you have done extensive research into this subject;
however, $20.00 a yard for cotton fabric is a hefty price today. I
can’t imagine a Southern lady, particularly during the end time of the
Civil War, paying $20.00 a yard for fabric, let alone $100.00 for five
yards. Just an observation.
Judy White – CT
Date: Sun, 7 Feb 1999 09:41:22 EST
From: QuiltFixer@aol.com
Just had to share that I just purchased a very interesting Redwork Quilt that
has all the blocks from the 1901 Pan American Exposition in Brooklyn, NY What
an exciting addition to my Redwork Program and collection. It has the most
marvelous buildings that were built just for the exposition. Sadly, it is
also remembered for being the place where President McKinley was shot. It has
the President and his wife, Vice President Teddy Roosevelt and his wife, and
the building where McKinley was shot. I owe a great big thank you to our
member, Eileen Trestain, (who, by the way is the author of “Dating Fabrics.”)
Eileen alerted me about the quilt and I finally chased it down in Illinois.
This really ties in with my Program Title which is “Redwork, History
Revisited.” Just had to share this little bit of happiness and excitement with
you.
Toni Baumgard
QuiltFixer@aol.com
Date: Sun, 07 Feb 1999 10:01:56 +0400
From: Xenia Cord <xecord@netusa1.net
For those of us who are building libraries of quilt history books, may I
recomment Old Nova Scotian Quilts (1995), a museum catalog by Scott
Robson and Sharon MacDonald. It is based on the collection of the Nova
Scotia Museum (Robson is a curator), with some additions. Seems well
researched (MacDonald) and beautifully photographed, with lots of
additional historical and biographical data, photos, diagrams and so on
- a nice look at Nova Scotian quilting life and history. A printed
endorsement from Nancy Cameron Armstrong on the back cover.
Because of NS’s geographic, social, and political connections in
history, the quilts show relationships to British quilts as well as to
those of New England. And those ties are noted and discussed.
I got my copy through Dave McGee, at http://www.angelfire.com/ns/books
I have just emailed him and he reports that there are only a few copies
available, and that the museum has only a few and no plans at present ot
reprint. Back cover shows a price of $24.95; 112 pages with extensive
endnotes, bibliography of primary and secondary sources, and index.
No association, just a satisfied customer who is happy to add this book
to a growing library.
Xenia
Date: Sun, 7 Feb 1999 15:28:34 -0000
From: “Sally Ward” sward@t-ward.demon.co.uk
Date: Sun, 07 Feb 1999 07:55:23 -0800
From: “Julia D. Zgliniec” rzglini1@san.rr.com
To: russhill@ctesc.net
CC: Xenia Cord xecord@netusa1.net, BQL@onelist.com, QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: Re: QHL: “Civil War” fabrics
Message-ID: 36BDB76A.9659F7ED@san.rr.com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Dear Debbie and All,
I can recommend an excellent book that discusses textile production in
the south and addresses the Civil War Era. It is:
Mississippi Homespun – Nineteenth Century Textiles and the Women Who
Made Them. Mary Edna Lohrenz and Anita Miller Stamper. 1989.
Mississippi Department of Archives and History. ISBN 0-938896-56-3
Date: Sun, 07 Feb 1999 09:16:21 +0000
From: Bobbie Aug qwltpro@uswest.net
To: dhaynes5 dhaynes5@rmi.net
CC: Dale E Watts dpwatts@ott.net, QHL QHL@cuenet.com
Date: Sun, 7 Feb 1999 11:36:46 EST
From: Cml791@aol.com
While researching family history in Marion Co., AL I came across some
information about a thread manufacturer that was rebuilt in 1868, the original
having been burned during the Civil War. About 30 people worked on its
spindle outlay as cotton fiber was woven into thread. The thread was peddled
all over Alabama by ox cart. The name was Allen’s Factory. The article said
it was a thriving factory for many years but I don’t know if that was pre- or
post-civil war or a combination.
Carolyn in spring-like Texas
Date: Sun, 07 Feb 1999 10:41:32 -0600
From: Laura Hobby Syler <texas_quilt.co@mail.airmail.net
I too have to add a comment here. My grandmother turned 94 this past
September and it just so happened that my 12 YO DD had to do a “Gift of
Age” interview…with someoneover the age of “50” for her language class.
Her teacher is a sweet young thing of 22 …..anyway we started the
interview at Susie Violet’s birthday party with my mother and aunt present
and finished it up 2 weeks later at my grandmothers residence at Juliet
Fowler Home for the Aged……we found that she never had a drivers
license, but she did drive the car once, 12 miles to visit her parents when
my grandfather was working at Ft. Hood in Killeen…she was born in Texas,
lived in Temple or around Central Texas and never visited the Capitol
building in Austin until last year when my mother took her and my daughters
to see the renovation. She also never had seen the ocean until my mother
and aunt took her for her first plane ride to Galveston on her 90th
birthday …..she had all kinds of wonderful stories to tell about growing
up on the farm, picking cotton and making quilts, pictures of the log house
that they live in for a year or so in 1913 in Kingsville in South Texas
(where the wolf came in and licked her on the face and when she woke,
jumped back out the window…..)
I transcribed it and we color copied all of the old photos that were
applicable to the text and Kaitlyn made a 110 on the project. Her teacher
copied it as an example of what they were looking for for future
classes……Unfortunately, my other grandparents (My GF worked for the
Agriculture department and traveled all over the world, and to Russia and
stayed with Kruchev at his “palace” back in the 40’s or 50’s…see I
dont’even know exactly when) they passed away when I was in high school
and didn’t appreciate or understand the importance of their
experiences…..I’m thoroughly convinced that God created us backwards,
when we have the energy to do things we don’t have the wisdom to see the
opportunity. When we have the wisdom we don’t have the energy or the
opprotunity is gone…….
Laura
.At 04:58 PM 2/6/99 -0500, you wrote:
I just want to reiterate what Heather said about getting your stories down
on tape from the elderly about quilts, genealogy or anything else and make
transcripts. My grandmother died at the age of 85 this past October. I was
in the process of typing up everything she ever told me, doing scrapbooks
on genealogy, information on quilting, etc. I thought I had a ton of
information. Ever since she passed on I keep wondering “why wasn’t I
listening? how come I didn’t think to get more information?” As Heather so
aptly put it, “Ask now or regret later!”
>
Rachel Greco
Grandma’s Attic Sewing Emporium, Inc.
155 SW Court Street
Dallas, OR 97338
1-503-623-0451
e-mail: GrandmasAttic@compuserve.com
>
>
>
Date: Sun, 07 Feb 1999 10:42:43 -0600
From: Russell-Hill <russhill@ctesc.net
Yes it is true. I have to say that having grown up and lived up North
most of my life I never realized how much the South suffered. Now that
I live in TX and learn of the atrostities that happened to many who
lived in my town during the War and having talked with many Southern
folk who reenact and have researched the war in the South I am learning
more. Think about it. CT really never had a battle fought there. MA
where I am from never had to suffer a battle of the CW. We were not
refugees like so many from the South. We didn’t have soldiers coming
into our homes and stealing any of our goods reither we were black or
white. I could go on, I am beginning to understand why the South well
some of the South feels the way it does over this horrible time.
we go out there on Weekends and play but we are also trying to educate
the public as to the horrors of that war and to not let it happen
again. We are part of a medical unit and if we can look out over the
crowd as we do our senerios and watch the faces and find one or two with
tears in their eyes or see terror in their eyes we have done our “job”.
The more people we can touch the better and we are getting our message
across. I will get off my soap box for now.
Debbie
Date: Sun, 07 Feb 1999 11:48:52 -0500
From: “jawhite@courant.infi.net” jawhite@courant.infi.net
I just want to add a little note to this thread. Both of my parents are
still living and in their 80’s and the last time I went home, I asked my
dad to write down everything he could remember about his relatives (he
is the surviving member of 8 children.) So he did that for me, but when
I got back to New England, I had many questions because I realized that
a lot of what he wrote down was different from what he had told me
orally over the years. This precipitated many phone calls. The point
is when you finally get the information, whether on tape or on paper,
don’t put it away until a later date. Please look at it immediately
because I guarantee you will probably have a lot of questions that
require more answers.
Another thing – I’m sure we all have boxes and albums of pictures of
people in our family and our parents have these same boxes and albums of
people that we don’t even know. Ask them to put the names of the people
on the pictures and a date, at leastthe year the picture was taken. The
longer they wait to do this, the less they remember who some of these
people are in the photographs and that information will be lost to us
forever. In my case, I am an only child so I have no one else to ask
who may remember.
Judy White
Date: Sun, 07 Feb 1999 12:29:10 +0400
From: Xenia Cord <xecord@netusa1.net
As a sidebar to the discussion on recording your family histories, are
you all aware of a project called “Boxes Under the Bed”? It is a
national movement to record – at the grass roots level – the personal
histories of quilters, and to analyze the boxes of quilt ephemera we all
have, and that we use for inspiration and patterns. The project was
begun by the Alliance for American Quilts (remember the Smithsonian
quilt controversy?) and the Library of Congress National Folklife
Center. They have embarked on an ambitious plan to teach quilters at
the local level to interview themselves and their friends, to archive
the collected interviews at the local level, and to use those materials
in a meaningful way. They provide professional instructions, handouts,
and interview examples at the sessions they teach.
I do have an interest in this. A session of Boxes Under the Bed will be
offered at Quilt America in July, and will be led by Merikay Waldvogel.
Shelly Zegart (Alliance member) will introduce the session, Indiana
University folklorist Dr. Susanne Ridlen will demonstrate interviewing
techniques while interviewing a long-time quilter, and Merikay will be
facilitator, analyze the ephemera shared by those attending, and share
her expertise on our place in our own quilt history.
This session will be offered on Saturday, July 10, all day (9-12, 2-5).
I think it is a great chance for all of us to share with our guilds and
quilting groups the importance of documenting ourselves. Anyone
interested can email me privately.
Xenia
Date: Sun, 7 Feb 1999 10:43:25 -0700
From: Elaine Baglo <elainb@pinc.com
I’d like to add my .02 cents worth in here too. Like in Australia, the
fabric prices in Canada are outrageous too. Here in Victoria, the prices
start around $17.98 a metre and go up. If you want to buy some of the
Japanese fabrics, the prices are sometimes as high as $26. a metre.
Needless to say, a lot of quilters make do with fq’s of fabric rather than
buying yardage. Believe me, it’s bad enough paying $5.00 for a fq.
Elaine
elainb@pinc.com
in Victoria, B.C., where we actually have some blue sky and sunshine today!
Date: Sun, 7 Feb 1999 18:41:40 EST
From: JBQUILTOK@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Re: Pan Am Exposition
Message-ID: ec2df5c3.36be24b4@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
Willa Barnowski did a lot of research into red work quilts & wrote Historical
Penny Squares that was published by AQS a few years ago. Her research started
in Western New York, where, as you can imagine, quilts made from the Pan Am
Expo are more common. I’ve seen several examples when I’ve been able to get
to quilt shows in that part of the country.
Also, I’ve never needed benefit of a tape recorder to remember my grandmother
telling about her memories of THAT event. They were planning to take the
train into Buffalo from a town about 20 miles away the next day. Then they
heard about McKinley having been shot & all the trains shut down so they
couldn’t go. Gee, I might have had some of the original penny squares if
she’d been able to go. Instead, the only mystery needle work I have from her
is a square with several names written on it & about 1/2 of them have had
embroidery done over them. Can’t place any of the names, so can’t figure out
how old she was when it was done.
Janet
Date: Sun, 7 Feb 1999 19:19:43 -0600
From: “Brian/Jen Schmidt” brian_jen@prodigy.net
To: “QHL” QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: “Civil War” fabrics
Message-ID: <005301be5301$1d684d00$59e89cd1@BRIAN_JEN>
May I inject an historical note about the current fad for “Civil War”
fabrics?
Bottom line? We probably should not be talking about “Civil War”
fabrics, but rather “C.W.-era” cotton prints, pre-1861, and in the
latter years of the 1860s, as production and manufacturing were
haltingly resumed. What do the rest of you think?
As a novice to quilt history, I’ve found this latest thread to be particularly
interesting because my small quilting group is beginning a row-by-row round robin,
and I have requested that only “Civil War” reproduction fabrics be used for my
project. I had been ignorant of the difficulties many women had in obtaining cotton
fabric. Now I have a new appreciation for the reproduction fabric I’ve come to favor
lately.
Also, as a novice to quilt history in general and fabric history in particular, I
consider myself a “layman” on this list. My profession or reputation doesn’t require
me to distinguish between “Civil War” and “Civil War era” labels for this type of
reproduction fabric. Likewise, I don’t usually refer to the reproductions of 1920s,
30’s, or 40s fabrics as “Pre-/Mid-/Post-Depression” repro. fabrics. My quilting
friends understand me when I say “Depression” or “Depression Era” fabrics. So, as
I’ve been explaining what kinds of fabrics I’d like for my round robin project, I’ve
been referring to them as “Civil War” fabrics. My small group gets the idea of the
colors, texture, and tone of fabric I want; and they do understand that all that kind
of fabric wasn’t necessarily produced during the Civil War. The term “Civil War”,
being such a major event in U.S. history, has come to represent more years in many
quilters’ minds than the four years the actual war lasted.
My point is (and I do have one) that the finer distinctions (such as “pre-1861”,
“latter 1860s” or even a decade before or after) aren’t necessary for me to describe
that kind of fabric. But, as I mentioned before, it could be important to do so for
professional textile historians whose reputations are based on the finer
distinctions. And it does, indeed, make for an interesting history lesson. Thanks.
Jennifer
Date: Sun, 7 Feb 1999 21:37:22 EST
From: SadieRose@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: Re: QHL: “Civil War” fabrics
Message-ID: 3339d276.36be4de2@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
Hello,
I have found the discussion on Civil War era fabrics
interesting…following is a post I sent to the Dear Jane e-mail list last
summer, when we had a discussion of what fabrics were “appropriate” to that
time period. Thought it might be of interest to QHL as well. Although my
comments are directed to the Dear Jane quilt (from the book by Brenda
Papadakis – the original quilt was made by Jane Stickle & completed in 1863),
I think most of them are pertinent to any reproduction piece.
<<Date: Thu, 6 Aug 1998 20:29:14 EDT
To: dearjane-list@dearjane.com
Subject: DJ Period Fabrics
Greetings, everyone!!
Have read several posts about fabrics appropriate to the Civil War era,etc. Textile history is one of the facets of quiltmaking that really
fascinates me! I think we have to keep in mind, that any “sampler” quilt,
such as Jane’s, probably contained fabrics that were manufactured over a
period of years. I am making quilts in 1998, but my fabric stash contains
fabrics I have collected since the early 1970’s. When I make a scrap quilt,
there are going to be fabrics in it from quite a time span. I’m sure that
was true of Jane’s quilt, too. Certainly there are colors & designs that can
give us a clue to the vintage of the fabric, but it is an “educated guess” at
best.
If you read the printed information available on the current reprocollections, it is really interesting. I have a 8 page brochure put out by
RJR Fabrics with info on “The Ann Robinson Collection”. Did you know
that of the 13 patterns in this collection, only 4 are actually taken from the
Ann Robinson quilt? Here is a quote from the brochure “To give more variety
to the collection, additional patterns were recreated from other quilts,
garments and bedcovers from the late 18th century and early 19th century.”
Ann’s quilt was made in “3 months and 26 days” starting on Oct. 1, 1813.
Ann’s quilt, with hundreds of appliqued leaves, is surely made up of fabrics
that were manufactured prior to 1813….but some of them could have been 20 years old, too!
Four more of the patterns in the RJR "Ann Robinson Collection" are takenfrom a “nine patch scrap quilt made by Abbey Hall in the early 19th century”.
This quilt must not be quite as photogenic, as it was not selected to be the
“poster child” for this collection….but it contributed an equal number of
fabric motifs. Another one of the fabrics, the “Plume”, was taken from a
handsewn child’s dress from the 1830’s, which is in the Shelburne Museum’s
collection. Two more patterns were taken from a block printed Indian
Palampore!
So, within the "Ann Robinson Collection" you have designs from a widevariety of sources, and a one hundred year time span!! Good, bad or
indifferent?? If you think you can use fabrics from one (or more) of these
“collections” and be “safe” because they all were from the same quilt,
therefore the same time period… you can’t. Also, as Janet mentioned…they
may do one coloration that is similar to the original…but then there are
other colorways which may be chosen more for their appeal to quilters of
today, than for their historical accuracy.
If you are trying to be "historically accurate" with the colors & designsyou choose for your quilts, it will take a lot of (fun) research…you can’t
rely on the fabric companies to do that for you. I am using some reproduction
prints, as well as other fabrics (woven plaids, for example) that would be
appropriate, but aren’t represented in the current repro collections. My
quilt is just that….MY QUILT. I am using colors and fabrics I want… just
as Jane used colors & fabrics that she liked, that were available to her. I
would say that my quilt will be “inspired by” or “in the style of” Jane
Stickle’s quilt. We each can choose how we want our quilts to look…
just be aware that if you are really trying to use fabric motifs & colors to
make a “Civil War era” quilt, it isn’t quite as easy as just buying from certain
collections.
Another thing to consider, is the color choices WE make...there arechartreuse fabrics out there today, but you won’t find any of them making
their way into MY quilts 🙂 I’m sure that each quilter, of any generation,
has likes & dislikes in color & pattern…that would affect the appearance of
her quilt. Also, most antique fabrics have undergone some color change, due
to the dyes or mordants used, or the effect of light on the fabric (fading or
color changes can both be caused by light).
So, learn as much as you can....but don't let it spoil the enjoyment youget out of making YOUR quilt!! If you want to learn more about fabric
history, “Clues in the Calico” by Barbara Brackman is a must. Happy Stitching!! Karan (aka SadieRose) >>
Since I wrote this, Eileen Trestain’s book “Dating Fabrics – A Color Guide
1800-1960″ has been published, and I would definitely include this as a
resource, too.
Karan from sunny Iowa
Date: Mon, 8 Feb 1999 00:38:37 -0500
From: “J. G. Row” Judygrow@blast.net
To: “Quilt History List” QHL@cuenet.com
Following is a bibliography of books that have bearing on oral history. I
have taken it from the booklet ” Oral History for the Local Historical
Society”, third edition, revised, by Willa K. Baum, copyright 1987. ISBN
0-910050-87-2, which is a very good primer for anyone interested in doing
oral histories.
Baum, Willa K – “Transcribing and Editing Oral History.” 1977, 127 pp
Nashville: American Association for State and Local History (172 Second
Avenue North, Suite 102, Nashville, Tenn. 37201. $9.00
Charlton, Thomas L. ” Oral History for Texans.” 1981, 85 pp. Austin: Texas
Historical Commission (P.O. Box 12276, Austin Tx, 78711. $5.75.
Cutting-Baker, Holly, et al. “Family Folklore Interviewing Guide and
Questionaire. 1978, 7 pp. Washington DC. U.S. Govt. Printing Office.
$1.00
Epstein, Ellen Robinson and Rona Mendelsohn. “Record and Remember: Tracing
Your Roots Through Oral History.” 1978, 119 pp. Washington DC. Center for
Oral History, Chevy Chase, MD (7507 Wyndale Road, Chevy Chase, MD. 20815.
$4.25. Especially good for immigrant families.
Ives, Edward D. “The Tape-Recoded Interview: A Manual for Field Workers in
Folklore and Oral History.” 1980, 130 pp. Knoxville: The University of
Tennessee Press (Knoxville Tenn., 37996) $7.00. A full and readable manual
by a leading folklorist, especially strong on recording techniques.
Inclueds samples of form letters, agreements, accession forms.
Shumway, Gary L and William G. Hartlye. “An Oral History Primer.” 1973, 28
pp. Salt Lake City :Primer Publications (PO Box 11894, Salt Lake City, Utah
84147) $2.50. A simple guide on how to get going, especially aimed at doing
one’s own family history.
I don’t know how many of these are still available, or how current the
prices given are. But if you are truly interested in getting started doing
oral histories, the booklet from which this bibliography was taken is an
excellent start. It might be all you need.
Judy in Ringoes, NJ
judygrow@blast.net
Date: Mon, 8 Feb 1999 01:04:42 EST
From: QuiltFixer@aol.com
In a message dated 2/7/99 8:51:24 PM Pacific Standard Time,
sandjloken@worldnet.att.net writes:
<< I’m sure it was just a slip of the ‘tongue’ when you wrote Brooklyn, NY. I
believe McKinley was shot in Buffalo, NY, but it sounds like a great quilt.
Jean in MN who grew up in Brooklyn. >>
Right you are Jean, it must have been the excitement. It is Buffalo, NY
indeed!
Toni B.
QuiltFixer@aol.com
Date: Mon, 08 Feb 1999 08:10:07 -0500
From: Nancy Roberts <robertsn@norwich.net
One source for info on Nancy Cabot designs is Barbara Brackman’s book, The
Encyclopedia of Pieced Patterns (AQS). She includes a reference at the back
of the book giving background information on pattern sources. Nancy Cabot was
the name of a 1930s syndicated column published in the Chicago Tribue. It was
written by Loretta Leitner Rising. I have found the B. Brackman book to be a
valuable resource in researching the first publication of patterns, pattern
names, etc. and recommend it. Nancy
Date: Mon, 08 Feb 1999 12:46:44 -0700
From: Eileen Trestain ejtrestain@earthlink.net
I’d like to throw in a small comment about the price of fabric in the
south during the war. Remember that the value of money fluctuated at
this time. too. Depending on the situation at the time, and who she was
trying to buy from, our “$20 a yard” lady could have been paying a lot
more OR a lot less than we think of as $20.. BY the end of the war, she
could have paid thousands in confederate money, and still not gotten her
fabric, as the paper money was worthless. Unlike today, where
confederate money is probably worth thousands!
I’ve seen the orange and green applique quilt Diane Leone has up for
auction. In fact, I have pictures of it up close and personal. It was
beyond my means when I saw it then, but it is a “one of those that got
away” quilt that never leaves my mind. What is the chance I can catch it
now, do you think? It is definately “me” in many ways.
Xenia, if I am coming to Quilt America, I would definately like to go to
the Boxes Under the Bed seminar. Do you think I could fit it in?
Eileen Trestain
Date: Mon, 8 Feb 1999 15:45:30 EST
From: Baglady111@aol.com
ROCKY MT QUILT MUSEUM
1111 Washington Ave
Golden, CO 80401303-277-0377
email RMQM@woroldnet.att.net
and I would like to add..JUNE 1 THRU AUG 28 is a FEEDSACK
QUILT/FASHIONS/MEMORABILIA exhibit and I will be there to present a lecture
Monday June 14, at 7:oopm..come by and say HI…Jane of THE FEEDSACK CLUB
Date: Mon, 8 Feb 1999 21:13:08 -0000
From: “Jenni Dobson” <jenni@dobson4qu.freeserve.co.uk
Hi, everyone, I’m a new subscriber to this list, introducing myself from the
UK. My name is Jenni Dobson and I heard about the list from an American
quilting friend who lives over here.
I’m writing on the subject of getting to see old quilts because like the
quilter who wrote last week, I recently saw some interesting old quilts too!
I was visiting the Mannin Quilters on the Isle of Man (in that bit of sea
between England, Scotland & Ireland) and because my flight arrived early in
the day, they arranged a visit for me to see quilts in the museum, which
aren’t usually on display. We saw about 10 quilts (about 1/3rd of what they
have) of many different styles, including ones made from woollen fabrics
produced locally, using the local variety of sheeps’ wool. The earliest
quilt was probably from the 1820s. It was fascinating that as the curator
answered our questions about them, I also learned more about what life was
like on the island in the past than I would have otherwise. In most cases,
they knew the family names of the makers and because the island is quite a
small place, lots of background information can still be found.
It’s really sad that most UK museums don’t display their textile collections
(incl. quilts) at least on rotation, though I know the right conditions are
costly to provide. But in many cases, visitors don’t even know such
collections exist and so people don’t even request to see these things. If
only they were documented better and talked about more, more people might
ask to see them and make the keepers realise we are interested. (BTW, the
local group hope to help document these quilts.)
I left feeling like the other contributor – privileged to have seen these
quilts.
Jenni Dobson – from the snowy Midlands of England.
From: Xenia Cord xecord@netusa1.net
I have had a nice email from the director of corporate services at the
Nova Scotia Museum. Someone kindly forwarded my post about their
excellent book, Old Nova Scotian Quilts, and he informs me that they
will shortly reissue the book.
Xenia
Date: Tue, 9 Feb 1999 12:12:22 -0000
From: “Sally Ward” sward@t-ward.demon.co.uk
We have been discussing the relative cost of fabrics, but can anyone tell me
if the high cost of cotton thread is universal? Yesterday I bought a 1000
metre reel of Sylko mercerised cotton which has just had its annual price
rise. The price now is UKP 5.25 which equates to USD 8.40. My retailer
blames it on a ‘cartel’ controlling the price, and couldn’t understand why I
wouldn’t buy some cotton/polyester mix at UKP1.00. Since thread is
something we all need all the time I would be happy to stock up with a US
order if the price is right and if someone can recommend a brand.
Sally
Date: Tue, 9 Feb 1999 08:29:02 -0800
From: Kathy Tavares kmtavare@uci.edu
Can anyone tell me how we could get in touch with someone to have them
speak at our guild on this program? It wouldn’t be this year, as our
calendar is full, but possibly next year.
Also, can someone email me privately and let me know where to send the $15
to for the BB.
Kathy T,
Kathy Tavares
kmtavare@uci.edu
(949)824-6047
(949)824-2261 FAX
University of California, Irvine
Physical Sciences
Purchasing
172 Rowland Hall
Irvine, CA 92697-4675
Date: Tue, 9 Feb 1999 13:38:05 EST
Date: Tue, 09 Feb 1999 17:58:34 -0600
From: Russell-Hill <russhill@ctesc.ne
Sally Ward wrote:
>
We have been discussing the relative cost of fabrics, but can anyone tell me
if the high cost of cotton thread is universal? Yesterday I bought a 1000
metre reel of Sylko mercerised cotton which has just had its annual price
rise. The price now is UKP 5.25 which equates to USD 8.40. My retailer
blames it on a ‘cartel’ controlling the price, and couldn’t understand why I
wouldn’t buy some cotton/polyester mix at UKP1.00. Since thread is
something we all need all the time I would be happy to stock up with a US
order if the price is right and if someone can recommend a brand.
>
Sally
Good afternoon,
Well some of the reason for the price to have gone up is that TX had
such a bad drought last year that the Cotton crop in the Pan handle was
or is almost non existant. The southern part of the state grows cotton
to and what they did have got distroyed in the floods and heavy rain
this fall. I talked with Mr Wilbanks from Hobbs asking him about the
cost of cotton batts mostly the organic ones they have because they get
that cotton from the Pan Handle. Of course it is like anything else
coffee goes up because of a problem in Columbia Sugar goes up because of
this etc. We get use to the higher prices they never come down then
there is a glut of the product and we then see a tiny drop. I know that
prices overseas are way higher then ours but I think we to will see
higher cotton prices also because of the drought. We can only pray for
a good year for the cotton farmers . I never did get an answer on the
cost of batts going up so I am stocking up anyway. I like the 100%
organic because it is the closest to what was in older quilts of the
1800’s I know they carded the cotton but it is think like they were.
Debbie
Date: Tue, 9 Feb 1999 19:48:33 EST
Date: Tue, 9 Feb 1999 21:21:25 EST
From: @aol.com
Donna –
There was an exhibit at Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts on New England
quilts from 1750 to the early 1800’s, with a companion book (=Northern
Comfort=). The very early quilts were wholecloth, usually either of fine
wool or plain silk, or occasionally quilted palampores (the early equivalent
of an Indian print bedspread). There are also very old quilts at the
Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Smithsonian, the Los Angeles County
Museum in California, the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, the Winterthur
Museum in Delaware, and the Shelburne Museum in Vermont.
You might also see if you can find a local Revolutionary War re-enactment
group. Rev War re-enactors are fanatics for accuracy, even worse than Civil
War regiments.
Good luck!
Karen Evans
Easthampton, MA
Date: Tue, 09 Feb 1999 20:12:11 -0600
From: Valerie Davis <vpse@globaldialog.com
Dear group,
Of the two films, Dances with Wolves, and Last of the Mohicans, themore accurate depiction of Native American history would have to be
Dances with Wolves. The 1980’s version of “Mohicans” was taken from the
1930’s film version, which was taken from the James Fennimore Cooper’s
book from the late 19th c. Cooper’s book was a highly romantized
version of what happened to the Mohican’s and is inaccurate. Both the
two films added a romantic interest for Hawkeye which was not part of
the book. I must agree the rifle, costumes, and scenary were depicted
with much authenticity. I’ve read that the producers of the 1980’s film
spent considerable amount of time and effort researching the fighting
scenes and weapons. Oh by the way, Cooper was wrong about the Mohicans
dying out. When they were kicked out of New York they migrated west and
are now happily living in Wisconsin!!! I just
love talking history, Valerie
Date: Tue, 09 Feb 1999 21:16:12 -0600
From: Russell-Hill russhill@ctesc.net
To: @aol.com
You might also see if you can find a local Revolutionary War re-enactment
group. Rev War re-enactors are fanatics for accuracy, even worse than Civil
War regiments.
>
Good luck!
>
Karen Evans
Easthampton, MA
I thought only Civil War units were to the extreme. Its good to know
there is someone out there worse than us.
Debbie
Date: Wed, 10 Feb 1999 07:33:56 +0400
From: Xenia Cord xecord@netusa1.net
If I may, I’d like to caution the list about offering negative opinions
publicly about dealings with quilt vendors. The internet is a powerful
tool, and one bad review can have an instantly devastating effect if we
are not careful. I suppose all of us have favorites from whom we buy
with confidence, and others we might be less likely to deal with, but
unless there has been a clear intent to defraud or mislead, a vendor’s
reputation should not be commented upon negatively. Without a good
reputation a quilt vendor has little to offer.
IMHO as a buyer and as a vendor; my good name is the basis for my
business.
Xenia
Date: Wed, 10 Feb 1999 08:29:53 EST
From: Baglady111@aol.com
and if you are coming to QUILTERS’ HERITAGE CELEBRATION in Lancaster, April;
stop by and visit with us at the 5th Annual Conference of The Feedsack
Club..we’ll be at 521 Greenfield Rd, HOLIDAY INN..right across from the
TOURIST BUREAU..or contact me for the FUN ahead!!! Lectures, demos, silent
auction, feedsack display, SHOW & TELL..so popular we have to hold it two
nites!!! Jane of THE FEEDSACK CLUB
Date: Wed, 10 Feb 1999 08:44:33 -0600
From: Laura Hobby Syler texas_quilt.co@mail.airmail.net
To: “J. G. Row” Judygrow@blast.net, “Quilt History List” QHL@cuenet.com
Judy, I’ve bought lots of “blocks” from Betsy.At least Karen and I did 2
years ago. This last year I think I bought one set….that’s all I can
afford. a set of 3 1850 blocks were upwards of $60-75 this last April in
Paducah.., we’ve already discussed the fact that blocks and tops are
escellating in price now, but do they really need to be Soooooo high?.
Know that RMQ sells most of their quilts, and they are absolutely
fantastic, to the oriental market and used to change the prices at the US
shows, but didn’t have time one year and people still bought them. It’s
the old game of the more $$ you are asked to spend the more valuable it
must be. I know of a quilt dealer that was advised to mark their quilts
up 3X what they purchased them for, eliminate the quilts under $500 and
suddenly their business quadrupled!!
And we think that the car repair guy is the only “honest crook” in town
The only way that we can have an effect is not to buy them…but then for
people like my ‘ole buddy, ‘ole pal Karen who feels it is her purpose in
life to own them all…………
BTW, Karen has been pretty quiet lately here, her knee surgery was more
extensive than they first thought. She’s on crutches for *another
week*…cussing and discussing her stairs to her office and the kids room
(no problem there!)
But that means that I get to once again hang the quilts for the
VQTS Quilt College Mini Conference at the end of the month by myself!! I
knew she’d find a way not to climb that ladder
Laura
Date: Wed, 10 Feb 1999 12:27:17 -0500
From: “J. G. Row” <Judygrow@blast.net
I didn’t hear this, and am quoting from a post to another list. Since the
poster didn’t hear the beginning to know who was reading the essay, do you
know whether or not it was from the new Underground Rairoad book?
From: Terry Grant tgrant@teleport.com
Driving to work this morning I heard an essay read on NPR–“Morning
Edition”
I think. Unfortunately I did not hear the beginning to know who it was, but
it was a woman talking about her grandmother’s treasures, which included a
quilt. She said she asked her why she kept the old thing and her
grandmother
said, “you know the story–this quilt is a family treasure.” It seems the
quilt was made by HER grandmother and contained fabric from the dresses
worn
by her grandmother and her grandmother’s sister on the day the sister was
“sold” away. They tore strips from their dresses and exchanged them, so
each
could make a quilt. Then they swore to find one another someday. After
slavery ended the grandmother carried the quilt with her and searched for
her sister for the rest of her life, but never found her.
This story has stayed with me all day and gives me chills to think of it.
What if there are two families out there with treasured family quilts that
have that same fabric in them? What if those quilts could have brought the
sisters back together? What if they could still bring the families
together?
Wouldn’t that be something?
Judy in Ringoes, NJ
judygrow@blast.net
Date: Wed, 10 Feb 1999 10:00:44 -0800 (PST)
From: Jackie Joy jjoy@med.unr.edu
I heard this yesterday; I thought the lady’s name was Lynn Johnson
(something like that). I have heard her before on NPR. She is an
African-American story teller.
She was speaking about a great-aunt, I believe, who had told stories about
her youth. When I started paying attention, it was when she said a little
girl (maybe her aunt) was disappointed when she went to the water fountain
marked “colored” and the water was plain. And then the little girl had
had “Jim Crow” explained to her. I visualized a little African-American
girl in awe in front of a water fountain that was truly “colored”, a la
Liberace’s dancing waters.
There was nothing about quilts as signals on the UGRR, but only as a part
of family history. The speaker in her thoughtless youth had suggested to
her aunt that she get rid of all the “old stuff” in her home and get new.
Jackie Joy
Reno, Nevada
jjoy@med.unr.edu
Date: Wed, 10 Feb 1999 15:23:57 EST
From: Xroadclown@aol.com
Fabric is a powerful thing. We have dozen’s of quilts that were made by by
grandmother and great grandmother (1864- till 1981) My mother can look at
those quilts and remember my grandmother’s dress’s, great-grandmothers,
aprons, and even recognize some shirt fabric worn by each of their husbands.
It’s wonderful. We’ve begun photographing the specific fabrics she
recognizes, and writing the history on the back. that way the memories will
live on and on!
melanie
Date: Wed, 10 Feb 1999 12:37:44 -0800
From: Marilyn Maddalena <marilyn@crl.com
All of you who are interested in Nova Scotia quilts should look for the
next issue of the NQA magazine, The Quilting Quarterly. An article on some
of these will appear in that issue. It should be available to members in
early to mid March. I do have an affiliation — I’m Publications Chair of
NQA — but since there seems to be so much interest in the subject, thought
I’d let you all know so you could look for it. MM in Sacramento, CA
Date: Wed, 10 Feb 1999 12:44:36 -0800
From: Marilyn Maddalena marilyn@crl.com
California began documenting quilts about 20+ years ago through the
California Heritage Quilt Project. Following their documentation, a book
was published entitled “Ho! for California.” I’m on the Board of
Directors, and CHQP is currently involved in the oral history part of the
Heritage project where we record oral interviews with quilters. We hope to
wrap up this part of the project within a year, with 1000 completed
interviews. For the quilter in Irvine, I’m sure you could get hold of
someone on the CHQP Board who lives in your area who could present a
program on conducting oral interviews to your group. A booklet of
directions and guidelines for conducting oral interviews through the CHQP
is available for $25.00. It was put together by the Project Director. Many
guilds throughout the state have been involved in this project. If you
want more information, e-mail me privately. Marilyn in Sacramento
Date: Wed, 10 Feb 1999 22:13:53 -0600
From: Elizabeth Richards erichard@AFHE.ualberta.ca
TEDDY BEAR A student has asked me to look at a teddy bear and give
her an informal appraisal for a museum class she is taking. Since this
isn’t something formal I agreed to help. The item is a contemporary
teddy bear made f rom(you guessed it!) a Victorian silk and velvet log
cabin quilt top. The top had been in this student’s family (American,
eastern) and someone had cut it up to make something with it. The
something was never made so the family sent the peices to a friend who
made eight teddy bears from the quilt top pieces. I don’t agree with
the practice – but I didn’t do it -I just want some help with a range of
suggested prices if one were going to buy such a teddy bear on to-day’s
market. The fabrics are circa 1880 to 1990 – which fits in with the
ages of the quilt makers and the fact that they have two other quilts
(intact) made by the same women. You can e=mail me privately if you
want.
TRAVELLING TO GEORGIA My partner won a trip anywhere that Canadian
Airlines or it’s partners fly so we are going to the northeast corner of
Florida (can’t remember the city) and will drive up the Georgia coast to
Savannah at the end of April. I would like suggestions as to what we
might like to see (quilt related or otherwise), where we might stay
(remembering an American dollar costs us $1.40 Canadian and we prefer
small hotels, inexpensive motels or b & b) and anything else you think
we should know for travelling at that time. If there is a quilt group
in the area that might like an informal talk on conservation I would be
happy to meet with them – perhaps in exchange for a night’s stay. You
can e-mail me privately – as I would welcome suggestions.
Dr. Elizabeth Richards
Professor, Department of Human Ecology
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada
T6G 2N1
Phone: 403 – 492-2475 Fax: 403-492-4821
Date: Wed, 10 Feb 1999 21:32:14 -0600
From: “Brian/Jen Schmidt” brian_jen@prodigy.net
To: “QHL” QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Uncoverings
Message-ID: <009d01be556f$2046e340$6de89cd1@BRIAN_JEN>
I’ve seen on this list references made to back issues of American Quilt Study Group’s
publication “Uncoverings”. However, I’ve not seen how one can obtain these back
issues, or even the current one. Could someone let me know how to find issues of
“Uncoverings”? Thanks.
Jennifer
brian_jen@prodigy.net
Date: Wed, 10 Feb 1999 20:22:58 -0800
From: “Catherine Kypta” vger@cwnet.com
Just my experience with Betsey. Yes, she has some great things but I think
the pricing is way out there. She has been here in California at the
Pacific Show a couple of times and I thought most everything was way too
pricey, but I did buy some sunflower blocks (mariner’s compass) from her
about 4 years ago through the mail and she went back and searched the rest
of them out so I would have a set of 20, they are wonderful, 1850’s fabric
and all the points on the furthest row are edged witha wonderful decorative
embroidery stitch. Good resource for vintage fabric and she has given me a
break on some things which were less than perfect condition. I think she’s
reliable! Just my own opinion!
Catherine in Sacramento
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999 07:57:34 +0400
From: Xenia Cord xecord@netusa1.net
To: Brian/Jen Schmidt brian_jen@prodigy.net
CC: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Uncoverings
Message-ID: 36C2552C.48D2@netusa1.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
To Jennifer and anyone else who wants to buy back issues of Uncoverings,
write: AQSG, 25th & Holdrege East Campus Loop, P.O. Box 4737, Lincoln,
NE 68504-0737.
Email AQSG@juno.com.
Why not join while you are at it? It’s a great group!
Xenia
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999 09:54:09 EST
From: JQuilt@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: test
Message-ID: daf75285.36c2ef11@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
test
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 99 11:00:30 -0500
From: Woodford woodford@ix.netcom.com
To: “QHL Post” QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Quilted jackets
Message-Id: 199902111553.JAA25917@dfw-ix3.ix.netcom.com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”US-ASCII”
Hello everyone,
I need help again.
There is a very nice dress shop in our small town, and the owner is
looking for a source of quilted jackets, either made with vintage
fabrics, or with new. I made the mistake of thinking that I could just
look up the vendors in the Houston International Quilt Festival
registration and found I had no idea who actually sold finished quilt
jackets, if anyone.
So, please let me know privately of any maker that sells these to retail
businesses. She would be delighted to have a source.
Thanks, Barbara Woodford
Historic American Quilts
woodford@ix.netcom.com
Woodford
woodford@ix.netcom.com
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999 08:27:33 -0800 (PST)
From: Jackie Joy jjoy@med.unr.edu
Last night at guild meeting, we were told that the NQA will be holding
their year 2000 show in Reno and that the three local guilds will be asked
to participate in the work.
What can anyone tell me about this show? What is your experience with
it, good, bad or ugly? Is this the one that the entry flap was about last
year?
Let me know what you know, but please use my dh’s address when you reply
lljoy@govmail.state.nv.us
as I am leaving this job and computer today and only pray that I will have
access to my e-mail at the new job. I would miss everyone too much if I
didn’t.
Jackie Joy
Reno, Nevada
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999 18:15:11 -0500
From: “Cathy Hooley” goosetracks@albany.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: NPR Story
Message-ID: <01be5614$5ff9e5a0$3acb48ce@default>
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
You probably already know this, but the story you heard on NPR can be found
at the following site – its the last one listed – under the heading
Storytelling
http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/archives/1999/990209.me.html
Cathy Hooley
Goose Tracks Quilts
Date: Fri, 12 Feb 1999 08:51:21 -0500
From: Nancy Roberts robertsn@norwich.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: QHL-vintage quilt prices
Message-ID: 36C431D9.3146@norwich.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
A collector loaned me a copy of one of his special interest magazines that
had a feature about the prices of antique quilts at auction. The gist was
that vintage quilts are fetching lower prices today than they were a few
years ago. The author offered the decline of old quilts as “trendy” decorator
items as one possible reason. That made me try to recall if I’ve seen as many
quilts in room shots for magazines like Country Living and Country Home
lately. I’m not sure. He also cited awareness of the value of family quilts
and the availability of them on the market.I’m curious if those who attend
auctions have noticed if quilts tend to bring less today? I’m not even sure
how one would compare this.
At our recent guild meeting a woman showed a lovely album quilt complete with
signatures purchased at auction in western NY for $1100. It was in good
condition (some soiling) and heavily quilted. The signatures were
authenticated as those of church women in a small village in central NY. So a
representative from the village historical society attended the auction and
was the successful bidder, thus bringing the quilt “home.” It’s thought that
the quilt was made for a pastor at the time he left the community for another
assignment. I love to see treasures like these. I’ll be interested in any
comments about the value of antique quilts. Nancy
P.S. I can’t find the collectible magazine right now to tell you the title
and author, but will try if anyone is interested.
Date: Fri, 12 Feb 1999 10:32:49 EST
From: QuiltFixer@aol.com
To: robertsn@norwich.net, QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: Re: QHL: QHL-vintage quilt prices
Message-ID: 3ca5c82b.36c449a1@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
There is definitely an upward trend in prices of vintage Redwork Embroidered
Quilts. Also, when I attended the International Show in Santa Clara, CA, I
thought the prices were higher than the previous year on all types of vintage
quilts. Whether people are paying those prices may be another matter, but
since it is so expensive to be a vendor at these shows, something must be
selling.
Toni Baumgard
QuiltFixer@aol.com
Date: Fri, 12 Feb 1999 12:08:49 -0500
From: “Peggy O’Connor” mnoc@brinet.com
To: “Nancy Roberts” robertsn@norwich.net, QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Re: QHL-vintage quilt prices
Message-ID: <001301be56aa$79d9d2a0$981a64cf@peggynew>
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
I’d like to know the magazine that discussed antique quilt prices. Are
there other (easily accessible) sources for quilt prices? I often wonder
when I see quilts whether the price asked for is reasonable for what the
quilt is, so I’d like to know of some actual sales prices for comparison –
the best I can do is compare dealers’ asking prices. How often do quilt
dealers sell at the asking price versus discount? Do prices for the same
type quilt vary much from region to region, and what regions are high-priced
versus low-priced?
Peggy, enjoying balmy NC before the winter chill arrives later today
—–Original Message—–
From: Nancy Roberts robertsn@norwich.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com QHL@cuenet.com
Date: Friday, February 12, 1999 8:51 AM
Subject: QHL: QHL-vintage quilt prices
A collector loaned me a copy of one of his special interest magazines that
had a feature about the prices of antique quilts at auction. The gist was
that vintage quilts are fetching lower prices today than they were a few
years ago. The author offered the decline of old quilts as “trendy”
decorator
items as one possible reason. That made me try to recall if I’ve seen as
many
quilts in room shots for magazines like Country Living and Country Home
lately. I’m not sure. He also cited awareness of the value of family quilts
and the availability of them on the market.I’m curious if those who attend
auctions have noticed if quilts tend to bring less today? I’m not even sure
how one would compare this.
>
At our recent guild meeting a woman showed a lovely album quilt complete
with
signatures purchased at auction in western NY for $1100. It was in good
condition (some soiling) and heavily quilted. The signatures were
authenticated as those of church women in a small village in central NY. So
a
representative from the village historical society attended the auction and
was the successful bidder, thus bringing the quilt “home.” It’s thought
that
the quilt was made for a pastor at the time he left the community for
another
assignment. I love to see treasures like these. I’ll be interested in any
comments about the value of antique quilts. Nancy
>
P.S. I can’t find the collectible magazine right now to tell you the title
and author, but will try if anyone is interested.
>
Date: Fri, 12 Feb 1999 11:29:49 -0600 (CST)
From: magee@AXP.WINNEFOX.ORG
To: “Peggy O’Connor” mnoc@brinet.com
Cc: Nancy Roberts robertsn@norwich.net, QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: Re: QHL: Re: QHL-vintage quilt prices
Message-id: Pine.PMDF.3.91.990212112339.601835A-100000@AXP.WINNEFOX.ORG
Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT
I’m interested in info on quilt prices as well. I certainly see that the
prices here in Wisconsin vary drastically and are very often not
connected to the item as far as I can see. Most of the dealers that i see
don’t know much about textiles and only have a quilt or two. The prices
seem to be lower than other places I’ve been, but it is much harder to get 19th century quilts
here. If there is a resource for the upper midwest I’d love to know it.
Laurie in cold(30) and windy Oshkosh(it was 62 yesterday!)
Laurie Magee | Email: Magee@winnefox.org
Oshkosh Public Library | Phone: (920)236-5207
Oshkosh, WI 54901-4985 | Fax: (920)236-5228
Date: Fri, 12 Feb 1999 13:16:27 +0400
From: Xenia Cord xecord@netusa1.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Pricing antique quilts
Message-ID: 36C3F161.2389@netusa1.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
I think we cannot expect to see standard pricing in antique quilts, for
a lot of reasons. One is that each quilt is unique (we know that,
right?) and deserves its own price. These are not like the imports,
“$39.95, any size” at your local Walmart. Second, the manner in which
the dealer acquires the quilt may have some effect on the price –
consigned? bought at auction? bought from another dealer? bought from
the family? The expenses incurred by the dealer include not only the
price of the item, but time and travel, vendor space at a show or mall
space in a shop, taxes and licenses, and a host of other costs. (Here
in Indiana we pay inventory tax on every item in inventory on March 1,
every year).
In different parts of the country, the cost of doing business is
different. City locations are costlier than rural ones; major antique
shows and quilt shows are much more expensive than guild shows.
Knowledgeable dealers put the price within reach of their customers,
given the cost factors above, and a reasonable profit. After all, we
are in business to make money, no matter how fond we are of the stuff we
sell! Knowledgeable dealers also have some background in the
merchandise they sell, and are willing to discuss quilt style,
condition, age, rarity, and other technical aspects with the buyer.
IMHO, if you as a buyer are not well grounded in this background as
well, then you should shop where you have confidence in the dealer.
A final variable – the comparative terms we use when discussing price:
higher, lower, value, reasonable, less, more. These terms mean
different things to different people. Nancy’s post earlier cited a
church signature quilt that sold for $1100. Is that a reasonable
price? Some may think so and some may not. Sometimes reasonable is
determined by what’s in the checkbook!
Xenia
Date: Fri, 12 Feb 1999 14:42:08 EST
From: Xroadclown@aol.com
To: mnoc@brinet.com, robertsn@norwich.net, QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: Re: QHL: Re: QHL-vintage quilt prices
Message-ID: c2e083dc.36c48410@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
I guess it makes a difference if you really like the quilt or love it what one
would consider expensive. It’s like good chocolate. some of us will pay a
lot for the best, other’s like hershey!
melanie
(any chocolate will do)
Date: Sat, 13 Feb 1999 07:58:47 +1100
From: nomad1 nomad1@ibm.net
Dear All,
Some time ago I came across a book showing Antique Tumbling Block quilts
or baby Blocks as some call them. For the world of me I just cannot
remember the name. If any of you have any books on this subject, could
you please advise the title, author etc so that I can track them down.
Many thanks in anticipation,
Hiranya from Oz :>
Date: Sat, 13 Feb 1999 07:21:00 -0500
From: Alan Kelchner <quiltfix@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
Xenia had some very good points. The only thing I want to add is this: you cannot compare auction
prices to retail prices, hoping to determinecorrect retail. Auction prices are based at 1/2
retail (no one wants to pay retail at auction – but then again, I never want to pay retail – I’m
cheap!). But when the auctioneer is deciding what his take of the auction item is, he uses 50% and hopes for much better. Sometimes he gets retail (Roseville pottery seems to get retail prices
here). Sometimes he gets what he thought he would. And sometimes he gets a rotten price (I’ve had
this happen to me when consigning – not fun).
At an auction, it depends on who is in the audience, what they are interested in, and how deep are
their pockets. Sometimes if they’ve got disposable $$ (usually a private person, not a dealer),
they’ll pay more. I once fought a bidding war and won, but paid 2-3 times what I expected for the
quilt. At this same auction house, I got a more valuable quilt for half what I expected because no
one wanted a brown quilt. Then there was the 1870’s applique sampler top (applique and piecing),
kind of dark and not something an average dealer would want, but I knew what it was….. Any how,
when it came up, I bid it way up and lost because this couple (dealers) that I hadn’t seen before
also knew what it was.
The best fun, tho’ is a collectors war. If they have some extra $$, the bidding can go on for ever
(but they’re only fun when they’re btween to OTHER people!).
If you want to learn pricing, go out and look at every quilt in your area and learn the pricing.
It’ll vary, but you need to learn the quilt pricing to be able to determine if the price is fair
on the quilt you want. Once you’re comfortable with that, you’l start muttering that “that’s a
fair price” and have you shopping companion look at you in complete horror because the tag is over
$1000 “for that old blanket”!
Alan
who’s gramma worked at the Hershey factory and thinks you haven’t lived until you drive through
Hershey (the town) on a warm spring day with the car windows down so you can inhale the perfume
wafting from the factory while you gaze at the street lamps molded to look like wrapped and
unwrapped kisses … and it’s not far from Lancaster where there’s a quilt show in the spring….
Ghirardelli’s? Bah! Gimme a good ol’ Hershey bar anyday.
Date: Sat, 13 Feb 99 11:30:49 -0500
From: Woodford <woodford@ix.netcom.com
The very depressing article for vintage quilt dealers was the Rinker
Report in Warman’s Today’s Collector, March, 1999, pp. 32-36 . He listed
many quilts and their prices as sold at several auctions, one of them the
Margaret Cavigga auction, which I attended.
I don’t agree with him on many statements, but overall have to agree that
the market is pretty soft!
Barbara Woodford
woodford@ix.netcom.com
Date: Sat, 13 Feb 1999 22:42:21 -0500
From: Anthony <ajones2@tampabay.rr.com
I find that there are distinct groups at auctions. There are the people who are buying for resale, dealers, investors, etc.. They are limited to the half of retail rule. Then you have people buying for themselves or others. We can usually bid well retail or even above, since the item is for personal use and even retail is a good price to us. I collect Fiestaware and have bid well above “book value” for items for my collection. Typically we do auctions because we want unusual items that we can’t find retail. Of course, a good price is often a fun bonus. Of course, the internet is mixing it up even more. I think eBay prices are mostly retail; at the very most, retail on sale. Around here in West Florida, procelain and glass goes for outrageous prices at auctions (Royal Doulton, Limoges, Heisey, Fostoria, etc). That’s because there are a lot of collectors around here who haunt the auctions buying for their own collections.
So, when you are determining if auctions prices accurately reflect the market, you need to have a sense of who is bidding.. Once 99% of people at auctions were resellers and we all went to their shops to buy retail. Now you find a lot more people who go to the auctions to buy for themselves.
Date: Sat, 13 Feb 1999 22:32:07 EST
From: WileneSmth@aol.com
I think those awful import quilts from the orient are primarily responsible for the prices of American vintage quilts sagging so bad. I don’t buy and sell old quilts like I used to, but several of my antique dealer friends do and they say they only sell less than six a year now, if that many, and all of them blame the import quilts. An alarming number of “our” old American quilts are being shipped overseas, too, in both directions. Since I live and work in Wichita, KS, I’m ashamed to admit that I have to share breathing space with that “other” quilt dealer, who, I have to add, was “at it again” in last Sunday’s paper — “BUYING OLD QUILTS!” among other things. A couple of years ago, I met a lady who had a friend whose son worked nights for that dealer and his primary job was packing boxes and boxes of quilts for shipment overseas. She was fascinated. I was horrified. Again, just my own thoughts, observations, and personal experiences. –Wilene
Date: Sun, 14 Feb 1999 08:40:06 -0500
From: Nancy Roberts <robertsn@norwich.net
Thanks to Barbara Woodford for posting the Warman’s Today’s Collector magazine reference for the article on vintage quilt prices. Several of you replied asking for the source and, although I’ve been hunting diligently, I have yet to find the magazine. Now I can stop looking-it’s sure to turn up that way. I’ve learned a lot from the comments and observations you’ve all shared. Nancy
Date: Sun, 14 Feb 1999 09:25:47 -0500
From: “Daniel & Diana Dillman” <deedillman@mail.wideopen.net
I agree with everything Alan said. I attend the same auction house frequently and sometimes you deflate when you see certain people/dealers walk in because you know there’s no way you’ll win the bidding war. There are times, though, when you really luck out (like the time I walked out with three great quilts) and that makes up for the disappoinments. I’ve learned not to be too serious about it all.
Dee
Date: Sun, 14 Feb 1999 09:02:44 -0600
From: Laura Hobby Syler <texas_quilt.co@mail.airmail.net
VQTS will have our first Quilt College of 1999 February 26 & 27 on the campus of the University of Texas at Dallas…..Friday evening and all day Saturday.
Elizabeth Kruella, author of several books on the history of lace will be doing a lecture on hand and machine made antique laces on Friday evening. Saturday we will continue our ongoing fabric dating studies, a session on cotton quilt restoration ( last time we got stuck on silks, velvets and crazies) and we will have a segment on African American quilts. If you are in the area but unable to attend Session I of the 1999 Term of VQTS Quilt College, the African-American made quilts from the Fuquay family in Dallas will be on display in the McDermott Library adjacent to the Womens Center ( who graciously hosts our activities) The story behind the collection is quite interesting. The exhibit will be up after the 15th of Feb.
Mini-conference fee is $40 for members $65 for guests. Deadline for registration for Session I is officially Tues ( I did extend it due to the holiday on Monday) but if you really want to come, or want more information about future VQTS Quilt Colleges (we will have them in May, August and November) give me a call at 972-783-4149.or email vqts1@airmail.net
Date: Sun, 14 Feb 1999 10:10:06 EST
From: Tmauvlus@aol.com
I want to add one more thought to the discussion about quilt prices,
especially those in antique malls/shops.
It has been my personal experince that some (most) antique shop owners/dealers
are not completely knowledgeable about textiles. They may be experts in
mission furniture, or vintage jewelry, or depression glass – or all of the
above, but most are not as well versed in quilts.
For instance, there is an antique mall that I used to visit frequently to
check out quilt values – one dealer prices ALL quilts at $350.00. If it is
ready for the dog-bed, it is $350. If it is a red and green to-die-for mid
19th C., it is $350. See where I am going with this?
Yet another dealer in the area stopped taking quilts totally. I asked him
why there were no more quilts there – he said he could not tell a Chinese
import from a priceless heirloom quality quilt, so in order to prevent selling
something without accurate information, he just doesn’t sell quilts at all.
Please don’t misunderstand me here, I am not saying that you can’t go out into
the marketplace and find accurate values; I am just saying to take it all with
a grain of salt.
One last story to illustrate my point. A friend was driving thru town at a
slow enough speed to spy a quilt inside a shop. She stopped, went inside, and
found to her dismay it was a polyester double knit horror. Just underneath
that quilt, however, was a C.1860 Princess Feather with wide chintz borders of
hanging grapes and vines. Mouth-watering – and actual replacement value would
be sky-high. She purchased the P.F. for twenty bucks, all the while the
gentleman was insisting that she was buying the “wrong” quilt – he thought the
double knit was much finer.
Caveat Emptor. Teddy Pruett in FLorida
Date: Sun, 14 Feb 1999 12:41:31 EST
From: Jilly31@aol.com
Hello to everyone. I have been reading this list for a while some time
without comment. I must admit I have learned a lot from all the postings and
find everyone’s comments quite interesting. I enjoy collecting old and
contemporary quilts. Although I only own six quilts right now I am always
looking for more. I recently attended a local auction and wanting to bid on a
dated 1848 coverlet. I didn’t get it and really didn’t even get to bid
because the price soared quickly and was out of my reach (or so I thought at
the time…I could just kick myself for letting it get away!). However, since
then I have discovered that the price it went for is actually cheap! Oh well,
I will know better next time. I just bought a quilt at the local antique mall
and couldn’t figure out why it was so cheap. I thought it may be a fraud but I
still am not sure. I am just now beginning to collect quilts (and I love
them!) but still don’t know much about them. I have one that I cannot
identify the pattern. It looks like an askewed star but a little different.
I suppose there are some differences in patterns made in different parts of
the country. It is all hand stitched but not dated and heavily quilted.
Pinks and calicos dominate the colors. If anyone can tell me how to make a
better identification of this quilt it would be appreciated. I also have a
Rose of Sharon quilt that I boutght at an auction reasonably priced. Around
here quilts at auctions can go anywhere from $50 to $500. I have yet to see
one go for more than that. So you can see that coverlet was a steal! Sorry
to ramble on….but it is so much fun talking about my quilts.
Jill from Centerville, Indiana
Home of the Historic Centerville Quilt Show (June 1999)
Date: Sun, 14 Feb 1999 11:01:04 -0800 (PST)
From: Pamela Robersson <quiltcollector@yahoo.com
I have been following the postings about quilt auctions/pricing for
several days now. I agree 110% with Xenia’s comment. It is not a
standardized market. If someone really wants a quilt…and has $$
they can outpay the guy who wants it but doesn’t have the money. Same
thing in real estate, in every market. Some times it is a sellers
market, some times a buyers.
At auctions – it depends upon who’s there, and the number of bidders.
I have bought wonderful quilts for next to nothing because only a
handful of bidders venture out to an auction on a stormy day – there
is no competition.
The best advice is to know your product and what you are willing to
pay. I have seen dealers mark up quilts an extra 50% for shows like
Paducah, then take those tags off when they get back to town and
reality.
I know another dealer who is HAPPY to make $25 off a quilt – after all
she says, all she does is buy it and put it on her shelf – if she has
to restore or clean it, then she adds on $50 for her time and trouble.
There is no way to validate a price – except what a willing and
informed buyer will pay at an auction, to a dealer, or the gal down
the road.
Pam
Date: Sun, 14 Feb 1999 14:52:24 EST
From: AZquilter9@aol.com
Thank you, Alan, for the wonderful advice. As someone new to the collecting
end of quilts, your information was very helpful. Fortunately, when I’ve been
out looking, I have had a knowledgeable friend with me who tells me whether
the price is fair and advises me what to offer. Maybe one of these days I’ll
be able to buy solo thanks to you and Xenia and others on this list willing to
share information.
Lois
<< If you want to learn pricing, go out and look at every quilt in your area
and learn the pricing.
It’ll vary, but you need to learn the quilt pricing to be able to determine
if the price is fair on the quilt you want. Once you’re comfortable with that, you’l start muttering that “that’s a fair price” and have you shopping companion look at you in complete horror because the tag is over $1000 “for that old blanket”!
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 00:34:12 EST
From: WileneSmth@aol.com
A few more thoughts and personal experiences — I began buying and selling old
quilts in 1978 and continued until the mid-to-late-1980s, but continue now to
make the rounds of shops, malls, and flea markets for other quilt-related
items, especially old published paper and old quilt blocks for my research.
Of course, the old quilts still catch my attention, too, and always will.
Throughout the last 20+ years, I’ve often observed that general antiques
dealers, especially the newer ones, tend to overprice quilts without knowing
anything more about them than the fact that “it’s a quilt,” and often don’t
know the difference between a hand-quilted quilt, a machine-quilted quilt, or
a tied comfort, not to mention how old (or new) it might be. The general idea
seems to be that since it’s a quilt, then it must be valuable. How many
auction goers out there have observed much the same thing among the
auctioneers? Especially the farm auctioneers? I rather enjoy watching them
stick their foot in their mouth, but keep silent because the bidding will
usually tell the tale.
On the reverse side of that coin, not all long time dealers in vintage
textiles, including quilts, always know how to date quilts. One long time
dealer that I’ve known for a long time doesn’t have the slightest idea how to
distinguish an early 1800s quilt from a mid-1800s from a late-1800s, and just
figures they’re all around 1900 somewhere. What’s even worse, she washes many
of them in her washer and dryer at home because her younger customers like
them “puffy.” Actually, I think it’s probably the dealer herself that likes
them that way, not to mention wanting them clean, too.
As to the idea of antique dealers paying “wholesale” for a doubling of the
price to “retail” is, in my view, an old wives tale so to speak, especially
for high dollar items such as quilts. Dealers generally pay a price that’s
reasonable enough that they feel they can add to and make a profit to pay the
bills and expenses (not to mention taxes), and hopefully have something left
over for themselves. Of course, this varies from person to person, and place
to place, and greatly depends on the dealer’s location and overhead.
For Sally in the UK — I haven’t the slightest idea just where overseas all
the quilts are going (I’ve often wondered the same thing), but a lot of
American antiques of all descriptions have been going to Japan for about the
last ten years. Even some of the TV network news magazines have done stories
relating to this phenomenon. And not just antiques, but most anything
American. Perhaps Americans will reciprocate in the compliment one day?
–Wilene
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 01:04:56 -0500
From: “J. G. Row” Judygrow@blast.net
To: “Quilt History List” QHL@cuenet.com, WileneSmth@aol.com
Subject: QHL: LCPQ
Message-ID: <004801be58a9$1d0162e0$1ce8c6cf@judy-grow>
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The last issue I have is from just a number of months ago. The new owners,
Firestone Publishing, installed a wife and son (of the publisher) as editor
and art director, and they just didn’t know nothin’ about birthin’ a quilt
mag.
I am filling out a form to try and retrieve the rest of my subscription from
them.
I find it really sad that the editor
who replaced Louise Townsend and is primarily responsible for the
magazine’s
content neither enjoys or appreciates history.
Please remember that the best of today’s quilting usually winds up in the
best of today’s quilt magazines, and these quilts are tomorrow’s history.
Don’t neglect them. I think it is important to know where those historical
examples have taken us.
Judy in Ringoes, NJ
judygrow@blast.net
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 01:41:50 EST
From: WileneSmth@aol.com
To: J. G. Row Judygrow@blast.net
Cc: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Re: LCPQ & QNM, et al
Message-ID: 16c16aea.36c7c1ae@aol.com
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<< Please remember that the best of today’s quilting usually winds up in the
best of today’s quilt magazines, and these quilts are tomorrow’s history.
Don’t neglect them. I think it is important to know where those historical
examples have taken us. >>
Absolutely. My point exactly. The old ones lead us to the new ones, and
both, together, take us into the future. The old ones tell us where we’ve
been and the new ones tell us where we are. The only thing I worry about with
all the absolutely incredible quilts being created today is if today’s fabrics
will allow them to be around 200 years from now, but, then, we’ll never know,
will we? Sure hope so, though. (I especially enjoy looking at today’s
optical illusion quilts and the realistic picture quilts.) –Wilene
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 08:51:48 -0500
From: Merry May cluesew@jerseycape.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Prices, QNM, etc.
Message-ID: 36C82672.2684@jerseycape.com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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Hi all 🙂 Just wanted to inject a couple of thoughts/comments on the
recent topics. On pricing, I think the cheap imported quilts have hurt
in two ways: first, they’re available at the local Wal-Mart for $29.95,
so the typical consumer will shun the good ones (antique or not) because
of the bargain-basement prices; the second way they’ve hurt, especially
in the antiques market, is by being carried by either disreputable or
unknowledgeable dealers (I’m talking general antiques dealers, not our
wonderful antique quilt experts) who try to pass them off as antiques.
I can not tell you how many times my DH and I have been browsing in an
antiques mall and seen these imported quilts with deceptive tags on
them, trying to pass them off as the real thing… of course, the prices
are upwards of at least $200; often $350 or more. Sometimes the tag
will say, “Hand-stitched Quilt,” but when the average buyer sees this in
an antiques shop, they naturally tend to assume that it’s an oldie.
Again, caveat emptor. You REALLY know it’s a fraud when you see the
hole in the seam at the edge of the quilt where the manufacturer’s
content tag used to be!
On QNM, for those who are unhappy with the new format and such, I would
recommend that you take a few moments to look up either their editorial
address, or their email address and tell them about your complaints.
Don’t assume that they’re monitoring this list, or any other list, and
that they’ll somehow read our minds! Believe me, editors DO read mail;
maybe not as quickly as we’d like them to, but they do read it and take
it into consideration. If they get enough mail about an issue or
concern, then they’ll start making some changes.
And (although I realize this is sort of off-topic, and I beg your
indulgence) as for LCPQ, Part 1 of my Inspector Cluesew’s Case #110
appeared in their LAST issue (came out around last August)… this means
there are people who have cut their fabrics for this mystery quilt, and
now have no idea how to find Part 2. Rob at The Quilt Channel has
kindly agreed to carry the instructions as a series, so it can now be
found at:
http://www.quiltchannel.com/strippy1.htm
Please spread the word to those lost souls out there who have all of
these fabrics cut and don’t know where to find the rest of the
instructions!! Thanks. … and now, back to lurkdom…. 🙂
Take care.
Merry 🙂
—
Merry May (a.k.a Inspector Cluesew & Jessica Four-Patch)
Schoolhouse Enterprises
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 09:51:44 -0500
From: Jean Ann quiltmag@mindspring.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Hawaiian Quilt History and more
Message-Id:
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I just spent a week in Hawaii, after being invited there to feature Hawiian
Quilts in QUILT magazine for the next year. I was able to photograph
historic quilts at four historic sites. They were the Bishop Museum, Lyman
House Museum, Mission House Museum and Queen Emma’s Summer Palace.
I found the flag quilts especially interesting. They were made after the
USA took over the Hawaiian Islands because the women were determined that
they would sleep under the Hawaiian flag even though the flages were banned
from being flown. Each of these flags has the coat of arms or crowns
signifying the Hawaiian royal family which was abolished by the USA,
although descendants of the family still live in Hawaii and still use their
titles as do the other residents there.
The Lyman House Museum is on the big island and the other three museums are
on Oahu in Honolulu. The Lyman House Museum has a splendid small exhibit of
a half dozen full size antique Hawaiian quilts. There are also several
miniature quilts in mini room vignettes. The mini quilter were made by
Elizabeth Akana and the historical info for the exhibit was written by her.
This exhibit is available to travel to other museums and we hope to get the
word out about this in the magazine.
Naturally all of the museums hope to attract tourists to their museums to
see their quilts and their other interesting exhibits that show Hawaiian
life from the time the first missionaries came.
I didnt go to the beach even one time. I spent the time when I was not at
the museums visiting quilters on the islands and seeing the magnificent
quilts they make. I have never had a particular interest in making a
Hawaiian quilt but now I cant wait to do so.
In the past year QUILT has been invited to more and more museums to
photograph quilts in their collections. In the summer issue we will feature
a Baltimore Album quilt that was recently acquired by the DAR Museum in
Washington DC that has twenty-five blocks each and every one of them signed
by Mary Simon. It is believed to be the only quilt that has every block
made by Mary Simon. A writer from DC interviewd Nancy Tuckman about the
quilt and its acquisition.
I came prepared to pay a fee to each of the museums for the photography of
their quilts. This was required by each of the museums to cover the cost of
the personnel that had to be in attendance at the photography sessions. It
is a perfectly understandable cost involved with photographing historic
quilts in museum settings as museums today are struggling to get funding to
cover the costs of operating. Fortunately my publisher allows a budget for
these expenses so I can work with the museums and get the pictures and
stories. Also, in Hawaii I would probably not have gotten entre into the
museums without the State of Hawaii sponsoring my trip and supporting our
writing the stories. He also paid the expense of the photographter to be in
Hawaii and the professional day rates for the photography.
Quilters who have small museums in their area with quilt collections can do
advance work with the museum administration to see if they would be willing
to have their collection photographed and featured in a quilt magazine with
a story about the museum. It takes a bit of advance planning to get such a
story to a magazine. If your museum is willing then the next step is to
contact a magazine and see if they are interested. Editors would need to
know what fee they need to pay the museum and what limitations there would
be on actually taking the pictures. Can quilts be moved to be photographed
on a bed, for instance. Can glass cases be opened so a picture can be
taken? All of these things need to work together for historic quilts to be
photographed and featured in your favorite magazine.
That’s my two cents worth in seeing more historic quilts in quilt
magazines. It is a lot of work, and expense, but I think it is well worth
it. But then, I live in a hundred year old house that is a half mile from a
Civil War national battlefield and everything in this town is historic and
I love it! I wouldnt live anywhere else.
Jean Ann Eitel, Editor
QUILT magazine site: http://www.quiltmag.com – IRC chat site:
Personal web site: http://www.mindspring.com/~quiltmag/jeanann/jaeindex.html
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 09:48:51 EST
From: CABHoney@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: underground railroad
Message-ID: 9733c87c.36c833d3@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
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I know this has been discussed a lot, but one more time, what is the name of
the author and the new book about underground railroad quilts? My coworker is
African American and her church is doing a presentation about African American
History Month and would like the name of the book. The discussion among the
ladies in her church was exactly as I read on this list: different quilt
patterns meant different things, and even the way a quilt was hanging outside
meant something different. Thank you for the info once again and I promise to
pay more attention.
Cindy Honeycutt
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 11:22:29 EST
From: Baglady111@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com, ttsw@ttsw.com
Subject: QHL: ELDERHOSTEL
Message-ID: 6b716518.36c849c5@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
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Can anyone offer the email address or web site for the ELDERHOSTEL? please
email privately..thanx…Jane
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 22:18:38 +0300
From: “John Ordway” ordway@glas.apc.org
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Questions; this and that
Message-ID: <000001be5917$fe667540$0100a8c0@ordway.glas.apc.org>
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Hi all — I have a mixed posting here.
Qs:
1) 150th statehood CA quilt: would someone see if they can find out the
schedule for June for me (i.e. what part of CA it will be in)? Thanks.
2) Handpiecing w/silk: I am thinking about vacation hand projects, and am
thinking about a grandmother’s flower garden (no brainer).
I can get silk inexpensively here, but should I back it first with some
light interfacing? At this point I don’t have a lot of free time, so I’d
like to order those nice heavy English paper piecing templates — there used
to be a mail order company that I think was called Paper Pieces … anybody
have an address? Also, working with silk — should I use silk thread for
basting and whip stitching?
3) If I don’t do the silk, I’ll do baby blocks. Forgive me for being so
elementary, but I don’t think I need to paper piece those … can’t I just
put them together as if I were doing lily petals or something?
XENIA: There was an article in the Moscow Times last week — I’ll find it
for you and send it to you if you like (send me an address) — Feb. 6 was
St. Kcensia’s name day. She was a combination of a helper of the poor, a
healer, and … a mystic (a nice way of saying the locals thought she was a
little touched in the head )
Quilting in Russia: I was at the Russian museum in St. Petersburg this
weekend. In the “Folk Art” wing, I saw a very colorful pieced pineapple
quilt. The pineapple quilt was made in 1981, was called “patchwork quilt”
and was from the Archangelsk region (far north). You can tell it was
machine quilted. There was a booklet to buy, for all of $1.50 or so, that
had some other pictures of equally colorful scrap quilts – log cabin, le
Moyne star, folded patchwork star coasters, and fabric braided rugs. The
only “old” piece was a picture of a medallion style quilt from the end of
the 19th century, from the Kazanskaya province full of one patch squares,
flying geese, and diamonds in a square. The fabrics are fascinating: the
edge larger triangles are made of the famous red “cambric” (copper dye plate
fabrics) that are no longer made in Russia. The one patch squares look as if
they were right in the same age group of US fabrics at that time– it’s
almost as if I am recognizing some of the Smithsonian reproductions here! I
wonder where all the fabric came from.
A first: a patchwork quilt book (w/instructions) published in Russian by a
Russian woman, Irina Muchanova, 1998. All of the quilts are from Russian
fabrics and she does a good job of making them work. Russian fabrics are
similar to our 60s and 70s calicos. There are a few original pieces, but
most seem to be along the Jinny Beyer line of patterns using diamonds and
color placement — I recognize them. Not that they look like Jinny Beyer
quilts — the fabrics are completely different! There are no pattern
templates, but illustsrations for many blocks.I think the book cost under 2
dollars!
That’s alll,
Maryjo in Moscow
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 14:22:52 -0500
From: “John and Cinda Cawley” cawley@epix.net
To: “QHL” QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Poppy quilt top, etc.
Message-ID: <01be5918$9503e460$3e41e0c7@mailhost.epix.net.epix.net>
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I was in Easton, MD on the Eastern Shore last week and found a completed =
top of a Poppy quilt kit. The top is 82×98″. =20
The flowers are in two shades of red, the leaves and stems in two shades =
of green. The only identification on it is the number 7-2477 stamped on =
the top and bottom. The workmanship is beautiful, applique and =
embroidery. It has a couple of “liver spots,” but is otherwise perfect. =
=20
Questions: Can anybody help identify this quilt as to date and =manufacturer. It is not Marie Webster’s Poppy and it is not the =
Progress Company Poppy Wreath on p. 5 of the Mary Schaffer book. The =
flowers are similar to the Progress Poppy but they are arranged in swags =
in each quarter of the quilt sort of outlining a large quilted center; =
there are smaller versions of the motif in the outer corners of the top. =
I’m assuming I should make no attempt to remove the spots for fear of =
losing the blue quinting marks. Am I right?
Zenia or Wilene can you help? =20
My other new acquisition (a Valentine present found yesterday in =Sciota, PA in the Poconos) is a Variable Star in cheddar, poison green =
and an odd shade of rusty red which since I saw the exhibit in =
Bethlehem last fall I associate with the Moravians. Barb Garrett will =
know exactly what I mean. Are these incredible color combinations found =
anywhere other than eastern PA?
John said he doesn’t think anybody else would want a quilt with so much =
orange. In my best condescending voice I told him it was cheddar not =
orange. “Looks like Velveeta to me” was his
reply. But I know in his secret heart he loves it too. =20
Cinda in Scranton=20
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I was in Easton, MD on the Eastern = Shore last=20 week and found a completed top of a Poppy quilt kit. The top is=20 82×98″.
The flowers are in two shades of red, the leaves = and=20 stems in two shades of green. The only identification on it is the = number=20 7-2477 stamped on the top and bottom. The workmanship is = beautiful,=20 applique and embroidery. It has a couple of “liver = spots,” but=20 is otherwise perfect.
Questions: = Can anybody=20 help identify this quilt as to date and manufacturer. It is not = Marie=20 Webster's Poppy and it is not the Progress Company Poppy Wreath on p. 5 = of the=20 Mary Schaffer book. The flowers are similar to the Progress Poppy = but they=20 are arranged in swags in each quarter of the quilt sort of outlining a = large=20 quilted center; there are smaller versions of the motif in the outer = corners of=20 the top. I'm assuming I should make no attempt to remove the spots = for=20 fear of losing the blue quinting marks. Am I right?
Zenia or Wilene = can you=20 help?
My other new = acquisition (a=20 Valentine present found yesterday in Sciota, PA in the Poconos) is a = Variable=20 Star in cheddar, poison green and an odd shade of rusty red which = since I=20 saw the exhibit in Bethlehem last fall I associate with the = Moravians. =20 Barb Garrett will know exactly what I mean. Are these incredible = color=20 combinations found anywhere other than eastern PA?John said he doesn’t think anybody = else would=20 want a quilt with so much orange. In my best condescending voice I = told=20 him it was cheddar not orange. “Looks like Velveeta to = me” was=20 his
reply. But I know in his = secret heart he=20 loves it too.
Cinda in=20 Scranton
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Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 15:05:59 -0500
From: “Phyllis Twigg” ptwigg@radix.net
To: “QHL” QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Poly batts in old quilts
Message-ID: <005a01be591e$9c0f6c60$30e230d1@jtwigg>
Content-Type: text/plain;
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Does anyone know the earliest dates for polyester batting? I have a baby
quilt in question. The owner feels it was made in 1949 but it contains a
polyester batt. According the the “Mountain Mist Blue Book of Quilts”, the
polyester batts were first marketed in 1956 in a twin size for the wholesale
price of $ 3.40. Barbara Brackman refers to poly batts as a clue to the
1960’s and later. Did any other company produce one earlier ?
Thanks !
Phyllis Twigg
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 15:49:10 EST
From: QuiltFixer@aol.com
To: ordway@glas.apc.org, QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: Re: QHL: Questions; this and that
Message-ID: 194fa8f7.36c88846@aol.com
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In a message dated 2/15/99 11:19:47 AM Pacific Standard Time,
ordway@glas.apc.org writes:
<< Also, working with silk — should I use silk thread for
basting and whip stitching? >>
I always use silk thread with silk. I always try to use like thread to fabric
such as cotton to cotton, etc. I have done a lot of quilt repair work and
have found this to be best. Also have you seen much Red Embroidery in Russia?
I teach and lecture on Redwork and am always looking for more information. I
have seen lots of German work, but think there must be Russian work as well.
Toni B.
QuiltFixer@aol.com
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 21:59:33 -0000
From: “Jenni Dobson” jenni@dobson4qu.freeserve.co.uk
To: “Quilt History List” QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Thoughts on an old quilt?
Message-ID: <000801be592f$36993da0$4b02883e@jenni>
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I’d be really interested if any members of this list would like to send =
me any thoughts they have about an ‘old’ quilt I recently bought, =
intending to write about it for a short history chapter in my next book. =
I was looking for a design that would be simple to sew & originally =
thought it’d be good to choose a non-antique piece, i.e. something old =
but not significantly so, the sort of thing people might come across =
rather than a museum piece. So I decided to buy a quilt that I saw & =
took a quick pic. of last July, on sale at a quilt exhibition in Wales.
I’m still happy to write about it now I’ve got it but closer inspection =
has changed some of my ideas. I know you can’t see the pattern but if =
anyone really wants to, I could attach a pic to an e-mail (email me =
direct to request it). The quilt was labelled “Skyscrapers” and “40s / =
50s fabrics” & that it came from Ontario. Through contact with Barbara =
Brackman the block is actually already identified as one in her =
Encyclopedia called Monument, (# 889). She says it was published in the =
Ohio Farmer magazine in 1890, and is a mourning pattern. This is =
interesting to me partly because it means the pattern was already an old =
one when the blocks were made. I found this out while waiting for the =
quilt to come.
Now I have it, I don’t entirely agree with the proposed dates of the =
fabrics – I’m waiting for my Dating Fabrics book to come, but tho’ I’m =
no great scholar, I’ve helped on the UK Documentation project & many of =
the fabrics look older, some were probably recycled into blocks from =
clothing. I know a quilt can be no older than the newest fabric so it =
still might’ve been made in the 40s. However, as I handled it I turned =
to the back & this looks like quite newly washed muslin. Closer =
inspection thro’ the holes in one block also showed polyester batting. =
The general appearance of the top looks as if maybe it’s an older top =
that has been more recently layered & quilted!=20
As I didn’t buy it for great historic worth, I can live with this – in a =
way, it’ll make a good story about how you ‘detect’ its story. But it =
prompts some questions – e.g. when did the kind of polyester batting =
we’re familiar with come into production? Can anyone help me on this =
one? or with any other thoughts?
Thanks for taking time to read all this – looking forward to comments.
Jenni Dobson, UK.
——=_NextPart_000_0004_01BE592E.7841D2E0
Content-Type: text/html;
charset="iso-8859-1"Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
I’d be really interested if any = members of this=20 list would like to send me any thoughts they have about an ‘old’ quilt I = recently bought, intending to write about it for a short history chapter = in my=20 next book. I was looking for a design that would be simple to sew &=20 originally thought it’d be good to choose a non-antique piece, i.e. = something=20 old but not significantly so, the sort of thing people might come across = rather=20 than a museum piece. So I decided to buy a quilt that I saw & took a = quick=20 pic. of last July, on sale at a quilt exhibition in Wales.
I’m still happy to write about it = now I’ve got=20 it but closer inspection has changed some of my ideas. I know you can’t = see the=20 pattern but if anyone really wants to, I could attach a pic to an e-mail = (email=20 me direct to request it). The quilt was labelled “Skyscrapers” = and=20 “40s / 50s fabrics” & that it came from Ontario. Through = contact=20 with Barbara Brackman the block is actually already identified as one in = her=20 Encyclopedia called Monument, (# 889). She says it was published in the = Ohio=20 Farmer magazine in 1890, and is a mourning pattern. This is interesting = to me=20 partly because it means the pattern was already an old one when the = blocks were=20 made. I found this out while waiting for the quilt to come.
Now I have it, I don’t entirely = agree with the=20 proposed dates of the fabrics – I’m waiting for my Dating Fabrics book = to come,=20 but tho’ I’m no great scholar, I’ve helped on the UK Documentation = project &=20 many of the fabrics look older, some were probably recycled into blocks = from=20 clothing. I know a quilt can be no older than the newest fabric so it = still=20 might’ve been made in the 40s. However, as I handled it I turned to the = back=20 & this looks like quite newly washed muslin. Closer inspection thro’ = the=20 holes in one block also showed polyester batting. The general appearance = of the=20 top looks as if maybe it’s an older top that has been more recently = layered=20 & quilted!
As I didn’t buy it for great = historic worth, I=20 can live with this – in a way, it’ll make a good story about how you = ‘detect’=20 its story. But it prompts some questions – e.g. when did the kind of = polyester=20 batting we’re familiar with come into production? Can anyone help me on = this=20 one? or with any other thoughts?
Thanks for taking time to read all = this -=20 looking forward to comments.
Jenni Dobson, = UK.
——=_NextPart_000_0004_01BE592E.7841D2E0–
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 17:18:20 -0500
From: Vivien Lee Sayre vsayre@nesa.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Penny McMorris
Message-Id: 3.0.3.32.19990215171820.0070d270@mail.nesa.com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”us-ascii”
Hi All,
Does anyone know Penny McMorris’ address? Is she on e-mail? Thanks in
advance for any help you can give me.
Vivien in Cold but Beautiful Massachusetts. (No snow yet 🙁 )
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 17:43:14 EST
From: KareQuilt@aol.com
To: WileneSmth@aol.com, QHL-Digest@cuenet.com
Subject: Quilts Shipped overseas
Message-ID: e2c1572f.36c8a302@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
RE: <A couple of years ago, I met a lady who had a friend whose son worked
nights for that dealer and his primary job was packing boxes and boxes of
quilts for shipment overseas.>
This would be a fascinating area of research. Wilene, do you have any more
info? I go to Switzerland on business twice a year. Stopped at a quilt shop
in a major city. They had stacks of antique American quilts. I was amazed, but
should not have been, I suppose. The woman was not about to tell me her trade
secrets (source). She was quite upset about an issue in Europe over
“patchworkers” vs “real quilters/quilt artists.” I had not even be aware of
such an issue prior to encountering her. Her “passion” left me speechless. My
“observer me” just LISTENED and tryed to take some mental notes. Her assistant
finally came over and intervened and diplomatically steered her partner off
her soapbox. Very interesting experience. We quilters and researchers ARE
passionate about our subject, aren’t we!
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 18:37:13 EST
From: Baglady111@aol.com
To: NinePatchN@aol.com, QHL@cuenet.com, kaffee-klatsch@quilt.com
Subject: QHL: Feedsack Club Conference
Message-ID: 1f66ea8b.36c8afa9@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
5th ANNUAL FEEDSACK CLUB CONFERENCE
APRIL 1999
We are
MOVING!! MOVING!! MOVING!!
NEW LOCATION
HOLIDAY INN LANCASTER-VISITORS CENTER
521 GREENFIELD ROAD
LANCASTER, PA 17601
PH 717-299-2551
DATES: APRIL 8-9-10, 1999
THURSDAY the 8th. 10:00am-6:00pm
FRIDAY AND SAT 10:00am-9:00pm
FEEDSACK QUILT SHOW
FEEDSACK DISPLAY/EXHIBIT
VENDORS
LECTURES
SHOW & TELL
DEMOS
BUY-SELL-TRADE
FOR MORE INFORMATION
SEND A LONG SELF ADDRESSED ENVELOPE TO
FEEDSACK CONFERENCE
25 S. STARR AVE #16
PITTSBURGH, PA 15202
PH. 412-766-3996
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 19:29:33 EST
From: WileneSmth@aol.com
To: KareQuilt@aol.com
Cc: QHL-Digest@cuenet.com
Subject: Re: Quilts Shipped overseas
Message-ID: fbe67dc9.36c8bbed@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
<< Subj: Quilts Shipped overseas
Date: 99-02-15 17:43:14 EST
From: KareQuilt
To: WileneSmth, QHL-Digest@cuenet.com
RE: <A couple of years ago, I met a lady who had a friend whose son worked
nights for that dealer and his primary job was packing boxes and boxes of
quilts for shipment overseas.>
This would be a fascinating area of research. Wilene, do you have any more
info? I go to Switzerland on business twice a year. Stopped at a quilt shop
in a major city. They had stacks of antique American quilts. I was amazed, but
should not have been, I suppose. The woman was not about to tell me her trade
secrets (source). She was quite upset about an issue in Europe over
“patchworkers” vs “real quilters/quilt artists.” I had not even be aware of
such an issue prior to encountering her. Her “passion” left me speechless. My
“observer me” just LISTENED and tryed to take some mental notes. Her assistant
finally came over and intervened and diplomatically steered her partner off
her soapbox. Very interesting experience. We quilters and researchers ARE
passionate about our subject, aren’t we! >>
Yes, I agree that it would make an interesting subject for research, and I
wish I had more info re all those boxes. I gingerly pressed for more, but she
seemed reluctant after I showed interest in, not to mention knowledge of, the
subject. I suppose she felt that she may have let the cat out of the bag so
to speak. But Switzerland has been a country that I’ve often wondered about
and I’m not really sure why except to say that the last good quilt that I sold
about 1986 when I had a small booth in a local antique mall was to a lady
visiting America from Switzerland. I can’t remember now if she bought quilts
from the others in that mall or not. Does Switzerland have less stringent
import regulations maybe? Or is it its rather central location?
<< stacks of antique American quilts >> Hmmmm! Interesting, especially the
“stacks” part. –Wilene
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 20:00:28 -0500
From: “jawhite@courant.infi.net” jawhite@courant.infi.net
To: Quilt History list QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Penny McMorris
Message-ID: 36C8C32C.5DBE@courant.infi.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
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Hi Vivien. You can mail Penny at electric quilt list
info-eq@lyris.planetpatchwork.com or equilt@wcnet.org.
Judy White
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 21:26:20 -0500
From: Barb Garrett bgarrett@fast.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: PA German color combinations
Message-ID: 36C8D74B.AB9F32FE@fast.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Cinda and interested others –
First, the Variable Star quilt in cheddar, poison green and rusty red
sounds wonderful!. Cinda asked if these color combinations are found
anywhere else besides Southeastern PA. Yes, they are found 1 other
place.
At Jeannette Lesansky’s Symposium at Franklin and Marshall College in
Lancaster, PA, in 1991, there was a speaker from the North Carolina
Quilt Project, Kathy Sullivan. She spoke about the very German quilts,
with very “strange” combinations of fabrics, found in one part of North
Carolina. Her talk particularly stuck with me because these were the
first antique quilts I was exposed to and don’t think the color
combinations strange at all.
Kathy’s presentation is included in Jeanette’s book, Bits and Pieces. A
quote —
“When it came to their quilts’ patterns, colors, and designs, the German
quiltmakers relied on their own cultural standards — most obvious in
their choice of color. As is true in the quilts made by their PA
brethren, North Carolina quiltmakers showed a preference for bright,
vivid, even gaudy color schemes.”
While I disagree with the designation “gaudy”, I have heard that word
used to describe these quilts numerous times. The article says the
German settlers came from the southeastern counties (Berks, Montgomery,
Lancaster, York) looking for fertile, cheap farm land. She also
mentions a Moravian settlement traceable to Bethlehem, PA. Being
located in the south, the quilts differ from the PA quilts in that they
used more solids (locally made therefore cheaper) than the prints (had
to be imported from the north therefore more expensive) available to the
PA quilters. These quilts date from the second half of the 19th
century.
Enjoy your 2 new quilts, Cinda.
Barb in southeastern PA
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 20:49:56 -0600
From: Russell-Hill russhill@ctesc.net
To: Quilt Heritage List QHL@cuenet.com
Good evening everyone,
I am writting for a friend who lives in England and had asked me about 2
books and my thoughts on them and if I had any others that I could
suggest . Well I sent my opinions on the 2 but I would like to ask you
all the same question.
She would like to get a book about quilts and the history of quilts
during the Civil War. She asked about “Quilts of the Civil War” and
“Hidden in Plain View.” She also asked about recommandations of other
books I thought might be better. That question I did not have an answer
to but thought that some one on this list would and would be willing to
also give their thoughts on the other two.
Thanks for your help.
Debbie
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 21:01:42 -0600
From: Russell-Hill russhill@ctesc.net
To: Barb Garrett bgarrett@fast.net
CC: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: Re: QHL: PA German color combinations
Message-ID: 36C8DF96.75CB@ctesc.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Barb Garrett wrote:
>
Cinda and interested others –
>
First, the Variable Star quilt in cheddar, poison green and rusty red
sounds wonderful!. Cinda asked if these color combinations are found
anywhere else besides Southeastern PA. Yes, they are found 1 other
place.
>
She spoke about the very German quilts,
with very “strange” combinations of fabrics, found in one part of North
>
Hello All,
I live in a german town in Texas call Fredericksburg. Founded in 1846
and very German down to the colors. there are many old houses that are
painted with the cheddar, poison green (maybe dark forest green more
than poison ) and rusty red. These are definately German colors. The
main color is the green and trimmed in cheddar and rusty red. Iliked it
so much that when we built our house I painted it in those colors.
Williamsburg has their colors and Fredericksburg TX has theirs.
Debbie
From: Laura Hobby Syler <texas_quilt.co@mail.airmail.net
Hi Phyllis,
From the information that I have I agree with the ’56 date as to the first
poly batts and then in pretty wide distribution in the ’60’s and praised by
every quiltmaker from coast to coast in the ’70’s and up to the late ’80’s
. When I opened my quilt shop in 1980 we didn’t even carry that “old nasty
stuff” and I am paying for it now with the abrasion from the inside out
of all the wonderful 1890’s tops that I had quilted up. The best thing to
remember is that your client may be right…..the top may have been
pieced in ’49 but not finished for several years…..of course none of my
desendants will have that problem dating my quilts…..they are all tops!
See ya in a couple of months!
Laura
At 03:05 PM 2/15/99 -0500, Phyllis Twigg wrote:
Does anyone know the earliest dates for polyester batting? I have a baby
quilt in question. The owner feels it was made in 1949 but it contains a
polyester batt. According the the “Mountain Mist Blue Book of Quilts”, the
polyester batts were first marketed in 1956 in a twin size for the wholesale
price of $ 3.40. Barbara Brackman refers to poly batts as a clue to the
1960’s and later. Did any other company produce one earlier ?
Thanks !
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 20:43:57 -0700
From: “Jeanne.Fetzer” Jeanne.Fetzer@integrityonline3.com
Did anyone see the Antiques Roadshow on Feb. 15 which included a red and =
green quilt from 1850?
I would be interested in your feelings about the price given to the =
owner. I recognize that without seeing the quilt in person, it is =
difficult to pin down a price. I’ll try to describe it as best I can:
full size; never used
dated on back as 1850 – made by owner’s grandmother
red and green princess feathers (at least four)
quilting was dense and seemed well executed from what I could see on the =
TV
The price range was $12,000 – 15,000. My first reaction was that this =
was a quilt of museum quality.
any comments? What do you think about the range. I know I’m probably =
asking the impossible, but I would be interested in some reaction if =
someone else saw it.
Thanks! Jeanne.Fetzer@integrityonline.com=20
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 02:36:03 EST
From: WileneSmth@aol.com
re: QHL: underground railroad, from Cindy Honeycutt:
<< The discussion among the ladies in her church was exactly as I read on this
list: different quilt patterns meant different things, and even the way a
quilt was hanging outside meant something different. >>
Do you mean the ladies were talking about this WITHOUT reading Jackie and
Raymond’s new book? If so, I think we’d all like to hear more. Their book,
by the way, is Hidden in Plain View by Jacqueline L. Tobin and Raymond G.
Dobard.
re: QHL: Poppy quilt top, etc., from Cinda in Scranton.
<< Wilene can you help? >>
Cinda, I’m not as “up” on 20th century appliques as some others are even
though I’m trying to enter as many as possible in my database along with their
numbers, if known. I did a search for the number, 2477, and didn’t come up
with anything for you, and “poppy” has so many entries as to be nearly useless
in a search. Hope someone else will know more.
re: QHL: Thoughts on an old quilt?, from Jenni Dobson, UK.
<< The quilt was labelled “Skyscrapers” and “40s / 50s fabrics” & that it came
from Ontario. Through contact with Barbara Brackman the block is actually
already identified as one in her Encyclopedia called Monument, (# 889). She
says it was published in the Ohio Farmer magazine in 1890, and is a mourning
pattern. >>
There are two similar patterns (#888 and #889 in Barbara’s Encyclopedia) that
seem to commemorate the death of President James A. Garfield, 20th U. S.
President, assassinated July 2, 1881, died Sept. 19, 1881, so it seems safe to
assume that the patterns most probably originated after this date. You
mentioned that your quilt came from Ontario (I assume in Canada?) and, after
seeing it, question that it might be earlier than the 1940s or 1950s as it was
represented. If the fabrics turn out to be a lot earlier (like the 1880s
maybe?), then it seems rather safe to assume that it was probably made in the
states.
Design #888 was published in Farm and Fireside magazine in the 1880s (exact
date unknown) and was identified as Garfield’s Monument. A pattern of this
name was offered by a reader of Good Housekeeping magazine in the October 26,
1889, issue, but it was not illustrated in the magazine. Then Ladies Art
included it in their catalog beginning about 1895 as their No. 136, calling it
by the same name but superimposing a capital G on the base.
888 seems to be the more common design of the two, although quilts of either
design are uncommon. One is pictured on p. 68 of Marsha MacDowell’s (et al.)
Michigan Quilts (1987); another one is on p. 9 of Victoria Hoffman’s catalog,
Quilts: A Window to the Past (North Andover, MA: Museum of American Textile
History, 1991); and I lucked into one in near mint condition made with 1880s
prints at an estate sale a couple of years ago. I’d often wondered if women
actually made any quilts using this strange design, and now I know that at
least a few did.
Volume 2 (revised in 1987) of Barbara’s Encyclopedia indicates that Design
889 was published in the Ohio Farmer magazine, ca. 1890, and called The
Monument. It’s made from pieced strips laid horizontally and, from a
distance, looks quite similar to #888. So far, I’ve not found an original
clipping of this one for my records.
re: polyester batting — I’ll try to look into this tomorrow and see what the
date is on the earliest Mountain Mist ad in my records that mentions
polyester. –Wilene
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 08:45:24 -0500
From: “jawhite@courant.infi.net” <jawhite@courant.infi.net
Just to add my $.02 to this discussion – I have a poison green/chrome
yellow (which today is called cheddar) polkadot (the yellow has black
dots) drunkard’s path that I got at Brimfield, MA several years ago.
The dealer was not a quilt person. She had picked this up at an estate
sale in Maine. The quilt had a small hole in it and the backing didn’t
go with the front. It had been stored in a bag with a fabric softener
and smelled to high heaven so I took it home, took off the back, threw
out the middle and tossed the top and back in the wash. The quilt had
been put together with several different kinds and colors of thread
including blue embroidery thread and something akin to buttonhole
twist. So when I took it out of the washer, the borders came off like
they had been put on with a zipper which was okay because I needed to
use some of that fabric to repair the hole. I have always called this
my quilt with a growth because, even though the dealer I bought it from
wasn’t a quilter, she knew that quilts were stuffed and that’s she had
repaired the hole – by making a little stuffed patch and sewing it over
the hole. I kept that little patch because it is so cute. Anyhow, I
now have this wonderful top which has been dated by a reputable quilt
person to around 1865 and I have repaired it quite nicely and will hand
quilt it. Does anyone know if this color combination was indigenous to
Maine and did it migrate to other parts of the US?
Judy White – CT
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 08:56:42 EST
From: JQuilt@aol.com
I remember a quilt show on Simply Quilts…with Roberta Horton and Mary
Mashuta….Alex Anderson picked out the combination of orange, red and green
and
Roberta saying they were those being the colors of the German “1860 quilt”
jean
jquilt@aol.com
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 09:19:23 EST
From: Qltldy10@aol.com
To: qhl@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: the Antiques Roadshow Quilt….
Message-ID: 90fcbf64.36c97e6b@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
… was red, green, and orange! I don’t remember where they were- Michigan?
Anyway, my thoughts are that these guys are quoting Christy’s kind of prices,
and yes, I thought the quilt was worth exctly what he said. It’s just that
you and I don’t usually shop at major auctions. In York, Maine, there is a
very nice antique multi dealer shop- first table, teacup size, on the way in,
is $7,000. A few months back they had a visiting dealer, a beautiful
Baltimore album (personally, I thought is may have been Pa), priced at
$29,5000. Was ca 1849, and while I decided not to write a check =8-0 I
fugured it was priced so someone would buy it. this dealership, by the way,
does not take credit cards. To me, it means they are selling to folks with
larger cash flows then I tend to have…..
Beth in Maine
qltldy10@aol.com Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 08:38:53 -0600 (CST)
From: “Karen Benson” benson@mailbox.mail.umn.edu
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 14:13:24 -0000
From: “Jenny Couper” <jennycouper@lineone.net
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 10:00:29 EST
From: JQuilt@aol.com
in the year 2,099….can you imagine some quilt appraiser/restorer…trying to
figure out what year the quilt was made by looking at the batting…
in 1999 there was poly/cotton, cotton, silk,wool and poly batting
available…
jean
jquilt@aol.com
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 10:29:57 EST
From: JQuilt@aol.com
sounds like the antique dealer in York Maine, who doesn’t take credit cards
and sells $29,000 quilts…has an clientele of Colombian drug lords. Or maybe
York Maine is #1 on the pickpockets top 10 list.
jean
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 08:09:28 -0800
From: Kathy Tavares <kmtavare@uci.edu
Did any of you happend to see Antiques Road Show on Monday, February 15?
My DH and I watch this weekly whenever we can. Anyway last night they had
a quilt which they valued at auction to be $12,000 to $15,000. It was
1850’s and as far as we could tell from what they showed on TV, in
excellent condition. They woman who owned it kept it stored in a cedar
chest and never has displayed it, so the color was not faded at all. I
don’t know if I could have something like that and not be able to display
it.
Kathy T
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 12:18:17 EST
From: KareQuilt@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Quilts of the Future
Message-ID: 9d32b484.36c9a859@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
Forgive me if this has been posted before. Can’t remember . the gray matter
is getting mushier with every grandchild that is born .
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS – “Quilts of the Future”–a day-long
symposium in Washington, DC, at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, co-
sponsored by NMWA and Art Quilt, Network, New York (with artists from AQN-NY
presenting slides of their work) will be held on January 22, 2000. Speakers
are Rebecca Stevens (Textile Museum), Stacy Hollander (Museum of American Folk
Art), and Cathy Rasmussen (Exec. Dir. of Studio At Quilt Associates). Topics
are quilts in museum collections, traditional quiltmakers who have become
quilt artists, and professionally trained artists who have become quilt
artists. Tickets will be available from NMWA in the fall. More to come much
later, but mark your calendars if you are at all interested. 202-783-5000,
1250 New York Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20005
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 12:46:51 +0000
From: Shirley McElderry tigersoup@lisco.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Poppy quilt
Message-ID: 36C968B6.179F@lisco.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Cinda: I found your poppy quilt top pictured in a Herrschner’s 1963-64
catalog. It is called “Majestic Poppy” and is described as: “For
applique! Sunny California inspired design! Quilt top stamped with
applique and quilting pattern on type 128 white sheeting. Washfast
appliques, poppy colors with green leaves. 7-2477 Poppy Quilt Top
$6.59.” By the way, one could order a “finishing kit” consisting of
Mountain Mist seamless cotton quilt batting, white percale quilt
backing, a quilting needle and 3 spools of quilting thread for $4.98. Or
the quilt top kit and the finishing kit both for $10.98.
Since your top has the Herrschner’s number stamped on it, I’m going to
go waayy out on a limb here and suggest it may have been a special order
from a company. I know that Herrschner’s did retail Homeneedlecraft
kits, because I have found those kits offered in their catalogs. I think
there were some Progress kits offered, too. And it seems–here I go on
another limb–that the original quilt kit manufacturers offered kits for
quite a while before they were ever advertised in Herrschner’s, so I am
wondering if perhaps Herrschner’s simply bought out the discontinued
kits? Xenia, or Bev D. what do you think?
Shirley Mc from where winter is back again in Iowa.
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 01:48:41 -0500
From: “susanlk” susanlk@erols.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: vintage quilts
Message-ID: <01be58af$3912b140$LocalHost@kannenbel>
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
I just came from an antique show and saw a vendor, Lin’s Quilts, from
Connecticut. She’s been around for several years and has a beautiful and
large selection of vintage quilts. She also sells individual and packages of
vintage blocks, and tops. As for her quilts, they are all in perfect or near
perfect condition; mostly dating from 1860-1890 or so with a very few
earlier and some few from the 1920s-1940s. I have noticed several factors
about her quilts: 1) at every show I see her, the inventory she has is many
times larger than anyone else’s 2)her quality is superb; most other quilts
have more condition problems 3)I do see some quilts time after time. This
last factor could suggest the market is softening; on the other hand, I’ve
noticed fewer and fewer of her quilts are priced below $1000. Where a couple
years ago a quilt marked $1800 seemed high to me, now there are several at
that price and a few between $2000 and $3000. So the fact that some quilts
are still there from year to year, and only one or two have been marked
down, and there are many new additions to her inventory, and the prices are
as described, all tells me that she’s buying more than ever, holding some
for a long time, but ($64000question) must be selling enough to justify a
busy schedule travelling around doing show after show. And there’s no doubt
that the average price I see at her booth is UP over recent years. I would
not be surprised to find quilts at general antique dealers who may have an
entire estate which included a few quilts to have all kinds of different
prices since as non-specialists in quilts, they’ll be more likely to accept
an offer just to turn over their goods.
As for the auction information, one single event, one single quilt, none of
these defines a trend. To be valid a large number of instances has to be
tracked for any credible result. Finally, I’ve heard more than once that
value is definitely geographic which makes perfectly good sense. If “new”
quilts are coming to market in locations where vintage quilts are likely to
be found, and the “money” looking for such quilts is elsewhere, the value
will be higher where the money is and lower where the quilts are, to
oversimplify the question. I have been told by appraisers that certain parts
of the country will bring better prices than in other parts of the country.
If you believe the “Antiques Road Show” appraisers, they reiterate
frequently that an item will be worth “even more” when local to the place
where it was made, as early furniture for example has a more enthusiastic
following in the region where it was made. SusanLK
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 17:27:29 -0600
From: Russell-Hill <russhill@ctesc.net
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 22:07:41 +0300
From: “John Ordway” <ordway@glas.apc.org
I went silk shopping today.
Silk is not that readily available here and you have to know which stores
carry it. A nearby store has a great selection, but it mostly for
dressmaking purposes. I found the weight I wanted — I’m not sure what it’s
called — it’s raw silk that is heavy, almost of a brocade weight. My first
trip to the store was very disappointing — no way was the woman going to
cut me any small amounts — it would interfere with her reading her
newspaper! I went back later in the afternoon and succumbed to a meter each
of three different colors for baby blocks at 130 cm width — at $20 a meter.
Don’t gasp. I have no idea whether it’s a lot or money or not, but it’s
gorgeous.
The saleswoman said it was from Liechtenstein. So much for getting romantic
and getting Russian silk!
Q: I want to handpiece baby blocks — does anyone have any suggestions on
whether I would need to paper piece these — the silk is heavy and would
definitely hold up on it’s own with piecing. Does anyone have any
experience with looking at antique silk quilts: are they paper-backed?
The other fun thing was finding silk thread — 23 different colors. They
were on very old cardboard spools that said 50k (50 kopek) which even in the
old days at other exchange rates was not very much (in the 1980’s it would
have been $.80). God knows what warehouse they’ve been sitting in for
years. They were 6 rubles today (about 27 cents) for 100 meters — not
huge amounts. I’ll now have to match the colors with the fabric I bought
and go back and buy more — otherwise I’ll probably never see it again!
Maryjo in Moscow
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 19:40:32 EST
From: SudaNim@aol.com
I’ve used the heavy, nubby “raw silk” for a quilt…triple Irish chain as a
wedding present. I’ve been collecting it for years through thrift stores.
Whenever I’m in a second-hand store, I scan the women’s suit-and-dress rack.
There’s a lot of raw silk outfits out there that are pitted out, or stained,
or sun-faded just on one spot. They’re really cheap then.
I made a 3×5 foot all-silk quilt, and probably paid about $20 total for all
the fabric. I think the cotton batting was the biggest expense.
Silk is definitely balkier than cotton (bulkier, too rim shot). It shifts
around as you assemble the top. I just pinned the holy heck out of it; didn’t
use foundation paper, and it went fine. But paper sure wouldn’t hurt.
Especially if you’re doing a more complicated pattern.
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 23:16:40 -0600
From: Mary Waller mswaller@iw.net
I also saw the quilt Jeanne asked about on ‘Antiques Roadshow’. I’m not
going to second-guess Leslie Keno’s estimate, but I will mention his
business is in New York City and his main area of expertise seems to be
furniture, it’s a great quilt in great condition, has a family history
and a cross-stitched label about the maker and the person who made the
label on the back. I was concentrating on every word, so when they went
to the next item, DH Steve said, “I can’t believe you weren’t yelling,
‘Tell her to get it the hell out of the cedar chest!'”. But of course I
would have added, “And refold it!”
Mary Waller, Vermillion, SD
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 07:36:52 EST
From: CToczek@aol.com
Hi everyone,
I’ve lurked for awhile; enjoying the commentary and doctoring the boys’
chicken pox here at home.
Poly batts-For a while I’ve been machine quilting several smaller projects,
playing with the technique. (new things-not vintage) However, recently I went
back to a small applique project to hand quilt and was reminded of how much
tougher, literally, it is to hand quilt through cotton batting as opposed to
the thin poly batts. Yes, I saw posts here regarding wool batts and the newer
cotton batts like Hobbs organic and Fairfield Soft Touch, but I would like to
throw out this question:
Can any of you say from hands-on experience that you’ve found one of these
cottons to quilt as easy as the thin poly-batts? Any “stories from the field”
are welcome.
Thanks,
Carla, at chilly West Point, NY, who hears of 70F from Mom in Little Rock, AR
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 08:07:23 -0500
From: Alan Kelchner quiltfix@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
To: qhl@cuenet.com
I’m glad to know my predilection for using orange in my quilts is
genetic !
(family is Pennsylvania Dutch). But to paraphrase an old quote, gaudy is
as
gaudy does, so forgive the poor souls that call PA German quilts gaudy.
They
don’t know better 🙂
The lack of knowledge of quilting in dealers extends from country
auctioneers all the way to those fancy-types that appraise for the
Antiques
Roadshow. I watched it Monday night and was dumbfounded when they
appraised a fantastic quilt (textiles are so uncommon on this show).
Well, the appraiser, Mr. Keno from Sotheby’s (that 40ish thin blond guy
who’s a furniture expert, and occasionally we see him with his brother –
they look very much alike). Anyhow, he appraised the piece as a piece
of folk art, rather than as a quilt. Verrrrrry
interesting. But his ignorance was showing very badly (I was quite
embarrassed for him). He talked about the design work, the “pinwheels”
pattern, and the
weaving patterns (this was a magnificent 1850 Princess Feather, four
blocks, peacocks and other birds appliqued into the border,and it was
quilted, not woven !). He appraisal bowled me over. I’m definitely
dealing in the wrong sellers’ market. But really, if you’re gonna get up
and talk, you need to talk intelligently. I was so disturbed by it that
I emailed the Antiques Roadshow. It’s a disservice to the viewers to
appraiser something when you can’t discuss the piece properly. And yes,
this was a Southeby’s auction price for what appeared to be an
extraordinary.
What’s that other saying …. Keep your mouth shut and be thought a
fool, or
open it and remove all doubt ……?
Alan
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 08:07:43 -0600
From: Laura Hobby Syler texas_quilt.co@mail.airmail.net
Hi Carla,
As I stated before, I quilted many, many tops in the late ’70’s & early
’80’s with Fairfield poly batts….traditional to be specific, until they
came out witht he low loft…..and yes, they are like quilting on butter…
I now use the either the F. Soft Touch or the Hobbs Organic. Yes, they are
a little stiffer to quilt on, and I do bend many more needles that I would
like, but I am still able to get my 18-22 (on a really good day) stitches
to the inch …..incidently, not only does the batting effect the
sluggishness of your stitching, but I’ve found that the fabric really plays
more of a role. I am finishing up a baby quilt that my mother did for my
cousins baby and they used decorator fabric with a shrinirized (sp)
finish…boy, even after washing it’s so stiff I cant quilt on if for very
long…and they put a poly bat it in!
As I tell my beginning students, quilting is a masochistic art form and we
just have to * suffer in silence*
Laura
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 08:10:10 -0600
From: Laura Hobby Syler texas_quilt.co@mail.airmail.net
I’m glad that others of you saw the quilt on Antiques Roadshow.
I loved Mary’s comments – and her husband’s. I am teaching a conservation
class in a couple of weeks and will probably tell them remember at least
their two
comments.
As to the price of the quilt . . . after seeing some of the pieces in the
James collection last fall, I’m not so sure the pricing was out of line
(remembering he is from New York.)
We were shown a Baltimore Album quilt which the James’ paid $160,000 for in
1989.
A quilt is always worth what someone will pay for it “with a knowledgeable
seller and a knowledgeable buyer.
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 11:57:15 -0600
From: Laura Hobby Syler texas_quilt.co@mail.airmail.net
To: “Jeanne.Fetzer” Jeanne.Fetzer@integrityonline3.com,
<quiltfix@mail.jax.bellsouth.net>, "QHL" <qhl@cuenet.com>Subject: Re: QHL: Re: colors/dealers
Message-Id: 3.0.3.32.19990217115715.006de3a4@mail.airmail.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”us-ascii”
Jeanne, et al,
Did anyone else happen to see Martha this morning? I caught just part of it
and she had a woman on there that was talking about caring for your antique
and fine linens. She was a textile conservator. She showed how to wash a
deuvet cover using Orvus paste in a professional washing table (can you see
the envy here) like the one that Maury has…. Her formula for Orvus was
1 tsp per quart of water or 1 TBS per gallon…..is’nt this similar to what
was discussed in Omaha this year?
Then she talked about storage, acid free tissue, buffered tissue and acid
free boxes….She also discussed all of the wrong ways that people send
items into them wrapped in paper, masking tape and all the horrors….
anyone else see the spot?
Laura
In springy N. Texas
>
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 11:23:20 -0700
From: “Jeanne.Fetzer” Jeanne.Fetzer@integrityonline3.com
To: “QHL” qhl@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Re: Orvus
Message-ID: <000801be5aa2$ab12f260$2ce399d0@jeanne.fetzer>
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
I saw it, too. There are a couple of things different about her
recommendations on the use of Orvus. One is that Deborah Bede uses a lot
(understatement) more than 1 TBS. per gallon. Due to my brain cell
deterioration, I can’t remember the amount, but I think that it was a least
a cup to a gallon of water. I am sure it would depend on the amount of soil
and the type of textile you are cleaning. Also, other sources for Orvus are
available in larger quantities – like an animal feed store. It is horse
shampoo.
Please correct me if any of this is incorrect. The great thing about brain
deterioration is that you also lose any sensitivity to correction! Jeanne
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 17:42:36 EST
From: SudaNim@aol.com
To: qhl@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: story on URR code
Message-ID: 5eb4e7bb.36cb45dc@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
Thanks to the folks who responded to my request for interviews. There were
enough of you that I didn’t get to call everyone. Apologies to those I left
out. (And also, apologies to those I interviewed who also got left out.)
The story is scheduled to run Sunday. It may be posted on the web site as
early as Saturday; not sure about that, though. The paper’s website is
www.dallasnews.com.
Be warned it’s not entirely about the URR code, or the Hidden in Plain View
book. It’s more of an essay, based on an interesting personal fabric-
identification experience. I only get to write in first-person about once a
year, so gotta milk it for all it’s worth! 🙂
Aline
From: KirkColl@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Re: Orvus and cotton batting
Message-ID: 2a7aa2fc.36cb8c0e@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
- I was talking to Deb Bede yesterday. She”s planning to move to New
Hampshire and go into private practice in late spring/early summer, so all of
you in New England will have a new great resource. She recommended a 2%
solution of Orvus for maximum cleaning power. It also takes a lot of water
for rinsing, and of course she uses all deionized water (special plumbing).
- Re: cotton batting. The new batts, especially Quilter’s Dream, are great,
but it still helps to have the right needles. We recommend the Majestic 88
which is an English steel needle that is brought to the States and taken to an
electroplater where the outer coating of steel is stripped off and then
individually dipped in nickle. If you look at a regular needle under a
microscope, there are all kinds of little ruts from the mass production
process. These are absolutely smooth.
They are expensive — 2 for $3.75, but I always tell people there are very few
things you can get for less than $5 that will change your life, but this is
one of them. The downside is that they are so slick they will fall into your
pin cushion, never to be seen again, so they must be kept in their case when
not in use. Also, if you get them mixed up with your other needles you have
to get out the microscope.
They are not stronger than steel needles, but because there is no resistance
as they go through the batting, it takes a lot less effort to quilt, usually
meaning fewer bent and broken needles.
I don’t mean this to be an ad — I know these are available at some other
shops and frankly I wish every shop in the country carried them because it
would convert a lot more people to using cotton batting. They are great for
wool as well, and an absolute must for silk batting. Plus I usually lose
money selling them — by the time I pay for the 800 call and explain about the
needle I’m in the hole about $5 on the sale.
Nancy Kirk
The Kirk Collection
www.kirkcollection.com
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 00:07:54 -0500
From: “J. G. Row” Judygrow@blast.net
Correct me if I am wrong.
Deborah said that the “ions”(?) in Orvus bind themselves individually to
particles of dirt in the object being washed. When all the Orvus particles
are attached, no more cleaning can be done. So you might as well use a lot
of Orvus the first wash, than have to go back and do a second wash. We want
a lot of suds and foam. No suds, no foam, no cleaning.
Yes? Do I have it right?
Judy in Ringoes, NJ
judygrow@blast.net
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 07:35:02 -0500
From: Alan Kelchner quiltfix@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
To: qhl@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Orvus
Message-ID: 36CC08F5.657FDD2B@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
If you want large quantities of Orvus, go to your local feed-n-tack
store (supplies for your barnyard animals, for all you city-types .
Hmm, for you those stores may not be all that local !! ) And if memory
serves me right, when I last saw a large bottle at the feed store, it
said on the label it was for washing the teats on a cow’s udder prior to
milking. The horse shampoo is the Mane and Tail on the supermarket
shelves. But if you buy this stuff at the feed store, it’s much more
inexpensive than those 8 oz bottles at Joann’s !
Alan
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 06:42:46 -0600
From: “Sehoy L. Welshofer” sw4quilt@bellsouth.net
To: “QHL” QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: batting
Message-ID: <000001be5b3c$2f91c400$1e01a8c0@patrick>
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Hi everyone,
Can any of you say from hands-on experience that you’ve found one of these
cottons to quilt as easy as the thin poly-batts? Any “stories from the
field”
are welcome.
Thanks,
Carla,
Reply:
Clara – I use nothing but Hobbs all cotton or 20/80 for my hand quilting. I
love it. The needle glides through with no problem at all. The secret for
hand quilting is to presoak, spin out, put in dryer on high heat. No, it
doesn’t come apart, and it doesn’t shrink. It comes out of the dryer
wonderfully soft.
Visit Web Threads, the Newsletter for Net Savvy Quilters at:
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 08:02:30 -0600
From: Laura Hobby Syler texas_quilt.co@mail.airmail.net
To: “J. G. Row” Judygrow@blast.net, “Quilt History List” QHL@cuenet.com,
<Jeanne.Fetzer@integrityonline3.com>Subject: Re: QHL: Deborah Bede and Orvus
Message-Id: 3.0.3.32.19990218080230.006f52e0@mail.airmail.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”us-ascii”
Judy, Even though I was not in Omaha, I have talked to a couple of my
friends that work in the textiles testing lab here for JC Penney’s and
they concur with Deborah’s theory….molecule for molecule kinda
thing……as opposed to detergent that acts in a scraping method to remove
the dirt molecules the Orvus binds itself to the dirt ( do they have
something that I can spray over my whole house?????)
Laura
In Springy N. Texas.
>
>
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 08:59:52 -0700
From: Eileen Trestain ejtrestain@earthlink.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Orvus
Message-ID: 36CC38F8.1E7B6033@earthlink.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Deborah Bede said three cups of Orvus to 10 gallons of water, in a big
textile tank, with very little agitation. You need enough soap molecules
to bond with the free radical dirt molecules to remove dirt. Not enough
soap leaves the textile still dirty. She said to rinse rinse rinse.
Even after many rinses, you may have a few bubbles in a test tube when
shaken, but she also said you could have bubbles in the test tube when
the soap could no longer be chemically measured.
Eileen
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 11:59:31 -0800
From: “R & L Carroll” Robert.J.Carroll@GTE.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Orvus
Message-ID: <01be5b79$4da3bf60$b134fcd0@r.-carroll>
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Hello! Our quilt study group had a speaker a few months ago, Kay Walcher, a
textile conservator. She mentioned that other conservators in their group
were no longer using Orvus because it leaves a residue which shows up later
as a film on textiles. They have seen it most notably on carpets. They
feel that it cannot be rinsed out completely. For myself, I have not found
Orvus cleans a quilt very well. I don’t see the point of washing a quilt if
it does not clean up. Using the high concentrations mentioned would only add
to the difficulties of rinsing. Has anyone used the new Quiltwash by
Craftgard? I met the people from Quiltwash and they tell me it is perfectly
safe for antique quilts, and that Piecemakers is using it for all their
antique quilts. They explained it all in scientific terms, but I’ve
forgotten. I have used it to wash new quilts and it does a great job of
cleaning.
Laurette in So. California
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 17:12:39 -0500
From: Steve Greco GrandmasAttic@compuserve.com
I had to laugh about the comment that your dear husband said he couldn’t
believe you weren’t yelling “tell her to get it out of the cedar chest”
because when my husband and son came into the living room during Antiques
Roadshow, they actually did see me hollering at the TV, “Get it out of the
Cedar Chest and for heaven’s sake REFOLD it!!!” I too noticed that this
fantastically beautiful quilt was being talked about as a piece of “folk
art” and not as quilt, and I couldn’t BELIEVE the guy doing the appraising
didn’t know what he was talking about. Sigh. Anyway, husband and son
decided I needed to calm down with a cup of hot tea since I was yelling at
the TV!.
Rachel Greco
Grandma’s Attic Sewing Emporium, Inc.
155 SW Court Street
Dallas, OR 97338
1-503-623-0451
e-mail: GrandmasAttic@compuserve.com
www.grandmasatticquilting.com
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 15:53:32 -0700
From: “jenniferl hill” hilljl@shaw.wave.ca
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Poly vs. Cotton batts
Message-Id:
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”us-ascii”
The first quilts that I made were quilted with poly batts, on the advice of
my aunt, who taught me the basics. She was one of those mid-century
quilters for whom poly batting was the best thing to happen to quilting
since the sewing machine (she obviously never used a rotary cutter!). By
1994 I decided to try cotton, since I liked the old fashioned feel it
imparted. I used Hobbs Heirloom, and I sure regretted it, at least for the
first few “reaches” of my queen-sized Lone Star. However, by the time I
finished it, I was quite accustomed to it, and now, I think I could quilt
through steel wool, if I really had to (well, maybe not!) I use cotton
batting almost exclusively now, and I find poly quilts have a very limp
drape to them.
My favourites are Hobbs Organic Cotton for very fine work, and Mountain
Mist Blue Ribbon for scrappy, “utility” quilts. I like to quilt rather
densely, so I don’t think it worthwhile to pay extra for the brands that
say they can be quilted up to 5″-10″ apart.
Like Laura mentioned, the fabric used can make a big difference, blends,
and decorator fabric being tough. However, I think the quilting pattern
chosen can also have an effect. I did a fairly comprehensive survey of
quilting needles on a wholecloth muslin quilt I made. I broke over 40
needles in it, quilting lots of feathers and grape clusters.
Jennifer Hill
Calgary, AB
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 08:45:06 EST
From: CToczek@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: batt info
Message-ID: 9d3df7a9.36cd6ae2@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
Thanks to everyone who has offered field advice on the cotton batts. Thanks
also, to Nancy, in regard to the note about the needles. You read my mind! I
have wondered if perhaps my difficulties with the cotton batts might be
partially related to my generic quilting needles. I’ll try the stronger ones
and see if I find an improvement.
Best to all,
Carla, at West Point where the snow forecast disappeared…..as a new resident
up here, I think you’re all pulling my leg about winter snow amounts!
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 08:26:47 -0600
From: “Brian/Jen Schmidt” brian_jen@prodigy.net
I have used Hobbs Thermore Ultra-Thin poly batting and the thinnest loft of Quilter’s Dream Cotton Batting. To me, they needled the same. However, I favor Quilter’s Dream Cotton because it ends up shrinking a little after I’ve washed the finished quilt, and I like the effect. But if I had to use a poly batting, it would be the Hobbs Thermore.
Jennifer
Can any of you say from hands-on experience that you’ve found one of these
cottons to quilt as easy as the thin poly-batts? Any “stories from the
field”
are welcome.
Thanks,
Carla,
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 10:43:49 -0500
From: “J. G. Row” Judygrow@blast.net
To: “Quilt History List” QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Two items
I’ve got two things to share with you today, both from newspapers.
- On page 3-A of the March issue of the Maine Antique Digest are two
small photos and accompanying short editorial. The photos are of a quilt
that is just a single large apple tree; one photo of the quilt itself (wish
I could see it in color) and one of the quilt as the cover of “Yankee”
Magazine.
The paragraph says that in August of 1998 M.A.D. took a picture of the apple
quilt in a dealer’s booth at the Union, Maine, antiques show. At the time
the dealer told them that the quilt was “probably” turn of the century and
signed by the maker, Polly Leavitt.
In January M.A.D. got a letter from Polly Leavitt with a picture of her
making the quilt in 1974. It was on the cover of “Yankee” in September of
that same year.
When M.A.D called the dealer, he said, “Nothing surprises me anymore.”
Right! Isn’t he supposed not to be surprised if he gives a prospective
buyer a description?
- New York Times, Thursday Feb 18, page F-11. There is a large
article/review by Phil Patton of the book “Hidden in Plain View” . This is
the first review or article about the book that I have read or seen that
finally casts doubt about the veracity of the facts as stated in the book.
Some quotes follow —
“Did Ms. Williams, who died last May, really present the code as a practical
aid? As recited, it seems more inspirational than navigational.”
“John Michael Vlach, chairman of African American studies at George
Washington University, reviewed an early proposal for the book for a rival
publisher and was not convinced. ‘ It’s a nice idea,’ he said, ‘ and it
would be marvelous if we could prove it. But from the evidence I don’t see
the smoking gun — or quilt.’ “
“Quilt codes are not mentioned in contemporaneous accounts of the
underground railroad, and the code doesn’t reach the systematic nature of,
say, the symbols scrawled on fences by tramps a century ago to set apart
friendly farms from hostile ones.”
” …. the Northern Star for guidance; the Drunkard’s Path pattern advised
taking an irregular course to avoid apprehension; Flying Geese signaled the
way north — but only in the spring. These are not exactly Rand Mc Nally
maps.”
“Designs for escape or designs for the dream of escape, the quilts raise
problems…………But to romanticize efforts to escape from slavery
underplays the hopelessness that made the institution so evil.”
And finally:
” The sad but likely truth is that for many, if not most, quilts were not
the escape map but the only escape.”
What a wonderful last line. As quilters we know that quilting does not show
us how to get OUT of unpleasant situations in our own lives. But we do know
that we can escape from those situations, even momentarily, INTO our
quilting.
Judy in Ringoes, NJ
judygrow@blast.net
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 08:45:02 -0800
From: Marilyn Maddalena marilyn@crl.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Re: NQA show
Message-Id: 3.0.3.32.19990219084502.006ed510@mail.crl.com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”us-ascii”
I am a Board member of NQA and Publications Chair, so I produce the
magazine, The Quilting Quarterly. I am not aware of any “flap” about
entering quilts in the NQA show. I think you may be thinking of Houston,
where I understand there were some problems with entries. The NQA show is
held annually at a different location each year, to ensure we reach the
most members possible. It is a non-juried show, and in my experience has
been great. It is a big show, with quite a variety of quilts to be seen
from all over the country, and great vendors — everything you’d like to
see in a quilt show. The magazine has an article about the show this year,
which is in Omaha, NE. If you’re not an NQA member, at a cost of $17.00
per year, you won’t be able to get the magazine — it’s sent only to
members. NQA is completely non-profit, has a program to certify teachers
and judges (where AQS has a program to certify appraisers), also gives
grants and lots of other “good stuff.” You might look into it. You can
call the office at 410-461-5733 for more information,
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 12:29:19 EST
From: ZegrtQuilt@aol.com
For those of you in Florida and near Naples, I will be speaking at the Naples
Philharmonic on Monday, March 22 at 10 A.M. The title of the lecture is
American Quilts: A Patchwork of Meanings, Purposes, and Origins. It is part of
a series called The Tactile Series. Please contact the Philharmonic for
individual ticket prices. I would be pleased if some QHL folks could be
there. Shelly Zegart
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 13:28:05 -0800
From: “pepper cory” pepcory@bmd.clis.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Re: No flap with Houston–all settled
Message-Id: 199902191849.KAA22293@orbital.cue.com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Friends, let’s get the facts straight before some misunderstanding happens
about the “quilt flap.” Last year AIQA (Houston organization) came out
with some guidelines for entry into their fall show that included a
prohibition against exhibiting the submitted quilt elsewhere. Perhaps this
was in response to some famous quilts that had been making the quilt show
circuit and AIQA wanted to ensure that new and different quilts were seen
at their show. However, in response to many letters and communications,
AIQA rescinded this prohibition. The jurying for that show took place much
later than usual because folks had to get their facts straight. I know this
to be true because I was one of the jurors along with Jane Hall and Linda
Feidler. Locked in a room with 500+ quilt slides–throw me into the briar
patch! If you have questions, please go to the source (AIQA). I was glad to
see Mary from NQA (another fine organization) getting information out.
Don’t worry–both AIQA and NQA hold fine shows as does AQS (Paducah).
Pepper Cory
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 15:45:50 EST
From: Lekhbah@aol.com
Hi,
I am the mother of two equestrians, and the wife of another. Orvus is the
shampoo for horses. Mane and tail, as my daughters sniff, is just shampoo,
and is available for human heads. (they won’t use it on horses)
You can buy little bottles of Orvus at quilt stores, or big jugs of it at
tack/feed stores. We have to buy a halter this week-end, so I’ll check out
Maryland prices.
Kim
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 1999 22:47:54 -0000
From: “Jenni Dobson” jenni@dobson4qu.freeserve.co.uk
To: “Quilt History List” QHL@cuenet.com
Sorry I’m a few days late but I read Carla’s enquiry about quilting =
other batting compared to poly. I still have a cotton batting waiting =
for a hand project – I know cotton is popular with machine quilters & =
that’s what I’ve used it for, a limited amount.
Just wanted to say, I recently finished hand-quilting a double quilt =
with a wool (+ a small percent poly) batting (Hobbs). It was fantastic – =
so easy on the needle & the quilt feels lovely. If you want a natural =
fibre instead of polyester, you could try wool. It is light & fine, but =
warm yet not “sticky” to sleep under. I guess where you live in the US =
affects how useful wool is for you.
BTW, I’m not making a commercial plug here – just a satisfied user.
Jenni, in cloudy England.
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 99 21:45:23 EST
From: “Bob Mills” decision@tigger.jvnc.net
To: “Quilter’s Heritage List” QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Repro fabric
Message-ID: decision.1269866363E@tigger.jvnc.net
Does anyone know if the repro fabric from the antique quilts and clothing at
the Shelburne Museum in VT is sold anywhere besides their museum shop and a
Shelburne Quilt shop? I bought two fat quarters there this summer, thinking
I could find it elsewhere. I would love to see a catalog with these
fabrics. Also, is Sharon Newman’s fabric line sold thru any catalogs? Who
is the manufacturer of this fabric?
The DAR quilt fabric line is sold in several catalogs but I was wondering if
anyone knew if there was a larger selection than appears in Hancock’s catalog.
I feel more comfortable knowing who designed the fabrics (Sharon) or from
what museum the fabrics were chosen. Much of the repro fabric in catalogs
is advertised as ‘based on’ or ‘inspired by’ quilts in a museum or
collection. My question becomes how closely was a fabric based on real
fabric? Even the DAR Museum Collection ad in Hancock’s catalog uses waffley
words like ‘are the inspiration for’.
Can someone explain the process as to how an antique textile fabric is
reproduced?
My other question for the experts is how reliable are the ‘reproductions’ to
reality? Why would they be called inspired by rather than an accurate
reproduction ?
Is there a graceful way of suggesting to QHL which of the designers seem to
have patterns and colors in line with the experts knowledge of fabrics?
Kaye England Voices of the Past, P & B DAR, Moda English Oak, Moda Secret
Garden, Moda Folk Art Wedding, Shelburne, and Sharon Newman’s Browns…
Part of the reason I ask is that if these are good repro’s I want to catalog
the pictures of the fabrics in my brain as well as in a notebook. If not, I
don’t want to look at them anymore.
And Eileen, J. G. Row and I were hopping up and down last night when we
found an exact match of fabric in your book to a quilt top I own. It is a
yellow with small red figures from 1830-60. If only your book was three
times the size!
Jan Drechsler (not Bob)
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 11:10:00 +0100
From: “Tilde Binger” binger.hougaard@get2net.dk
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Once more ? Hidden in Plain view.
Message-Id: 199902201010.LAA09404@bednorz.get2net.dk
Content-type: text/plain; charset=”US-ASCII”
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
Now, I’m getting curious here. Can any of you ladies, who have actually read
this book (! “Hidden in Plain View”) tell me a little more about it. From
the review extracts that Judy sent, it seems, that the information of which
it is based, has been collected rather late in this century, and that
nothing exists from any Underground-users ? Is that correct ? Please e-mail
me privately, if this horse has been beaten to death on the list already.
Since the matter seems to have created quite a stir on other lists as well,
I would be interested in knowing exactly where the data for the book came
from, and when. I would also be interested in knowing, whether any material
from “Underground-users” has been published, and what this material says
about the Underground.
Thank you in advance
Tilde in Copenhagen
….
- New York Times, Thursday Feb 18, page F-11. There is a large
article/review by Phil Patton of the book “Hidden in Plain View” . This is
the first review or article about the book that I have read or seen that
finally casts doubt about the veracity of the facts as stated in the book.
…..
Judy in Ringoes, NJ
judygrow@blast.net
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 06:29:40 -0500
From: Jean Ann quiltmag@mindspring.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: AIQA, NQA, AQA
Message-Id:
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”us-ascii”
Well, for my two cents, I supported the decision of the (A)IQA to have only
quilts that had not been exhibited elsewhere. There are so many wonderful
quilts out there that it is good to see different quilts at the different
shows instead of quilts “making the rounds”. It made good sense, but public
opinion is also very important and I am sure that the people making both
decisions did so with great thoughtfulness and much consideration.
Jean Ann Eitel, Editor
QUILT magazine site: http://www.quiltmag.com – IRC chat site:
Personal web site: http://www.mindspring.com/~quiltmag/jeanann/jaeindex.html
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 09:01:53 EST
From: EGinebaugh@aol.com
Hi All,
I need some opinions on a quilt I saw yesterday. It’s calling my name, but I
need more info on it before I buy.
It’s a single Irish Chain, made from that “creamsicle” orange & white. It has
very little batting, almost full-size, pretty worn on the edges, and a nickle-
sized hole on a side, about 2″ away from the edge. The quilting is a
crosshatch grid, with feathered wreaths in the open spaces of the chains, and
is exquisite! I love it for the quilting, but it is very fragile.
My questions are: About what year are we talking for this quilt? Can it be
displayed in any way? (I think hanging is out) Should it be repaired or
restored?
Any other input you have would be appreciated, and you may reply privately to
me if it is not of interest to the list.
Thank you for your input,
Liz in Michigan
EGinebaugh@aol.com
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 09:31:44 EST
From: Jilly31@aol.com
Hi Everyone. I am a beginner here and my question is about humility blocks.
Do quilters still put them in their quilts? Many quilts I have seen at
auction or at quilt shows do not have them. If quilters don’t use them
anymore…when did they quit? Is this a useful way to help date a quilt?
Thanks for any input.
Jill —- In cold Indiana — If you don’t like the weather stick around —
it is bound to change in an hour or two. It was 70F one day and it snowed the
next day!
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 09:44:47 EST
From: CToczek@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: fabric repros
Message-ID: 440bb8cd.36ceca5f@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
Not an expert (yet!), but I can answer some of Jan’s questions regarding
the reproduction fabrics.
Having had the great opportunity to work at Sharon Newman’s shop for a year in
Lubbock, TX before the military moved us to New York, I can say first hand
that she’s an interesting lady with a head filled with facts and a temperament
for accuracy. (I learned quickly to measure through the center to avoid wavy
borders!) Sharon bases her repro collections on actual fabric pieces from
blocks, tops and quilts in her collection, plus some from friends and some
that Moda adds. Moda falls under United Notions Corp. out of Dallas.
By the way, Bobbie Aug and Sharon have a new book out this spring called
“String Quilts With Style,” a modern twist on an old favorite. Through AQS, I
think?
Back to repros……Some lines have an “accurate” coloring in say, reds and
greens, and then a modern update in blues and purple to attract a variety of
customers. Sharon is particular and tries to have ALL accurate colorings.
For instance, with the Vintage Garden line last fall, she was unhappy with the
blue colorway, (which I loved), because “it wasn’t right” for the period, but
lost out to the Moda folks on the decision. As for the production methods, I
don’t know the technicalities, but do know samples are sent numerous times
from the plants to the designers for adjustments.
Hope that helps a little; hopefully we’ll hear more from the experienced folks
about the process involved in the fabric lines.
Oh, and a teaser….Sharon has a red and green reproduction line in the works
for later this year!
Have a nice weekend,
Carla Toczek
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 09:12:26 +0000
From: Bobbie Aug qwltpro@uswest.net
To: Jilly31@aol.com
CC: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: Re: QHL: Re: QHL-Digest Digest V99 #49
Message-ID: 36CE7C7A.B6F0CF06@clsp.uswest.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Dear Jilly,
By humility blocks are you speaking of the purposeful practice of making a
“mistake” in one’s quilt top? The “Devil’s Eye” to allow a place for the “evil
spirits” to escape the quilt? The belief that to make something perfect would be
evil – only God made perfect things? If this is your meaning, then I would say to
you that there has never been any conclusive evidence shown in any research that I
or anyone else has ever done that supports any of the above as being an
intentional practice – at least as it would apply to any formal time period or
group of people. In other words, one individual quiltmaker may have done this
throughout her lifetime of making quilts, but this does not constitute a
“practice.” Too bad as it is such a romantic idea!
Bobbie A. Aug
Jilly31@aol.com wrote:
Hi Everyone. I am a beginner here and my question is about humility blocks.
Do quilters still put them in their quilts? Many quilts I have seen at
auction or at quilt shows do not have them. If quilters don’t use them
anymore…when did they quit? Is this a useful way to help date a quilt?
>
Thanks for any input.
Jill —- In cold Indiana — If you don’t like the weather stick around —
it is bound to change in an hour or two. It was 70F one day and it snowed the
next day!
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 10:21:01 -0700
From: “jenniferl hill” hilljl@shaw.wave.ca
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Cc: Re:
Subject: QHL: Re: QHL-Digest Digest V99 #49
Message-Id:
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”us-ascii”
I guess the horsey set hereabouts have deeper pockets than quilters, or
maybe they just seldom wash their horses. I went to a local tack shop
seeking Orvis or even an Orvis-like product in large quantities. I was
told it was a special order, and the price quoted was more than the local
quilt shops charge for the little 8 oz. bottle. Go figure.
Jennifer Hill
Calgary, AB
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 12:20:25 EST
From: KirkColl@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Re: Repro fabrics and Omaha
Message-ID: fef379da.36ceeed9@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
Two things to comment on:
1) I hope everyone can come to Omaha in June for the NQA Show. The local
committee is knocking themselves out to make it the best NQA show ever. In
addition to the main show, there are 28 other special events and exhibits
around town at the various museums and historica houses including patriotic
quilts at the Strategic Air Command Museum.
The Quilt Heritage Foundation is coordinating the appraisals and offering
lectures across the street at Trinity Cathedral in a “Quilt Heritage Days”
celebration. We’ll be doing two lectures a day on “Taking Care of Grandma’s
Quilt,” “What’s My Quilt Worth?” and “Tell Me About Grandmother’s Quilt”.
The last is kind of like super show and tell with a lecturer commenting on
each quilt.
On Friday night, everyone is invited over to our shop for a party (and
shopping of course). We’ll have free trolley rides from the Doubletree up til
about midnight.
The other big news is NQA has established a new category for Crazy Quilts this
year — the first big national show to do so. (Yeah!)
- On reproduction fabrics. The surface design on most of the reproductions
on the market today is great, because it is all done with computers and they
can get it very accurate. Sometimes the companies take liberties with the
sizing however.
The colors, on the other hand, are a different story. In some lines, all the
colors are taken from fabrics of the period. This was true of Harriet
Hargrave’s first collection from P&B. Two pieces (the light cadet blues) were
taken from faded fabrics, but otherwise they were dead on. I remember Harriet
was in the shop the day after she got the strike offs and showed them to me
and I was on the phone ordering them before her car pulled away from the curb.
Some other companies take only the design and don’t worry at all about the
color — they just go with 1990’s colors so they fit in with the rest of their
line.
Many are now going to a plan of one fairly accurate original colorway, and two
or more alternate colorways that probably are based in contemporary colors
rather than original ones.
Remember, their business is to sell fabric, and there are many fewer quilters
wanting to re-create older quilts, than contemporary quilters wanting to make
new quilts.
The minimum run of a given print is 3000 yards with a minimum of 1000 yards
in each color — if you print in Japan. If you print in the the U.S., the
minimums go up to 7500 yards of one print, with a minimum 3000 yards in one
color.
That’s why many of the companies sell the fabric at market from painting and
color copies before they even print the fabric. Then they don’t even print
what doesn’t sell well — and if that was the original colorway — sorry.
A few companies are finding that color accurate reproductions are selling
better than “kind of close” reproductions, and are trying to do a really good
job with at least one color way.
Some retail businesses sell all the “reproduction” fabrics that come out. We
decided to focus on the ones we felt were accurate for both color and surface
design. But there are still some good ones out there we miss. Usually we
pass because those particular companies don’t stock the fabric and you can’t
reorder with any certainty. Because we’re primarily mail order, we need
reliable supplies.
It’s a fascinating business, and there are lots of factors that come into
play. It certainly makes sense for appraisers and quilt historians to try to
keep up with the repro market because some of them are very, very good and in
100 years it will be hard to date the quilts if they are quilted with
traditional cotton batts and thread that doesn’t flouresce.
Right now we don’t worry about counterfeiting because it costs so much more to
make a new quilt than the buy an equivalent old quilt.
Thanks for the forum.
Nancy Kirk
The Kirk Collection
www.kirkcollection.com
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 11:46:27 +0000
From: Bobbie Aug qwltpro@uswest.net
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Nancy, thanks for the repro information.
Please tell us who is the Quilt Heritage Foundation. How does one become a
member. Who will be doing quilt appraisals. The lecture titles sound great! Who
is giving which lecture?
Thank you.
Bobbie A. Aug
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 18:26:55 EST
From: Jilly31@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: humility block & display ideas
Message-ID: 1591c4e3.36cf44bf@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
In a message dated 2/20/99 11:22:51 AM US Eastern Standard Time,
qwltpro@uswest.net writes:
<< In other words, one individual quiltmaker may have done this
throughout her lifetime of making quilts, but this does not constitute a
“practice.” Too bad as it is such a romantic idea! >>
Thanks for the input. I am really sorry to hear that this isn’t or wasn’t a
“practice” of a particular period of time or a group of people. Personally, I
like the idea…it is a romantic idea! I have seen on samplers where the
maker cross-stitches the letter Z backwards so as not to offend God by making
a perfect piece and have thought the practice might carry over to quilting.
I have a Rose of Sharon quilt which is quite old and I am having difficulties
trying to date it. Anyway, the quilt has what I would call a humility block
in the lower right hand side of the quilt. The “mistake on purpose” is that
the flowers are a totally different color than the rest of the quilt. It
looks quite purposeful that the colors are different. Any ideas on this?
Also, I am sure this topic has been discussed before…but what is the best
way to fold and store quilts. Also any display ideas out there?
Jill in Indiana – and it is snowing again!
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 23:07:13 EST
From: EllynLK@aol.com
I have been pulling out all of the antique “orphan” blocks that I’ve inherited
or found… just wondering what others of you have done to display these.
I’m going to be doing some redecorating in the spring and want to use these in
my decor. Just want to know what good ideas are out there to use these little
treasures in new and different ways.
Found one I forgot I had… found it a few years ago at a flea market. I
have no idea what pattern it is but I bought it because it has three paper
template pieces pinned to it. They were cut from an envelope and as fortune
would have it, there is a postmark! November 26, 1928 at 4:30 p.m. I would
like to somehow display this block along with the templates.
Ideas welcome!
Lauri Klobas
Pacific PaKarendes, California
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 22:16:46 -0700
From: Eileen Trestain ejtrestain@earthlink.net
OKAY folks. I just can’t bite my tongue any more.
I bought the underground RR book, Hidden in Plain View. First, I have to
say up front that I believe in the likelihood that an Underground RR may
have used quilts in some manner to give directions, or memorize the way,
similar to a map. I bought the book believing this to be a possibility.
I believe the African American culture is/was wise in many more ways
that anyone ever gave them credit for at the time, and that their
resiliency of spirit is what helped them to survive in the most
appalling of conditions.
Now to the book itself. The original author of the book, Jaqueline
Tobin, met an African American woman selling quilts in a flea market in
South Carolina, and the woman hinted at the Underground RR legend, which
has been with us for years. Leaving aside the possibility that this
could have been a most delightful ploy for an elderly woman to sell her
quilts to a tourist, we assume she has told them an oral legend handed
down that nobody so far has been able to prove.
For the first 63 pages, we get to read the forward by not one, but three
people who I presume are well known for their knowledge of African
American history and African tribal history, as well as introductions by
both authors. One of these people is Cuesta Benberry, a highly respected
quilt historian.
Much of the first portion of the book itself is about African tribal
arts and history. The book makes a point that the African American
community has a long history of oral traditions. I understand that,
too. But every time I felt that approached the subject the book was
supposed to be about in the first half of the book, I felt like they
dodged, and danced, and never quite reached the subject I was interested
in.. the quilts.
the authors give a grouping of quilt blocks which the woman named as the
blocks that were used. Then they take us on a convoluted journey of how
they decided what the blocks may have meant in use. One of the ideas
which they have put forward was the Dresden plate pattern symbolizing a
town of Dresden Ohio. Does anyone know of any recorded history of the
pattern named as Dresden Plate in the 1800’s? Yes, the pattern existed
in c.1800 medallion quilts, where it is now named in England as a
Dahlia, but can anyone tell me how old the Dresden Plate name is? Yes,
Wagon Wheel patterns were in use. Why would the Wheel pattern lead them
to Dresden, Ohio?
Next, we come to how old spiritual songs relate to underground railroad
themes. And about the representational pictorial quilts of Harriet
Powers. But, so far, I fail to see a great relation to proving the
underground RR theme.
Now, to a more telling part, in my estimation. The photographs. Many of
the photographs are recently made quilts, made by the second author,
Raymond Dobard. Staged in scenic positions in old slave quarters, but
in bright modern colors, the quilts do stand out. However, it is the
quilts which are supposedly slave quilts, one which was “a exceptional
example of an early log cabin quilt that was made by a fugitive slave in
the 1840’s….” Though a terrible photo supplied by the museum, it
appears to be a classic C.1880 black silk quilt with considerable
damage. On the next page is another log cabin quilt which “is said to be
slave made. The date is given as 1830’s by it’s owner.” Here we have a
c.1830 quilt, complete with a nice strip of mourning print right up the
middle, at the front of the picture? It looks to me like a classic
c.1900 log cabin utility quilt, with a baptist fan quilt pattern
overall, and possibly a moderately thick to very thick batting, common
at that time. Even relative novices I have asked, out of curiosity, and
without leading the witness, as it were, have responded when asked “When
was this quilt made?” have said without hesitation “Turn of the
Century.”
A few pages later, we have a quilt, admittedly made in 1980, from the
MEMORY of a quilt owned by the maker in her childhood, but which was
destroyed by a fire. It features stars in a random pattern, and an
unusual quilting design, with some colored threads as some of the
quilting. This is supposed to be the topographical map of an unnamed
plantation, where the maker, who is still living, quite obviously never
lived during the years of slave incarceration.
On the following page, we have a quilt made by the Daughters Of Dorcas,
an African American Quilters Guild. This quilt was made in 1987-88, and
features several of the patterns listed by the elderly woman. (but who
DIDN’t use those same patterns in the 1980’s for their sampler quilts?)
It is convenient for the authors that the African American quilt maker,
Ozella Williams, passed away last fall, as there is no one left to
further question by any other person who might be interested, or who may
have been more through in their research. If I, at first glance, can
shoot holes in the dates of the quilts they tell us are very early
examples of Log cabin quilts, and this is what kind of knowledge and
research they have built their story around, it makes the rest of the
book look pretty shoddy.
I personally had hoped for some definite proof, or at least a decent
jumping off place. The best part of the book, in my opinion, is the
extensive bibliography on underground RR articles and books which we
find at the back of their book. If you want to know more about the
Underground RR, use that list. If you want to know about quilts from
the underground RR, this isn’t going to help you much.
Just my very personal opinion of this much discussed book.
Eileen
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 22:29:23 -0700
From: Eileen Trestain ejtrestain@earthlink.net
I guess I am on a soap box tonight.
There are a couple things to consider other than ease of quilting in
choosing battings.
Cotton and wool battings have a long history of survival. Polyester
doesn’t.
Cotton and Wool are very breathable, and are not so likely to trap
moisture under the quilt, so they feel cooler in the summer and warmer
in teh winter.
Wool and cotton are somewhat fire resistant, wool more than cotton. If
you see a burned quilt with a poly batting, you will never forget the
sight of how it burned , and melted. There is nothig quite like the
feel and sound of a smoked poly batting, which melts between the layers
of cotton top and lining, and crinkles and crackles as you handle it.
Rather eerie whan you think somebody might have been sleeping under it
as it melted.
I like Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon, probably because grandma would never
use anything else, and I like that traditional feel, and Hobbs Organic
if I want a bit more loft. I like way Hobbs wool feels, but I am afraid
to handle it too long, as I am allergic to wool, and don’t want to take
teh chance. I don’t quilt with it.
Eileen
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 11:33:32 -0500
From: Nancy Roberts <robertsn@norwich.net
For those interested in how reproduction fabric lines are designed, you might
check out Chiori Santiago’s article on the topic in The Fabric Special
Showcase, a special issue of Traditional Quiltworks magazine from Chitra
Publications. The article covers P&B Textile’s collection based on quilts
from the Oakland Museum. This issue is no longer on the newsstands, but back
issues can be purchased from the publisher if you missed it. The website is
http://www.QuiltTownUSA.com/ or you can call a credit card order at
800-628-8244. Nancy
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 11:43:21 -0500
From: Alan Kelchner <quiltfix@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
Liz, I have only one suggestion about your quilt – if it is something
that you dearly love, cannot stand the thought of not owning, you feel
the price is reasonable and you can afford it, then run (not walk) back
to the store and get the silly thing before someone else falls in
love!!!! I missed out on one (at that point too chicken to bid on ebay)
that I wish I had bought. Can’t get it out of my mind. But OTOH, if
it’s not screaming to come home, I won’t buy it. So I buy very few any
more. Would rather buy something that wants to come home with me. And
this does not mean that they are fancy and expensive. That is not
requisite. My most favorite one is a utilitarian piece that is worn (it
was filler for another, very ugly top). As for date, it’s not fair to
ask online (whimper-chinquiver). We have to see it. I will stick my neck
out far enough to guess at depression era, but that is not definite.
My suggestion is to buy and take it home. Love it as is, folded over a
chair that is infrequently used, so you can look at it. And never on
the couch – someone will inevitably snuggle under it. One of my first
jobs came from such an incident. The ladies daughter got under it and
was re-arranging the portion over her legs with her foot (don’t we all
before we sit up and use our hands?). Anyhow, the quilt was a fragile
pieceand, sure enough, her foot went straight through the center! It was
easily repaired, and (brag, brag) I couldn’t find the repair easily
myself (someone caught me photographing the wrong place – oops).
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 11:56:07 -0500
From: Alan Kelchner <quiltfix@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
Someone may need to help me here – memory must be going. Watched
television the other night and my interest was piqued when the narrator
was talking about how these (3rd world men) would not make their (item)
perfect, as only Mohammed was perfect. This was on Discovery/TLC, and I
meant to remember everything, but …………
Wait, just remembered – It was PBS, “Antiques Roadshow”, and whichever
middle-eastern tribe had woven the rug they were appraising (the rug was
HUGE). The man appraising stated that they wouldn’t use matching dye
lots of yarn to create the piece, because only Mohammed was perfect and
capable of making perfection. And as the years went on, the dye lots
would fade differently, making the differences even more noticeable (the
rug in question had blue sections that were two different shades of the
same color). Of course, the flags went up in my brain because of the
connection to humility blocks in American quilts. I still think that the
original humility myths were to cover mistakes, but I also believe that
the romanticism of the legend led people to do this on purpose.
Now if I could remember the name of the woman I ran into last week. Used
to work with her, can remember the day she came in beaming because her
bosom looked bigger (new Wonder Bra), but it’s been a week and I’ll be
damned if I can remember her name! Must be a guy thing to remember her
chest and not her name (LOL) !
Alan
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 13:27:36 EST
From: QuiltEvals@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Re: Questi
In a message dated 2/20/99 6:51:25 PM Pacific Standard Time, QHL-Digest-
request@cuenet.com writes:
<<
Please tell us who is the Quilt Heritage Foundation. How does one become a
member. Who will be doing quilt appraisals. The lecture titles sound great!
Who
is giving which lecture?
Thank you.
Bobbie A. Aug
>
Yes, Nancy, I am curious about this as well?
Thanks,
Deborah Roberts
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 11:27:40 -0700
From: “Jeanne.Fetzer” <Jeanne.Fetzer@integrityonline3.com
Thank you for taking the time to point out where you question the
authenticity of the Dobard book. All I want to say is, “Amen.” I don’t say
that to disprove anything, but to echo the need to look at information and
then ask questions. If we want quilt history to be taken seriously, we must
carefully research and support our findings based on fact.
Thank you, thank you!
Jeanne Fetzer
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 13:36:17 EST
From: QuiltEvals@aol.com
Yesterday, I had the privilege of seeing the strike offs for a new “1840’s”
line by Pat Nickols….Pat, I hope it was okay to tell, I just had to share
the news. The line is exciting….very accurate in detail and color. Of
course, there are the original colors and added color ways as well, but they
are all WONDERFUL! We were able to compare a few of the original fabrics
to the repros. Pat, like Sharon Newman has taken actual prints from quilts
and fabrics in her collection. This seems to be the way to do it – at least
for these two. The line is being produced by P&B and should be available in
late Spring, Pat will be introducing it at Quilt Market this May.
Sorry, I don’t usually do this, and I don’t mean to sound like a commercial,
but when you see them you will understand my excitement.
Deborah Roberts
Costa Mesa, CA
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 99 16:22:48 EST
From: “Bob Mills” <decision@tigger.jvnc.net
To Jennifer and others:
In the East, Agway which is a retail store and nursery catering to area
farmers and yuppies, sells Orvus and it is not special order.
I just bought a container of 7 1/2 pounds for $19.95 and my quilt store
orvis is 8 oz. for $4.99. You need to find something like a feedstore or
farmers co-op. I live in a very suburban area of NJ but am lucky we still
have these stores. And my quilts are getting very clean.
About a year or so ago I went into Agway and was told they were sold out.
Mrs. G. is washing all her sheep this week!
Jan Drechsler (not Bob)
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/bobmills/jan.html
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 99 16:22:47 EST
From: “Bob Mills” <decision@tigger.jvnc.net
Just a word of thanks on the repro fabric information. Already I have
learned a lot!
Jan Drechsler (not Bob)
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/bobmills/jan.html
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 16:34:18 EST
From: Kathi2174@aol.com
Alan,
I did get to see wool yarn being dyed in the bazaar in Herat, Afghanistan in
- I’m sure the methods had not changed in centuries. The term for the
streakiness in the color is “abrash.” It is a word of Turkish origin, that
originally meant the dappled or speckled colors on horses. It has long been
used to refer to the variation in saturation/hue in yarns used to weave rugs.
It’s caused in two ways: 1. By crude (not bad, just primitive) technology
used by dyers doing up a single batch. The second is by reusing the dye-bath.
The second and third uses have less pigment, therefore give varying shades.
Not much to do with quilts, is it? Unless we relate the “use what you have “
concept to explain variations in techniques in stead of the romantic lack of
perfection notion.
Off the soap box!
Kathi in Calif.
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 15:21:09 -0800
From: “Christine Thresh” <christine@winnowing.com
Tilde’s post asked for input from those who read the book, Hidden in Plain
View.
I read the book and was disappointed. The story told by the old African
American woman was interesting, but the book did nothing to really back it
up. There were lots of references to African textiles and Masonic symbols,
but they did not seem to tie in with the story told by the quilter. The
books I own about quilting patterns led me to believe many of the patterns
she said were in the quilt “map” were not in usage at the time of the
Underground Railroad. The author of Hidden stated that she obtained the
information
from the quilter in one three hour session.
Christine Thresh
http://www.winnowing.com
Christine Thresh
http://www.winnowing.com/
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 20:00:30 -0500 (EST)
From: JOCELYNM@delphi.com
On 20-FEB-1999 21:53:29.5 QHL said to JOCELYNM
Well, for my two cents, I supported the decision of the (A)IQA to
have only quilts that had not been exhibited elsewhere. There are so
many wonderful quilts out there that it is good to see different
quilts at the different shows instead of quilts “making the rounds”.
Jean Ann,
It was my understanding, however, that this rule applied to things like
entering our quilts in our local quilt shows, the county fair, etc. The talk
here was how it was going to ‘dumb down’ local shows, if the very best
quilters held out their work for the big shows…plus, if a quilt could only
be shown once, that seems like a shame!
OTOH, I really hate to go to a show and see things I’ve seen before. So
I don’t know what the happy balance is…
seen on samplers where the maker cross-stitches the letter Z backwards
so as not to offend God by making a perfect piece and have thought the
practice might carry over to quilting.
Jill,
I once spoke with a ‘plain’ quilter who said that it would be an
affront to God to deliberately put in a mistake, because that would mean you
thought you HAD achieved perfection up to that point! I don’t know if
that were the teachings of her sect, or her personal opinion, though.
Anyway, the quilt has what I would call a humility block in the lower
right hand side of the quilt. The “mistake on purpose” is that the
flowers are a totally different color than the rest of the quilt. It
This may be that the quilter ran out of fabric, and used a scrap of
another fabric that, at the time, matched, but over the years the dyes have
aged differently. I have a turn of the century Carolina Lily where the
majority of the red flowers are now brown (fading of turkey red dyes,
presumably). Among the blocks that are still red, are several different
shades of red, leading me to believe the quilter was making do with whatever
red scraps she could find.
Jocelyn
Hello,
I am Sharon Newman, and all of the fabrics I have reproduced for Moda
have been taken from real fabrics. Some are in Eileen’s book. My Vintage
Garden swag is shown there. The whole line of Vintage Garden was taken
from one quilt that had multiple color ways of the prints and two prints
not in the quilt. My Cherished Pieces fabrics were done with fabrics in
my dating fabrics box. My Twenties Treasures were taken from a 1923 Iowa
Irish Chain and a hexagon oddfellow top. My Turn of the Century fabrics
are from some of my grandmothers quilts. I have seen my fabrics in Nancy
Martin’s Two Color Quilts book. Eleanor Burns used my fabrics in her
Stockings book. You will see my fabrics used in several books.
Sharon Newman
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 19:23:08 -0800
From: Marilyn Maddalena marilyn@crl.com
Eileen, thank you so much for your thoughtful and intelligent insights into
the UGRR book, and for taking the time to set them out so clearly so those
of us who are still novices can learn from you. You put in words just what
I had been thinking, but hadn’t taken the time to completely analyze yet. I
do think it’s an interesting book, I’m glad I bought it and read it, and it
has added to my knowledge — (as does everything I read in one way or
another) but I sure don’t want to take it as the gospel truth. Last night
on the History Channel was a very lengthy program on the UGRR — unless I
fell asleep in the middle, or was distracted by chocolate(!), there was not
one mention of quilts in the entire program. I kept waiting for it — and
thought it quite odd that such a lengthy program, obviously thoroughly
researched by experts — would not even mention signals by use of quilts,
or maps, or anything else about quilts. The only mention was of a lantern
in the window of safe houses. Wonder if the authors of the Hidden in
Plain View book knew of this program — and which one is accurate? Anyone
else see it and wonder, too? Marilyn in Sacramento
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 21:05:55 -0800
From: Audrey Waite awquiltr@sedona.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Dating Fabrics
Message-ID: 36D0E5B3.7D26@sedona.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
For those interested in learning more about dating antique quilts
through patterns and fabric, our own Eileen Trestain will be teaching a
class called “Dating and Heavy Petting” at Quilt Camp in the Pines,
Saturday, July 24, 1999. Send a SASE for the complete schedule to:
Quilt Camp in the Pines, 160 Sugar Loaf Drive, Sedona, AZ 86336.
Eventually we will have the class schedule on-line at:
http://www.quiltcamp.com
If you’ve never been to a quilter’s retreat or similar outing, you’re
really missing a treat!
Audrey Waite
Eileen, thank you for your insightful post about the book, “Hidden In Plain View.” I am so afraid that with all the hype and publicity this book has been getting, a legend of truth will grow up around it that no person with any real knowledge will be able to shake loose. I also am afraid that any learned rebuttals and/or refutations of their thesis will be seen as racist by many of the defenders of the authors. Judy in Ringoes, NJ judygrow@blast.net
! ——————————
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 07:59:37 -0500 From: Barb Garrett<BGARRETT@FAST.NET To: QHL@cuenet.com Subject: QHL: Re – Marilyn Kowaleski Message-ID: 36D154B9.F4E878A@fast.net Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
To Judy and others – Marilyn Kowaleski owns a very high scale antique co-op on route 272 in Adamstown, PA, named South Pointe Antiques, just south of the Turnpike entrance. The shop has absolutely beautiful things, not just textiles, and there are always wonderful quilts displayed on the walls above the showcases. It is a showcase co-op, and they are very friendly. I go and look as often as possible — it’s like visiting a wonderful museum. Marilyn has been a fabric and textile collector for many years — back when things were cheap — and she just accumulated them. I don’t know that she actively collects now. Each March she holds a vintage fabrics and textiles show and sale at the co-op — which includes things from her collection and things from the other dealers in the co-op. This year’s begins March 4.
I went last year and the things were truly beautiful to look at. I asked last year and they said they continually replace things that are sold, and suggest coming several times during March as new things come out. I know this is at least the 3rd year she has had the show, but it could be longer. As to whether it is worth coming — that’s a personal thing. I live 30 minutes from there, so enjoy looking and hope to go this year. The quality of the items is very, very good, the prices what one would expect for top quality from a dealer who knows what she has. She also has unusual, one of a kind things — pot holders, pin cushions, all kinds of smalls. The shop is closed on Tuesdays If anyone has more questions, please ask and I can look for my literature with hours, etc. Barb in southeastern PA<BGARRETT@FAST.NET
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 08:17:28 -0500 From: “jawhite@courant.infi.net”<JAWHITE@COURANT.INFI.NET To: Quilt History list<QHL@CUENET.COM Subject: QHL: Hidden in Plain View Message-ID: 36D158C5.34F9@courant.infi.net Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
I wasn’t going to say anything, but since the subject has been opened, I agree 100% about this book. My main question about this book is: why did Ozella Williams feel the need to tell a perfect stranger, someone she had never laid eyes on before, about this quilt code after all these years? If this is something that has been handed down orally in families, you’d think we would have heard about by now. The authors didn’t back up the book with enough research. While there is an extensive bibliography listed in the back of the book, there were statements made (supposedly statements of fact) within the book itself that were never attributed to anyone or any research. If you are going to state something as true fact, it must be backed up with research. The bibliography is quite extensive (and very interesting) for such a small book. I also think that there were no directions obtained from the suggested quilt patterns/quilts that couldn’t have been obtained from observing the night sky at the time. Dr. Gladys Marie Fry wrote an excellent monograph on Harriet Powers; yet this was never mentioned. I was left with the feeling that the authors were trying really hard to force a point and just didn’t quite make it. I’m not saying the premise isn’t true – I am saying that much more good research needs to be done. Judy White – Ct
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 10:10:11 EST From: JQuilt@aol.com To: qhl@cuenet.com Subject: QHL: “history” Message-ID: 921ae6d2.36d17353@aol.com Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
More and more we have come to realize how much of “History” is biased opinion…very little or none was ever written about the African American roles in American history…in the military, in the world of inventions and education….but to overcompensate by printing more fictionalized history..is not the answer… The freeing and rescuing of slaves came about because of Abolitionist activists….not by quilts hanging on fences…and to tell the descendents of slaves that it was anything else..does not do anything to help them understand the underground RR movement… when I first heard about the review of “Hidden in Plain Sight”, in USA Today… stating that an old African American women chose a quilt customer to tell all of this “valuable” information…I wrote to QHL saying it had the taint of hoax about it… I know that racism runs rampant in this country and History has always short changed the minorities living in this country…. But “pretend” history is not the answer… jean jquilt@aol.com
—————————— —————————— Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 10:37:35 -0600 From: Laura Hobby Syler<TEXAS_QUILT.CO@MAIL.AIRMAIL.NET To: JQuilt@aol.com, qhl@cuenet.com Subject: Re: QHL: “history” Message-Id: 3.0.3.32.19990222103735.006dd00c@mail.airmail.net Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”us-ascii” Jean, and all, You know, I’ve been suspicious of this since I first saw “The Good Dr.” on Oprah….and expressed those views. But what is truely sad, and makes me a little mad, is that we all have bought the book hoping to get more information and at least I for one feel like I was taken to the cleaners!! Almost like that “Instant Expert” book on antique quilts that came out last year……… Laura In chilly N. Texas
At 10:10 AM 2/22/99 EST, JQuilt@aol.com wrote: >More and more we have come to realize how much of “History” is biased >opinion…very little or none was ever written about the African American >roles in American history…in the military, in the world of inventions and >education….but to overcompensate by printing more fictionalized history..is >not the answer… > >The freeing and rescuing of slaves came about because of Abolitionist >activists….not by quilts hanging on fences…and to tell the descendents of >slaves that it was anything else..does not do anything to help them understand >the underground RR movement… >when I first heard about the review of “Hidden in Plain Sight”, in USA >Today… stating that an old African American women chose a quilt customer to >tell all of this “valuable” information…I wrote to QHL saying it had the >taint of hoax about it… >I know that racism runs rampant in this country and History has always short >changed the minorities living in this country…. >But “pretend” history is not the answer… >jean >jquilt@aol.com > > > ——————————
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 11:44:29 EST From: WileneSmth@aol.com To: QHL@cuenet.com Subject: QHL: 1830s LC quilt in Tobin & Dobard Message-ID:<AE922D6F.36D1896D@AOL.COM Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit <<
However, it is the quilts which are supposedly slave quilts, one which was “a exceptional example of an early log cabin quilt that was made by a fugitive slave in the 1840’s….” Though a terrible photo supplied by the museum, it appears to be a classic C.1880 black silk quilt with considerable damage. On the next page is another log cabin quilt which “is said to be slave made. The date is given as 1830’s by it’s owner.” Here we have a c.1830 quilt, complete with a nice strip of mourning print right up the middle, at the front of the picture? It looks to me like a classic c.1900 log cabin utility quilt, with a baptist fan quilt pattern overall, and possibly a moderately thick to very thick batting, common at that time. Even relative novices I have asked, out of curiosity, and without leading the witness, as it were, have responded when asked “When was this quilt made?” have said without hesitation “Turn of the Century.” >>
I’ve been hoping that someone else would notice (and question) the 1830s Log Cabin quilt in Hidden in Plain View because I wanted to see if others echoed my dating of it. Yes, I, too, immediately dated that quilt at ca. 1900-1910. It’s fabrics are one of the common palettes of that time — cotton calicos of whites (shirting prints), light indigo blues, mourning grays, and wines. While I learned not long ago that a similar light indigo blue existed in the 1820s (I’d love to share my story about those if anyone is interested), but it apparently was not widely used. The wine color did not, as far as I’ve discovered, exist until around the last quarter of the 19th century, and I believe the grays began around the same time, though they could date a tad earlier. And I’ve yet to see that fan quilting pattern in a quilt that was made prior to the end of the 19th century, and it was extremely popular for utilitarian quilts early in the 20th century. But my critique of that particular quilt is not limited to Jackie and Raymond’s book, as I have long criticized not one, but many of the quilts illustrated by Gladys-Marie Fry in Stitched from the Soul: Slave Quilts from the Ante-Bellum South (NYC: Dutton Studio Books, 1990).
Six quilts are pictured on pages 18-20 (Plates 21-26) with the caption: “These six quilts are said to have been made by ‘sewing women’ — slaves that were specially trained to do quilting.” #21 is a broderie perse so DOES date to slavery days. #22 is “ify” to a date — it’s either 2nd half 19th century or 1st half 20th century. #24 is definitely 19th century (lots of well-worn brown calicos), but a closer date is not possible from that photograph. #26 is a whole cloth quilt which is undateable from this photograph. But #23 and #25 are 20th century and MADE from 1920s-1930s prints, so can’t possibly be “slave made” for obvious reasons. Made by “former slaves,” yes. #23 is a Grandmother’s Flower Garden in the common configuration of two rows of hexagons around the center hexagon, the pieces are typically large, and the prints used are typical 1920s-1930s. #25 is a pattern first published May 1921 in Woman’s World magazine (Chicago) as “Cracker,” then repeated as a Four Patch in this quilt. (This is not to say the design did not “exist” prior to 1921, just that 1921 is the earliest publication date presently known.)
The next quilt, a two-color Lone Star top, Plate 27, is also said to be “slave-made,” but I question it, too. Plate 31 (p.22) is an embroidered crazy quilt, mostly wools, said to have been started by a house slave before the Civil War and finished by her daughter in 1895. And there are still more obviously 20th century quilts on pp. 40-41 with the caption: “These three quilts made by slave Nancy Vaughn Ford are important, for they are good examples of the utilitarian quilts made by slaves for their own use in their free time.” The first one, #56, dates ca. 1880-1910. #57 incorporates a printed fabric of giant pastel hearts with large words between them and likely a 1950s fabric. #58 needs no further comment here. #61 is pieced goblet blocks and it is unlikely that pieced picture blocks existed until after the Civil War. I also question #110, #111, and #114, all attributed to a woman “imported from the Congo in 1818” when she was 12 or 13 years old. All three appear to be early 20th century.
In discussing Jackie and Raymond’s book, we are doing exactly what Raymond suggested in his Author’s Note on page 33: “Our interpretation of the code is based in part upon informed conjecture. While we believe that our research and the piecing together of our findings present a strong viable case, we do not claim that our ‘deciphering’ of the code is infallible. Nor do we insist that our perspective is the only one for viewing the code. We have written the book in a way that encourages questions. We leave room for the reader to add her/his own ideas and thereby contribute to the growing body of knowledge. In the spirit of quiltmaking, we invite you to join us in juxtaposing ideas so that patterns and meanings are revealed.” And that is exactly what we are doing here on QHL, albeit rather harshly at times. Jackie and Raymond are to be applauded, in my view, for bringing this idea to us “in Plain View.” I’ll climb down off my soap box now, and Thanks for listening. –Wilene
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 10:46:20 -0600 From: Laura Hobby Syler3.0.3.32.19990222104620.006e15f0@mail.airmail.net Content-Type: text/plain; charset=”us-ascii” Shelly, do you remember the conversations that we had last year about the “black centered Log Cabins”? There is some documentation back to King Tut’s tomb with one of the golden cat idols wrapped in cloth strips that formed a log cabin design…….I think that Karen Evans also gave us some art history background???? But I do know that the pattern became popular during Lincoln’s presidency and there after… Laura At 11:15 AM 2/22/99 EST, ZegrtQuilt@aol.com wrote: >I am curious as to when you all think the log cabin pattern developed. This >is in reference to Eileen’s discussion of the book Hidden in Plain View. I >have always thought that the pattern was not in existance as early as it is >referenced in the publication.Shelly Z > > > ——————————
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 12:21:47 EST From: JQuilt@aol.com To: qhl@cuenet.com Subject: QHL: (no subject) Message-ID: 762b6685.36d1922b@aol.com Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit when I wrote my “Give me a break” message a month or so ago…after reading the review in USA Today…someone wrote to the list saying people(Me) shouldn’t say negative things about a book before they read it…well the review was enough for me NOT to buy the book…that’s what reviews are all about…. When you read that a book was written based on the “fact” that someone who died gave all of the secret codes to a stranger…….I think it’s time to say Buyer Beware jean
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 11:21:10 -0600 (Central Standard Time) From: Mary Persyn<MARY.PERSYN@VALPO.EDU To: qhl@cuenet.com Subject: QHL: Imperfections Message-ID:<SIMEON.9902221110.D@VUNEWS.VALPO.EDU.VALPO.EDU Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII
Have any of you seen this year’s issue of “Vintage Quilts”, the magazine issue from ??? (I’m at work and the mag is at home) containing pictures of old quilts and how to reproduce them? I remember we discussed last year’s issue on line. Anyway, this years issue has an Amish quilt that is all churn dash blocks except one crown of thorns? block and the article says it is a typical example of not wanting to make a perfect quiilt. To my way of thinking the magazine is perpetuating the myth. There are some lovely quilts pictured in the magazine, but again they did not give any information about the provenance of the quilts or much other information of a historical nature. I have some questions about the information they did give also. I think that detracts from the magazine (but didn’t stop me from buying it, of course. :+)) There are articles by Bev Dunivant (hope I spelled the name right) on crazy quilts, Anita Schakelford (ditto as to spelling) on collecting old quilts, and ??? (another senior moment). Now returning to lurkdom, Mary in sunny and cold Valparaiso, IN
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 12:27:29 EST From: WileneSmth@aol.com To: QHL@cuenet.com Subject: QHL: re: antique “orphan” blocks Message-ID: 6f9c79c1.36d19381@aol.com Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit << I have been pulling out all of the antique “orphan” blocks that I’ve inherited or found… just wondering what others of you have done to display these. I’m going to be doing some redecorating in the spring and want to use these in my decor. Just want to know what good ideas are out there to use these little treasures in new and different ways. Found one I forgot I had… found it a few years ago at a flea market. I have no idea what pattern it is but I bought it because it has three paper template pieces pinned to it. They were cut from an envelope and as fortune would have it, there is a postmark! November 26, 1928 at 4:30 p.m.
I would like to somehow display this block along with the templates. Ideas welcome! Lauri Klobas Pacific PaKarendes, California >> This is what I’ve learned to do with the ones that I avidly collect. I’ve accumulated a large collection (about 1,000 now) of these “orphan blocks” over the past 20+ years and they have become a vital part of my quilt pattern research. I’ve learned more about quilt making and quilt makers from them than from any other single source. Many of these were actually “pattern blocks” never intended to be used in a quilt, but as a pattern and how it went together, especially when one finds the templates attached to them. I did a research paper for AQSG about these that’s in Uncoverings 1986. My collection now fills three very large boxes and many of them are unidentified as to name or published source. They range in age from about the 1820s-1830s to the mid-20th century. I use my huge collection of original vintage published sources (and database) to identify a possible source (or sources) for each block (based on the age of its fabrics), and print a label on 100% cotton paper, attaching it to each block with a brass safety pin like we used in the Kansas Quilt Project. I use Barbara Brackman’s numbering system to keep them in a “findeable” order.
While it’s all an exercise in “educated guesswork,” it also gives me a chance to study how each quiltmaker interpreted her design as compared to the published illustration that might have inspired her (and some of these comparisons can be quite humorous today). I once attempted a simple framing project to “protect” them, but soon learned that the backs are nearly as important as the fronts, so I have gradually “unframed” many of them. I shudder when I think of the many “pattern blocks” that were wasted by others in the 1970s in throw pillows and other projects, but that’s all part of the learning process for all of us. –Wilene
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 19:51:45 +0400 From: Xenia Cord<XECORD@NETUSA1.NET To: QHL@cuenet.com Subject: QHL: Re: Log Cabin Message-ID: 36D17D09.1F4C@netusa1.net Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit On the question raised by Shelly of the age of Log Cabin as a quilt design: in Indiana there is a quilt made shortly after Lincoln’s death, in the Log Cabin design. When the funeral train carrying Lincoln’s body passed through Indianapolis, the pillars of the State House were wrapped in black wool bunting. The plan was that the catafalque was to be placed in the rotunda so the citizenry could file past, but a terrible storm necessitated a change in plans, and the casket remained on the train. After the train departed, an Indianapolis restaurant owner obtained some of the bunting and gave it to his wife and daughter, who made a very somber Log Cabin quilt from it. The quilt is rusty black and dark green, primarily, with red centers and a pinky beige wool for the light half of the blocks. The set is Barn Raising. It is presumed that the quilt was made at the time the bunting was obtained, so around 1866-68. You can see the quilt on page 31 of Quilts of Indiana (1991), and read the story. Although not pictured there, there is a photo of the state house and the draping taken when the funeral train was in Indianapolis. A book with this photo is with the quilt. The quilt has been exhibited a number of times in central Indiana, as the descendant is generous in lending it to qualified exhibitors. Xenia ——————————
This is the Quilt History mailing list. For information on
members services, including subscription changes, visit our
website at http//www.QuiltHistory.com.
Date Tue, 23 Feb 1999 000005 EST
From KareQuilt@aol.com
Dear QHL,
The last two QHL Digests that I have received (#51 & 52) contained a long list
of posts in the table of contents, but as I scrolled down to read them, I
realized I only received about four posts each time out of all those listed in
the T of C. Can someone from QHL respond to me privately. I cannot read all
the posts when I open the Digest. Is this the “worms” doing? What a mess.
Karen
Date Tue, 23 Feb 1999 000221 EST
From KareQuilt@AOL.COM
To qhl@cuenet.com
Subject QHL Posting troubles
Message-ID b262060e.36d2365d@aol.com
Content-type text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding 7bit
When I say I cannot “read” all the pots, I really mean they don’t even appear
following the table of contents. Only maybe the first four posts on the list
appear in the” body” that follows. Is anyone else experiencing this problem!!
I have “missed” all kinds of posts I would love to read! What has happened?
Karen
Date Tue, 23 Feb 1999 153743 -0400
From sven@pnc.com.au
To QHL@cuenet.com
Subject QHL Australian Prison Quilt at auction.
I am having difficulties with the description of the Australian Prison
quilt that has been placed for auction on the new Quilt Collectors site.
I have been corresponding with the owner of this site and we now have
been given two dates, 1860 and 1880, at two separate occasions.
I was also told that it was just a TOP until very recently and was
quilted within the past three years.
Transportation of convicts to Australia ended way before 1880!!!
The value placed on the quilt is quilt extrordinary.
The following is what I recieved from my query to Mark Kriss.
Here’s what I’ve learned from Diana Leone about the Australian Prison
Quilt
“The Prisoners’ Quilt, from my understanding when I exhibited the quilt
in
Melburne in 1997, is that this rare piece was made by the prision women
who
were being transported from England to Australia while on board the
ship.
The women were being sent to become the wives of the early settlers of
Australia. Each person was given 3 pieces of fabric. Each person worked
with the 3 pieces of fabrics, cutting and sewing the small triangles
together into a larger section probably 1′ to 2′ in size. The many
different sections were put together and the top was finished. The early
“Medallian” style with the center area formed and the rows and sections
raidiating out from this center area is familiar to historians as early
English, possible 1860’s. I can do further research dates to be more
exact.
If you know more about these please contact me. From what I heard this
piece is extremely rare, one of possible 2-3 in existence.
This piece is museum quality, one center piece of fabric was weak and
has
been replaced. (This top was quilted by an expert in 1996.) The hand
quilting is approximately 12 or more stitches to the inch. The piece is
very stable and should withstand proper archival display for many years
to
come.
The minimum auction price will probably be about $5-6,000. I have it
appraised at $12,000 and could be much higher with more research.
(Shipping
and insurance to be paid by buyer. Add approx $120.)
It really should be purchased by an Austrailan and some day donated to
the
History Museum. Thanks for the interest.” — Diana Leone
As an Australian I am extremely interested in this quilt, (though I will
certainly not be the one to buy it.) Is there anyone on the list who
would look at the photos and give me a small opinion? Hiranya is also
very interested.
Lorraine in Oz
Date Tue, 23 Feb 1999 012456 EST
From Kathi2174@AOL.COM
To qhl@cuenet.com
From Mark Kriss mkriss@quiltcollector.com
Dear Charter Members and Friends of QuiltCollector,
For your information and reference, I’m enclosing below a press release
about the new QuiltCollector auction website which will be on the
PRNewswire tomorrow morning.
Feel free to forward, copy or post this release to your friends,
colleagues, news groups or guilds who may have an interest.
Thanks in advance for helping to get the word out about our new auction
website!
Best regards,
–Mark Kriss, Director
Rare Australian “Prison Quilt” to be Auctioned on the Internet;
New Online Auction Features Quilts of Great Historic Value
PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 23 / PRNewswire / — A rare 120-year old
Australian “Prisoners’ Quilt” is one of many quilts of historic value to be
offered on the new QuiltCollector.com auction website.
See photo at http//www.quiltcollector.com/prisoner300dpi.htm
The museum-quality “Prisoners’ Quilt” is one of probably only two or
three in existence. It is among the quilts to be in the Opening Auction (date
to be announced April 5) on the new website which gives collectors and
home/office decorators the opportunity to easily purchase antique quilts of
great historic value. See http//www.quiltcollector.com
“This quilt was made by women prisoners while on board a ship en route
from England to Australia circa 1880,” says Mark R. Kriss, managing director
of QuiltCollector. “The women, who were being sent to become wives of
Australian settlers, were each given three pieces of fabric to cut and sew
into small triangles. These pieces were then combined into the single
Prisoners’ Quilt.”
QuiltCollector is the only online trading community just for quilts,
Kriss says. Unlike “flea-market” online auctions that offer dozens of
different categories of goods for sale, QuiltCollector buyers can select from
over a dozen quilt-specific sub-categories, Kriss says.
“The timing of this new service is excellent,” says Diana Leone, a
distinguished quiltmaker, author and owner of a large antique quilt collection
that includes the Australian “Prisoners’ Quilt”. “Quiltmakers and quilt owners
need an outlet for their pieces, and a friendly quilt-centric place to shop,
learn and meet people.”
Categories of quilts to be available include abstract–traditional and
non-traditional patterns; African-American; Amish; applique; collage;
coverlet; crazy; Hawaiian; patchwork; whole cloth; as well as antique & toy
sewing machines, quilt books, and quilt memorabilia.
All listings include photographs, and are keyword searchable. A
“Certificate of Authentication” service is available to help reassure buyers
of the authenticity and value of the antique quilts on auction.
Submissions for QuiltCollector’s Opening Auction are due March 31. See
http//www.quiltcollector.com.
SOURCE Sandhill Arts (parent company of QuiltCollector)
CONTACT Mark R. Kriss, Sandhill Arts, 650-857-9035 or email
mkriss@sandhillarts.com
- – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – +
Mark Kriss mkriss@quiltcollector.com
Date Tue, 23 Feb 1999 100037 +0100
From “Tilde Binger” binger.hougaard@get2net.dk
First, thank you to all who responded to my question re. Hidden in Plain
view.
I am not going to write an answer any of the specific comments made here (or
to me privately), but only to give a more general comment, mostly because I
need to. I work, professionally, with history and the writing of history,
with oral traditions and with evaluation of sources. I am NOT, however, a
quilt-historian, and my knowledge of US-history is very basic. Also – belive
me – in my specialized field the black vs white “fight” (and I am not
referring to anything as immaterial as colour of skin here -) is far worse
than most of you can imagine. Since this is the case, it is very, very
important, that one’s method is sound, and that the data is solid. It is the
existence of data that makes your case. To argue with “we might not have
found yet” or “this might concievably have happened…” is shoddy method.
To argue from what is not there is a definite no-no in scholarly history
writing (but still it happens). If data is what shows (proves) a thing to be
so absense of data can never do the same. If it did, anything would be or
could be true, and everyone could write the history s/he would like. Since
this be-lies the purpose of (scholarly) history-writing, arguments from
silence are strictly forbidden.
History and the writing of history can also never depend on whether one
likes the results or not (again, it is frequently presented as such, but
this is also shoddy worksmanship). If one is committed to the writing of
history, one has to work with the data, the solid data, that is there, and
to work with it all. No more, no less. If this leads one to conclusions that
are different from what one expected or which one does not like, there isn’t
a whole lot one can do about it (well, not publish it, but then someone else
will, eventually -). If no data exists, the history is no longer history,
but story.
Since this is the case, and from what I have been told so far, “Hidden in
Plain View” is story, and thus folklore. Folklore is interesting, IMO very
interesting, but it is not history or history-writing in the sense we in the
late twentieth century percieve history-writing (i.e. as reports of fact and
reconstructions of the past from the extant data).
Oral tradition is part of folklore and of folklore studies, and is also a
mighty interesting thing. But Oral tradition is …. not to be relied on
when one wants accuracy of data (anyone interested can write me and get the
title of the long, very high-brow, very longhaired and very, very boring
basic study on this). Oral tradition can be profound, can carry important
nuggets of “historical data” and can even have a “kernel of fact”. Problem
is, it is impossible to discern from the tale itself, what is fact and what
is fiction. One has to have access to other sources in order to falsify or
verify any given oral tradition with regard to its historicity (that is, how
reliable it is in the facts dept -).
Now, imagine (and this is fairly recent history) that there are no written
sources. No-one can read, no-one can write. Unless you are of an age where
you were an adult in 1950, how would you discern between the Korea-war and
the Vietnam war ? Same general area, same general problem, far away from
where you are and were living. Anyone under the age of 40 would -without
written sources – have great difficulties discerning between the two, and a
good number would not even know they happened at all. Now, move back a bit.
If there were no written records, how much would you know of something that
happened 100 years ago ? 150 years ago ? 200 years ago ? Some information
would stay in certain circles, particularly if it was tied up with specific
items, but in general, the third generation is where oral traditions
disappear. If history-writing depends on data in order to show that things
happened in a certain way, oral tradition is not valid data.
When all this is said. I will say that I find the story that quilts (and,
for that matter any other type of inconspicuous household items) could be
used as signals, very believable (this is mostly based on data from the
various european “undergrouds” that existed during WW2, where the placement
of a vase of flowers could mean the difference between life and death).
Finding it believable, however, is not the same as it being true. It is a
wonderful story. It is believable. We might as well get used to it. However,
from what you all have told me, I also do not believe that the story which
is told is factual. “True” perhaps, but hardly factual.
I hope I have not stepped too much on anyone’s toes, it’s only that history
in all its aspects is important to me, and shoddy works(wo)manship gets my
hackles up.
Thank you for your time
Tilde
In Copenhagen
Date Tue, 23 Feb 1999 095944 -0000
From “Sally Ward” sward@t-ward.demon.co.uk
To “QHL” QHL@cuenet.com
Subject QHL Screening Mail?
Message-ID <001201be5f24$ea5430c0$eb58e4d4@bob>
Content-Type multipart/alternative;
boundary=”—-=_NextPart_000_001A_01BE5F13.3D2B0740″
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
——=_NextPart_000_001A_01BE5F13.3D2B0740
Content-Type text/plain;
charset=”iso-8859-1″
Content-Transfer-Encoding quoted-printable
The Happy 99 worm has indeed been a troublesome episode, but it is the =
first in my many months on the list and there have been so many =
warnings about it that it should not have been a surprise that it turned =
up eventually. Kris maintains the list voluntarily and I am sure has =
many other things to deal with in her life. As we (should) all know not =
to open unsolicited files, I am happy to screen my own mail in return =
for the enjoyment and education QHL gives me. (even the Garden of Eden =
had worms….)
Sally
——=_NextPart_000_001A_01BE5F13.3D2B0740
——=_NextPart_000_001A_01BE5F13.3D2B0740–
Date Tue, 23 Feb 1999 072554 -0500
From Jean Ann quiltmag@mindspring.com
Lorraine in Oz, I am also having difficulties with the description of the
Australian prison quilt because transportation of prisoners did end before
- Although I love folk lore and oral history one always has to suspect
that the information has been embellished, romanticized, or exaggerated, or
not remembered quite correctly over the generations. I wonder if anyone
researched the fabric to determine when it would have been manufactured?
That would help set the date. Diane Leone has much integrity and would not
misrepresent this quilt knowingly, and she would have been careful about
the information she gathered. From reading what she says about the quilt,
she was going on information given to her by others.
No doubt “brides” were sent to Australia long after prison ships stopped,
and if these women were brides for the male settlers of Australia maybe
they were not prisoners at all. There, that is my addition to the oral
history mis-information. Anyone else?
Jean Ann Eitel, Editor
QUILT magazine site http//www.quiltmag.com – IRC chat site
http//www.quilttalk.com
Personal web site http//www.mindspring.com/~quiltmag/jeanann/jaeindex.html
Date Tue, 23 Feb 1999 112143 -0500
From Diane Seamans dsigns@cyberportal.net
To QHL@cuenet.com
Subject QHL Quilting Trip to England
Message-ID 36D2D597.4384@cyberportal.net
Content-Type text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding 7bit
I have been lurking for several months and enjoy this list very much.
I saw a listing this week which included information about a retreat
including a registration form. I didn’t know this could be done on this
list.
So since one has been submitted, I’d like to let all of you know of a
trip which has been designed with quilters in mind. I asked the travel
service, “Britain Before You..and beyond”, to design a trip that would
be of interest for quilters. There are openings for up to five more
people. This is a small group trip, up to 15 people with individual
attention and suggestions from us if you wish to explore on your own
during “free time”. I hope you can join us!
(Ann of “Britain Before You” is an American woman who lives most of the
year in London).
Leave Boston on Sept. 23, arrive on Friday morning 24th
10 nights, 2 meals daily
London-Festival of Quilts
V&A Museum, theater ticket
Liberty of London – More than just a visit to the store!
Greenwich-boat ride on the Thames, weather permitting
Bath-guided city tour includes Royal Crescent where Jane Austen lived.
Avebury, Stone Circle
Cotswolds
Dartmoor-visit with Devon Guild of Craftsmen
Hampton Court Palace where we will stay for three nights with free
access to palace and 60 acres of gardens;
Entry fees and buttons for group events
Train transportation, minivans and London travel pass
Cost $2339. per person, double occupancy, single supplement per hotel.
Airfare not included (This past fall airfare at this time of the year
was approximately $450. from Boston)
For a free packet of information and registration form, send e-mail to
Diane at dsigns@cyberportal.net
>
Date Tue, 23 Feb 1999 111406 EST
From KirkColl@aol.com
To QHL@cuenet.com
Subject QHL Re Quilt Heritage Foundation and Lectures at NQA
Message-ID ae85e77.36d2d3ce@aol.com
Content-type text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding 7bit
To answer Bobbie’s questions
1) The Quilt Heritage Foundation is the non-profit (501-c-3) corporation we
formed two years ago to sponsor the Quilt Restoration Conference and the Crazy
Quilt Society and Conference and other educational activities relating to
quilt history and preservation. Since then we have also added The Dead Quilt
Society, which is an effort to preserve old quilt patterns from quilts that
are too fragile to restore.
The Quilt Restoration Society is separate from the Foundation. Camille
Cognac, the founder of the Restoration Society, decided not to bring it under
the auspices of the Foundation. She is keeping it as a private enterprise.
The Foundation is coordinating the appraisals at the NQA. We are co-
sponsoring Quilt Heritage Days at Trinity Cathedral across the street from the
auditorium. The church will be holding an antique quilt exhibit downstairs
and luncheons and Victorian teas Thurs-Sat., and we will offer lectures and
appraisals upstairs.
Jan Sears is the lead appraiser — she is from Nebraska and NQA always asks a
local appraiser to serve as the main appraiser. However, we expect more work
than she can handle, so if there are other AQS appraisers out there who plan
to be in Omaha and would like to do some work while you are here, let me know.
The lectures will be offered by Jan, Cindy Brick, a staff member from the Ford
Conservation Center and me. We are dividing up the lectures right now, so I
can’t tell you who will be be doing which for another couple of weeks.
If you have any other questions about NQA or the Quilt Heritage Foundation,
give me a call at 1-800-599-0094 or drop me a note to QuiltHF@aol.com.
Thanks,
Nancy Kirk
Date Tue, 23 Feb 1999 150504 -0000
From “Audrey Cameron” audrey.cameron@virgin.net
To “Quilt History” QHL@cuenet.com
Subject QHL Log Cabin
Message-ID <000201be5f56$e9ddb580$2079a8c2@audrey.cameron.virgin.net>
Content-Type text/plain;
charset=”iso-8859-1″
Content-Transfer-Encoding 7bit
Hi Everyone,
How is everyone feeling after the happy” excitement? I hope that’s the end
of it but I suspect not.
Anyhow for some information on the origins of “log cabin”. There is a
strong feeling that it may be British in origin & brought to the New World
by Scotish & Irish emigrants.
If one looks at old medieval maps you will see that the characteristic
makeup of small farms was in a long, narrow strip & a medieval village would
be surrounded with a “log cabin quilt pattern” of these strip fields.
Several strips scattered all over could beheld or be worked by one farming
family. Could this be the origin of the pattern? There is no evidence one
way or the other but it is interesting.
One of the earliest uses of this pattern was on an English perfume
bag dating to 1650. The first known full quilts date from Victorian times
probably about 1850 & are quite common in Scotland.
Averil Corby, the veneranted English quilt writer, attests to a women
from Stirlingshire (Scotland) who had log cabin quilts made from patterns
handed down in the family from the “Forty Five.” ( The Jacobite Uprising of
1745 – Bonnie Prince Charlie & all that.)
The earliest example of a log cabin quilt was made of shirting fabrics
in 1860 & is in the Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle in County Durham.
The above information is from Janet Rae’s book The Quilts of the British
Isles which I believe is out-of-print.
Audrey Cameron on a beautiful sunny, but cold day in England
audrey.cameron@virgin.net
Date Tue, 23 Feb 1999 112741 EST
From ZegrtQuilt@aol.com
To QHL@cuenet.com
Subject QHL Arizona
Message-ID 963bb3fa.36d2d6fd@aol.com
Content-type text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding 7bit
A friend is moving to Tucson later this Spring and has asked if I know a
resource for stretching and installing a quilt in the Tucson area. I would
appreciate any information I might pass on to her. Thank you Shelly Zegart
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 23:07:13 EST
From: EllynLK@aol.com
I have been pulling out all of the antique “orphan” blocks that I’ve
inherited
or found… just wondering what others of you have done to display these.
I’m going to be doing some redecorating in the spring and want to use these
in
my decor. Just want to know what good ideas are out there to use these little
treasures in new and different ways.
Found one I forgot I had… found it a few years ago at a flea market. I
have no idea what pattern it is but I bought it because it has three paper
template pieces pinned to it. They were cut from an envelope and as fortune
would have it, there is a postmark! November 26, 1928 at 4:30 p.m. I would
like to somehow display this block along with the templates.
Ideas welcome!
Lauri Klobas
Pacific PaKarendes, California
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 22:16:46 -0700
From: Eileen Trestain ejtrestain@earthlink.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: underground RR book
Message-ID: 36CF96BE.DDC84A5E@earthlink.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
OKAY folks. I just can’t bite my tongue any more.
I bought the underground RR book, Hidden in Plain View. First, I have to
say up front that I believe in the likelihood that an Underground RR may
have used quilts in some manner to give directions, or memorize the way,
similar to a map. I bought the book believing this to be a possibility.
I believe the African American culture is/was wise in many more ways
that anyone ever gave them credit for at the time, and that their
resiliency of spirit is what helped them to survive in the most
appalling of conditions.
Now to the book itself. The original author of the book, Jaqueline
Tobin, met an African American woman selling quilts in a flea market in
South Carolina, and the woman hinted at the Underground RR legend, which
has been with us for years. Leaving aside the possibility that this
could have been a most delightful ploy for an elderly woman to sell her
quilts to a tourist, we assume she has told them an oral legend handed
down that nobody so far has been able to prove.
For the first 63 pages, we get to read the forward by not one, but three
people who I presume are well known for their knowledge of African
American history and African tribal history, as well as introductions by
both authors. One of these people is Cuesta Benberry, a highly respected
quilt historian.
Much of the first portion of the book itself is about African tribal
arts and history. The book makes a point that the African American
community has a long history of oral traditions. I understand that,
too. But every time I felt that approached the subject the book was
supposed to be about in the first half of the book, I felt like they
dodged, and danced, and never quite reached the subject I was interested
in.. the quilts.
the authors give a grouping of quilt blocks which the woman named as the
blocks that were used. Then they take us on a convoluted journey of how
they decided what the blocks may have meant in use. One of the ideas
which they have put forward was the Dresden plate pattern symbolizing a
town of Dresden Ohio. Does anyone know of any recorded history of the
pattern named as Dresden Plate in the 1800’s? Yes, the pattern existed
in c.1800 medallion quilts, where it is now named in England as a
Dahlia, but can anyone tell me how old the Dresden Plate name is? Yes,
Wagon Wheel patterns were in use. Why would the Wheel pattern lead them
to Dresden, Ohio?
Next, we come to how old spiritual songs relate to underground railroad
themes. And about the representational pictorial quilts of Harriet
Powers. But, so far, I fail to see a great relation to proving the
underground RR theme.
Now, to a more telling part, in my estimation. The photographs. Many of
the photographs are recently made quilts, made by the second author,
Raymond Dobard. Staged in scenic positions in old slave quarters, but
in bright modern colors, the quilts do stand out. However, it is the
quilts which are supposedly slave quilts, one which was “a exceptional
example of an early log cabin quilt that was made by a fugitive slave in
the 1840’s….” Though a terrible photo supplied by the museum, it
appears to be a classic C.1880 black silk quilt with considerable
damage. On the next page is another log cabin quilt which “is said to be
slave made. The date is given as 1830’s by it’s owner.” Here we have a
c.1830 quilt, complete with a nice strip of mourning print right up the
middle, at the front of the picture? It looks to me like a classic
c.1900 log cabin utility quilt, with a baptist fan quilt pattern
overall, and possibly a moderately thick to very thick batting, common
at that time. Even relative novices I have asked, out of curiosity, and
without leading the witness, as it were, have responded when asked “When
was this quilt made?” have said without hesitation “Turn of the
Century.”
A few pages later, we have a quilt, admittedly made in 1980, from the
MEMORY of a quilt owned by the maker in her childhood, but which was
destroyed by a fire. It features stars in a random pattern, and an
unusual quilting design, with some colored threads as some of the
quilting. This is supposed to be the topographical map of an unnamed
plantation, where the maker, who is still living, quite obviously never
lived during the years of slave incarceration.
On the following page, we have a quilt made by the Daughters Of Dorcas,
an African American Quilters Guild. This quilt was made in 1987-88, and
features several of the patterns listed by the elderly woman. (but who
DIDN’t use those same patterns in the 1980’s for their sampler quilts?)
It is convenient for the authors that the African American quilt maker,
Ozella Williams, passed away last fall, as there is no one left to
further question by any other person who might be interested, or who may
have been more through in their research. If I, at first glance, can
shoot holes in the dates of the quilts they tell us are very early
examples of Log cabin quilts, and this is what kind of knowledge and
research they have built their story around, it makes the rest of the
book look pretty shoddy.
I personally had hoped for some definite proof, or at least a decent
jumping off place. The best part of the book, in my opinion, is the
extensive bibliography on underground RR articles and books which we
find at the back of their book. If you want to know more about the
Underground RR, use that list. If you want to know about quilts from
the underground RR, this isn’t going to help you much.
Just my very personal opinion of this much discussed book.
Eileen
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 22:29:23 -0700
From: Eileen Trestain ejtrestain@earthlink.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: battings
Message-ID: 36CF99B3.6AC85FFE@earthlink.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
I guess I am on a soap box tonight.
There are a couple things to consider other than ease of quilting in
choosing battings.
Cotton and wool battings have a long history of survival. Polyester
doesn’t.
Cotton and Wool are very breathable, and are not so likely to trap
moisture under the quilt, so they feel cooler in the summer and warmer
in teh winter.
Wool and cotton are somewhat fire resistant, wool more than cotton. If
you see a burned quilt with a poly batting, you will never forget the
sight of how it burned , and melted. There is nothig quite like the
feel and sound of a smoked poly batting, which melts between the layers
of cotton top and lining, and crinkles and crackles as you handle it.
Rather eerie whan you think somebody might have been sleeping under it
as it melted.
I like Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon, probably because grandma would never
use anything else, and I like that traditional feel, and Hobbs Organic
if I want a bit more loft. I like way Hobbs wool feels, but I am afraid
to handle it too long, as I am allergic to wool, and don’t want to take
teh chance. I don’t quilt with it.
Eileen
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 11:33:32 -0500
From: Nancy Roberts robertsn@norwich.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Story of reproduction fabric
Message-ID: 36D0355C.355D@norwich.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
For those interested in how reproduction fabric lines are designed, you might
check out Chiori Santiago’s article on the topic in The Fabric Special
Showcase, a special issue of Traditional Quiltworks magazine from Chitra
Publications. The article covers P&B Textile’s collection based on quilts
from the Oakland Museum. This issue is no longer on the newsstands, but back
issues can be purchased from the publisher if you missed it. The website is
http://www.QuiltTownUSA.com/ or you can call a credit card order at
800-628-8244. Nancy
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 11:43:21 -0500
From: Alan Kelchner quiltfix@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
To: qhl@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: should I buy?
Message-ID: 36D037A8.1BB803FD@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Liz, I have only one suggestion about your quilt – if it is something
that you dearly love, cannot stand the thought of not owning, you feel
the price is reasonable and you can afford it, then run (not walk) back
to the store and get the silly thing before someone else falls in
love!!!! I missed out on one (at that point too chicken to bid on ebay)
that I wish I had bought. Can’t get it out of my mind. But OTOH, if
it’s not screaming to come home, I won’t buy it. So I buy very few any
more. Would rather buy something that wants to come home with me. And
this does not mean that they are fancy and expensive. That is not
requisite. My most favorite one is a utilitarian piece that is worn (it
was filler for another, very ugly top). As for date, it’s not fair to
ask online (whimper-chinquiver). We have to see it. I will stick my neck
out far enough to guess at depression era, but that is not definite.
My suggestion is to buy and take it home. Love it as is, folded over a
chair that is infrequently used, so you can look at it. And never on
the couch – someone will inevitably snuggle under it. One of my first
jobs came from such an incident. The ladies daughter got under it and
was re-arranging the portion over her legs with her foot (don’t we all
before we sit up and use our hands?). Anyhow, the quilt was a fragile
pieceand, sure enough, her foot went straight through the center! It was
easily repaired, and (brag, brag) I couldn’t find the repair easily
myself (someone caught me photographing the wrong place – oops).
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 11:56:07 -0500
From: Alan Kelchner quiltfix@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
To: qhl@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: humility
Message-ID: 36D03AA6.24462DC5@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Someone may need to help me here – memory must be going. Watched
television the other night and my interest was piqued when the narrator
was talking about how these (3rd world men) would not make their (item)
perfect, as only Mohammed was perfect. This was on Discovery/TLC, and I
meant to remember everything, but …………
Wait, just remembered – It was PBS, “Antiques Roadshow”, and whichever
middle-eastern tribe had woven the rug they were appraising (the rug was
HUGE). The man appraising stated that they wouldn’t use matching dye
lots of yarn to create the piece, because only Mohammed was perfect and
capable of making perfection. And as the years went on, the dye lots
would fade differently, making the differences even more noticeable (the
rug in question had blue sections that were two different shades of the
same color). Of course, the flags went up in my brain because of the
connection to humility blocks in American quilts. I still think that the
original humility myths were to cover mistakes, but I also believe that
the romanticism of the legend led people to do this on purpose.
Now if I could remember the name of the woman I ran into last week. Used
to work with her, can remember the day she came in beaming because her
bosom looked bigger (new Wonder Bra), but it’s been a week and I’ll be
damned if I can remember her name! Must be a guy thing to remember her
chest and not her name (LOL) !
Alan
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 13:27:36 EST
From: QuiltEvals@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Re: Question about Quilter’s Heritage and more.
Message-ID: 6c465c1a.36d05018@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
In a message dated 2/20/99 6:51:25 PM Pacific Standard Time, QHL-Digest-
request@cuenet.com writes:
<<
Please tell us who is the Quilt Heritage Foundation. How does one become a
member. Who will be doing quilt appraisals. The lecture titles sound great!
Who
is giving which lecture?
Thank you.
Bobbie A. Aug
>
Yes, Nancy, I am curious about this as well?
Thanks,
Deborah Roberts
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 11:27:40 -0700
From: “Jeanne.Fetzer” Jeanne.Fetzer@integrityonline3.com
To: “Eileen Trestain” ejtrestain@earthlink.net, QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Re: underground RR book
Message-ID: <01b101be5dca$6741e020$36e399d0@jeanne.fetzer>
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset=”iso-8859-1″
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Thank you for taking the time to point out where you question the
authenticity of the Dobard book. All I want to say is, “Amen.” I don’t say
that to disprove anything, but to echo the need to look at information and
then ask questions. If we want quilt history to be taken seriously, we must
carefully research and support our findings based on fact.
Thank you, thank you!
Jeanne Fetzer
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 13:36:17 EST
From: QuiltEvals@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: More on Reproductions
Message-ID: 3ad0c564.36d05221@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
Yesterday, I had the privilege of seeing the strike offs for a new “1840’s”
line by Pat Nickols….Pat, I hope it was okay to tell, I just had to share
the news. The line is exciting….very accurate in detail and color. Of
course, there are the original colors and added color ways as well, but they
are all WONDERFUL! We were able to compare a few of the original fabrics
to the repros. Pat, like Sharon Newman has taken actual prints from quilts
and fabrics in her collection. This seems to be the way to do it – at least
for these two. The line is being produced by P&B and should be available in
late Spring, Pat will be introducing it at Quilt Market this May.
Sorry, I don’t usually do this, and I don’t mean to sound like a commercial,
but when you see them you will understand my excitement.
Deborah Roberts
Costa Mesa, CA
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 99 16:22:48 EST
From: “Bob Mills” decision@tigger.jvnc.net
To: “Quilter’s Heritage List” QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Orvus
Message-ID: decision.1270019808E@tigger.jvnc.net
To Jennifer and others:
In the East, Agway which is a retail store and nursery catering to area
farmers and yuppies, sells Orvus and it is not special order.
I just bought a container of 7 1/2 pounds for $19.95 and my quilt store
orvis is 8 oz. for $4.99. You need to find something like a feedstore or
farmers co-op. I live in a very suburban area of NJ but am lucky we still
have these stores. And my quilts are getting very clean.
About a year or so ago I went into Agway and was told they were sold out.
Mrs. G. is washing all her sheep this week!
Jan Drechsler (not Bob)
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 99 16:22:47 EST
From: “Bob Mills” decision@tigger.jvnc.net
To: “Quilter’s Heritage List” QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Repro fabrics
Message-ID: decision.1270019807D@tigger.jvnc.net
Just a word of thanks on the repro fabric information. Already I have
learned a lot!
Jan Drechsler (not Bob)
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 16:34:18 EST
From: Kathi2174@aol.com
To: quiltfix@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
Cc: qhl@cuenet.com
Subject: Re: QHL: humility
Message-ID: 5aef56f6.36d07bda@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
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Alan,
I did get to see wool yarn being dyed in the bazaar in Herat, Afghanistan in
- I’m sure the methods had not changed in centuries. The term for the
streakiness in the color is “abrash.” It is a word of Turkish origin, that
originally meant the dappled or speckled colors on horses. It has long been
used to refer to the variation in saturation/hue in yarns used to weave rugs.
It’s caused in two ways: 1. By crude (not bad, just primitive) technology
used by dyers doing up a single batch. The second is by reusing the dye-bath.
The second and third uses have less pigment, therefore give varying shades.
Not much to do with quilts, is it? Unless we relate the “use what you have “
concept to explain variations in techniques in stead of the romantic lack of
perfection notion.
Off the soap box!
Kathi in Calif.
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 15:21:09 -0800
From: “Christine Thresh” christine@winnowing.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: I read Hidden in Plain View
Message-Id: 199902212322.PAA00834@server.cctrap.com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
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Tilde’s post asked for input from those who read the book, Hidden in Plain
View.
I read the book and was disappointed. The story told by the old African
American woman was interesting, but the book did nothing to really back it
up. There were lots of references to African textiles and Masonic symbols,
but they did not seem to tie in with the story told by the quilter. The
books I own about quilting patterns led me to believe many of the patterns
she said were in the quilt “map” were not in usage at the time of the
Underground Railroad. The author of Hidden stated that she obtained the
information
from the quilter in one three hour session.
Christine Thresh
Christine Thresh
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 20:00:30 -0500 (EST)
From: JOCELYNM@delphi.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com, QHL-Digest@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL-Digest Digest V99 #50
Message-id: 01J80NAUQJ3C9C87GT@delphi.com
Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII
On 20-FEB-1999 21:53:29.5 QHL said to JOCELYNM
Well, for my two cents, I supported the decision of the (A)IQA to
have only quilts that had not been exhibited elsewhere. There are so
many wonderful quilts out there that it is good to see different
quilts at the different shows instead of quilts “making the rounds”.
Jean Ann,
It was my understanding, however, that this rule applied to things like
entering our quilts in our local quilt shows, the county fair, etc. The talk
here was how it was going to ‘dumb down’ local shows, if the very best
quilters held out their work for the big shows…plus, if a quilt could only
be shown once, that seems like a shame!
OTOH, I really hate to go to a show and see things I’ve seen before. So
I don’t know what the happy balance is…
seen on samplers where the maker cross-stitches the letter Z backwards
so as not to offend God by making a perfect piece and have thought the
practice might carry over to quilting.
Jill,
I once spoke with a ‘plain’ quilter who said that it would be an
affront to God to deliberately put in a mistake, because that would mean you
thought you HAD achieved perfection up to that point! I don’t know if
that were the teachings of her sect, or her personal opinion, though.
Anyway, the quilt has what I would call a humility block in the lower
right hand side of the quilt. The “mistake on purpose” is that the
flowers are a totally different color than the rest of the quilt. It
This may be that the quilter ran out of fabric, and used a scrap of
another fabric that, at the time, matched, but over the years the dyes have
aged differently. I have a turn of the century Carolina Lily where the
majority of the red flowers are now brown (fading of turkey red dyes,
presumably). Among the blocks that are still red, are several different
shades of red, leading me to believe the quilter was making do with whatever
red scraps she could find.
Jocelyn
Hello,
I am Sharon Newman, and all of the fabrics I have reproduced for Moda
have been taken from real fabrics. Some are in Eileen’s book. My Vintage
Garden swag is shown there. The whole line of Vintage Garden was taken
from one quilt that had multiple color ways of the prints and two prints
not in the quilt. My Cherished Pieces fabrics were done with fabrics in
my dating fabrics box. My Twenties Treasures were taken from a 1923 Iowa
Irish Chain and a hexagon oddfellow top. My Turn of the Century fabrics
are from some of my grandmothers quilts. I have seen my fabrics in Nancy
Martin’s Two Color Quilts book. Eleanor Burns used my fabrics in her
Stockings book. You will see my fabrics used in several books.
Sharon Newman
–=====================6871721==.ALT
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members services, including subscription changes, visit our
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Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 23:07:13 EST
From: EllynLK@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Looking For Ideas…
Message-ID: b25a6bce.36cf8671@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
I have been pulling out all of the antique “orphan” blocks that I’ve inherited
or found… just wondering what others of you have done to display these.
I’m going to be doing some redecorating in the spring and want to use these in
my decor. Just want to know what good ideas are out there to use these little
treasures in new and different ways.
Found one I forgot I had… found it a few years ago at a flea market. I
have no idea what pattern it is but I bought it because it has three paper
template pieces pinned to it. They were cut from an envelope and as fortune
would have it, there is a postmark! November 26, 1928 at 4:30 p.m. I would
like to somehow display this block along with the templates.
Ideas welcome!
Lauri Klobas
Pacific PaKarendes, California
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 22:16:46 -0700
From: Eileen Trestain ejtrestain@earthlink.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: underground RR book
Message-ID: 36CF96BE.DDC84A5E@earthlink.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
OKAY folks. I just can’t bite my tongue any more.
I bought the underground RR book, Hidden in Plain View. First, I have to
say up front that I believe in the likelihood that an Underground RR may
have used quilts in some manner to give directions, or memorize the way,
similar to a map. I bought the book believing this to be a possibility.
I believe the African American culture is/was wise in many more ways
that anyone ever gave them credit for at the time, and that their
resiliency of spirit is what helped them to survive in the most
appalling of conditions.
Now to the book itself. The original author of the book, Jaqueline
Tobin, met an African American woman selling quilts in a flea market in
South Carolina, and the woman hinted at the Underground RR legend, which
has been with us for years. Leaving aside the possibility that this
could have been a most delightful ploy for an elderly woman to sell her
quilts to a tourist, we assume she has told them an oral legend handed
down that nobody so far has been able to prove.
For the first 63 pages, we get to read the forward by not one, but three
people who I presume are well known for their knowledge of African
American history and African tribal history, as well as introductions by
both authors. One of these people is Cuesta Benberry, a highly respected
quilt historian.
Much of the first portion of the book itself is about African tribal
arts and history. The book makes a point that the African American
community has a long history of oral traditions. I understand that,
too. But every time I felt that approached the subject the book was
supposed to be about in the first half of the book, I felt like they
dodged, and danced, and never quite reached the subject I was interested
in.. the quilts.
the authors give a grouping of quilt blocks which the woman named as the
blocks that were used. Then they take us on a convoluted journey of how
they decided what the blocks may have meant in use. One of the ideas
which they have put forward was the Dresden plate pattern symbolizing a
town of Dresden Ohio. Does anyone know of any recorded history of the
pattern named as Dresden Plate in the 1800’s? Yes, the pattern existed
in c.1800 medallion quilts, where it is now named in England as a
Dahlia, but can anyone tell me how old the Dresden Plate name is? Yes,
Wagon Wheel patterns were in use. Why would the Wheel pattern lead them
to Dresden, Ohio?
Next, we come to how old spiritual songs relate to underground railroad
themes. And about the representational pictorial quilts of Harriet
Powers. But, so far, I fail to see a great relation to proving the
underground RR theme.
Now, to a more telling part, in my estimation. The photographs. Many of
the photographs are recently made quilts, made by the second author,
Raymond Dobard. Staged in scenic positions in old slave quarters, but
in bright modern colors, the quilts do stand out. However, it is the
quilts which are supposedly slave quilts, one which was “a exceptional
example of an early log cabin quilt that was made by a fugitive slave in
the 1840’s….” Though a terrible photo supplied by the museum, it
appears to be a classic C.1880 black silk quilt with considerable
damage. On the next page is another log cabin quilt which “is said to be
slave made. The date is given as 1830’s by it’s owner.” Here we have a
c.1830 quilt, complete with a nice strip of mourning print right up the
middle, at the front of the picture? It looks to me like a classic
c.1900 log cabin utility quilt, with a baptist fan quilt pattern
overall, and possibly a moderately thick to very thick batting, common
at that time. Even relative novices I have asked, out of curiosity, and
without leading the witness, as it were, have responded when asked “When
was this quilt made?” have said without hesitation “Turn of the
Century.”
A few pages later, we have a quilt, admittedly made in 1980, from the
MEMORY of a quilt owned by the maker in her childhood, but which was
destroyed by a fire. It features stars in a random pattern, and an
unusual quilting design, with some colored threads as some of the
quilting. This is supposed to be the topographical map of an unnamed
plantation, where the maker, who is still living, quite obviously never
lived during the years of slave incarceration.
On the following page, we have a quilt made by the Daughters Of Dorcas,
an African American Quilters Guild. This quilt was made in 1987-88, and
features several of the patterns listed by the elderly woman. (but who
DIDN’t use those same patterns in the 1980’s for their sampler quilts?)
It is convenient for the authors that the African American quilt maker,
Ozella Williams, passed away last fall, as there is no one left to
further question by any other person who might be interested, or who may
have been more through in their research. If I, at first glance, can
shoot holes in the dates of the quilts they tell us are very early
examples of Log cabin quilts, and this is what kind of knowledge and
research they have built their story around, it makes the rest of the
book look pretty shoddy.
I personally had hoped for some definite proof, or at least a decent
jumping off place. The best part of the book, in my opinion, is the
extensive bibliography on underground RR articles and books which we
find at the back of their book. If you want to know more about the
Underground RR, use that list. If you want to know about quilts from
the underground RR, this isn’t going to help you much.
Just my very personal opinion of this much discussed book.
Eileen
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 22:29:23 -0700
From: Eileen Trestain ejtrestain@earthlink.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: battings
Message-ID: 36CF99B3.6AC85FFE@earthlink.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
I guess I am on a soap box tonight.
There are a couple things to consider other than ease of quilting in
choosing battings.
Cotton and wool battings have a long history of survival. Polyester
doesn’t.
Cotton and Wool are very breathable, and are not so likely to trap
moisture under the quilt, so they feel cooler in the summer and warmer
in teh winter.
Wool and cotton are somewhat fire resistant, wool more than cotton. If
you see a burned quilt with a poly batting, you will never forget the
sight of how it burned , and melted. There is nothig quite like the
feel and sound of a smoked poly batting, which melts between the layers
of cotton top and lining, and crinkles and crackles as you handle it.
Rather eerie whan you think somebody might have been sleeping under it
as it melted.
I like Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon, probably because grandma would never
use anything else, and I like that traditional feel, and Hobbs Organic
if I want a bit more loft. I like way Hobbs wool feels, but I am afraid
to handle it too long, as I am allergic to wool, and don’t want to take
teh chance. I don’t quilt with it.
Eileen
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 11:33:32 -0500
From: Nancy Roberts robertsn@norwich.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Story of reproduction fabric
Message-ID: 36D0355C.355D@norwich.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
For those interested in how reproduction fabric lines are designed, you might
check out Chiori Santiago’s article on the topic in The Fabric Special
Showcase, a special issue of Traditional Quiltworks magazine from Chitra
Publications. The article covers P&B Textile’s collection based on quilts
from the Oakland Museum. This issue is no longer on the newsstands, but back
issues can be purchased from the publisher if you missed it. The website is
http://www.QuiltTownUSA.com/ or you can call a credit card order at
800-628-8244. Nancy
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 11:43:21 -0500
From: Alan Kelchner quiltfix@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
To: qhl@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: should I buy?
Message-ID: 36D037A8.1BB803FD@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Liz, I have only one suggestion about your quilt – if it is something
that you dearly love, cannot stand the thought of not owning, you feel
the price is reasonable and you can afford it, then run (not walk) back
to the store and get the silly thing before someone else falls in
love!!!! I missed out on one (at that point too chicken to bid on ebay)
that I wish I had bought. Can’t get it out of my mind. But OTOH, if
it’s not screaming to come home, I won’t buy it. So I buy very few any
more. Would rather buy something that wants to come home with me. And
this does not mean that they are fancy and expensive. That is not
requisite. My most favorite one is a utilitarian piece that is worn (it
was filler for another, very ugly top). As for date, it’s not fair to
ask online (whimper-chinquiver). We have to see it. I will stick my neck
out far enough to guess at depression era, but that is not definite.
My suggestion is to buy and take it home. Love it as is, folded over a
chair that is infrequently used, so you can look at it. And never on
the couch – someone will inevitably snuggle under it. One of my first
jobs came from such an incident. The ladies daughter got under it and
was re-arranging the portion over her legs with her foot (don’t we all
before we sit up and use our hands?). Anyhow, the quilt was a fragile
pieceand, sure enough, her foot went straight through the center! It was
easily repaired, and (brag, brag) I couldn’t find the repair easily
myself (someone caught me photographing the wrong place – oops).
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 11:56:07 -0500
From: Alan Kelchner quiltfix@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
To: qhl@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: humility
Message-ID: 36D03AA6.24462DC5@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Someone may need to help me here – memory must be going. Watched
television the other night and my interest was piqued when the narrator
was talking about how these (3rd world men) would not make their (item)
perfect, as only Mohammed was perfect. This was on Discovery/TLC, and I
meant to remember everything, but …………
Wait, just remembered – It was PBS, “Antiques Roadshow”, and whichever
middle-eastern tribe had woven the rug they were appraising (the rug was
HUGE). The man appraising stated that they wouldn’t use matching dye
lots of yarn to create the piece, because only Mohammed was perfect and
capable of making perfection. And as the years went on, the dye lots
would fade differently, making the differences even more noticeable (the
rug in question had blue sections that were two different shades of the
same color). Of course, the flags went up in my brain because of the
connection to humility blocks in American quilts. I still think that the
original humility myths were to cover mistakes, but I also believe that
the romanticism of the legend led people to do this on purpose.
Now if I could remember the name of the woman I ran into last week. Used
to work with her, can remember the day she came in beaming because her
bosom looked bigger (new Wonder Bra), but it’s been a week and I’ll be
damned if I can remember her name! Must be a guy thing to remember her
chest and not her name (LOL) !
Alan
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 13:27:36 EST
From: QuiltEvals@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Re: Question about Quilter’s Heritage and more.
Message-ID: 6c465c1a.36d05018@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
In a message dated 2/20/99 6:51:25 PM Pacific Standard Time, QHL-Digest-
request@cuenet.com writes:
<<
Please tell us who is the Quilt Heritage Foundation. How does one become a
member. Who will be doing quilt appraisals. The lecture titles sound great!
Who
is giving which lecture?
Thank you.
Bobbie A. Aug
>
Yes, Nancy, I am curious about this as well?
Thanks,
Deborah Roberts
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 11:27:40 -0700
From: “Jeanne.Fetzer” Jeanne.Fetzer@integrityonline3.com
To: “Eileen Trestain” ejtrestain@earthlink.net, QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Re: underground RR book
Message-ID: <01b101be5dca$6741e020$36e399d0@jeanne.fetzer>
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset=”iso-8859-1″
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Thank you for taking the time to point out where you question the
authenticity of the Dobard book. All I want to say is, “Amen.” I don’t say
that to disprove anything, but to echo the need to look at information and
then ask questions. If we want quilt history to be taken seriously, we must
carefully research and support our findings based on fact.
Thank you, thank you!
Jeanne Fetzer
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 13:36:17 EST
From: QuiltEvals@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: More on Reproductions
Message-ID: 3ad0c564.36d05221@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
Yesterday, I had the privilege of seeing the strike offs for a new “1840’s”
line by Pat Nickols….Pat, I hope it was okay to tell, I just had to share
the news. The line is exciting….very accurate in detail and color. Of
course, there are the original colors and added color ways as well, but they
are all WONDERFUL! We were able to compare a few of the original fabrics
to the repros. Pat, like Sharon Newman has taken actual prints from quilts
and fabrics in her collection. This seems to be the way to do it – at least
for these two. The line is being produced by P&B and should be available in
late Spring, Pat will be introducing it at Quilt Market this May.
Sorry, I don’t usually do this, and I don’t mean to sound like a commercial,
but when you see them you will understand my excitement.
Deborah Roberts
Costa Mesa, CA
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 99 16:22:48 EST
From: “Bob Mills” decision@tigger.jvnc.net
To: “Quilter’s Heritage List” QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Orvus
Message-ID: decision.1270019808E@tigger.jvnc.net
To Jennifer and others:
In the East, Agway which is a retail store and nursery catering to area
farmers and yuppies, sells Orvus and it is not special order.
I just bought a container of 7 1/2 pounds for $19.95 and my quilt store
orvis is 8 oz. for $4.99. You need to find something like a feedstore or
farmers co-op. I live in a very suburban area of NJ but am lucky we still
have these stores. And my quilts are getting very clean.
About a year or so ago I went into Agway and was told they were sold out.
Mrs. G. is washing all her sheep this week!
Jan Drechsler (not Bob)
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/bobmills/jan.html
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 99 16:22:47 EST
From: “Bob Mills” decision@tigger.jvnc.net
To: “Quilter’s Heritage List” QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Repro fabrics
Message-ID: decision.1270019807D@tigger.jvnc.net
Just a word of thanks on the repro fabric information. Already I have
learned a lot!
Jan Drechsler (not Bob)
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/bobmills/jan.html
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 16:34:18 EST
From: Kathi2174@aol.com
To: quiltfix@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
Cc: qhl@cuenet.com
Subject: Re: QHL: humility
Message-ID: 5aef56f6.36d07bda@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
Alan,
I did get to see wool yarn being dyed in the bazaar in Herat, Afghanistan in
- I’m sure the methods had not changed in centuries. The term for the
streakiness in the color is “abrash.” It is a word of Turkish origin, that
originally meant the dappled or speckled colors on horses. It has long been
used to refer to the variation in saturation/hue in yarns used to weave rugs.
It’s caused in two ways: 1. By crude (not bad, just primitive) technology
used by dyers doing up a single batch. The second is by reusing the dye-bath.
The second and third uses have less pigment, therefore give varying shades.
Not much to do with quilts, is it? Unless we relate the “use what you have “
concept to explain variations in techniques in stead of the romantic lack of
perfection notion.
Off the soap box!
Kathi in Calif.
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 15:21:09 -0800
From: “Christine Thresh” christine@winnowing.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: I read Hidden in Plain View
Message-Id: 199902212322.PAA00834@server.cctrap.com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Tilde’s post asked for input from those who read the book, Hidden in Plain
View.
I read the book and was disappointed. The story told by the old African
American woman was interesting, but the book did nothing to really back it
up. There were lots of references to African textiles and Masonic symbols,
but they did not seem to tie in with the story told by the quilter. The
books I own about quilting patterns led me to believe many of the patterns
she said were in the quilt “map” were not in usage at the time of the
Underground Railroad. The author of Hidden stated that she obtained the
information
from the quilter in one three hour session.
Christine Thresh
http://www.winnowing.com
Christine Thresh
http://www.winnowing.com/
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 20:00:30 -0500 (EST)
From: JOCELYNM@delphi.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com, QHL-Digest@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL-Digest Digest V99 #50
Message-id: 01J80NAUQJ3C9C87GT@delphi.com
Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII
On 20-FEB-1999 21:53:29.5 QHL said to JOCELYNM
Well, for my two cents, I supported the decision of the (A)IQA to
have only quilts that had not been exhibited elsewhere. There are so
many wonderful quilts out there that it is good to see different
quilts at the different shows instead of quilts “making the rounds”.
Jean Ann,
It was my understanding, however, that this rule applied to things like
entering our quilts in our local quilt shows, the county fair, etc. The talk
here was how it was going to ‘dumb down’ local shows, if the very best
quilters held out their work for the big shows…plus, if a quilt could only
be shown once, that seems like a shame!
OTOH, I really hate to go to a show and see things I’ve seen before. So
I don’t know what the happy balance is…
seen on samplers where the maker cross-stitches the letter Z backwards
so as not to offend God by making a perfect piece and have thought the
practice might carry over to quilting.
Jill,
I once spoke with a ‘plain’ quilter who said that it would be an
affront to God to deliberately put in a mistake, because that would mean you
thought you HAD achieved perfection up to that point! I don’t know if
that were the teachings of her sect, or her personal opinion, though.
Anyway, the quilt has what I would call a humility block in the lower
right hand side of the quilt. The “mistake on purpose” is that the
flowers are a totally different color than the rest of the quilt. It
This may be that the quilter ran out of fabric, and used a scrap of
another fabric that, at the time, matched, but over the years the dyes have
aged differently. I have a turn of the century Carolina Lily where the
majority of the red flowers are now brown (fading of turkey red dyes,
presumably). Among the blocks that are still red, are several different
shades of red, leading me to believe the quilter was making do with whatever
red scraps she could find.
Jocelyn
Hello,
I am Sharon Newman, and all of the fabrics I have reproduced for Moda
have been taken from real fabrics. Some are in Eileen’s book. My Vintage
Garden swag is shown there. The whole line of Vintage Garden was taken
from one quilt that had multiple color ways of the prints and two prints
not in the quilt. My Cherished Pieces fabrics were done with fabrics in
my dating fabrics box. My Twenties Treasures were taken from a 1923 Iowa
Irish Chain and a hexagon oddfellow top. My Turn of the Century fabrics
are from some of my grandmothers quilts. I have seen my fabrics in Nancy
Martin’s Two Color Quilts book. Eleanor Burns used my fabrics in her
Stockings book. You will see my fabrics used in several books.
Sharon Newman
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 23:07:13 EST
From: EllynLK@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Looking For Ideas…
Message-ID: b25a6bce.36cf8671@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
I have been pulling out all of the antique “orphan” blocks that I’ve
inherited
or found… just wondering what others of you have done to display these.
I’m going to be doing some redecorating in the spring and want to use these
in
my decor. Just want to know what good ideas are out there to use these little
treasures in new and different ways.
Found one I forgot I had… found it a few years ago at a flea market. I
have no idea what pattern it is but I bought it because it has three paper
template pieces pinned to it. They were cut from an envelope and as fortune
would have it, there is a postmark! November 26, 1928 at 4:30 p.m. I would
like to somehow display this block along with the templates.
Ideas welcome!
Lauri Klobas
Pacific PaKarendes, California
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 22:16:46 -0700
From: Eileen Trestain ejtrestain@earthlink.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: underground RR book
Message-ID: 36CF96BE.DDC84A5E@earthlink.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
OKAY folks. I just can’t bite my tongue any more.
I bought the underground RR book, Hidden in Plain View. First, I have to
say up front that I believe in the likelihood that an Underground RR may
have used quilts in some manner to give directions, or memorize the way,
similar to a map. I bought the book believing this to be a possibility.
I believe the African American culture is/was wise in many more ways
that anyone ever gave them credit for at the time, and that their
resiliency of spirit is what helped them to survive in the most
appalling of conditions.
Now to the book itself. The original author of the book, Jaqueline
Tobin, met an African American woman selling quilts in a flea market in
South Carolina, and the woman hinted at the Underground RR legend, which
has been with us for years. Leaving aside the possibility that this
could have been a most delightful ploy for an elderly woman to sell her
quilts to a tourist, we assume she has told them an oral legend handed
down that nobody so far has been able to prove.
For the first 63 pages, we get to read the forward by not one, but three
people who I presume are well known for their knowledge of African
American history and African tribal history, as well as introductions by
both authors. One of these people is Cuesta Benberry, a highly respected
quilt historian.
Much of the first portion of the book itself is about African tribal
arts and history. The book makes a point that the African American
community has a long history of oral traditions. I understand that,
too. But every time I felt that approached the subject the book was
supposed to be about in the first half of the book, I felt like they
dodged, and danced, and never quite reached the subject I was interested
in.. the quilts.
the authors give a grouping of quilt blocks which the woman named as the
blocks that were used. Then they take us on a convoluted journey of how
they decided what the blocks may have meant in use. One of the ideas
which they have put forward was the Dresden plate pattern symbolizing a
town of Dresden Ohio. Does anyone know of any recorded history of the
pattern named as Dresden Plate in the 1800’s? Yes, the pattern existed
in c.1800 medallion quilts, where it is now named in England as a
Dahlia, but can anyone tell me how old the Dresden Plate name is? Yes,
Wagon Wheel patterns were in use. Why would the Wheel pattern lead them
to Dresden, Ohio?
Next, we come to how old spiritual songs relate to underground railroad
themes. And about the representational pictorial quilts of Harriet
Powers. But, so far, I fail to see a great relation to proving the
underground RR theme.
Now, to a more telling part, in my estimation. The photographs. Many of
the photographs are recently made quilts, made by the second author,
Raymond Dobard. Staged in scenic positions in old slave quarters, but
in bright modern colors, the quilts do stand out. However, it is the
quilts which are supposedly slave quilts, one which was “a exceptional
example of an early log cabin quilt that was made by a fugitive slave in
the 1840’s….” Though a terrible photo supplied by the museum, it
appears to be a classic C.1880 black silk quilt with considerable
damage. On the next page is another log cabin quilt which “is said to be
slave made. The date is given as 1830’s by it’s owner.” Here we have a
c.1830 quilt, complete with a nice strip of mourning print right up the
middle, at the front of the picture? It looks to me like a classic
c.1900 log cabin utility quilt, with a baptist fan quilt pattern
overall, and possibly a moderately thick to very thick batting, common
at that time. Even relative novices I have asked, out of curiosity, and
without leading the witness, as it were, have responded when asked “When
was this quilt made?” have said without hesitation “Turn of the
Century.”
A few pages later, we have a quilt, admittedly made in 1980, from the
MEMORY of a quilt owned by the maker in her childhood, but which was
destroyed by a fire. It features stars in a random pattern, and an
unusual quilting design, with some colored threads as some of the
quilting. This is supposed to be the topographical map of an unnamed
plantation, where the maker, who is still living, quite obviously never
lived during the years of slave incarceration.
On the following page, we have a quilt made by the Daughters Of Dorcas,
an African American Quilters Guild. This quilt was made in 1987-88, and
features several of the patterns listed by the elderly woman. (but who
DIDN’t use those same patterns in the 1980’s for their sampler quilts?)
It is convenient for the authors that the African American quilt maker,
Ozella Williams, passed away last fall, as there is no one left to
further question by any other person who might be interested, or who may
have been more through in their research. If I, at first glance, can
shoot holes in the dates of the quilts they tell us are very early
examples of Log cabin quilts, and this is what kind of knowledge and
research they have built their story around, it makes the rest of the
book look pretty shoddy.
I personally had hoped for some definite proof, or at least a decent
jumping off place. The best part of the book, in my opinion, is the
extensive bibliography on underground RR articles and books which we
find at the back of their book. If you want to know more about the
Underground RR, use that list. If you want to know about quilts from
the underground RR, this isn’t going to help you much.
Just my very personal opinion of this much discussed book.
Eileen
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 22:29:23 -0700
From: Eileen Trestain ejtrestain@earthlink.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: battings
Message-ID: 36CF99B3.6AC85FFE@earthlink.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
I guess I am on a soap box tonight.
There are a couple things to consider other than ease of quilting in
choosing battings.
Cotton and wool battings have a long history of survival. Polyester
doesn’t.
Cotton and Wool are very breathable, and are not so likely to trap
moisture under the quilt, so they feel cooler in the summer and warmer
in teh winter.
Wool and cotton are somewhat fire resistant, wool more than cotton. If
you see a burned quilt with a poly batting, you will never forget the
sight of how it burned , and melted. There is nothig quite like the
feel and sound of a smoked poly batting, which melts between the layers
of cotton top and lining, and crinkles and crackles as you handle it.
Rather eerie whan you think somebody might have been sleeping under it
as it melted.
I like Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon, probably because grandma would never
use anything else, and I like that traditional feel, and Hobbs Organic
if I want a bit more loft. I like way Hobbs wool feels, but I am afraid
to handle it too long, as I am allergic to wool, and don’t want to take
teh chance. I don’t quilt with it.
Eileen
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 11:33:32 -0500
From: Nancy Roberts robertsn@norwich.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Story of reproduction fabric
Message-ID: 36D0355C.355D@norwich.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
For those interested in how reproduction fabric lines are designed, you might
check out Chiori Santiago’s article on the topic in The Fabric Special
Showcase, a special issue of Traditional Quiltworks magazine from Chitra
Publications. The article covers P&B Textile’s collection based on quilts
from the Oakland Museum. This issue is no longer on the newsstands, but back
issues can be purchased from the publisher if you missed it. The website is
http://www.QuiltTownUSA.com/ or you can call a credit card order at
800-628-8244. Nancy
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 11:43:21 -0500
From: Alan Kelchner quiltfix@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
To: qhl@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: should I buy?
Message-ID: 36D037A8.1BB803FD@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Liz, I have only one suggestion about your quilt – if it is something
that you dearly love, cannot stand the thought of not owning, you feel
the price is reasonable and you can afford it, then run (not walk) back
to the store and get the silly thing before someone else falls in
love!!!! I missed out on one (at that point too chicken to bid on ebay)
that I wish I had bought. Can’t get it out of my mind. But OTOH, if
it’s not screaming to come home, I won’t buy it. So I buy very few any
more. Would rather buy something that wants to come home with me. And
this does not mean that they are fancy and expensive. That is not
requisite. My most favorite one is a utilitarian piece that is worn (it
was filler for another, very ugly top). As for date, it’s not fair to
ask online (whimper-chinquiver). We have to see it. I will stick my neck
out far enough to guess at depression era, but that is not definite.
My suggestion is to buy and take it home. Love it as is, folded over a
chair that is infrequently used, so you can look at it. And never on
the couch – someone will inevitably snuggle under it. One of my first
jobs came from such an incident. The ladies daughter got under it and
was re-arranging the portion over her legs with her foot (don’t we all
before we sit up and use our hands?). Anyhow, the quilt was a fragile
pieceand, sure enough, her foot went straight through the center! It was
easily repaired, and (brag, brag) I couldn’t find the repair easily
myself (someone caught me photographing the wrong place – oops).
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 11:56:07 -0500
From: Alan Kelchner quiltfix@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
To: qhl@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: humility
Message-ID: 36D03AA6.24462DC5@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Someone may need to help me here – memory must be going. Watched
television the other night and my interest was piqued when the narrator
was talking about how these (3rd world men) would not make their (item)
perfect, as only Mohammed was perfect. This was on Discovery/TLC, and I
meant to remember everything, but …………
Wait, just remembered – It was PBS, “Antiques Roadshow”, and whichever
middle-eastern tribe had woven the rug they were appraising (the rug was
HUGE). The man appraising stated that they wouldn’t use matching dye
lots of yarn to create the piece, because only Mohammed was perfect and
capable of making perfection. And as the years went on, the dye lots
would fade differently, making the differences even more noticeable (the
rug in question had blue sections that were two different shades of the
same color). Of course, the flags went up in my brain because of the
connection to humility blocks in American quilts. I still think that the
original humility myths were to cover mistakes, but I also believe that
the romanticism of the legend led people to do this on purpose.
Now if I could remember the name of the woman I ran into last week. Used
to work with her, can remember the day she came in beaming because her
bosom looked bigger (new Wonder Bra), but it’s been a week and I’ll be
damned if I can remember her name! Must be a guy thing to remember her
chest and not her name (LOL) !
Alan
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 13:27:36 EST
From: QuiltEvals@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Re: Question about Quilter’s Heritage and more.
Message-ID: 6c465c1a.36d05018@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
In a message dated 2/20/99 6:51:25 PM Pacific Standard Time, QHL-Digest-
request@cuenet.com writes:
<<
Please tell us who is the Quilt Heritage Foundation. How does one become a
member. Who will be doing quilt appraisals. The lecture titles sound great!
Who
is giving which lecture?
Thank you.
Bobbie A. Aug
>
Yes, Nancy, I am curious about this as well?
Thanks,
Deborah Roberts
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 11:27:40 -0700
From: “Jeanne.Fetzer” Jeanne.Fetzer@integrityonline3.com
To: “Eileen Trestain” ejtrestain@earthlink.net, QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Re: underground RR book
Message-ID: <01b101be5dca$6741e020$36e399d0@jeanne.fetzer>
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset=”iso-8859-1″
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Thank you for taking the time to point out where you question the
authenticity of the Dobard book. All I want to say is, “Amen.” I don’t say
that to disprove anything, but to echo the need to look at information and
then ask questions. If we want quilt history to be taken seriously, we must
carefully research and support our findings based on fact.
Thank you, thank you!
Jeanne Fetzer
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 13:36:17 EST
From: QuiltEvals@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: More on Reproductions
Message-ID: 3ad0c564.36d05221@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
Yesterday, I had the privilege of seeing the strike offs for a new “1840’s”
line by Pat Nickols….Pat, I hope it was okay to tell, I just had to share
the news. The line is exciting….very accurate in detail and color. Of
course, there are the original colors and added color ways as well, but they
are all WONDERFUL! We were able to compare a few of the original fabrics
to the repros. Pat, like Sharon Newman has taken actual prints from quilts
and fabrics in her collection. This seems to be the way to do it – at least
for these two. The line is being produced by P&B and should be available in
late Spring, Pat will be introducing it at Quilt Market this May.
Sorry, I don’t usually do this, and I don’t mean to sound like a commercial,
but when you see them you will understand my excitement.
Deborah Roberts
Costa Mesa, CA
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 99 16:22:48 EST
From: “Bob Mills” decision@tigger.jvnc.net
To: “Quilter’s Heritage List” QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Orvus
Message-ID: decision.1270019808E@tigger.jvnc.net
To Jennifer and others:
In the East, Agway which is a retail store and nursery catering to area
farmers and yuppies, sells Orvus and it is not special order.
I just bought a container of 7 1/2 pounds for $19.95 and my quilt store
orvis is 8 oz. for $4.99. You need to find something like a feedstore or
farmers co-op. I live in a very suburban area of NJ but am lucky we still
have these stores. And my quilts are getting very clean.
About a year or so ago I went into Agway and was told they were sold out.
Mrs. G. is washing all her sheep this week!
Jan Drechsler (not Bob)
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 99 16:22:47 EST
From: “Bob Mills” decision@tigger.jvnc.net
To: “Quilter’s Heritage List” QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Repro fabrics
Message-ID: decision.1270019807D@tigger.jvnc.net
Just a word of thanks on the repro fabric information. Already I have
learned a lot!
Jan Drechsler (not Bob)
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 16:34:18 EST
From: Kathi2174@aol.com
To: quiltfix@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
Cc: qhl@cuenet.com
Subject: Re: QHL: humility
Message-ID: 5aef56f6.36d07bda@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
Alan,
I did get to see wool yarn being dyed in the bazaar in Herat, Afghanistan in
- I’m sure the methods had not changed in centuries. The term for the
streakiness in the color is “abrash.” It is a word of Turkish origin, that
originally meant the dappled or speckled colors on horses. It has long been
used to refer to the variation in saturation/hue in yarns used to weave rugs.
It’s caused in two ways: 1. By crude (not bad, just primitive) technology
used by dyers doing up a single batch. The second is by reusing the dye-bath.
The second and third uses have less pigment, therefore give varying shades.
Not much to do with quilts, is it? Unless we relate the “use what you have “
concept to explain variations in techniques in stead of the romantic lack of
perfection notion.
Off the soap box!
Kathi in Calif.
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 15:21:09 -0800
From: “Christine Thresh” christine@winnowing.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: I read Hidden in Plain View
Message-Id: 199902212322.PAA00834@server.cctrap.com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Tilde’s post asked for input from those who read the book, Hidden in Plain
View.
I read the book and was disappointed. The story told by the old African
American woman was interesting, but the book did nothing to really back it
up. There were lots of references to African textiles and Masonic symbols,
but they did not seem to tie in with the story told by the quilter. The
books I own about quilting patterns led me to believe many of the patterns
she said were in the quilt “map” were not in usage at the time of the
Underground Railroad. The author of Hidden stated that she obtained the
information
from the quilter in one three hour session.
Christine Thresh
Christine Thresh
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 20:00:30 -0500 (EST)
From: JOCELYNM@delphi.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com, QHL-Digest@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL-Digest Digest V99 #50
Message-id: 01J80NAUQJ3C9C87GT@delphi.com
Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII
On 20-FEB-1999 21:53:29.5 QHL said to JOCELYNM
Well, for my two cents, I supported the decision of the (A)IQA to
have only quilts that had not been exhibited elsewhere. There are so
many wonderful quilts out there that it is good to see different
quilts at the different shows instead of quilts “making the rounds”.
Jean Ann,
It was my understanding, however, that this rule applied to things like
entering our quilts in our local quilt shows, the county fair, etc. The talk
here was how it was going to ‘dumb down’ local shows, if the very best
quilters held out their work for the big shows…plus, if a quilt could only
be shown once, that seems like a shame!
OTOH, I really hate to go to a show and see things I’ve seen before. So
I don’t know what the happy balance is…
seen on samplers where the maker cross-stitches the letter Z backwards
so as not to offend God by making a perfect piece and have thought the
practice might carry over to quilting.
Jill,
I once spoke with a ‘plain’ quilter who said that it would be an
affront to God to deliberately put in a mistake, because that would mean you
thought you HAD achieved perfection up to that point! I don’t know if
that were the teachings of her sect, or her personal opinion, though.
Anyway, the quilt has what I would call a humility block in the lower
right hand side of the quilt. The “mistake on purpose” is that the
flowers are a totally different color than the rest of the quilt. It
This may be that the quilter ran out of fabric, and used a scrap of
another fabric that, at the time, matched, but over the years the dyes have
aged differently. I have a turn of the century Carolina Lily where the
majority of the red flowers are now brown (fading of turkey red dyes,
presumably). Among the blocks that are still red, are several different
shades of red, leading me to believe the quilter was making do with whatever
red scraps she could find.
Jocelyn
Hello,
I am Sharon Newman, and all of the fabrics I have reproduced for Moda
have been taken from real fabrics. Some are in Eileen’s book. My Vintage
Garden swag is shown there. The whole line of Vintage Garden was taken
from one quilt that had multiple color ways of the prints and two prints
not in the quilt. My Cherished Pieces fabrics were done with fabrics in
my dating fabrics box. My Twenties Treasures were taken from a 1923 Iowa
Irish Chain and a hexagon oddfellow top. My Turn of the Century fabrics
are from some of my grandmothers quilts. I have seen my fabrics in Nancy
Martin’s Two Color Quilts book. Eleanor Burns used my fabrics in her
Stockings book. You will see my fabrics used in several books.
Sharon Newman
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Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 23:07:13 EST
From: EllynLK@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Looking For Ideas…
Message-ID: b25a6bce.36cf8671@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
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I have been pulling out all of the antique “orphan” blocks that I’ve inherited
or found… just wondering what others of you have done to display these.
I’m going to be doing some redecorating in the spring and want to use these in
my decor. Just want to know what good ideas are out there to use these little
treasures in new and different ways.
Found one I forgot I had… found it a few years ago at a flea market. I
have no idea what pattern it is but I bought it because it has three paper
template pieces pinned to it. They were cut from an envelope and as fortune
would have it, there is a postmark! November 26, 1928 at 4:30 p.m. I would
like to somehow display this block along with the templates.
Ideas welcome!
Lauri Klobas
Pacific PaKarendes, California
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 22:16:46 -0700
From: Eileen Trestain ejtrestain@earthlink.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: underground RR book
Message-ID: 36CF96BE.DDC84A5E@earthlink.net
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OKAY folks. I just can’t bite my tongue any more.
I bought the underground RR book, Hidden in Plain View. First, I have to
say up front that I believe in the likelihood that an Underground RR may
have used quilts in some manner to give directions, or memorize the way,
similar to a map. I bought the book believing this to be a possibility.
I believe the African American culture is/was wise in many more ways
that anyone ever gave them credit for at the time, and that their
resiliency of spirit is what helped them to survive in the most
appalling of conditions.
Now to the book itself. The original author of the book, Jaqueline
Tobin, met an African American woman selling quilts in a flea market in
South Carolina, and the woman hinted at the Underground RR legend, which
has been with us for years. Leaving aside the possibility that this
could have been a most delightful ploy for an elderly woman to sell her
quilts to a tourist, we assume she has told them an oral legend handed
down that nobody so far has been able to prove.
For the first 63 pages, we get to read the forward by not one, but three
people who I presume are well known for their knowledge of African
American history and African tribal history, as well as introductions by
both authors. One of these people is Cuesta Benberry, a highly respected
quilt historian.
Much of the first portion of the book itself is about African tribal
arts and history. The book makes a point that the African American
community has a long history of oral traditions. I understand that,
too. But every time I felt that approached the subject the book was
supposed to be about in the first half of the book, I felt like they
dodged, and danced, and never quite reached the subject I was interested
in.. the quilts.
the authors give a grouping of quilt blocks which the woman named as the
blocks that were used. Then they take us on a convoluted journey of how
they decided what the blocks may have meant in use. One of the ideas
which they have put forward was the Dresden plate pattern symbolizing a
town of Dresden Ohio. Does anyone know of any recorded history of the
pattern named as Dresden Plate in the 1800’s? Yes, the pattern existed
in c.1800 medallion quilts, where it is now named in England as a
Dahlia, but can anyone tell me how old the Dresden Plate name is? Yes,
Wagon Wheel patterns were in use. Why would the Wheel pattern lead them
to Dresden, Ohio?
Next, we come to how old spiritual songs relate to underground railroad
themes. And about the representational pictorial quilts of Harriet
Powers. But, so far, I fail to see a great relation to proving the
underground RR theme.
Now, to a more telling part, in my estimation. The photographs. Many of
the photographs are recently made quilts, made by the second author,
Raymond Dobard. Staged in scenic positions in old slave quarters, but
in bright modern colors, the quilts do stand out. However, it is the
quilts which are supposedly slave quilts, one which was “a exceptional
example of an early log cabin quilt that was made by a fugitive slave in
the 1840’s….” Though a terrible photo supplied by the museum, it
appears to be a classic C.1880 black silk quilt with considerable
damage. On the next page is another log cabin quilt which “is said to be
slave made. The date is given as 1830’s by it’s owner.” Here we have a
c.1830 quilt, complete with a nice strip of mourning print right up the
middle, at the front of the picture? It looks to me like a classic
c.1900 log cabin utility quilt, with a baptist fan quilt pattern
overall, and possibly a moderately thick to very thick batting, common
at that time. Even relative novices I have asked, out of curiosity, and
without leading the witness, as it were, have responded when asked “When
was this quilt made?” have said without hesitation “Turn of the
Century.”
A few pages later, we have a quilt, admittedly made in 1980, from the
MEMORY of a quilt owned by the maker in her childhood, but which was
destroyed by a fire. It features stars in a random pattern, and an
unusual quilting design, with some colored threads as some of the
quilting. This is supposed to be the topographical map of an unnamed
plantation, where the maker, who is still living, quite obviously never
lived during the years of slave incarceration.
On the following page, we have a quilt made by the Daughters Of Dorcas,
an African American Quilters Guild. This quilt was made in 1987-88, and
features several of the patterns listed by the elderly woman. (but who
DIDN’t use those same patterns in the 1980’s for their sampler quilts?)
It is convenient for the authors that the African American quilt maker,
Ozella Williams, passed away last fall, as there is no one left to
further question by any other person who might be interested, or who may
have been more through in their research. If I, at first glance, can
shoot holes in the dates of the quilts they tell us are very early
examples of Log cabin quilts, and this is what kind of knowledge and
research they have built their story around, it makes the rest of the
book look pretty shoddy.
I personally had hoped for some definite proof, or at least a decent
jumping off place. The best part of the book, in my opinion, is the
extensive bibliography on underground RR articles and books which we
find at the back of their book. If you want to know more about the
Underground RR, use that list. If you want to know about quilts from
the underground RR, this isn’t going to help you much.
Just my very personal opinion of this much discussed book.
Eileen
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 22:29:23 -0700
From: Eileen Trestain ejtrestain@earthlink.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: battings
Message-ID: 36CF99B3.6AC85FFE@earthlink.net
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I guess I am on a soap box tonight.
There are a couple things to consider other than ease of quilting in
choosing battings.
Cotton and wool battings have a long history of survival. Polyester
doesn’t.
Cotton and Wool are very breathable, and are not so likely to trap
moisture under the quilt, so they feel cooler in the summer and warmer
in teh winter.
Wool and cotton are somewhat fire resistant, wool more than cotton. If
you see a burned quilt with a poly batting, you will never forget the
sight of how it burned , and melted. There is nothig quite like the
feel and sound of a smoked poly batting, which melts between the layers
of cotton top and lining, and crinkles and crackles as you handle it.
Rather eerie whan you think somebody might have been sleeping under it
as it melted.
I like Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon, probably because grandma would never
use anything else, and I like that traditional feel, and Hobbs Organic
if I want a bit more loft. I like way Hobbs wool feels, but I am afraid
to handle it too long, as I am allergic to wool, and don’t want to take
teh chance. I don’t quilt with it.
Eileen
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 11:33:32 -0500
From: Nancy Roberts robertsn@norwich.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Story of reproduction fabric
Message-ID: 36D0355C.355D@norwich.net
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For those interested in how reproduction fabric lines are designed, you might
check out Chiori Santiago’s article on the topic in The Fabric Special
Showcase, a special issue of Traditional Quiltworks magazine from Chitra
Publications. The article covers P&B Textile’s collection based on quilts
from the Oakland Museum. This issue is no longer on the newsstands, but back
issues can be purchased from the publisher if you missed it. The website is
http://www.QuiltTownUSA.com/ or you can call a credit card order at
800-628-8244. Nancy
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 11:43:21 -0500
From: Alan Kelchner quiltfix@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
To: qhl@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: should I buy?
Message-ID: 36D037A8.1BB803FD@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
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Liz, I have only one suggestion about your quilt – if it is something
that you dearly love, cannot stand the thought of not owning, you feel
the price is reasonable and you can afford it, then run (not walk) back
to the store and get the silly thing before someone else falls in
love!!!! I missed out on one (at that point too chicken to bid on ebay)
that I wish I had bought. Can’t get it out of my mind. But OTOH, if
it’s not screaming to come home, I won’t buy it. So I buy very few any
more. Would rather buy something that wants to come home with me. And
this does not mean that they are fancy and expensive. That is not
requisite. My most favorite one is a utilitarian piece that is worn (it
was filler for another, very ugly top). As for date, it’s not fair to
ask online (whimper-chinquiver). We have to see it. I will stick my neck
out far enough to guess at depression era, but that is not definite.
My suggestion is to buy and take it home. Love it as is, folded over a
chair that is infrequently used, so you can look at it. And never on
the couch – someone will inevitably snuggle under it. One of my first
jobs came from such an incident. The ladies daughter got under it and
was re-arranging the portion over her legs with her foot (don’t we all
before we sit up and use our hands?). Anyhow, the quilt was a fragile
pieceand, sure enough, her foot went straight through the center! It was
easily repaired, and (brag, brag) I couldn’t find the repair easily
myself (someone caught me photographing the wrong place – oops).
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 11:56:07 -0500
From: Alan Kelchner quiltfix@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
To: qhl@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: humility
Message-ID: 36D03AA6.24462DC5@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
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Someone may need to help me here – memory must be going. Watched
television the other night and my interest was piqued when the narrator
was talking about how these (3rd world men) would not make their (item)
perfect, as only Mohammed was perfect. This was on Discovery/TLC, and I
meant to remember everything, but …………
Wait, just remembered – It was PBS, “Antiques Roadshow”, and whichever
middle-eastern tribe had woven the rug they were appraising (the rug was
HUGE). The man appraising stated that they wouldn’t use matching dye
lots of yarn to create the piece, because only Mohammed was perfect and
capable of making perfection. And as the years went on, the dye lots
would fade differently, making the differences even more noticeable (the
rug in question had blue sections that were two different shades of the
same color). Of course, the flags went up in my brain because of the
connection to humility blocks in American quilts. I still think that the
original humility myths were to cover mistakes, but I also believe that
the romanticism of the legend led people to do this on purpose.
Now if I could remember the name of the woman I ran into last week. Used
to work with her, can remember the day she came in beaming because her
bosom looked bigger (new Wonder Bra), but it’s been a week and I’ll be
damned if I can remember her name! Must be a guy thing to remember her
chest and not her name (LOL) !
Alan
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 13:27:36 EST
From: QuiltEvals@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Re: Question about Quilter’s Heritage and more.
Message-ID: 6c465c1a.36d05018@aol.com
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In a message dated 2/20/99 6:51:25 PM Pacific Standard Time, QHL-Digest-
request@cuenet.com writes:
<<
Please tell us who is the Quilt Heritage Foundation. How does one become a
member. Who will be doing quilt appraisals. The lecture titles sound great!
Who
is giving which lecture?
Thank you.
Bobbie A. Aug
>
Yes, Nancy, I am curious about this as well?
Thanks,
Deborah Roberts
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 11:27:40 -0700
From: “Jeanne.Fetzer” Jeanne.Fetzer@integrityonline3.com
To: “Eileen Trestain” ejtrestain@earthlink.net, QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Re: underground RR book
Message-ID: <01b101be5dca$6741e020$36e399d0@jeanne.fetzer>
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Thank you for taking the time to point out where you question the
authenticity of the Dobard book. All I want to say is, “Amen.” I don’t say
that to disprove anything, but to echo the need to look at information and
then ask questions. If we want quilt history to be taken seriously, we must
carefully research and support our findings based on fact.
Thank you, thank you!
Jeanne Fetzer
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 13:36:17 EST
From: QuiltEvals@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: More on Reproductions
Message-ID: 3ad0c564.36d05221@aol.com
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Yesterday, I had the privilege of seeing the strike offs for a new “1840’s”
line by Pat Nickols….Pat, I hope it was okay to tell, I just had to share
the news. The line is exciting….very accurate in detail and color. Of
course, there are the original colors and added color ways as well, but they
are all WONDERFUL! We were able to compare a few of the original fabrics
to the repros. Pat, like Sharon Newman has taken actual prints from quilts
and fabrics in her collection. This seems to be the way to do it – at least
for these two. The line is being produced by P&B and should be available in
late Spring, Pat will be introducing it at Quilt Market this May.
Sorry, I don’t usually do this, and I don’t mean to sound like a commercial,
but when you see them you will understand my excitement.
Deborah Roberts
Costa Mesa, CA
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 99 16:22:48 EST
From: “Bob Mills” decision@tigger.jvnc.net
To: “Quilter’s Heritage List” QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Orvus
Message-ID: decision.1270019808E@tigger.jvnc.net
To Jennifer and others:
In the East, Agway which is a retail store and nursery catering to area
farmers and yuppies, sells Orvus and it is not special order.
I just bought a container of 7 1/2 pounds for $19.95 and my quilt store
orvis is 8 oz. for $4.99. You need to find something like a feedstore or
farmers co-op. I live in a very suburban area of NJ but am lucky we still
have these stores. And my quilts are getting very clean.
About a year or so ago I went into Agway and was told they were sold out.
Mrs. G. is washing all her sheep this week!
Jan Drechsler (not Bob)
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/bobmills/jan.html
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 99 16:22:47 EST
From: “Bob Mills” decision@tigger.jvnc.net
To: “Quilter’s Heritage List” QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Repro fabrics
Message-ID: decision.1270019807D@tigger.jvnc.net
Just a word of thanks on the repro fabric information. Already I have
learned a lot!
Jan Drechsler (not Bob)
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/bobmills/jan.html
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 16:34:18 EST
From: Kathi2174@aol.com
To: quiltfix@mail.jax.bellsouth.net
Cc: qhl@cuenet.com
Subject: Re: QHL: humility
Message-ID: 5aef56f6.36d07bda@aol.com
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Alan,
I did get to see wool yarn being dyed in the bazaar in Herat, Afghanistan in
- I’m sure the methods had not changed in centuries. The term for the
streakiness in the color is “abrash.” It is a word of Turkish origin, that
originally meant the dappled or speckled colors on horses. It has long been
used to refer to the variation in saturation/hue in yarns used to weave rugs.
It’s caused in two ways: 1. By crude (not bad, just primitive) technology
used by dyers doing up a single batch. The second is by reusing the dye-bath.
The second and third uses have less pigment, therefore give varying shades.
Not much to do with quilts, is it? Unless we relate the “use what you have “
concept to explain variations in techniques in stead of the romantic lack of
perfection notion.
Off the soap box!
Kathi in Calif.
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 15:21:09 -0800
From: “Christine Thresh” christine@winnowing.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: I read Hidden in Plain View
Message-Id: 199902212322.PAA00834@server.cctrap.com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
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Tilde’s post asked for input from those who read the book, Hidden in Plain
View.
I read the book and was disappointed. The story told by the old African
American woman was interesting, but the book did nothing to really back it
up. There were lots of references to African textiles and Masonic symbols,
but they did not seem to tie in with the story told by the quilter. The
books I own about quilting patterns led me to believe many of the patterns
she said were in the quilt “map” were not in usage at the time of the
Underground Railroad. The author of Hidden stated that she obtained the
information
from the quilter in one three hour session.
Christine Thresh
http://www.winnowing.com
Christine Thresh
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 20:00:30 -0500 (EST)
From: JOCELYNM@delphi.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com, QHL-Digest@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL-Digest Digest V99 #50
Message-id: 01J80NAUQJ3C9C87GT@delphi.com
Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII
On 20-FEB-1999 21:53:29.5 QHL said to JOCELYNM
Well, for my two cents, I supported the decision of the (A)IQA to
have only quilts that had not been exhibited elsewhere. There are so
many wonderful quilts out there that it is good to see different
quilts at the different shows instead of quilts “making the rounds”.
Jean Ann,
It was my understanding, however, that this rule applied to things like
entering our quilts in our local quilt shows, the county fair, etc. The talk
here was how it was going to ‘dumb down’ local shows, if the very best
quilters held out their work for the big shows…plus, if a quilt could only
be shown once, that seems like a shame!
OTOH, I really hate to go to a show and see things I’ve seen before. So
I don’t know what the happy balance is…
seen on samplers where the maker cross-stitches the letter Z backwards
so as not to offend God by making a perfect piece and have thought the
practice might carry over to quilting.
Jill,
I once spoke with a ‘plain’ quilter who said that it would be an
affront to God to deliberately put in a mistake, because that would mean you
thought you HAD achieved perfection up to that point! I don’t know if
that were the teachings of her sect, or her personal opinion, though.
Anyway, the quilt has what I would call a humility block in the lower
right hand side of the quilt. The “mistake on purpose” is that the
flowers are a totally different color than the rest of the quilt. It
This may be that the quilter ran out of fabric, and used a scrap of
another fabric that, at the time, matched, but over the years the dyes have
aged differently. I have a turn of the century Carolina Lily where the
majority of the red flowers are now brown (fading of turkey red dyes,
presumably). Among the blocks that are still red, are several different
shades of red, leading me to believe the quilter was making do with whatever
red scraps she could find.
Jocelyn
Hello,
I am Sharon Newman, and all of the fabrics I have reproduced for Moda
have been taken from real fabrics. Some are in Eileen’s book. My Vintage
Garden swag is shown there. The whole line of Vintage Garden was taken
from one quilt that had multiple color ways of the prints and two prints
not in the quilt. My Cherished Pieces fabrics were done with fabrics in
my dating fabrics box. My Twenties Treasures were taken from a 1923 Iowa
Irish Chain and a hexagon oddfellow top. My Turn of the Century fabrics
are from some of my grandmothers quilts. I have seen my fabrics in Nancy
Martin’s Two Color Quilts book. Eleanor Burns used my fabrics in her
Stockings book. You will see my fabrics used in several books.
Sharon Newman
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 19:23:08 -0800
From: Marilyn Maddalena marilyn@crl.com
Eileen, thank you so much for your thoughtful and intelligent insights into
the UGRR book, and for taking the time to set them out so clearly so those
of us who are still novices can learn from you. You put in words just what
I had been thinking, but hadn’t taken the time to completely analyze yet. I
do think it’s an interesting book, I’m glad I bought it and read it, and it
has added to my knowledge — (as does everything I read in one way or
another) but I sure don’t want to take it as the gospel truth. Last night
on the History Channel was a very lengthy program on the UGRR — unless I
fell asleep in the middle, or was distracted by chocolate(!), there was not
one mention of quilts in the entire program. I kept waiting for it — and
thought it quite odd that such a lengthy program, obviously thoroughly
researched by experts — would not even mention signals by use of quilts,
or maps, or anything else about quilts. The only mention was of a lantern
in the window of safe houses. Wonder if the authors of the Hidden in
Plain View book knew of this program — and which one is accurate? Anyone
else see it and wonder, too? Marilyn in Sacramento
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 21:05:55 -0800
From: Audrey Waite awquiltr@sedona.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Dating Fabrics
Message-ID: 36D0E5B3.7D26@sedona.net
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
For those interested in learning more about dating antique quilts
through patterns and fabric, our own Eileen Trestain will be teaching a
class called “Dating and Heavy Petting” at Quilt Camp in the Pines,
Saturday, July 24, 1999. Send a SASE for the complete schedule to:
Quilt Camp in the Pines, 160 Sugar Loaf Drive, Sedona, AZ 86336.
Eventually we will have the class schedule on-line at:
If you’ve never been to a quilter’s retreat or similar outing, you’re
really missing a treat!
Audrey Waite
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 01:27:53 EST From: WileneSmth@aol.com
! ——————————
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 07:59:37 -0500 From: Barb Garrett<BGARRETT@FAST.NET
To Judy and others – Marilyn Kowaleski owns a very high scale antique co-op on
route 272 in Adamstown, PA, named South Pointe Antiques, just south of the
Turnpike entrance. The shop has absolutely beautiful things, not just
textiles,
and there are always wonderful quilts displayed on the walls above the
showcases. It is a showcase co-op, and they are very friendly. I go and
look as
often as possible — it’s like visiting a wonderful museum. Marilyn has been a
fabric and textile collector for many years — back when things were cheap —
and she just accumulated them. I don’t know that she actively collects now.
Each March she holds a vintage fabrics and textiles show and sale at the co-op
— which includes things from her collection and things from the other dealers
in the co-op. This year’s begins March 4.
I went last year and the things were truly beautiful to look at. I asked last
year and they said they continually replace things that are sold, and suggest
coming several times during March as new things come out. I know this is at
least the 3rd year she has had the show, but it could be longer. As to whether
it is worth coming — that’s a personal thing. I live 30 minutes from
there, so
enjoy looking and hope to go this year. The quality of the items is very, very
good, the prices what one would expect for top quality from a dealer who knows
what she has. She also has unusual, one of a kind things — pot holders, pin
cushions, all kinds of smalls. The shop is closed on Tuesdays If anyone has
more questions, please ask and I can look for my literature with hours, etc.
Barb in southeastern PA<BGARRETT@FAST.NET
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 08:17:28 -0500 From:
“jawhite@courant.infi.net”<JAWHITE@COURANT.INFI.NET To: Quilt History
list<QHL@CUENET.COM Subject: QHL: Hidden in Plain View Message-ID:
36D158C5.34F9@courant.infi.net
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
I wasn’t going to say anything, but since the subject has been opened, I agree
100% about this book. My main question about this book is: why did Ozella
Williams feel the need to tell a perfect stranger, someone she had never laid
eyes on before, about this quilt code after all these years? If this is
something that has been handed down orally in families, you’d think we would
have heard about by now. The authors didn’t back up the book with enough
research. While there is an extensive bibliography listed in the back of the
book, there were statements made (supposedly statements of fact) within the
book itself that were never attributed to anyone or any research. If you are
going to state something as true fact, it must be backed up with research. The
bibliography is quite extensive (and very interesting) for such a small
book. I
also think that there were no directions obtained from the suggested quilt
patterns/quilts that couldn’t have been obtained from observing the night sky
at the time. Dr. Gladys Marie Fry wrote an excellent monograph on Harriet
Powers; yet this was never mentioned. I was left with the feeling that the
authors were trying really hard to force a point and just didn’t quite make
it.
I’m not saying the premise isn’t true – I am saying that much more good
research needs to be done. Judy White – Ct
More and more we have come to realize how much of “History” is biased
opinion…very little or none was ever written about the African American
roles
in American history…in the military, in the world of inventions and
education….but to overcompensate by printing more fictionalized history..is
not the answer… The freeing and rescuing of slaves came about because of
Abolitionist activists….not by quilts hanging on fences…and to tell the
descendents of slaves that it was anything else..does not do anything to help
them understand the underground RR movement… when I first heard about the
review of “Hidden in Plain Sight”, in USA Today… stating that an old African
American women chose a quilt customer to tell all of this “valuable”
information…I wrote to QHL saying it had the taint of hoax about it… I
know
that racism runs rampant in this country and History has always short changed
the minorities living in this country…. But “pretend” history is not the
answer… jean jquilt@aol.com
—————————— —————————— Date: Mon, 22
Feb
1999 10:37:35 -0600 From: Laura Hobby Syler<TEXAS_QUILT.CO@MAIL.AIRMAIL.NET
To:
JQuilt@aol.com, qhl@cuenet.com Subject: Re: QHL: “history” Message-Id:
3.0.3.32.19990222103735.006dd00c@mail.airmail.net Content-Type: text/plain;
charset=”us-ascii” Jean, and all, You know, I’ve been suspicious of this since
I first saw “The Good Dr.” on Oprah….and expressed those views. But what is
truely sad, and makes me a little mad, is that we all have bought the book
hoping to get more information and at least I for one feel like I was taken to
the cleaners!! Almost like that “Instant Expert” book on antique quilts that
came out last year……… Laura In chilly N. Texas At 10:10 AM 2/22/99 EST,
JQuilt@aol.com wrote: >More and more we have come to realize how much of
“History” is biased >opinion…very little or none was ever written about the
African American >roles in American history…in the military, in the world of
inventions and >education….but to overcompensate by printing more
fictionalized history..is >not the answer… > >The freeing and rescuing of
slaves came about because of Abolitionist >activists….not by quilts hanging
on fences…and to tell the descendents of >slaves that it was anything
else..does not do anything to help them understand >the underground RR
movement… >when I first heard about the review of “Hidden in Plain
Sight”, in
USA >Today… stating that an old African American women chose a quilt
customer
to >tell all of this “valuable” information…I wrote to QHL saying it had the
taint of hoax about it… >I know that racism runs rampant in this country
and
History has always short >changed the minorities living in this country….
But “pretend” history is not the answer… >jean >jquilt@aol.com > > >
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 11:44:29 EST From: WileneSmth@aol.com To:
QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: 1830s LC quilt in Tobin & Dobard
Message-ID:<AE922D6F.36D1896D@AOL.COM Content-type: text/plain;
charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit <<
However, it is the quilts which are supposedly slave quilts, one which was “a
exceptional example of an early log cabin quilt that was made by a fugitive
slave in the 1840’s….” Though a terrible photo supplied by the museum, it
appears to be a classic C.1880 black silk quilt with considerable damage. On
the next page is another log cabin quilt which “is said to be slave made. The
date is given as 1830’s by it’s owner.” Here we have a c.1830 quilt, complete
with a nice strip of mourning print right up the middle, at the front of the
picture? It looks to me like a classic c.1900 log cabin utility quilt, with a
baptist fan quilt pattern overall, and possibly a moderately thick to very
thick batting, common at that time. Even relative novices I have asked, out of
curiosity, and without leading the witness, as it were, have responded when
asked “When was this quilt made?” have said without hesitation “Turn of the
Century.” >>
I’ve been hoping that someone else would notice (and question) the 1830s Log
Cabin quilt in Hidden in Plain View because I wanted to see if others
echoed my
dating of it. Yes, I, too, immediately dated that quilt at ca. 1900-1910. It’s
fabrics are one of the common palettes of that time — cotton calicos of
whites
(shirting prints), light indigo blues, mourning grays, and wines. While I
learned not long ago that a similar light indigo blue existed in the 1820s
(I’d
love to share my story about those if anyone is interested), but it apparently
was not widely used. The wine color did not, as far as I’ve discovered, exist
until around the last quarter of the 19th century, and I believe the grays
began around the same time, though they could date a tad earlier. And I’ve yet
to see that fan quilting pattern in a quilt that was made prior to the end of
the 19th century, and it was extremely popular for utilitarian quilts early in
the 20th century. But my critique of that particular quilt is not limited to
Jackie and Raymond’s book, as I have long criticized not one, but many of the
quilts illustrated by Gladys-Marie Fry in Stitched from the Soul: Slave Quilts
from the Ante-Bellum South (NYC: Dutton Studio Books, 1990).
Six quilts are pictured on pages 18-20 (Plates 21-26) with the caption: “These
six quilts are said to have been made by ‘sewing women’ — slaves that were
specially trained to do quilting.” #21 is a broderie perse so DOES date to
slavery days. #22 is “ify” to a date — it’s either 2nd half 19th century or
1st half 20th century. #24 is definitely 19th century (lots of well-worn brown
calicos), but a closer date is not possible from that photograph. #26 is a
whole cloth quilt which is undateable from this photograph. But #23 and #25
are
20th century and MADE from 1920s-1930s prints, so can’t possibly be “slave
made” for obvious reasons. Made by “former slaves,” yes. #23 is a
Grandmother’s
Flower Garden in the common configuration of two rows of hexagons around the
center hexagon, the pieces are typically large, and the prints used are
typical
1920s-1930s. #25 is a pattern first published May 1921 in Woman’s World
magazine (Chicago) as “Cracker,” then repeated as a Four Patch in this quilt.
(This is not to say the design did not “exist” prior to 1921, just that
1921 is
the earliest publication date presently known.)
The next quilt, a two-color Lone Star top, Plate 27, is also said to be
“slave-made,” but I question it, too. Plate 31 (p.22) is an embroidered crazy
quilt, mostly wools, said to have been started by a house slave before the
Civil War and finished by her daughter in 1895. And there are still more
obviously 20th century quilts on pp. 40-41 with the caption: “These three
quilts made by slave Nancy Vaughn Ford are important, for they are good
examples of the utilitarian quilts made by slaves for their own use in their
free time.” The first one, #56, dates ca. 1880-1910. #57 incorporates a
printed
fabric of giant pastel hearts with large words between them and likely a 1950s
fabric. #58 needs no further comment here. #61 is pieced goblet blocks and it
is unlikely that pieced picture blocks existed until after the Civil War. I
also question #110, #111, and #114, all attributed to a woman “imported from
the Congo in 1818″ when she was 12 or 13 years old. All three appear to be
early 20th century.
In discussing Jackie and Raymond’s book, we are doing exactly what Raymond
suggested in his Author’s Note on page 33: “Our interpretation of the code is
based in part upon informed conjecture. While we believe that our research and
the piecing together of our findings present a strong viable case, we do not
claim that our ‘deciphering’ of the code is infallible. Nor do we insist that
our perspective is the only one for viewing the code. We have written the book
in a way that encourages questions. We leave room for the reader to add
her/his
own ideas and thereby contribute to the growing body of knowledge. In the
spirit of quiltmaking, we invite you to join us in juxtaposing ideas so that
patterns and meanings are revealed.” And that is exactly what we are doing
here
on QHL, albeit rather harshly at times. Jackie and Raymond are to be
applauded,
in my view, for bringing this idea to us “in Plain View.” I’ll climb down off
my soap box now, and Thanks for listening. –Wilene
—————————— Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 10:46:20 -0600 From:
Laura Hobby Syler<TEXAS_QUILT.CO@MAIL.AIRMAIL.NET To: ZegrtQuilt@aol.com,
QHL@cuenet.com Subject: Re: QHL: Re: QHL-Digest Digest V99 #51 Message-Id:
3.0.3.32.19990222104620.006e15f0@mail.airmail.net Content-Type: text/plain;
charset=”us-ascii” Shelly, do you remember the conversations that we had last
year about the “black centered Log Cabins”? There is some documentation
back to
King Tut’s tomb with one of the golden cat idols wrapped in cloth strips that
formed a log cabin design…….I think that Karen Evans also gave us some art
history background???? But I do know that the pattern became popular during
Lincoln’s presidency and there after… Laura At 11:15 AM 2/22/99 EST,
ZegrtQuilt@aol.com wrote: >I am curious as to when you all think the log cabin
pattern developed. This >is in reference to Eileen’s discussion of the book
Hidden in Plain View. I >have always thought that the pattern was not in
existance as early as it is >referenced in the publication.Shelly Z > > >
—————————— Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 12:21:47 EST From:
JQuilt@aol.com To: qhl@cuenet.com Subject: QHL: (no subject) Message-ID:
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit when I wrote my “Give me a break” message a
month or so ago…after reading the review in USA Today…someone wrote to the
list saying people(Me) shouldn’t say negative things about a book before they
read it…well the review was enough for me NOT to buy the book…that’s what
reviews are all about…. When you read that a book was written based on the
“fact” that someone who died gave all of the secret codes to a
stranger…….I
think it’s time to say Buyer Beware jean
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 11:21:10 -0600 (Central Standard Time) From: Mary
Persyn<MARY.PERSYN@VALPO.EDU To: qhl@cuenet.com Subject: QHL: Imperfections
Message-ID:<SIMEON.9902221110.D@VUNEWS.VALPO.EDU.VALPO.EDU Content-Type:
TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII
Have any of you seen this year’s issue of “Vintage Quilts”, the magazine issue
from ??? (I’m at work and the mag is at home) containing pictures of old
quilts
and how to reproduce them? I remember we discussed last year’s issue on line.
Anyway, this years issue has an Amish quilt that is all churn dash blocks
except one crown of thorns? block and the article says it is a typical example
of not wanting to make a perfect quiilt. To my way of thinking the magazine is
perpetuating the myth. There are some lovely quilts pictured in the magazine,
but again they did not give any information about the provenance of the quilts
or much other information of a historical nature. I have some questions about
the information they did give also. I think that detracts from the magazine
(but didn’t stop me from buying it, of course. :+)) There are articles by Bev
Dunivant (hope I spelled the name right) on crazy quilts, Anita Schakelford
(ditto as to spelling) on collecting old quilts, and ??? (another senior
moment). Now returning to lurkdom, Mary in sunny and cold Valparaiso, IN
—————————————– Mary Persyn (219) 465-7830 Email:
Mary.Persyn@valpo.edu Law Librarian School of Law Valparaiso University
Valparaiso, IN 46383 FAX: (219) 465-7917 –
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 12:27:29 EST From: WileneSmth@aol.com To:
QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: re: antique “orphan” blocks Message-ID:
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit << I have been pulling out all of the antique
“orphan” blocks that I’ve inherited or found… just wondering what others of
you have done to display these. I’m going to be doing some redecorating in the
spring and want to use these in my decor. Just want to know what good ideas
are
out there to use these little treasures in new and different ways. Found one I
forgot I had… found it a few years ago at a flea market. I have no idea what
pattern it is but I bought it because it has three paper template pieces
pinned
to it. They were cut from an envelope and as fortune would have it, there is a
postmark! November 26, 1928 at 4:30 p.m.
I would like to somehow display this block along with the templates. Ideas
welcome! Lauri Klobas Pacific PaKarendes, California >> This is what I’ve
learned to do with the ones that I avidly collect. I’ve accumulated a large
collection (about 1,000 now) of these “orphan blocks” over the past 20+ years
and they have become a vital part of my quilt pattern research. I’ve learned
more about quilt making and quilt makers from them than from any other single
source. Many of these were actually “pattern blocks” never intended to be used
in a quilt, but as a pattern and how it went together, especially when one
finds the templates attached to them. I did a research paper for AQSG about
these that’s in Uncoverings 1986. My collection now fills three very large
boxes and many of them are unidentified as to name or published source. They
range in age from about the 1820s-1830s to the mid-20th century. I use my huge
collection of original vintage published sources (and database) to identify a
possible source (or sources) for each block (based on the age of its fabrics),
and print a label on 100% cotton paper, attaching it to each block with a
brass
safety pin like we used in the Kansas Quilt Project. I use Barbara Brackman’s
numbering system to keep them in a “findeable” order.
While it’s all an exercise in “educated guesswork,” it also gives me a chance
to study how each quiltmaker interpreted her design as compared to the
published illustration that might have inspired her (and some of these
comparisons can be quite humorous today). I once attempted a simple framing
project to “protect” them, but soon learned that the backs are nearly as
important as the fronts, so I have gradually “unframed” many of them. I
shudder
when I think of the many “pattern blocks” that were wasted by others in the
1970s in throw pillows and other projects, but that’s all part of the learning
process for all of us. –Wilene
Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 19:51:45 +0400 From: Xenia Cord<XECORD@NETUSA1.NET To:
QHL@cuenet.com Subject: QHL: Re: Log Cabin Message-ID:
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit On the question raised by Shelly of the age of
Log Cabin as a quilt design: in Indiana there is a quilt made shortly after
Lincoln’s death, in the Log Cabin design. When the funeral train carrying
Lincoln’s body passed through Indianapolis, the pillars of the State House
were
wrapped in black wool bunting. The plan was that the catafalque was to be
placed in the rotunda so the citizenry could file past, but a terrible storm
necessitated a change in plans, and the casket remained on the train. After
the
train departed, an Indianapolis restaurant owner obtained some of the bunting
and gave it to his wife and daughter, who made a very somber Log Cabin quilt
from it. The quilt is rusty black and dark green, primarily, with red centers
and a pinky beige wool for the light half of the blocks. The set is Barn
Raising. It is presumed that the quilt was made at the time the bunting was
obtained, so around 1866-68. You can see the quilt on page 31 of Quilts of
Indiana (1991), and read the story. Although not pictured there, there is a
photo of the state house and the draping taken when the funeral train was in
Indianapolis. A book with this photo is with the quilt. The quilt has been
exhibited a number of times in central Indiana, as the descendant is generous
in lending it to qualified exhibitors. Xenia ——————————
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Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 19:23:08 -0800
From: Marilyn Maddalena marilyn@crl.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Re: “Hidden” book review
Message-Id: 3.0.3.32.19990221192308.006ea118@mail.crl.com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=3D”us-ascii”
Eileen, thank you so much for your thoughtful and intelligent insights into
the UGRR book, and for taking the time to set them out so clearly so those
of us who are still novices can learn from you. You put in words just what
I had been thinking, but hadn’t taken the time to completely analyze yet. I
do think it’s an interesting book, I’m glad I bought it and read it, and it
has added to my knowledge — (as does everything I read in one way or
another) but I sure don’t want to take it as the gospel truth. Last night
on the History Channel was a very lengthy program on the UGRR — unless I
fell asleep in the middle, or was distracted by chocolate(!), there was not
one mention of quilts in the entire program. I kept waiting for it — and
thought it quite odd that such a lengthy program, obviously thoroughly
researched by experts — would not even mention signals by use of quilts,
or maps, or anything else about quilts. The only mention was of a lantern
in the window of safe houses. Wonder if the authors of the Hidden in
Plain View book knew of this program — and which one is accurate? Anyone
else see it and wonder, too? Marilyn in Sacramento
Date: Sun, 21 Feb 1999 21:05:55 -0800
From: Audrey Waite awquiltr@sedona.net
To: QHL@cuenet.com
Subject: QHL: Dating Fabrics
Message-ID: 36D0E5B3.7D26@sedona.net
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
For those interested in learning more about dating antique quilts
through patterns and fabric, our own Eileen Trestain will be teaching a
class called “Dating and Heavy Petting” at Quilt Camp in the Pines,
Saturday, July 24, 1999. Send a SASE for the complete schedule to:
Quilt Camp in the Pines, 160 Sugar Loaf Drive, Sedona, AZ 86336.
Date Wed, 24 Feb 1999 073852 -0800
From Anne Scott nzquilter@xtra.co.nz
To QHL@cuenet.com
Australian quilt historian and founder of the Australian Quilt Study
Group Margaret Rolfe is an expert on these quilts.
My information is from her excellent book Australian Quilt Heritage
Published by JB Fairfax Press, 1998.
Prison reformer Elizabeth Fry, a Quaker, organised for convict women to
receive fabric and sewing needles etc so they could both be occupied on
the long ship voyage and have something they could sell on landing in
Australia. The quilts were indeed sold, not only in Australia. It appears
that women on one ship, The Wellington, sold their quilts for a guinea
each in Rio de Janeiro, en route to Australia.
Convict women were supplied with
“a small hessian bag that contained one piece of tape; one oz of pins;
one hundred needles; four balls of white sewing cotton; one ditto black;
one ditto blue; one ditto red; two balls of black worsted, half an oz
each; twenty four hanks of coloured thread, one of cloth, with 8 darning
needles and one small bodkin fastened on it; two stay laces; one thimble;
one pair of scissors; one pair of spectacles, when required; two lbs of
patch-work pieces.”
Elizabeth Fry’s work in the prisons dates from 1816 through until her
death in 1843. Elizabeth Fry was responsible for supplying convict women
on 106 ships which made their way to Australia during this time. Over
12,000 women were among the passengers. Most of the quilts were
utilitarian and doubtless have long since disappeared.
The most famous prison quilt is the Rajah quilt, discovered in 1980 in
Scotland and subsequently purchased by the National Gallery of Australia.
It was stitched by the convict women on board the Rajah as a thank you
for Elizabeth Fry. It remains unquilted, medallion style with a broderie
perse central block. It is 325 cm x 337 cm – a very large quilt top.
I too have been watching this quilt on auction with interest and would
suspect the correct dating, if it is indeed a convict quilt would be more
likely to be between 1820-1845.
None of the convict ships came to New Zealand.
Anne Scott
Editor & Publisher
New Zealand QUILTER magazine
Wellington, New Zealand
Date Tue, 23 Feb 1999 164349 -0500
From “J. G. Row” Judygrow@blast.net
would not make their (item)
perfect, as only Mohammed was perfect. This was on Discovery/TLC, and I
meant to remember everything, but …………It was PBS, “Antiques
Roadshow”, and >whichever middle-eastern tribe had woven the rug they were
appraising (the rug >was HUGE). The man appraising stated that they
wouldn’t use matching dye
lots of yarn to create the piece, because only Mohammed was perfect and
capable of making perfection. And as the years went on, the dye lots
would fade differently, making the differences even more noticeable (the
rug in question had blue sections that were two different shades of the
same color).
Alan, I saw that show too. I don’t remember hearing the appraiser speak
about perfection, etc., but I do remember him speaking about the different
dye lots. The correct term for shades of the same color in an Oriental rug
is “abrash.” Remember that many of those rugs, especially the smaller
Caucasian rugs were woven by nomadic people. They were able to buy or dye
only small quantities of wool, and so the different dye lots would show up
immediately in the rug. It is not particularly something that would show up
with time.
The rug on PBS was a Kirman I think, woven in Northern Iran. Because of its
size I doubt if it was woven by nomadic people, and I doubt if many men
knotted many knots in it. Because of the great number of knots psi usually
women and young girls (whose fingers were smaller) knotted rugs on huge
vertical looms, three and four women to a row.
I am sure Maury will correct me if I am wrong (please).
Judy in Ringoes, NJ
judygrow@blast.net
Date Wed, 24 Feb 1999 081149 -0600
From Mark Kriss mkriss@quiltcollector.com (by way of Quilting Heritage ListServ qrs@albany.net)
Content-Type text/plain; charset=”us-ascii”
Thanks very much for all the interest in and comments about the Australian
Prison Quilt from Diana Leone’s collection.
Based on your questions and concerns, Diana has contacted several quilting
experts and historians in Australia who might assist in dating the quilt
more precisely. At this point, she’s placing it in the 1860-1880 range. If
you have any information or sources of documentation that might be
relevant, please send it to Diana directly at dianaleone@hotmail.com.
As soon as she has more information, it will be posted to the QHL list as
well as at http//www.quiltcollector.com/prisoner.htm
Best regards,
–Mark Kriss
- – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – +
Mark Kriss mkriss@quiltcollector.com
Quiltcollector.com
Online Quilt Auctions for Discriminating Buyers
www.quiltcollector.com phone 650.857.9035
- – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – +
Date Wed, 24 Feb 1999 081501 EST
From ZegrtQuilt@aol.com
Content-transfer-encoding 7bit
re Australian quilt
I have really appreciated everyone’s comments about the auction of the
Australian quilt. For me, the most important part is that it was quilted in
- It is not an 1880 quilt if it was quilted in 1996. It is an 1880 top
quilted in 1996.That alone changes the value dramatically, in my humble
opinion. Shelly Zegart
Date Wed, 24 Feb 1999 082915 +0000
From Bobbie Aug qwltpro@uswest.net
Dear Shelly,
Re log cabin quilts. The earliest documention (I mean documentation
supporting the date), according to my research, is 1850.
Bobbie A. Aug
ZegrtQuilt@aol.com wrote
re Australian quilt
>
I have really appreciated everyone’s comments about the auction of the
Australian quilt. For me, the most important part is that it was quilted in
- It is not an 1880 quilt if it was quilted in 1996. It is an 1880 top
quilted in 1996.That alone changes the value dramatically, in my humble
opinion. Shelly Zegart
Date Wed, 24 Feb 1999 104458 -0500
From “Peggy O’Connor” mnoc@brinet.com
Content-Transfer-Encoding 7bit
One of the things I’ve wondered is what should one expect to pay for an
antique top that has been recently quilted, versus what the piece would cost
if the top had been quilted at the time it was made. Price surely depends
on the rarity of the top itself, but does the quilting or its detail play
much of a role in this case? Any opinions?
Peggy in NC, where the forecasted snowstorm has produced not one flake
Date Wed, 24 Feb 1999 090600 -0700
From “Jeanne.Fetzer” Jeanne.Fetzer@integrityonline3.com
To “QHL” qhl@cuenet.com
Content-Transfer-Encoding quoted-printable
Dear Friends
I just turned in a reservation (my nephew is getting married in San =
Francisco the same week) at the Best Western Paducah Inn for April 18 – =
23 (check out on April 24, 1999). The phone number is 502-443-2323. If =
you call the 800 number they will tell you it is all booked. If you =
hurry and need a room, you may be able to get this reservation. The =
room is a single king bed for one person. If they tell you they are =
full, mention my name (Jeanne Fetzer) and see if you can have the room. =
I will be jealous all that week, but try to put on a smile at my =
nephew’s wedding (27 yr. old handsome boy with a killer smile). =
Date Wed, 24 Feb 1999 111208 -0600 (CST)
From Carol H Elmore celmore@ksu.edu
To QHL@cuenet.com
Subject QHL Cheryl Phillips
Message-ID Pine.SOL.3.96L.990224111055.12679A-100000@abc.ksu.ksu.edu
Content-Type TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Does anyone know the e-mail address for Cheryl Phillips who wrote
Wedgeworks. I need to contact her as soon as possible.
Carol Elmore
Date Wed, 24 Feb 1999 132028 +0000
From Bobbie Aug qwltpro@uswest.net
To Carol H Elmore celmore@ksu.edu
CC QHL@cuenet.com
Subject Re QHL Cheryl Phillips
Message-ID 36D3FC9B.91F80DD1@clsp.uswest.net
Content-Type text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding 7bit
Carol,
Cheryl is from over on the Western Slope. Haven’t seen her in awhile
and I don’t think she is a current member of The Colorado Quilting
Council, but I will email Membership Chair and get back to you.
Bobbie
Carol H Elmore wrote
Does anyone know the e-mail address for Cheryl Phillips who wrote
Wedgeworks. I need to contact her as soon as possible.
Carol Elmore
Date Thu, 25 Feb 1999 083841 +0800
From Kath Balfour balfourk@echidna.id.au
To QHL@cuenet.com
Subject QHL Prisoner’s quilt, or criminal assault?
Message-Id
Content-Type text/plain; charset=”us-ascii”
I’ve checked out the website about the Australian “prisoners” quilt, too,
which starts with a mission statement about trust and goodwill,and ends
with a seal of authenticity.
I agree with Jean Eitel. For the casual collector like me, there are many
very obvious warning signals from the outset that something is amiss — the
terminology (“convict” was the term of the day), the dates, the story about
how the quilt was supposedly made, and, glaringly, the omission of any
description of the materials, etc.
What is heartbreaking is the suspicion that there may have been something
historically worthwhile to start with, before the “expert” hastened its
demise by assembling, repairing, and quilting out any authenticity or value
the original piece(s) may have had. (Sigh) Another real story lost to
history…now THAT’S criminal!
Taken on face value (is there any other way, on an internet auction?)
anyone should conclude that, as we say in Australia, someone is having a
lend of us. Meaning it sounds like total fabrication (pardon the pun).
Caveat emptor.
Now when I hear the name Diane Leone, of course I will associate it with
this dubious episode.
Jean also speculated the quilt may have been made later, possibly on a
bride ship.
<No doubt “brides” were sent to Australia long after prison ships stopped,
and if these women were brides for the male settlers of Australia maybe
they were not prisoners at all. There, that is my addition to the oral
history mis-information. Anyone else?>
From the late 19th century, it was well advertised in the British Isles
that there were opportunities for women in the Australian colonies. Women
came of their own free will and took their chances when they got here. The
colonies were poorly populated, and they were keen to advertise their
attractions to entice settlement.
My friend has written a biography of her grandmother, a Scottish woman
working as a domestic servant in England, who came to Perth in 1900 on a
ship mostly filled with single women. She had kept a diary aboard ship, and
such documents from working class women are very rare indeed. The diary is
wonderful, and tells of her 6 weeks adventure in her own words, and her
hopes and dreams. No quilting, but certainly there was needlework to while
away the hours at sea. She went to the goldfields to work as a hotel maid,
met an Irishman recently arrived by way of Chicago, and eventually went
farming. He died, leaving her with 6 little kids to rear and a farm to work
by herself. She kept the diary in her trunk, never writing another word
once she got here. She died in the 1950s. Now my friend is making a
pictorial quilt called Maggie’s Story, after her grandmother. 1999 is the
centenery of women’s suffrage in Western Australia, and there will be a big
exhibition of quilts depicting Western Australian women and their
accomplishments.
cheers
Kath Balfour
Date Wed, 24 Feb 1999 203445 -0500
From laurel horton kalmia@innova.net
To QHL, and beyond,
Here’s something to puzzle over
I’ve been working with a collection of 16 quilts made by three generations
within an extended family in South Carolina. In preparation for taking
down a physical description of each one, I was spending some time just
looking at each one before I wrote anything. I was examining one, called
“Sunflower” by an earlier owner, which is similar to a number of “Mariner’s
Compass” variations, having a circle in the center surrounded by four
concentric rings of points. The fabrics are, from the center out, a yellow
print, red solid, green print, and blue floral print. A very nice example
of a pieced quilt from the 3rd quarter, 19th century, I thought. Then I
counted the points, expecting 12 or maybe 16. There are 11 points. Even
though the needlework seemed very exact, I thought maybe one of the
sunflowers might have been “off,” so I checked the other blocks–each of
them has 11 points.
Now I’ve looked at a lot of quilts over the years, but I don’t remember
anything quite like this. I can’t think of any reason that someone would
have intentionally laid out a pattern with this degree of
difficulty–unless she wanted to impress others with her drafting and
piecing skills. But even then, the effect is so subtle that it would be
easy to miss the fact that this is not your typical
circle-divided-into-60-degree-segments. It’s clear that the formation of
11-point rings is quite intentional. All of the hand-pieced points are
evenly spaced.
This makes me wonder if there were earlier quilts like this which I didn’t
examine closely enough to detect similar anomalies. Has anyone else seen
quilts, blocks, photos, or descriptions of quilts with radiating pieced
designs which have an unusual number of points? Or can anyone suggest the
significance of the number 11?
Laurel Horton
Date Wed, 24 Feb 1999 211127 -0800
From Audrey Waite awquiltr@sedona.net
To kalmia@innova.net
CC QHL@cuenet.com
Laurel
Check out The Smithsonian Treasury AMERICAN QUILTS, p. 48. The Groom’s
Quilt by Benoni Pearce. This quilt was made in 1850 and look at the
stars in the bottom row. The second block from the left has 13 points!
The star in the middle has 9 points. Maybe they had better drafting
tools in the 1850’s!
I did volunteer work at the Smithsonian in 1980-81 and did some
conservation on this quilt for an exhibit at the Renwick. I noticed the
odd number of star points then, so I’m happy to hear that Benoni wasn’t
the only one making “funky” stars. By the way the Smithsonian thought
Benoni was a woman until some relatives came to see the quilt and told
them Benoni was a MAN!
Audrey Waite in sunny Sedona, AZ
Date Thu, 25 Feb 1999 043138 -0000
From “Anne Copeland” anneappraiser@mailcity.com
Hello to all. I am Anne Copeland, an AQS certified quilt appraiser, quilt historian, quilt restoration person, and co-founder of Repiecers of the Past, a quilt study/quilt restoration group in Southern California.
I am interested in all historical subjects related to quilts, and in just about every type of quilts. I have a collection of quilts myself, and have also done quilting, though I am not going to be one of the world’s great quilters.
I am so happy to be a part of this discussion group, and look forward to getting e-mail from each and every one. Oh yes, I am also an animal and plant lover, and have more than my share of each. I hope to hear from some of my old friends here too, people I haven’t heard from in ages. Cheers, Anne
Get your FREE Email at http//mailcity.lycos.com
Get your PERSONALIZED START PAGE at http//personal.lycos.com
Date Wed, 24 Feb 1999 211900 PST
From “diana leone” dianaleone@hotmail.com
Content-type text/plain
I appreciate the information Kath Balfour has contributed to the
on-going discussion about the Australian Quilt Top.
With respect to the specific issues raised, here are some replies
1) First some background about the piece. I purchased the top from a
dealer in NYC about 10 years ago. It was in fairly good condition. I had
the top restored, carefully, and had the quilt top finished. We used the
best fabrics available for the restoration. The top was assembled with
the best batting and backing I could find that I felt did not distract
from the original. The quilt was very finely hand quilted. This took
over a year to complete. I feel, as a person who cares very much about
the preservation and integrity of quilts, that what I did to this top
did not ruin it but preserved it for a longer period of time. Certainly
it is not the way it may have been finished in Australia, but it was
done with care and love and not to offend. I do feel that the best place
for this piece is back to Australia to some Museum or the like.
2) My words, prisoner instead of convict, while being wrong from the
Australian end, were entirely my error. I was told a brief story about
the quilt when I was in Melbourne. I now realize that the information
was sketchy at best. So, most of all, I appreciate all your help and
diligence in finding out more about this work. Any further documentation
is appreciated. It is spectacular and a treasure.
Meanwhile, again my thanks for correcting me so willingly. The web site
quiltcollector.com is going to be a great vehicle for us all, to learn,
to share and to hopefully bridge some gaps.
My best to you, Diana Leone
Date Thu, 25 Feb 1999 084836 +0000
From Bobbie Aug qwltpro@uswest.net
Laurel,
Give us a few more clues such as the overall size of the piece. Were the
colors representative of Pennsylvania Dutch quilts? Were their borders? Did
the red print have black stems and leaves and yellow flowers? What color
green? I’m looking at the quilt from an age point of view and not from the
significance of the number 11. For all we know, perhaps there were 11
children.
Bobbie A. Aug
laurel horton wrote
To QHL, and beyond,
>
Here’s something to puzzle over
>
I’ve been working with a collection of 16 quilts made by three generations
within an extended family in South Carolina. In preparation for taking
down a physical description of each one, I was spending some time just
looking at each one before I wrote anything. I was examining one, called
“Sunflower” by an earlier owner, which is similar to a number of “Mariner’s
Compass” variations, having a circle in the center surrounded by four
concentric rings of points. The fabrics are, from the center out, a yellow
print, red solid, green print, and blue floral print. A very nice example
of a pieced quilt from the 3rd quarter, 19th century, I thought. Then I
counted the points, expecting 12 or maybe 16. There are 11 points. Even
though the needlework seemed very exact, I thought maybe one of the
sunflowers might have been “off,” so I checked the other blocks–each of
them has 11 points.
>
Now I’ve looked at a lot of quilts over the years, but I don’t remember
anything quite like this. I can’t think of any reason that someone would
have intentionally laid out a pattern with this degree of
difficulty–unless she wanted to impress others with her drafting and
piecing skills. But even then, the effect is so subtle that it would be
easy to miss the fact that this is not your typical
circle-divided-into-60-degree-segments. It’s clear that the formation of
11-point rings is quite intentional. All of the hand-pieced points are
evenly spaced.
>
This makes me wonder if there were earlier quilts like this which I didn’t
examine closely enough to detect similar anomalies. Has anyone else seen
quilts, blocks, photos, or descriptions of quilts with radiating pieced
designs which have an unusual number of points? Or can anyone suggest the
significance of the number 11?
>
Laurel Horton
Date Thu, 25 Feb 1999 082724 -0600
From DSefton@kcstar.com
To QHL@cuenet.com
Subject QHL Kansas City Star quilt patterns book
Message-ID 41E1182C943BD211B0B000805F6595480479EC@kcsxch01.kcstar.com
Content-Type text/plain
Hello. My name is Dru Sefton and I’m a reporter with The Kansas City Star
newspaper in Kansas City, Mo., home of the famous quilt patterns. Right now
I’m at work on a book about the patterns, the first that will be published
by The Star. I’m on the lookout for quilters around the country who take a
special interest in the Star patterns (perhaps they’ve quilted dozens of
them, or have collected all the patterns) as well as photographs of quilters
and quilting bees from the 1930s through the late 1950s. I’ve been in
contact with the (very helpful!) Central Oklahoma Quilters Guild, as well as
Dorothymae Groves in Kansas City and Wilene Smith in Wichita, Kan., all of
whom compiled the patterns into books. If anyone out there has any
suggestions on my project – especially photograph sources – I’d be very
grateful to hear from you. You may post back to the list or e-mail me
directly at dsefton@kcstar.com. Thanks in advance! Regards, Dru
Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1999 21:32:55 EST
From: ZegrtQuilt@aol.com
A friend of mine is looking for around 4 yards of 1840 red print
fabric..preferably a ribbon fabric, a paisley or a small red print–American –
and it can have other colors in it if it reads red predominently in excellent
condition. If any of you have any leads please e mail me. Thanks Shelly Zegart
Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1999 23:02:10 -0600
I’m not a member of this list but have been passed a little correspondence
about an alleged ‘prisoners quilt’ dating from the 1880s. Transportation
of British convicts to Western Australia ceased in 1868, but in any case,
no women were sent to Western Australia. Transportation to Van Diemen;’s
Land (Tasmania) which included women, ceased in the early 1850s, and to New
South Wales (again including women) in the late 1830s. So, as one of your
correspondents said, it’s not a prisoners quilt.
All Australian colonial governments had schemes to assist single women to
emigrate in the second part of the nineteenth century. These women came
out not specifically as ‘brides’ (so it’s not correct to refer to ‘bride
ships’, although indeed many did ultimately marry) but to enter domestic
sercice, which was often a government requirement as a pay back for the
assisted passage. On board emigrant ships, these women were in government
patrties under the care and control of a shipboard matron. They were often
encouraged to undertake needlework and materials were provided for the
purpose, It’s not impossible that some women from one of these ships could
have made a quilt.
I’d love to her more !
Dr Jan Gothard, History Programme, Murdoch University, Perth, Western
Australia
Dr Jan Gothard
History Programme
Murdoch University
Murdoch
Western Australia 6150
Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1999 23:18:53 -0600
From: Russell-Hill russhill@ctesc.net
Folks,
I have a question I hope you can answer. A fellow bee member bought
some embroidered squares recently while in Houston TX. These squares
are of the state flowers. She has only 17 of them. we are looking for
age and something about theses patterns. So here is some info to help.
They are on point the states name is abbreviated ie Mass. or Miss. This
was before the change to 2 letters. there is a shield with the states
name in it and it is at the bottom of the point holding the stems of the
flowers. Alaska is part of this group and it is all spelled out where
the others are not. The shield is like three points at the top curving
down to a point at the bottom. They are in pretty good shape one or two
may have some discoloring in a few places but I don’t think it saw much
light because the colors of the floss are not fadded. Also the floss
has some shine makes me think of silk.
I can’t think of any thing else to tell you but I will answer any
question that i can. Your help would be greatly appreciated. thanks
I also want to say thanks on the reviews of “Hidden…….” I have
changed my mind in wanting to read it. Sounds to good to be true.
Debbie
Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 10:48:39 -0500
From: laurel horton <kalmia@innova.net
Dear QHL:
Thanks for the responses to my query about stars with an odd number of
points.
Audrey suggested:
Check out The Smithsonian Treasury AMERICAN QUILTS, p. 48. The Groom’s
Quilt by Benoni Pearce. This quilt was made in 1850 and look at the
stars in the bottom row. The second block from the left has 13 points!
The star in the middle has 9 points. Maybe they had better drafting
tools in the 1850’s!
And I’ll do it as soon as I unpack my books–we’ve been renovating.
However, sounds like the stars vary in this one, while the “Sunflower” is
very carefully drafted and all the stars are identical.
Bobbie requested:
Give us a few more clues such as the overall size of the piece. Were the
colors representative of Pennsylvania Dutch quilts? Were their borders? Did
the red print have black stems and leaves and yellow flowers? What color
green? I’m looking at the quilt from an age point of view and not from the
significance of the number 11. For all we know, perhaps there were 11
children.
The quilt is most likely 1850-1860. I haven’t measured it, but it is
square and larger than the later quilts in the collection. I can’t speak
to PA German quilts since my expertise is in the southeastern states. The
quilt has sashing typical of the immediate local area: two solid red strips
sandwiching a single white strip. The single border is narrow for this
area and time, made from a red print with a small black figure–sorry, my
snapshots don’t show the nature of the figure. Hmm. The maker had only
three children, but she herself was the oldest of eleven. That’s the
closest thing to a theory I’ve got at the moment. Thanks! (Maybe I’ll
write a book about family size reflected in the number of star points. I
could make the talk show circuit!)
Laurel Horton
Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 12:17:57 -0500
From: Nancy Roberts <robertsn@norwich.net
I’m gathering input for a potential magazine feature on how things have
changed in the textile field over the years (and why, if that
info is available and applicable). I had two thoughts which I’ll share below.
If you have any you’re willing to add, together we might come up with an
interesting piece. Please post them if you have some and I’ll get back to
you. Many thanks! Nancy
1) When learning to sew in home ec. class (in the late ’50s & early ’60s), we
were taught to straighten fabric by pulling the daylights out of it. That was
because fabrics were often printed off grain and would not hang properly in a
garment unless we maltreated them in this way. When did that idea get phased
out and why?
2) Terminology has changed. Fabric used to be more commonly referred to as
“material”. Today, that term seems dated when used, though I do hear it used
some.
3) Many quilters today prefer 100% cotton fabrics for quilting. There was a
time several decades ago when 100% cotton was not the popular choice. Blends,
stain-release finishes and wrinkle resistance were the by-words in fabric
shops.
What would you add?
Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 11:22:15 EST
From: Bethquilt5@aol.com
At the Michigan State University Museum we have a ca. 1890’s silk diamonds
quilt tied with clear beads. At first glance it appears to be an eight pointed
layout like a lone star. Upon closer inspection the layout is seven pointed.
The diamonds are pieced concentrically and there are no corners. It is too
well executed to be one where the maker opted to leave off one unit of
diamonds because things didn’t fit. It lays beautifully flat and is an
intriguing piece.
Beth Donaldson
Quilt Collections Assistant
MSU Museum
quilts@musuem.msu.edu or
Bethquilt5@aol.com
Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 12:00:56 -0800
From: ptwkwhs@prcn.org (N Mussellam)
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
From: Nancy Roberts robertsn@norwich.net
>
2) Terminology has changed. Fabric used to be more commonly referred to
as
“material”. Today, that term seems dated when used, though I do hear it
used
some.
>
Dear Nancy,
My grandmother sewed every stitch that I wore until the age of 18- and then
I still got many special outfits over the years that my GM and Mom tailored
for me. My Grandmom is now 95 and fabric was always referred to as “goods”
, and I always supposed that was shortened from Yard Goods. As we strolled
through a yard goods dept of a department store ( yeah- remember when the
best place to purchase fabric was in your multi storied department store )
she would stroke a bolt of camel and wool suiting and comment,” This is a
nice piece of “goods”.
Anyone else know of this term used?? I always will think of this term
fondly and remember her.
Nina in BC
Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 15:48:28 EST
From: JQuilt@aol.com
To: robertsn@norwich.net
Cc: qhl@cuenet.com
Subject: Re: QHL: how things change
Message-ID: fcc17d3c.36d7089c@aol.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
Small prints were called calico……Peter Pan and Concord were the most well
known print fabrics…Calico came in 36 in. width..summer fabrics were
linen,seersucker, pique, waffle pique and voile/lawn…toddlers/ young girls
summer dresses were made out of gingham,dimity,dotted swiss and
organdy….toddlers/young boys summer suits were linen and seersucker…
jean
jquilt@aol.com
Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 21:19:50 EST
From: JBQUILTOK@aol.com
To: QHL@cuenet.com
In a message dated 2/26/99 11:14:28 AM Central Standard Time,
robertsn@norwich.net writes:
<< 3) Many quilters today prefer 100% cotton fabrics for quilting. There was a
time several decades ago when 100% cotton was not the popular choice. Blends,
stain-release finishes and wrinkle resistance were the by-words in fabric
shops.
>
I read in an old quilt magazine that an older quilter recommended the
poly/cotton blends over 100% cotton because it lasted so much longer. (Sorry,
I don’t remember the exact year or the name of the magazine – probably early
80’s). I used my blend scraps from clothing in some of my early quilts until
I realized they melted down some when hit with a hot iron. Then I switched to
pretty much 100% for better piecing accuracy. Double knits were popular for a
while also – they never wore out.
Janet
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 05:19:54 EST
From: JBQUILTOK@aol.com
To: russhill@ctesc.net, QHL@cuenet.com
In a message dated 2/26/99 9:39:15 AM Central Standard Time,
russhill@ctesc.net writes:
<< A fellow bee member bought
some embroidered squares recently while in Houston TX. These squares
are of the state flowers. She has only 17 of them. we are looking for
age and something about theses patterns. So here is some info to help.
They are on point the states name is abbreviated ie Mass. or Miss. This
was before the change to 2 letters. there is a shield with the states
name in it and it is at the bottom of the point holding the stems of the
flowers. Alaska is part of this group and it is all spelled out where
the others are not. >>
If Alaska is in the group it had to be after Jan 3, 1959 – the date Alaska
joined the Union. I have a reprint of the 48 States Flower quilt designed by
McKim Studios & published in the Daily Oklahoman in the 1920’s or 1930’s. The
state names in it were in a roughly circular design & vary from 2 letter
abbreviations to spelled out names. There were 48 states at the time this was
designed.
Janet
I’m not a member of this list but have been passed a little correspondence
about an alleged ‘prisoners quilt’ dating from the 1880s. Transportation
of British convicts to Western Australia ceased in 1868, but in any case,
no women were sent to Western Australia. Transportation to Van Diemen’s
Land (Tasmania) which included women, ceased in the early 1850s, and to New
South Wales (again including women) in the late 1830s. So, as one of your
correspondents said, it’s not a prisoners quilt.
All Australian colonial governments had schemes to assist single women to
emigrate in the second part of the nineteenth century. These women came
out not specifically as ‘brides’ (so it’s not correct to refer to ‘bride
ships’, although indeed many did ultimately marry) but to enter domestic
service, which was often a government requirement as a pay back for the
assisted passage. On board emigrant ships, these women were in government
parties under the care and control of a shipboard matron. They were often
encouraged to undertake needlework and materials were provided for the
purpose, It’s not impossible that some women from one of these ships could
have made a quilt.
I’d love to hear more !
Dr Jan Gothard, History Programme, Murdoch University, Perth, Western
Australia
email: gothard@socs.murdoch.edu.au
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 09:12:03 -0800
From: Julie Silber quiltcomplex@earthlink.net
Hi All,
Julie Silber and My 2 cents worth: I have known Marilyn Kowaleski for almost 30 years — she has a fabulous “eye” and a great deal of knowledge.
Living here in California, I have not been to one of those show/sales, but I have visited the shop on other occasions. Highest quality “stuff”
from an honest and reputable dealer. This decades long quilt junkie HIGHLY RECOMMENDS Marilyn K and her shop. Julie Silber
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 15:44:10 +0400
From: Xenia Cord xecord@netusa1.net
IMHO, maybe quilting an old top is OK if it is for your personal
pleasure, and IF you also clearly label the top as a multi-year project
(for instance, you finished a quilt begun by your grandmother). The
problem comes when old tops, recently quilted, are offered to the public
without explanation, and with a price equivalent to similar quilts made
complete at one time. Many who admire old quilts are not quilt-literate
enough to recognize the recent activity, and I think most purists agree
that the most recent (major) activity dates the quilt.
We are conditioned – have been throughout this century – to look at
quilts as PRODUCTS of some activity, and not to consider as fully the
PROCESS of creation. But the process – and when it takes place – has a
lot to do with how we should assess the product. Those who are more
sophisticated in their understand ing often feel that there is more to a
quilt than how it looks to the eye. Back, thread, batting, quilting
design, intensity of quilting should all reflect the same period as the
quilt top. Today’s 100% cottons often have a chemical “memory” that
makes them behave, and behave differently from cottons of earlier
decades. Processed cotton batts do not give the same appearance as
hand-spread cotton wadding. Threads are manufactured somewhat
differently, I think. We don’t quilt as closely or as intensely over
the surface as quilters used to do (the batting, and also a difference
in standards).
Finally, a rare top shouldn’t be quilted anyway; and quilting an old top
should lessen, not increase, its value as an historical object. So,
IMHO – this is like new wine in old bottles.
Xenia
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 19:54:36 +0000
From: “Debora C. Wykes” <wykesfcn@tdi.net
< I have been pulling out all of the antique
“orphan” blocks that I’ve inherited or found… just wondering what
others of
you have done to display these. I’m going to be doing some redecorating
in the
spring and want to use these in my decor. Just want to know what good ideas
are
Go to QNM magazine, January/February 1998 and there is a beatiful article
“New Life for Old Blocks” bu Vivian Ritter with wonderful ideas for you.
The mag. is carried in my small city library so it should be available for
you. email me if you can’t find it.
Debbie in Monroe, MI
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 20:55:12 -0500
From: The Lesters jeanntom@utkux.utcc.utk.edu
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 18:03:33 -0800
From: “R & L Carroll” Robert.J.Carroll@GTE.net
Hello!
Peggy asks the difficult question of how much should one pay for a quilt
that has recently been quilted.
As a quilt collector who is constantly looking for quilts at flea markets,
antique shops, quilt shows, antique shows, and quilt dealer booths, I have
seen my fair share of quilts that have been newly quilted. I have purchased
a few of these quilts. If the quilting is excellent, there is plenty of it,
batting is cotton, back is right, and quilting is done in a style or pattern
consistent with the age, I would be willing to pay about 50%-60% of the
price of the quilt , if, it had been quilted when the top was made. For
example, if a quilt would sell for $600, I might pay $300.
If quilting is sparse, batting wrong, or something else looks wrong to me
then I probably would not want to spend 50%. And if there are too many
things that bother me I won’t buy it.
Usually the prices on these quilts are very reasonable, the seller probably
knows they can not get full price. I have purchased a couple of these
quilts for an amount equivalent to what I would have paid for the top alone.
So the way I look at it is, I have the quilting for free.
I teach in a quilt shop that has an 80 year old lady who does quilting for
customers and I have seen dozens of plain looking old tops transformed into
beautiful quilts with the proper quilting.
Is this the right thing to do to old tops? I think it’s up to the owner to
make that decision. It is really no one else’s business. I don’t believe it
lowers the value of the top, unless it’s a Baltimore Album or some other
rare beauty or historically important top. The exception is machine
quilting. I would not be interested in a quilt with machine quilting. The
only antique quilts that I have ever seen with original machine quilting
were plain utility quilts.
This is the opinion of one quilt collector.
Laurette in So. California
Date: Sun, 28 Feb 1999 04:01:41 -0000
From: “Anne Copeland” anneappraiser@mailcity.com
–I agree with you totally, Laurette. It is up to the owner to determine what to do with the top, and it is, in fact, no one else’s business. Years ago, when we were all just getting into this, there was a lot of controversy about doing new work on an old top, or repairing quilts in bad shape. Knowledge and situations have changed, however, and we know better how to do a good job now, for the most part. I also have seen newly quilted antique tops that, as you said, sell for as much as a quilt of similar quality. There are certain quilt tops that cannot be quilted by hand because they would fall apart during quilting. Even machine quilting would be a strain, so those are sometimes simply backed and either tied, or have no batting, just a backing and binding. Again, it depends on the owners ultimate intent for the quilt.
Date: Sun, 28 Feb 1999 10:39:27 -0600
From: Laura Hobby Syler texas_quilt.co@mail.airmail.net
Debbie, as to the state blocks, check out the Aunt Martha’s transfer
patterns. I sold them in my shop years ago and believe that they are still
available. They may be the set that your friend is looking for.
Laura
Is wonderfully springlike N. Texas