January 11 – 13, 2006
These restored messages come from the Quilt History List, an online forum where quilt historians, collectors, researchers, appraisers, and enthusiasts discussed antique quilts and related textiles. The archive dates from 1996 through approximately 2016 and is being restored gradually. Sign up in the form at the bottom of the page if you want to know when a new page is added. Original spelling, opinions, formatting, and inactive links may remain unchanged.
Primary topics of this QHL Digest:
- Choosing Batting for Hand Quilting — A long thread compares cotton, poly, and wool battings for ease of hand stitching and drape. (see the article on quilt batting)
- Sourcing Books on African American Quilts — Members debate which published sources on African American quiltmaking history are reliable, prompted by a list of book recommendations.
- Shipping Quilts in Vacuum Bags — A member asks whether large plastic vacuum bags are safe for compacting quilts during shipping.
From: Daniele Seyrig
> So don’t just think ‘bed covers” when doing the research – > think “decorative arts” – inluding clothing! In France many quilted coverlets or boutis were originally quilted petticoats . Daniele
Daniele Seyrig Les theories passent , la grenouille reste (Jean Rostand )
From: “Karen Evans”
Also, remember that quilts were sometimes lumped in with the counterpanes – read the actual description of the inventory if at all possible, and keep in mind that various countries referred to quilts in various ways (Renaissance Scotland referred to the quilts in Queen Mary’s household, for instance, as “stickit” (stitched), not quilted), and the same thing might be referred to in different ways (batting/wadding/padding/filling, stitched/quilted/worked).
Good luck!
Karen Evans
From: “Leah Zieber”
Hi QHLers, You have always had such great suggestions whenever I have a question – So, while not quilt history in nature, I’ll ask you my question because I know you are all much more than historians when it comes to the world of sewing.
I have done a few hand quilting projects in the past (not too many) and have always used Hobbs Heirloom Organic 100% cotton Without Scrim. I like this batting – it is easy to quilt through, but wondered if I was missing out on something better or maybe just different that is as easy to use? I don’t like polyester at all and will not use it in my quilts – – I’m a natural fibers kind of gal 🙂
I have some bigger reproduction quilts to work on next and one smallish antique quilt top to do – can you suggest something else or should I stick with the Hobbs.
Best regards, Leah Zieber Where is winter??? Temecula is too hot for January!
From: “Sharon in NC”
I need to address this issue with our guild newsletter person this week since she placed a blurb in our newsletter claiming the black center was a safe house designation for runaway slaves. I have links and printouts for the references concerning the UGR quilts of flying geese and such but can’t seem to recall where I put links directly related to the logcabin. If anyone has them handy I would appreciate it. I want to pass on the things to her before guild and convince her a retraction and explanation needs to be place in next months without embarrassing her in front of everyone. After all it can happen to anyone…right..VBG
Sharon in NC
From: “Karen Evans”
That one is by far my favorite. Easy to needle, beautiful drape, and it washes well.
Karen Evans
From: Bettina Havig
I only hand quilt and I am frequently ask to teach hand quilting. I too love Heirloom Organic. But there are other you might try if the opportunity presents. You will have a lovely time quilting on Hobbs Wool batt and on their new Silk. I don’t share your prejudice about polyester and some are nice. You might want to try a small project to test. Mountain Mist has some newer blended batts and the blends seems to alleviate the density. Try them, you’ll like them too. I am not affiliated with either company so have no conflict of interest. There are batts that I would never recommend…like ANY batt with scrim for a hand quilter. There is a new batt that is Alpaca. Also heavenly to work with. And all natural animal fibers are flame resistant. Keep Hand Quilting!!!!
Bettina Havig
From: joan kiplinger
Bettina — is there a website[s] for alpaca batting? Is this all-alpaca, a blend with other natural fibers or a wool which simulates alpaca?
Bettina Havig wrote:
There is a new batt that is Alpaca. Also heavenly to work with. And all natural animal fibers are flame resistant.
> >
From: Darwin
Although, I pretty much know what to expect from most of you, still I’m wondering what you all would think of using those new large plastic vacuum bags to help compact quilts for shipping purposes. This would be very short term, probably 3-4 days. Any thoughts???
Thanks,
Darwin
From: Judy Schwender
This caught my eye. In 2004 I analyzed 72 Log Cabin quilts made before 1910 as part of my masters project. Of those 72 quilts the center color breakdown was as follows:
From: Judy Schwender
Hello all- The textile conservation listserve I belong to vetoed the use of space bags for long-term storage because it would accentuate creasing thereby causing fiber breakdown. While 3-4 days might not harm the quilts, anything that causes pronounced creasing in quilts isn’t good. You’d probably save only up to 50% volume. The quilts would arrive in a badly creased condition. It doesn’t seem worth it to me. Judy Schwender
DDBSTUFF@ wrote: Although, I pretty much know what to expect from most of you, still I’m wondering what you all would think of using those new large plastic vacuum bags to help compact quilts for shipping purposes. This would be very short term, probably 3-4 days. Any thoughts???
Thanks,
Darwin
From: Judy Kelius
I can’t see much advantage to shipping quilts in these bags since shipping is generally charged by weight, not size (unless you go with a USPS flat-rate box) . . . and I would be afraid that the compaction might split some of the fragile fabrics. When I ship antique textiles, I try to add padding so they don’t get squashed – it seems that some of the old fabrics split just if you look at them <GR>!
—
On January 8, 2006, Sharon in NC wrote:
> since she placed a blurb in our newsletter claiming the black center was a > safe house designation for runaway slaves. Sharon, I don’t recall a link, but I remember the discussion here, so I guess you could cite ‘the quilt historians of the QHL’. <G> Basically, it’s a problem of logic. How far away from a quilt would you hav e to be, to be SURE (you’re betting your life, remember) that the center wa s black, and not navy blue or chocolate brown? Also, if this were a univers al symbol, how did slaves know it but slavecatchers never heard about it? H ow did conductors on the UGRR keep neighbors from admiring their quilts and making one just like it? As someone here joked, imagine a woman saying to her husband, ‘The durnedest thing kept happening today. Groups of black fo lks kept coming up out of the woods to look at my new quilt on the clothesl ine, then running back into the woods!’ 🙂 > > There are no primary sources in which women describe making quilts with b lack centers as signals, or using such quilts. This was at a time when pers on all diaries WERE personal; we might worry that if we wrote down that we were doing something illegal, that the court might subpoena our diaries, bu t that wasn’t a concern for people in the 1840s. Yet there are no concurren t accounts of the making or using of such quilts- AND no postdated accounts ! If it were common practice, surely at least one conductor who wrote his or her memoirs, or at least one escaped slave, would have mentioned it, but it doesn’t appear in post-war memoirs, either. In fact, Barbara Brackman s ays that in her research, she has found only ONE mention of a quilt being u sed in connection with the UGRR (personal communication, 2004): An escaped slave in Douglas County Kansas was hidden under a quilt in a wagon. That’s it. No use of the quilt as a signal; just that the ‘conductor’ covered the slave with a quilt while driving her to the next ‘station’.
Having a signal that was widely known to slaves but was never learned by sl avecatchers is pretty unlikely, and there are no accounts of anyone breakin g the ‘code’. If anyone broke the code, it would have been circulated among slave owners, even more rapidly than among slaves, due to the possibiliti es of using written media. To theorize that all slaves were noble enough to not let personal grudges or a desire to get a more favored position to cau se them to tell a white about the code, or courageous enough to undergo tor ture yet keep the code secret (and yes, it’s documented that returned slave s WERE tortured, as punishment if not to make them reveal who was helping t hem), is to ignore human nature. Over the course of the UGRR, someone, soon er or later, would have told. After all, slave owners knew who Harriet Tubm an was; they had physical descriptions as well as her name. That the ‘quilt code’ would have been kept secret while Ms. Tubman’s identity wasn’t, is h ard to imagine; surely the slaves would have protected a real live human be ing more than a code. > > The black-centered Log Cabin quilt has no documentation in historical doc uments, and it doesn’t seem to be very logical. We can’t prove it didn’t ha ppen, because of the logical problems of proving a negative, but the people who endorse the legend can’t prove it DID happen- and that’s more damning evidence. > > Far more likely, from what we DO know about the UGRR, is that familiar ho usehold objects- including quilts, perhaps!- were used as codes. Slaves did NOT take themselves north based on a set of pre-established cues: they got to one safe house, and then they were given further directions. Ten miles a day is a pretty good clip for a multigenerational group; but even if we w ant to say that they could walk 20 miles a day, day after day, that’s a lot of stops. Thirty? More? All remembered in the correct order, in such deta il as to distinguish them from similar houses in the area? Anthropologists have proven that the legendary memories of tribal elders for oral history i s just that- a legend. And still the problem remains: how could last-minute changes be made? > But back to that ‘familiar object’ code. We know that it was used between a ‘station’ and the incoming ‘conductor’, in the sense of a conductor driv ing people in his wagon to the next stop, and not turning in if he didn’t s ee a bucket sitting on the steps…or, perhaps, a particular quilt on the cl othesline. They used homey objects, so that no one would find it at all unu sual to see those things. People aired quilts regularly- as someone pointed out, they had small children and no plastic pants. 🙂 Seeing quilts on the clotheline wouldn’t draw attention, no matter the season; even if the weat her were poor, if your child wet the bed, you had to hang the quilt out.
So if John from the next county is driving a wagonload of slaves to your p lace, and the coast is clear, you hang the blue quilt on the line. If he ge ts within sight of your place, and he can’t see the quilt, he just drives o n by, loops around and goes home. If slavecatchers show up and are holding your husband in the house so he can’t give a signal, you just tell one of t he young’uns to run out and get the linens off the line. Women’s work was b eneath men…so they didn’t pay attention to women and children doing normal household chores. That sort of use of quilts as signal is very probable, even though it’s not documented. But of course, with any negative, it’s also possible that quil ts never were used in any way at all! 🙂
> This caught my eye. > In 2004 I analyzed 72 Log Cabin quilts made before 1910 as part of my > Just thought I’d pass that along, it probably has nothing to do with UGR R.
Judy, But it DOES support the idea that red centers was by no means the exclusive ‘normal’ center color- that over half of the quilts had colors other than red. Which means, to me, that the signal value of black is greatly diminish ed, in that it wasn’t a matter of being able to tell black from red, but a lso black from purple, blue and brown. Being able to tell the color of a 1″ square of fabric at a distance of a hu ndred yards is a pretty remarkable color discernment! 🙂
From: Joe Cunningham
I also have used a lot of the Hobbs cotton batts and they are just fine. But now I am quilting on a Fairfield Soft Touch bleached cotton batting that is extremely easy to needle.
In the past, cotton batting was difficult to force a needle through. It seems like the technologies of the last decade have fixed all that.
Joe Cunningham, hand quilting in San Francisco
From: “J. G. Row”
Personally I love the Quilter’s Dream batts — request and select weights. They have a very wide selection, and all needle very easily, drape well, etc.
They also have dark batts for your dark quilts and I see they are making wool batts now.
http://www.quiltersdreambatting.com/
I’m a long time satisfied customer with no affiliation, yada yada.
Judy, now in Flemington NJ aka The Ringoes Kid judygrow@
From: “Kathy Moore”
Happy New Year fellow list members. You are my eyes and ears on museum exhibits and events on the East Coast and I need your input.
I’m going to be in Washington, D.C. during the fourth week in January. I’ve looked up some museums and found some exhibits I’d like to see, but I don’t want to miss anything. If you know of “must see” exhibits or events happening that week, please let me know.
Thanks, Kathy Moore Lincoln, NE
From: “Karen Musgrave”
The Alliance for American Quilts (www.centerforthequilt.org) eBay auctions this month will be all things vintage. This week’s auction features lots of fabric including a cheater cloth from 1876 and lots of other good things. You can check it out by going to http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZalliancequilts. Your purchases also benefit a great organization. New auctions are posted every Sunday. Happy bidding.
Thanks, Karen ——_Ne
From: Sandra Millett
For hand quilting, I’ve found the relatively new batt from the Mountain Mist Heritage Collection (95% polyester & 5% wool) is much like their 100% poly batt of old.
I do not like and will never use the new 100% poly that replaced the old as it beards. MM ran research on my samples when I discovered it was bearding something awful on my manuscript quilt for Quilting the Savory Garden.
I was told that they had to replace the old 1800s machines as they were unable to be repaired any more and went to new machines that tried to replace them. Didn’t work!
Haven’t tried the other blends in the Heritage Collection, so can’t talk about them.
Sandra Millett J. G. Row <JudyGrow@> wrote: Personally I love the Quilter’s Dream batts — request and select weights. They have a very wide selection, and all needle very easily, drape well, etc.
They also have dark batts for your dark quilts and I see they are making wool batts now.
http://www.quiltersdreambatting.com/
I’m a long time satisfied customer with no affiliation, yada yada.
Judy, now in Flemington NJ aka The Ringoes Kid judygrow@
From: adi hirsh
I only hand quilt and stick to 100% cotton. Previously I used Soft Touch, which I found a bit hard to needle. Then I switched to Quilters’ Dream (Request – lowest loft) and so far it’s the best I have used. The old Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon cotton batt was also very good, although it’s a bit hard to get now – I have a Double Wedding Ring I made 10 years ago with this batt, that is still wonderfully soft. Until a few years ago I also used the Harriet Hargraves endorsed Hobbs 80-20 Heirloom (80% cotton, 20% poly). Although it needles like a dream, I found that with use, it tends to flatten out so that the quilted surfaces somehow lose some of their “texture’,” something which hasn’t happened to my 100% cotton batts. No affiliation etc. Ady in Israel
From: Judy White
Hi Leah. I don’t know if you are “missing” anything, but I like Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon 100% cotton. I also do reproductions and prefer the flat look to my work. This needles well and the resulting quilt washes well. As for where winter is – it’s definitely here in New England. However the sun is shining this morning. Yesterday at this time, it was gray and snowing. Happy quilting. Judy White
From: KJB139@
The old Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon cotton batt was also very good, although it’s a bit hard to get now
Why is it that Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon and their new Rose (both in white and cream) cotton is hard to come by? I can’t find either in the many quiltshops in my state and neighboring state of Rhode Island! Kathy
From: Barbara Burnham
I still prefer Mountain Mist Quilt-Light (poly) or Quilters Dream Request (cotton). I tried the new MMBR cotton bat, and found it VERY uneven in thickness and would not use it in my quilts. I called MM and they said they are using new machines/new processes, and they sent me lots of small samples of their products. However, the only place nearby I can find Mountain Mist products is at JoAnns Fabrics; but they carry only limited sizes and types. There are probably online sources, however. Stearns & Foster: 1-800-345-7150 http://www.stearnstextiles.com/
Barbara Burnham
… The old Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon cotton batt was also very good, although it’s a bit hard to get now
… Why is it that Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon and their new Rose (both in white and cream) cotton is hard to come by? I can’t find either in the many quiltshops in my state and neighboring state of Rhode Island!
From: Ark Quilts <quiltarkmv@>
I too started to use the Mountain Mist white rose & cream rose cotton battings and could not find them anywhere for sale after receiving samples from Sterns/Foster. I waited 1 1/2 years to locate them in a craft store–it was worth the weight as they give an excellent look for antique quilt tops and is very easy to needle. The only places in Ohio where I found MM white/cream rose cotton battings for sale -other than the SF website- was at Hobby Lobby and at Craft 2000 stores. Hobby Lobby runs 50% off sales, etc on battings and that’s when I go buy them. I recommend them for hand or machine quilting.
Connie Ark in NW Ohio
From: louise-b
Bettina’s referred to the alpaca (and other) battings yesterday and QNM came today with an article about various specialty battings that was very helpful!
Louise — in mid-Missouri
From: MargaretFahey@
My understanding of the Mountain Mist Rose batting is that it was intended for quilters who use large quilt machines and have a business. I have gotten it from a friend who offers it to her customers and will sell batts to me. I like it very much for both hand and machine quilting…a regular sewing machine. They said it will not be carried by JoAnne’s
I am thinking I will use it for a wall hanging and I wonder if it will hold up nicely over time. Anyone have any thoughts on that?
Margaret
From: Jan MacFadyen
I was wondering if anyone can give me some information about what quilting designs were used on African American quilts from the mid to late 1800s. Many thanks, Jan Mac Aussie http://community.webshots.com/user/janmacxs
From: “JESSICA VAUGHN”
Jan, if you receive personal messages in regard to this question on AA quilting designs, please share with list. I would be interested in knowing if there were specific designs used by AA women as opposed to other women. Thank you.
Jessica M. Vaughn Aurora, CO vaughn8047@
Make yourself familiar with the angels, and behold them frequently in spirit; for without being seen, they are present with you. – St Francis de Sales
From: “Bill Volckening”
Three books I know about are:
Arnett, William, The Quilts of Gee’s Bend, Atlanta, Georgia: Tinwood Books, 2001
Benberry, Cuesta, Always There: The African-American Presence in American Quilts, Louisville, Kentucky; The Kentucky Quilt Project Inc., 1982
Tobin, Jacqueline L., and Dobard, Raymond G., Hidden in Plain View, New York, New York; Doubleday, 1999
I saw the Gee’s Bend Exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York a couple years ago, just after the show opened. For me, it was a revelation. I’m not sure if the show’s stil traveling, but if it is and you have an opportunity to go, you must see it!
Bill Volckening Portland, Oregon
From: “Judy Lyons”
Hellow everyone, Further to my request about quilts made in prison is there anyone out there who lived in the subject areas in the 70s and 80s? I am looking to find out more information about an army and navy store. Judy Lyons Canadian Personal Property Appraiser AQS Certified Canadian Quilt Appraiser judy.lyons@
Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 12:36:32 -0900 | From: Gloria hanrahan <gloria@>
Stitched From the Soul by Gladys-Marie Fry has some quilts later than 1850, although many examples are earlier.
In Quilt Digest #3, there is an article of Out of Control quilts. References for the article include Maude Wahlman, “The Art of Afro-American Quiltmaking; Origin, Development and Significance.” Ph.D. dissertation, Yale University, 1980.
Roland Freeman, Something to Keep You Warm: The Roland Freeman Collection of Black American Quilts from the Mississippi Heartland, Exhibition Catalogue 1981. (This was my first look at Gees Bend quils before Arnett brought them to the forefront. Roland Freeman’s book is beautiful.)
Folk Art in Oklahoma. Catalogue of an exhibition presented by the Oklahoma Museums Association, Oklahoma City, 1981
Gloria Hanrahan
From: Barb Robson
I apologise, I am very behind on my QHL reading!
Some of you might remember Beth Gutcheon, quilt teacher and author of the “Perfect Patchwork Primer”, she is also the author of “Still Missing” a novel about a young boy who was kidnapped in New York. This was based on a real kidnapping that happened near where Beth lived…anyway, a movie was made and Beth must have had some influence because there were quilts on beds and on the walls.
Also on tv, “Gilmour Girls” there is a wallhanging, in Lorlei’s house at the bottom of the stairs I think!
Cheers,
Barbara Robson Fox Point, Nova Scotia
Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 09:58:01 -0600 | From: “Kathy Moore” <kathymooreneb.@>
Regarding Bill Volckening’s list of books about African American quilts I cannot let his recommendations stand.
The Tobin and Dobard book, Hidden in Plain View, is not to be considered reliable and should not be recommended to anyone as a resource on this subject. Their information is misleading and wrong in several instances. The entire book is a patchwork of speculation and elaborate story telling. (Pun intended!)
Kathy Moore Lincoln, NE
From: Mitzi from Vermont
Thank you for speaking up – I was a bit nervous about issuing the same message. In fact, much of the UGRR/Quilts is more myth than substance. But also myths are born of some truth – we will never know the whole story about this topic. Mitzi from Vermont
From: Ark Quilts
I was amused by the title & the description on this antique quilt listed on Ebay this week. Thought it would be appreciated by the QHL members.
My assumption is that the name & date embroidered on the quilt is more likely that of the person it was made for…..similar to coverlets. Without a provenance, it is anybody’s guess.
“1849 crib quilt made by 6 yr old!! amazing work!! no reserve!! signed & dated! Item # 7381592254”
Connie Ark in NW Ohio where we actually have sunshine today!
Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 13:32:07 -0500 | From: “Bill Volckening” <williamvolckening@>
Point of clarification. I only said “I know about” the book — not to be confused with “I recommend” the book.
The only one of the three books I’ve had time to read is the Gee’s Bend book, and that I do recommend.
Bill Volckening Portland, Oregon
From: Laura Fisher
A recent article in the NYTimes talked about mistakes in typography in signage in period films that a very small select group of viewers loves to catch (talk about attention to detail).
Of course we all known about the wrong-era quilts used in old westerns, but at least they realized some kind of quilt was appropriate for the bed!
Re the black centered log cabins indicating underground railroad safe houses, I remember hearing that myth from a quilt picker more than 20 years ago, and it seems to be bandied about to this day. Maybe a book/paper correcting the mistaken myths is in order, all you reserachers out there………….
Laura
From: “Julie”
The AA quilts I’ve seen contain the same filling as other ethnic quilts. Normally cotton but I’ve also seen flannel, fabric, wool, and an old quilt. I remember several quilts one gentleman brought me where his grandmother had quilted in freehand Baptist (Methodist) fan. He remembered her always working on a quilt. Those quilts were thin cotton quilts with lots of trash (cotton seed fragments) in it.
Our dear Teddy will have more information on this than I. I’ve only had hands on experience with less than a dozen AA quilts.
Julie Crossland Hudson, NH
Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2006 11:52:15 +1100 | From: “Lorraine Olsson” <svenpnc.com.au>
Hello from Australia I had the most wonderful evening last night! I had a visit from Canadian QHL member Diane Shink. We spent a couple of hours flapping my collection and she made me aware of some interesting new facts about some of the quilts that I did not have the knowledge or expertise to work out myself. One of the quilts she paused over is a very heavy utilitaran quilt (an Ebay purchase with no provenance other than “Southern”) in strippy ninepatch ,set with red, and a yellow sashing. Her comment was that Teddy Pruett would probably call this a typical AA quilt. I bought this quilt for the colour and style, not ever imagining I would have any idea about it’s origin.
Would it be OK if I posted some pics on the board so comments could be made?
My last 5 years have been a bit manic and my quilts have been sitting quietly talking among themselves during this time, and it was so nice to become aquainted with them all again last night, and to see them and stroke them with Diane.
Cheers, Lorraine in Oz
From: Donna Laing
Re the black centered log cabins In a message dated 1/13/06 12:07:23 AM Eastern Standard Time, qhl@ writes: > From: Laura Fisher <laurafisherquilts@> > Re the black centered log cabins indicating underground railroad safe > houses, I remember hearing that myth from a quilt picker more than 20 years ago, > and it seems to be bandied about to this day. I haven’t seen a lot of log cabins from the early 1860s. Most I’ve seen date from post-Civil War, the last quarter of the 19th century.
That’s well into the Reconstruction period. By that time, ex-slaves were already living their own lives independent of slaveowners and establishing their own communities.
So I scratch my head over this continuing story of log cabin quilts and the Underground Railroad. Is this kinda like the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny– a myth handed down to the next generation? Donna Laing Bucks County PA
—
On January 12, 2006, Ark Quilts wrote:
> My assumption is that the name & date embroidered on the quilt is more likely that of the person it was made for…..similar to coverlets. With out a provenance, it is anybody’s guess.
OTOH, my mother was started piecing her first quilt when she was 3. So I gu ess it would depend upon how amazing the amazing work is, whether a child w ho’d been sewing a few years could have made it. 🙂
Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2006 10:22:26 -0800 (PST) | From: Barbara Burnham <barbaraburnham@>
…Without a provenance, it is anybody’s guess.
Looking back, my grandmother taught me embroidery at 5 years of age, and I had lots of time on my hands, so I don’t think piecing, applique or even quilting would be impossible at that age. Sewing was a much more important skill for young ladies in 1849 than it is today, of course. How about embroidered samplers? What’s the youngest age you have seen on them? Barbara Burnham Ellicott City, MD
From: “Newbie Richardson”
Ok, here goes… My husband is from Southwestern, Virginia – near Grundy. His father mined coal until the mines were shut in the early 50’s and they moved to Richmond to work on the railroad. His family is from Scotch/Irish/German stock. His family never felt the effects of the depression – as they had nothing to lose! They indeed did not have shoes in the summer time – as they were unnecessary. He still – at age 62 and a world away from his childhood – has trouble with Christmas as they usually only got hard candy as gifts. This by way of prelude to his comment on the designation of “AfricanAmerican” to utility quilts without much detail or uniqueness of design: “Honey, that is just an example of poor – I should know, that is what all my mother’s quilts looked like when I was growing up.” I have seen many of the quilts he is talking about. My sisters in law ( there were 7 – he is the youngest of 9) made quantites of comforts and quilts from the bundles of scraps brought home from the mills. There was no attempt at “design”. As I did not come on the scene until 1979 – most of the older quilts had been delgated to the rag bin – those left were made from poly double knits in the 1970’s. As my two girls are the last in a group of 39 grandchildren, the crib quilts made for each of them by my MIL were nothing to write home about – except for the love that went into them. We need to be very careful when we assign a design style to objects which are economic – not “cultural”. Newbie Richardson
> Looking back, my grandmother taught me embroidery at 5 years of age, > and I had lots of time on my hands,
I emailed the seller, and she agreed that she doesn’t have any proof either way, whether it was made by the 6 year old or FOR the 6 year old.
However, that particular quilt seems so fancy, I really suspect it was made for the child’s 6th birthday, not by a 6 year old. 🙂
From: Pat Cummings
I wondered if the quilt was a “mourning” quilt made to remember a 6 year old child. Strange thought, but possible.
Pat Cummings
From: “Sandi Rosalia”
The Gilmores Girls do have a quilt hanging on the stairway. Also, Lorelei made a quilt for Rory out of Rory’s old clothes. Elaine, in Seinfeld, has a quilt hanging on her bed’s headboard.
Sandi in Sunny San Diego
