January 15 – 18, 2003
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These restored messages come from the Quilt History List, an online forum where quilt historians, collectors, researchers, appraisers, and enthusiasts discussed antique quilts and related textiles. The archive dates from 1996 through approximately 2016 and is being restored gradually. Sign up in the form at the bottom of the page if you want to know when a new page is added. Original spelling, opinions, formatting, and inactive links may remain unchanged.
Primary topics of this QHL Digest:
- Building a Collection from a Mixed Lot of Antique Blocks — A member describes buying an antiques-store lot of about 120 mismatched, mildewed quilt blocks in one purchase, then soaking and pressing them clean.
- Silk Industry History on Exhibit in Northampton, MA — News of a year of museum exhibitions on the historic Northampton silk trade, including period silk fashions.
- Chips & Whetstones vs. Mariner’s Compass — Members work out the visual and structural differences between these two similar paper-pieced patterns, pointing to specific books and foundation-piecing resources.
- Archival Storage for Fragile Blocks and Documents — A follow-up on using archival-quality photo albums versus other storage methods for delicate paper or fabric pieces. (see the article on caring for antique quilts)
- Is Bubble Wrap Safe for Quilt Storage? — A question about off-gassing plastics leads to a materials-safety discussion, with a link to bubble-wrap manufacturing information.
- Searching for a Specific Reproduction Fabric Print — A member asks for help identifying a hard-to-find cream-background, small-blue-dot repro print referenced by page number in Eileen Trestain’s fabric-dating book.
Date: Wed, 15 Jan 2003 23:53:08 -0500 | From: “judygrow”
Laurette,
I did my block collecting in one fell swoop. I bought someone else’s collection. I got about 120 different blocks, different sizes, different fabrics, all in one box, at an antiques store. They were full of mold and filthy dirty, so I took a week to soak them and then press them out. I stacked them, and every now and then I’d page through them, but felt that
this would ultimately be damaging to the blocks.
In an art supply store I found a sketch book of a large size — it is upstairs and I am down and I can’t remember if it was 16 x 20 or 18 x 24. Probably the former. Only a couple of the blocks were bigger than the pages and those I just folded back. The pages are spiral bound and are all acid free. First I pinned the blocks to the pages, then I basted them to
the pages. This was a much better solution.
Then I researched them in Brackman and the other block books and noted each name and source on the page next to the block. This is a fine solution to the problem of handling except for one thing…. Stacked with the paper, as they are, they are much thicker than the spiral binding, so the book looks like it is exploding.
What I need to find is some sort of binding that allows you to expand at the binding end as the thickness of the pages expands, like some of the better photo albums. But for the time being this is working for me.
Judy in Ringoes, NJ
judygrowrcn.com
> Does anyone on the list collect quilt blocks? Do you collect them for their
> fabrics or pattern names? Do you organize them in any way, such as keeping
> them in note books?
>
Date: Wed, 15 Jan 2003 22:29:21 -0800 | From: Anne Copeland
My auntie sent me a newspaper clipping on yearlong activities in Northhampton, Mass. that focus on the Northhampton silk industry. The current exhibition is “Class Act on Main Street,” an exhibit of silk fashions and industries at historic Northhamptom’s museum. In March, there will be an exhibit on the industrial history of its mills and mill
workers and the Smith College Art Museum will open an exhibit on “Silk in New England Society: 1730-1930.” Smith College is also hosting a 3-day symposium from March 28-30 on modern silk production and the silk business today. If this information has already been posted, I apologize, for it is hard for me to always keep up with all the posts. Boy, this is one I wish I was able to attend. I hope they produce some sort of book from it. The town of Northhampton has had children rearing silkworms and they have raised some 3,000.
I wish my auntie knew about newspaper clippings, for I am sorry to say she didn’t include the resource, but it is an Associated Press article, so should be in some other papers too. I hope some of you get to visit it and give us some good reports. This is so exciting! I once gave a talk on the history of silk production, and managed to get silkworms from
a place that raises them for study, so each person at the lecture got his/her own silkworm. I also got a neat book from the Silk Association that contains samples of unspun silk of all kinds. It is just beautiful.
I am so interested in how fabrics are made and their history. I have a very old and out of print book, Cotton As a World Power: A Study in the Economic Interpretation of History, James A.B. Scherer, (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company), 1916. When I got it, I paid about $2.50 for it! Quite a bargain!!! Peace and blessings, Annie
Date: Thu, 16 Jan 2003 10:01:51 +0200 | From: Ady Hirsch
>Greetings QHL friends,
>I’ve been planning to make a quilt that is either chips & whetsones or
>Mariners Compass. While I’ve
>been looking at both of these patterns I’m kind of baffled as to what
>the difference is. Seems like they are similar except perhaps a circle
>in the center or the “star” in the center. Also I’ve seen several
>patterns and while I know the pieced one is more difficult I wonder if
>this pattern would be easier to do
>with foundation/paper piecing. I haven’t seen any patterns for the
>12″/16″ compass and would appreciate it if anyone can refer me to a book
>or pattern. Thanks so much!
>Susan in Sunny Spokane Washington…..
Hi all
Just my 2 cents worth – while foundation piecing is certainly much faster and more precise, I presonally feel that the resulting quilts are too harsh – the lines are too sharp, and the general feel (for me) is rather cold and mechanical. Albeit a hand piecer by choice, I can appreciate machine piecing, but if you’re looking for the softer look of antique quilts, I at least think that FPP would not yield the desired effect. Just my
opinion,
Ady in Israel
Date: Thu, 16 Jan 2003 06:00:53 -0500 | From: “Judy Kelius (judysue)”
Do you have the book Blending the Old and the New: Quilts by Paul Pilgrim?
(AQS) He would take assorted blocks and make sampler quilts from them – I
haven’t tried this but the book has some neat ideas. (Click on the title to order.)
Date: Thu, 16 Jan 2003 07:28:57 -0700 | From: “BOBBIE A AUG”
Laurette,
There is a paper pieced Chips and Whetstones on the cover of Quilt Blocks
X Nine and a Mariner’s Star, also paper pieced in the book too. AQS, 20
02. by Bobbie Aug and Sharon Newman.
Bobbie
Date: Thu, 16 Jan 2003 08:19:56 -0800 | From: “Laurette Carroll”
t
Judy, this is what I was thinking of doing. The photo album places have the
large albums that are archival quality. However I think I might miss being
able to take them out and fondle them at will.
thanks, Laurette
Date: Thu, 16 Jan 2003 08:30:38 -0800 | From: “Laurette Carroll”
> Do you have the book Blending the Old and the New: Quilts by Paul Pilgrim?
> (AQS) He would take assorted blocks and make sampler quilts from them – I
> haven’t tried this but the book has some neat ideas.
Hi Judy,
Yes, I do have that book. He took old blocks and added new elements and made
some wonderful quilts. Not samplers, they were nicely designed innovative
quilts.
Laurette
Date: Thu, 16 Jan 2003 13:20:49 -0500 | From: [from unknown]
One of my distributors uses long lengths of big bubble-wrap (1″ bubbles) to
cushion boxes of picture frame moulding. This stuff is 8″ wide by 12
or more feet long. Does anyone know if the plastic used in bubble wrap
is the bad off-gassing kind or the inert kind? I am thinking that it would make
great stuffing for the folds of quilts if it wouldn’t do terrible things to
them.
I have a virtually endless supply — it comes in on a weekly basis.
And of course, if I didn’t give in to my NEED to pop the bubbles it wouldn’t
crush down as tissue does.
Judy in Ringoes, NJ
judygrowrcn.com
Date: Thu, 16 Jan 2003 13:32:00 -0500 | From: “judygrow”
I found this information on the Sealed Air web site. Isn’t polyethylene the
good plastic?
>Wherever possible, we suggest you reuse Sealed Air� air cellular
cushioning material. Sealed Air utilizes a >manufacturing process that
co-extrudes a nylon barrier with the polyethylene for better air retention which
>increases its useful life expectancy.
Judy in Ringoes, NJ
judygrowrcn.com
Date: Thu, 16 Jan 2003 18:58:36 -0000 | From: “Sally Ward”
Just for you, Judy, try this….. <G>
http://www.urban75.com/Mag/bubble.html
Sally W in UK
Date: Thu, 16 Jan 2003 16:54:04 -0500 | From: Debby Kratovil
>These blocks are MUCH easier done with foundation piecing. Judy Mathieson’s
>book on Mariner’s Compass is wonderful, and even better is her CD – if you
>have that, you can print foundations for any size compass in any variation.
>Both are published by C & T.
QuiltPro is the software publisher for Judy’s CD of Mariner’s Compass patterns (130 in all, can you believe it!). Just wanted to add that slight correction in case someone may want to look for the CD. I think for $29.95, that’s a lot of patterns for resizing and printing. It would take a lifetime to make them all. I prefer to paper piece these sorts of blocks so that my points would remain really, really sharp. It first appeared in the Kansas City Star newspaper in 1931. I’m not sure about the debut date for the Ladies Art Company. I have redrafted it myself in QuiltPro (it was published on one of the Kansas City Star CDs) and it is a nice looking block. Maybe I’ll print it myself and sew it this rainy and dreary
weekend ….. snow starts tonight I think (ha, ha – for Atlanta – everyone is in a near panic). Debby
Debby (with a “y” and not “ie”) Kratovil
Quilter by Design
http://www.quilterbydesign.com
Date: Sat, 18 Jan 2003 12:35:16 -0000 | From: “Sally Ward”
Can anyone help me? I’ve been searching all the repro fabric sites I can find for a particular fabric and had no luck. If anyone has seen anything like it, or passes it one day while browsing <G>, can they let me know privately at Sallytattersntl.com. I want something with a very pale warm cream background, and a very small blue dot. There are examples on pages 133 and 86 of Eileen Trestain’s Dating Fabrics book. So far I’ve only found one blue dot, but the background was too dark.
Thanks.
