July 26 – 31, 2007
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:
- What’s a “Beard Guard” or “Chin Wiper”? — A quick question about the fabric strip sewn to protect a quilt top from oils and beards turns up several regional names for the same feature.
- Were Antique Quilts Ever Hand-Quilted Without Marking? — A research thread on whether skilled quilters worked freehand, without pre-marked lines, continuing the earlier marking-tools discussion.
- Software for Writing a Non-Fiction Quilt History Book — A member researching a book project asks for recommendations on writing and citation software.
- “Textiles in America” Book Delays and Ordering Trouble — Members compare notes on shipping delays, cancellations, and where to find the newly reissued reference book.
- AQSG Seminar and Lowell Quilt Festival Meetup Plans — Members coordinate meeting up at the AQSG Seminar and the Lowell Quilt Festival.
- Handmade Alabama (Gee’s Bend) Quilts in the News — A New York Times article on the fame and controversy surrounding Gee’s Bend quiltmakers draws discussion.
- Chester County Historical Society Wins Federal Funding — News that the historical society received major federal funding for an upcoming quilt exhibit.
- A Patriotic and Political Textile Study Group Meeting — A regional dating club’s meeting on patriotic and political textiles is recapped, alongside a reminder on freezing quilts for pest control. (see the article on quilt study groups)
Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:02:01 EDT | From: Palampore@
OK, what makes Spray and Wash do it’s thing??? I did a little research. It is not an oxygen or chlorine based cleaner, but it can be used with both. It’s secret weapon appears to be enyzme (protease). Below is a site that seems to explain enzymes (& other things) pretty well in general. _http://www.healthyhomesplus.com/products/E9_enzyme_enhanced_laundry_solution. htm_ (http://www.healthyhomesplus.com/products/E9_enzyme_enhanced_laundry_solution.htm)
One of these days I am going to finish up the research I began on chlorine, oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, enzymes, etc. I want to compile info about how they can be best used in the world of cleaning vintage textiles. I am tired of these “vintage washes” and other cleaners that tell you nothing. Or….they speak in “chemical” names which can be very hard to understand. We need to be an educated public. Invite me to do a presentation on it and then I will put it ALL together. I have to have a deadline. I think it has to do with my adult on-set of ADD. Speaking of ADD, I should be sewing right now……not checking my email. Lynn Lancaster Gorges New Bern, NC
Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2007 12:12:08 -0700 (PDT) | From: Stephen Schreurs <schreurs_ss@>
I just had a lovely visit from my best friend from high school years – we became friends cooking up some mischief to celebrate a favorite teacher’s birthday – 45 years ago!!! With that timeline in mind, in those days, girls still took home economics at school and learned to sew at least a little. I was taught by a neighbor whose two daughters bracketed me in age by a year, by my mother (on a treadle machine) and by experience (read, lots of mistakes). Mom also taught me to knit at about age 8, and I taught myself embroidery and crochet. Quilting came mostly in adult years. But the real drive to play with fiber seems to be something beyond the practical skills which were the usual curriculum in those days. I have since discovered that a great aunt, born in Norway, was a skilled needlewoman, and I am lucky enough to have rescued a pair of hardanger pillowcases which she did.
Susan
Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2007 20:31:07 EDT | From: Palampore@
I was in a hurry when I sent the post about the enzyme stuff. I just read the entire page. I am not endorsing the product. I have never heard of it before today. It might be great, but I don’t have a clue. I sent the link because it did have a good explanation about protease enzymes. If anyone has tried this stuff, let us know. I just wanted to know why Spray and Wash seemed to be such a miracle to cleaner to many of you. Now we know! The chemicals of cleaning fascinate me and frustrate me, too. Lynn in New Bern, NC _www.textilepreservation.com_ (http://www.textilepreservation.com) Historic Textiles Studio …..where I have an 8 ft X 10 ft stainless steel wash tank with a dionized water system.
Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2007 21:09:09 -0500 | From: Laura Syler <texasquiltco@>
Air Conditioning in Texas is not a must, it is manditory! If it’s not hot, it’s humid! I remember spending summers at my grandparents house in Temple – just about half way between Dallas and Austin. No central AC or window units, plenty of ceiling and floor fans but some times it was just plain miserable. I would rather not hand quilt in the summer! Too much other stuff do do outside (like right now fight the flies and mosquitoes that all the rain have brought). But, IMHO, our culture and life styles have made it possible for us to quilt year round. That is when we can make the time! Laura Syler
From: “Judy Grow”
I got this message from Abebooks.com. I already have the book, so feel free. It is $98.00, and is in French. Judy
We’re pleased to tell you that Abebooks.com has successfully found the following book(s) you want.
Your Want: # A500291252 Title: ANDRINOPLE LE ROUGE MAGNIFIQUE; ISBN: 2732421359;
We have matched your Want with one or more books now available on our Web site, including the following (please note that only the lowest and highest price matches made today are displayed):
1. Andrinople Le rouge magnifique, De la teinture =E0 l’impression une cotonnade =E0 la conquête du monde, Collectif De La Martinière, 1995, Reliure toile, 2732421359, ANDRINOPLE ROUGE TEINTURE FILATURE COTON TURC IMPRESSIONS =C9TOFFE MULHOUSE MANUFACTURE TISSUS KOECHLIN COUTURE STEINER TEINTURIER GARANCE ALSACE HOLLANDE AVIGNON ALUNAGE, Text in FRENCH. 155p. Abondamment illustr=E9 avec photos couleurs. Bookseller: Note =E0 la page, St-François, Île d’Orléans, QC Price: C$ 100.00 (US$ 98.93)
View or Order this Book: http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/ListingDetails?bi=3D944311881&cm_la=3Dwant ——=_NextPart_000_0063_01C7CFE4.6A9B3C40–
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2007 11:01:37 -0400 | From: “Lucinda Cawley” <lrcawley@>
For those of you, and I trust there are many, who are planning to attend the AQSG Seminar in Lowell (if you haven’t registered yet there’s still time) I want to encourage you to sign up for the Works in Progress session scheduled for (early) Friday morning at the Seminar. It’s a great opportunity for feedback, networking and advice on your research. We all have a pet project, a special interest. Here’s an opportunity to share it with an interested audience. This session is for everybody; you don’t have to have anything in writing or be aiming at Uncoverings. I guarantee that just hearing what others are thinking about will reward you for getting out of bed early. Laurel Horton, editor of Uncoverings, Gaye Ingram, editor of Blanket Statements, and I, chair of the Mentoring Committee, hope that we’ll have an overflow crowd. Please register with me so we’ll have an idea of the space required. I’ll be reminding you about this again. Be prepared; I am persistent. Cinda
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2007 15:34:12 EDT | From: Mitzioakes@
Oh yes AC is nice to have in summer. Now, I am owner of an AC business, and guess who does NOT have AC? You guessed it – the shoemaker’s child!. But Vermont doesn’t see too many hot days where hand work would be a challenge, so I don”t complain. See, if all my techs are out working making others cool, then they bring in more $$$ and I can buy more fabric for the cold months here in the NE. See everything is perfect. Now back to my shorts and fans and iced tea. Mitzi
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2007 15:24:20 -0500 | From: “Kim Baird”
Help!
I know perfectly well what you call a piece of fabric sewn over the top edge of a quilt, to protect it from the oil of hands and beards. My brain just won’t spit out the term!
In fact, there is probably more than one name for such a cover.
Anyone know the words I’m looking for?
Kim
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2007 17:09:37 -0400 | From: “Lucinda Cawley” <lrcawley@>
Beard guard. Cinda on the Eastern shore
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2007 17:52:08 -0400 | From: “Kay Sorensen”
Chin Wiper. Kay S
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2007 15:51:03 -0500 | From: “Miller, Maretta K”
Hi Kim!
Well…I’ve heard it called a “beard guard” but I know it has another term by which it’s known. I have one on a family quilt from c. 1900, but I can never remember that other term!
Maretta In parched very southern Wisconsin
From: Alice McElwain <siscofay@>
I’ve always heard it called a “whisker guard”. In the old days many men wore full beards and personal hygiene was not practiced like it is today. So they would often go to bed, maybe in their long handled under ware, with a beard that had caught the meals of the day of gravy, etc. and then with the act of pulling up the covers with not too clean hands; it was a way to protect the quilt and not have to wash it so often, which was a BIG undertaking in then to get it washed, dried and back on the bed without the help of the washer and dryers we have today. The “whisker guards” were most often just a piece of linen or muslin folded in half the width of the quilt and buttoned on via buttons and button holes; usually about 20″-30″ wide.
Alice in Kansas
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2007 16:59:06 -0700 (PDT) | From: Gary Parrett <gparret1@>
“My tail is told.”
Fortunately, by the time one of the grownups took over the cranking, the ice cream was getting thick, just not thick enough to suit the ice cream maker’s desires, but our little arms ran out of strength and patience, so the grownups took over. There were usually enough kids that we didn’t need to sit too long before relief arrived. We were not made to tell a tale, and usually our tail didn’t get that cold due to the thicknesses of the folded quilt.
Karen—————-
Subject: Travel & Wardrobe From: Teddy Pruett <aprayzer@> Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2007 20:23:38 -0400 X-Message-Number: 10
<<My first thought was, ‘She’s obviously mastered two skill I don’t have: e=3Dating without spilling anything on myslef, and avoiding catching clothes=3Don anything, or ripping seams when bending over!’ <G>>>> Ah, I remember well a day-trip from Spain to Morrocco. We were on a littlecruise-y type watercraft, and when I got up from my seat, I found that a loose spring had attached itself to my rump. I had on a jumpsuit (eeegads!!) and when I stood up, I ripped a loose a section of rear-end about 5″ square. Funny thing is, I don’t even remember what I did about it. DO you suppose I ran gleefully through the casbah with my booty showing???Teddy Pruett www.teddypruett.com Only a few of the lies they tell about me are true.
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2007 15:07:25 -0700 (PDT) | From: Joe Cunningham
I was reading one of the many recent posts about marking implements and marking methods when it occurred to me that I needed to mention a traditional alternative: no marking. In the 1980’s I studied marking at length and wrote about it a lot. But in the early years of the 1990’s I realized that the loose, asymmetrical style of many of the feather wreaths, cables and cross hatchings I found on old quilts could possibly have been the result of the quilter working freehand, with no markings to follow. After many years of drawing and quilting these kinds of designs, I figured I could just do it freehand myself. It turned out to be much easier than I imagined. I have taught a freehand quilting workshop many times over the last dozen years and have taught many hand quilters how to make cables, feathers and all kinds of designs with no markings at all. I wrote an article for Threads in 1997 on this subject and I think it is still available on the internet at
http://www.taunton.com/threads/pages/t00030.asp
Since then I have hand quilted dozens of tops freehand, and I continue to see old quilts that I believe were quilted freehand. Any of you who have studied old quilts up close have probably wondered at one time or another how a quilter marked such a wobbly cable, such a lopsided feather wreath, or how many different templates would have been required for the dozens of different leaves on a quilt. Some, at least, were quilted without markings.
Joe Cunningham in foggy San Francisco, Still hand quilting after all these years
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2007 22:03:30 -0500 | From: Xenia Cord <xenia@>
I think Joe Cunningham is right; a lot of antique quilts appear to be quilted without prior marking. There is also this: in the north of England, north country quilts were often marked with the tip of a needle. The lines were drawn – with or without templates – by making an indent in the fabric with the tip of the needle. These indents would
not show under the quilting lines, and would also disappear with washing.
But here is another question to think about. Why are we so determined to leave no tracks on the quilts we make? Do “they say” that marks should not appear to indicate where quilting is done? Is our quilting governed by standards of judging created for competitions? Even if many antique quilts do not show evidence of marking, many do in fact have pencil marks or blue lines from carpenter’s chalklines on them. In fact the presence of these marks speaks to the pristine state of some
antique quilts, indicating they have never been used or washed. And the mechanically printed “blue dots” of quilting lines on kit quilts stand as evidence of their type.
When we find and venerate those “Boxes Under the Bed” that have been left behind by past quilters, something we find in abundance there are hand made quilting templates of all sorts. They are outline-cut from P & W cracker box cardboard, pricked on paper by hand or with a sewing machine for pouncing with chalk powder, drawn from already quilted quilts or from the patterns of friends.
Visible marking doesn’t seem so terrible to me…
Xenia
Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2007 01:03:27 -0400 | From: “Kay Sorensen”
I have at least one on an antique quilt of mine. My husband had one on his quilt when he was growing up. His mother covered it so well with sheets, etc I don’t think he even knew he had a quilt on the bed. Kay In very hot very humid very southern WI – almost in Chicago!
Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2007 12:45:01 -0400 | From: “Dale Drake”
Another thought about pencil marks on quilts – given all we’ve said about how hard pencil is to remove, it’s quite likely that our conclusion that an antique quilt with pencil marks has never been washed may not be true at all. Our foremothers just didn’t have Spray and Wash or fabric erasers to remove the marks – and probably didn’t much care.
I often use the eye end of a needle, or a hera, for marking. Works great! But I’ll practice on my freehand quilting now…
Dale Drake in cloudy muggy Indiana
Xenia said: In fact the presence of these marks speaks to the pristine state of some antique quilts, indicating they have never been used or washed.
Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2007 10:15:24 -0700 | From: “Alan”
We also have to remember that it was a fashion in the 1800’s (the time frame escapes me) when the men put some sort of pomade in their beards, presumably to make them look better.
Alan
Date: Sun, 29 Jul 2007 19:56:42 +0000 | From: jocelynm@
Joe, The ‘expert hand-quilter’ in my former guild also endorsed quilting without marking. She said it was the like the difference between using slightly mottled or hand-dyed ‘solids’ and using a uniformly dyed solid in a quilt top: the slight variations gave a liveliness to the quilting designs that wasn’t present if she made each one identical. I suspect, though, that her skills in quilting without marking were dependent upon her years of experience in hand-quilting marked designs, just as experienced machine-quilters can do feathers of uniform size and shape without marking them. 🙂
Date: Sun, 29 Jul 2007 20:09:06 +0000 | From: jocelynm@
I had the pleasure yesterday of meeting Pepper Cory and attending her lecture at the TVQA annual Assemby Day meeting. I was reminded of Arthur Brisbane’s comment about how the readers of his column often commented on their amazement that he is a tall man: ‘Apparently, they assume that since the picture that accompanies my column is thesize of a postage stamp, I must be, too.’ <G> At any rate, I can assure you that Pepper is taller than the pictures in the author’s notes of her books. <G> For some reason, I had always pictured her as being short (I suppose someone will next tell me that Teddy Pruit’s tall and blonde… funny how you get mental images of people on a listserv in the complete absence of clues about how they look!) At any rate, I got a copy of Pepper’s book about how to mark quilts, and I must say, just from scanning it and reading the first chapter, that I don’t believe there’s much information out there about how to mark quilts that isn’t contained in this book. So if you really want to delve into quilt marking, contact Pepper, as I believe she told me the book is lapsingfrom print, but she had several copies left when she packed up her salestable at the end of the day. Pepper spoke on the Art of the Scrap Quilt. I was one of the ‘quilt paraders’, charged with carrying her quilts through the audience (we met in a gymnasium) and tilting them this way and that so the quilters could see both side of the quilt and take pictures. Unfortunately, this meant that Iwasn’t able to pay as much attention to Pepper’s talk, and to focus on the quilt she was talking about at the moment, as I would have liked. At any rate, it was an amusing and interesting presentation, and if your guild is considering a national speaker, I highly recommend that you considerPepper. We had over a dozen vendors, spread out in six different rooms of the church where we met. I did some shopping, but by the end of the day, was so tired that I simply couldn’t make a decision about which of the thousandsof FQs in bins I would like to buy. Which was probably just as well, as my goal for July has been to get my ‘third bedroom’ organized, and addingmore fabric to find a location for certainly wouldn’t assist with that task! 🙂
Date: Sun, 29 Jul 2007 11:02:03 -0700 (PDT) | From: karenquiltrockisland.com
Hello Ladies from the sunny but decently cool San Juan Islands after two weeks in the hot humid heartland! Here’s a heads-up on TQHF happenings. Sure appreciate the sharing that those who attended this years events did. I leave for England and Deb Robert’s quilt study tour August 4th! I am so excited!! The French textile tour last year was spectacular. I expect this tour to be the same and am looking forward to finally putting names to faces on the British Quilt Study List.
Karen Alexander President, The Quilters Hall of Fame
Future Quilt Exhibits in Marion, Indiana, Sponsored by The Quilters Hall of Fame Open: March-December Hours – Tuesday-Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.Closed: Sunday, Monday & major holidays and the months of January & February
2007 Honoree Exhibit – ” Mary Schafer: American Quilt Maker? July 19-22 – at Marion Public Library August 5 ? Sept 30 ? at The Quilters Hall of Fame Guest Curator: Gwen Marston of Beaver Island, Michigan
2007 Fall-Winter at The Quilters Hall of Fame Oct 1 ? Dec 31, 2007 “Small and Smaller: 100 years of Doll and Crib Quilts” Guest Curators: Judi Gunter and Phyllis Twigg of Maryland
2008 Spring March 1- end of June Tentative title: Baltimore Applique Quilts and Their History Guest Curator: Mary Lou McDonald and the Baltimore Applique Society
July 1-September 30, 2008 Tentative title: The Quilts of Helen Kelley
July 2009 – TQHF Celebrates its TRIPLE ANNIVERSARY: 150th birthday of Marie Webster; 30th anniversary of the founding of TQHF; and the 5th anniversary of the opening of the restored Marie Webster House as the headquarters of The Quilters Hall of Fame
Celebration dates for The Quilters Hall of Fame for next 8 years
2008 July 17-20 2009 July 16-19 2010 July 15-18 2011 July 14-17 2012 July 19-22 2013 July 18-21 2014 July 17-20 2015 July 16-19
Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2007 12:49:22 -0400 | From: “Velia Lauerman” <velialive@>
For what it’s worth Grandma Manulita, Tia Maggie and my mom Candelaria Torres Gutierrez quilted without marking with any kind of pencil or markings. Maybe it was too hot and marks came off when quilting in Texas or there was little money to buy extras ( maybe they used cinnamon or flour sometimes ) but the visions of them marking little lines with their finger nail is the thing that stuck with me in my quilting. Curves , straight V’s or X’s, or echo around appliqu�s. Velia
Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2007 10:56:21 -0700 | From: “Kimberly Wulfert, PhD” <quiltdating@>
Hi All,
I am trying to discern whether or not software programs for non-fiction writing are worthwhile. There are very few out there and they could be more trouble than they are worth. It would also be great to get feedback from you about the programs that format citations in the proper style, usually Chicago. There are more of this type of grammar programs around then the ones that help you organize your notes for EASY retrieval. I would get both if they simplified the process. I find when it comes to writing my research findings into a paper, researching today is complicated by the computer, not simplified because there are more places to pull info from stored on it then when I did all note taking by hand or Xerox and filed them by subject then chapter. If I did all the note taking on the computer, that would also work, but doing that doesn’t really suit my style of spontaneity and a dislike for sitting at the computer, but it may come to that I realize.
I’ve been looking for such a program for 2 years now, and there are many for fiction writing, but non-fiction is sorely unrepresented. So writers, what do you recommend, or use, or no longer use because it wasn’t worthwhile?
Thanks ever so,
Kim
Date: Sun, 29 Jul 2007 11:20:24 -0400 | From: “Nancy Ray” <nancy.ray@>
All, I’ve heard that strip of fabric sewn on the quilt to protect it against soil, beards, or whatever, a “whisker guard.” Makes sense to me, although I suspect that many quilters just called it whatever they called it, much like some names of quilt patterns that aren’t recognized outside an immediate family or community. Nancy Ray in suddenly hot, really humid, West Virginia
Date: Sun, 29 Jul 2007 19:28:59 -0400 | From: <parsnips1@>
Gaye, I’d be happy to offer some suggestions for maintaining your gardens organically, but maybe we should continue this off list? Pat
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 00:39:28 -0400 | From: qwltngrdma@
The message for software recommendation from Kimberly Wulfert was empty. Now I am curious to know what the recommendation would be.
TIA
Carol
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 08:43:51 -0400 | From: Teddy Pruett <aprayzer@>
Wish I had some ideas for you, Kim. As you say, there seem to be many programs available for fiction writing. Have you checked the ads in a recent Writer’s Digest Magazine? I’d do it for you, but am preparing to take a final in Logic today before I head out to Massachusetts/New Hampshire tomorrow. What a waste of brain power that class is. LOTS of brain power – it’s one of the toughest classes I’ve had.
When I did a research paper in microbiology last semester, the college librarian showed me some sites available through universities that actually putthe correct citation together for you. It has become extremely difficult to cite properly now – no matter what info I get from websites, particularly when they are quoting someone else’s writing, such as a newspaper article- the “formula” for citing never actually fits.
ANd yes, here I am in public in front of the entire world letting everyone know that I didn’t get to finish school when I was of the proper age. Now that I am older than dirt, I’m attending. I am not proud that I didn’t getto go before, but I am proud that I’m toughing it out now. No reward at the end, no job, no raise – as a matter of fact, I’ll probably hit social scurity age before I’m through!!! Ha ha. ANd Jocelyn – I do wish I could say that I am tall and blonde – alas, I cannot. I’ve had white hair since my 20’s, white skin, blue eyes, and am sopale I glow in the dark. Tall? – well, 5’7″. Moderate. Weight is over-moderate!!!Teddy Pruett www.teddypruett.com If you steal an idea from one person it is plagiarism.If you steal ideas from a lot of people it is called research.Oscar Wilde http://maps.live.com/?wip=3D69&FORM=3DMGAC01=
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 05:45:20 -0700 (PDT) | From: Stephen Schreurs <schreurs_ss@>
AARGH! I just received a notice from the internet company from whom I ordered it that the republication of Textiles in America is AGAIN delayed – this time until October. I ordered it in February! Anyone else having this difficulty? Anyone bought it elsewhere?? Linda, I know this isn’t anything you have responsibility for – but it is a bit exasperating. Susan
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 07:57:37 -0500 | From: “Force Majeure Quilt Restoration” <fmquilts@>
Kim, I do a lot of online research for a wide variety of subjects — bookmarking into my favorites list grew unwieldy many years ago. I have found using del.icio.us ( http://del.icio.us/) to attach multiple tags to a document to be the best alternative, though there are other tagging applications out there. I’ve also got a clipmarks account (http://www.clipmarks.com/) which takes things a step further and lets you highlight the specific chunk of text within an online document that you want to save. With these tools, I can categorize, index, and notate on the fly as I scan through material. Afterwards, I can search my tags and it will pull up everything related. The more tags you use, the more precisely it will automatically subcategorize your search results.
As for grammar software, I suggest you visit CNET (http://www.cnet.com) and see if you can find some vetted freeware.
Good luck, Kim Nettles Force Majeure Quilt Restoration
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 09:14:06 -0700 (PDT) | From: Judy Schwender <sister3603@>
Handmade Alabama Quilts Find Fame and Controversy By SHAILA DEWAN Published: July 29, 2007 NY Times GEE’S BEND, Ala. — Until a decade ago, worn-out quilts made by generations of black women in this remote, rural loop of land were stuffed under mattresses or burned to keep mosquitoes away.
But then Bill Arnett, a white champion of self-taught black artists, began a rescue mission, buying dozens of the quilts and ultimately creating one of the biggest surprise hits in the art world’s recent memory. The Gee’s Bend quilts, pulsating with a sense of color and rhythm more akin to abstract painting, have since broken attendance records in the country’s most elite museums. They have been reproduced on calendars, scarves, Visa gift cards and first-class postage stamps.
If the quilts were a blockbuster, however, the sequel came this summer: two of the quilters, Loretta Pettway and Annie Mae Young, filed lawsuits against Mr. Arnett and his sons, saying they had been cheated out of thousands of dollars in proceeds from their work and copyrights.
The story line — poor, uneducated black women swindled by “scheming Atlanta businessmen,” as one newspaper article called the Arnetts — was juicy enough to be front-page news in the South. The reality, though, is more nuanced. The vast majority of the quilters remain satisfied with the Arnetts (there were works by 22 living quilters, including Ms. Pettway and Ms. Young, in the most recent museum exhibit).
“Martin Luther King got us out of the cotton patch; the Arnetts got us out from under the bedsprings and onto the museum walls,” said Nettie Young, whose living room furniture is arranged around a rug patterned after one of her quilts. Of the plaintiffs, she said: “I don’t know what they sued for. They ain’t told me, and I ain’t asked them.”
From lawsuits to hexes, disputes are a time-honored tradition in the field variously called folk, outsider or visionary art — a field whose biggest stars include many isolated Southerners and whose biggest champions include art-world sophisticates like Mr. Arnett, who once dealt in high-end Asian and African pieces. But in Gee’s Bend, the Arnetts said they tried to avoid the usual pitfalls. They encouraged the women to set up a collective to sell the quilts themselves and a foundation to control money from royalties.
The Arnetts say that they take no cut from either kitty, only occasionally take commissions from gallery sales, and that they have poured hundreds of thousands of their own dollars into cataloging, promoting and licensing the quilts. What is more, they said, they bought hundreds of quilts of little artistic value just to help the women.
But even those measures did not forestall the inevitable.
“When you mix the old South, race, educational and class differences, the subjective value of art, the egos of the art elite and the good old greenback, you’ve got yourself a powder keg ready to blow,” said Andrew Dietz, the author of “The Last Folk Hero,” a book published last year about Mr. Arnett’s relationships with Thornton Dial, Lonnie Holley and other notable black artists, many of whom also defend him.
The book portrays Mr. Arnett as disorganized to the point of dysfunction, passionate to the point of self-righteousness and wary to the point of paranoia, but it presents no evidence that he was anything but honest with artists.
As the lawsuits suggest, Gee’s Bend, a community of about 700 people, virtually all of them descendants of slaves, has not changed as much as might be expected since the quilters attained fame. The foundation was slow to obtain nonprofit status and only this month elected a board. And some of the largest licensing deals have yet to ramp up. Kathy Ireland, who licensed the quilts for a line of home décor products, said in a June 15 statement that her company had paid more to the quilters than it had earned.
When the Arnetts began visiting Gee’s Bend, laying out hundreds of dollars for old quilts, the women thought they were crazy. Since the exhibit, which originated at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston in 2002 and went on to the Whitney in New York and many other museums, the quilts have occasionally sold for more than $20,000. But the most valuable quilts, the ones in the original show, are owned by the Arnetts, who say they will not sell them on the open market.
Most of the rest do not bring such high amounts. The quilters’ collective, an informal group of about 40 members, pays $150 a month to rent a former day care center marked by a small, hand-painted sign, where one room is stacked floor to ceiling with quilts. Small quilts go for $200 to $1,000, while bed-sized ones are priced at $950 to $7,500.
When a sale is made, half the money goes to the quilter and half to the collective, which periodically disburses dividends to all members. Royalties from reproductions of the quilts go into the foundation, which now contains $147,000. The system was designed to forestall jealousy, protect elderly quilters who can no longer sew, and acknowledge the interdependent nature of the community, where many quilters are related and styles were handed down from mother to daughter.
“We’re not trying to set up a socialized state,” Mr. Arnett said, “but we were doing something in between.” Ms. Pettway and Ms. Young acknowledge receiving multiple payments from the Arnetts ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, but say they have no accounting of the total or any list of the quilts bought or borrowed. They also say they received dividends from the collective even though they never placed quilts there to sell.
But Ms. Young and Ms. Pettway, whose quilts have been featured on the covers of two of the three books the Arnetts have produced, contend that they have not seen the full benefits of their success.
“I was just hearing them say, the quilts were worth more than that,” Ms. Young said. “The quilts were worth more than they was giving us.”
A third lawsuit, brought by Lucinda Pettway, a resident of Mobile, Ala., whose forebears lived in Gee’s Bend, accused the Arnetts of refusing to return two of the community’s oldest quilts, dating to slavery times. The Arnetts have since returned the quilts, but say an appraisal showed that they were not nearly that old and were worth less than $500.
To Loretta Pettway, a woman for whom indoor plumbing is a relatively recent luxury, big-city museums, glossy hardcover books and color postage stamps can look like a lot of money, even though they rarely produce profits.
“You’re making money,” she insisted, gesturing at an oversize book containing color reproductions of her quilts. “Because you ain’t going to be doing this if you’re not getting paid.”
Yahoo! oneSearch: Finally, mobile search that gives answers, not web links. –0-911450986-1185812046=:96021–
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 11:57:23 -0700 (PDT) | From: Dana Balsamo <danabalsamo@>
Hi Susan, I got the same notification today. I know it will be worth the wait. My best, Dana
Stephen Schreurs <schreurs_ss@> wrote: AARGH! I just received a notice from the internet company from whom I ordered it that the republication of Textiles in America is AGAIN delayed – this time until October. I ordered it in February! Anyone else having this difficulty? Anyone bought it elsewhere?? Linda, I know this isn’t anything you have responsibility for – but it is a bit exasperating. Susan
Material Pleasures Antique and Vintage Textiles – Wrap Yourself in History www.materialpleasures.com
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 15:26:52 -0400 | From: “Candace Perry”
Well, Amazon told me they cancelled my order, and I don’t even know why. I’m just going to buy it from Winterthur. The heck with this. I think Linda did let us know that she had one, and they’d be available from Winterthur. Candace Perry
=
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 15:38:19 -0400 | From: “Greta VanDenBerg-Nestle” <maquilter@>
Teddy,
I believe you should be proud of yourself for finishing regardless! The rewards will be plenty when you are done. I have been taking classes off and on most of my adult life because I’m still not sure what I want to do when I grow up; never mind I am nearly 50!
Greta VanDenBerg-Nestle
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 12:30:00 -0700 | From: “Alan”
Here’s a new article (at least new for me). http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/29/us/29quilt.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin
Blessed be, Alan
Alan R. Kelchner Mixed Media/Textile Artist http://alanrkelchner.com
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 16:52:44 EDT | From: TEXTIQUE@
Susan;
I saw a copy in Borders last week.
Jan
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 15:17:12 -0700 (PDT) | From: ikwlt <ikwlt@>
i’m on digest so this might already have been brought to the attention of the list. patti
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 22:23:32 -0300 | From: Polly Greene
Susan — I too just received notice that Textiles in America, which I
ordered in February, is now delayed until October. Polly in Nova Scotia
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2007 07:29:16 -0500 | From: Pat Kyser <patkyser@>
Earlier some of you were discussing Victoria Magazine. Martha Pullen
has announced that Hoffman Media (Birmingham, AL) is launching Victoria Magazine in November. They have bought the rights from the original publisher. Pre-subscriptions are being taken, but I do not have that address. Am sure you can find out through Google. Pat in Alabama
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2007 07:45:56 -0700 (PDT) | From: Jackie Joy <joysbees@>
I subscribed to Victoria Magazine for several years, and then they did an editorial shift to be more contemporary, almost a Martha Stewart Living wannabe. I asked for and received my money back. However, I loved the old Victoria; the floral photography, fashions, and home dec were a pleasure to view. I have subscribed to the new Victoria in hopes that it will be as good as it was.
Jackie in Reno
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2007 12:41:33 -0400 | From: “Candace Perry”
Chester County Historical Society in West Chester, PA received major federal funding for an upcoming quilt project. This is a highly competitive grant!
Chester County Historical Society – West Chester, PA Award Amount: $129,863; Matching Amount:$140,313 Grant Category: Serving as Centers of Community Engagement Contact: Ellen Endslow Curator (610) 692-4066 ext. 257;
Project Title: “Chester County Quilt Exhibition and Publication” The grant will enable the Chester County Historical Society (CCHS) to implement a quilt exhibition and publication using data (narrative and photographic) collected during their community-based quilt documentation in 2002-03. More than 800 quilts, quilt blocks, and quilt tops were documented by a volunteer team under the supervision of CCHS staff. In this next step, the community, including quilters, schoolchildren, and scholars, will be directly involved in selecting objects for the exhibition, helping write labels, and producing the publication narrative. Undergraduate students at a local university will assist with educational components for the exhibition and develop evaluation tools. This project is a direct outgrowth of community interest.
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2007 12:15:03 -0400 | From: “Linda Eaton”
Textiles in America has been shipped to various retailers, and should be available now – I have no idea why some on-line sellers are saying that it has been delayed. Our bookstore has just received their first shipment so if you have trouble finding it elsewhere you can order it from us by calling 302.888.4707, 800.448.3883 or emailing.
Linda Eaton
Curator of Textiles
Winterthur Museum
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 19:50:48 -0400 | From: “Bonnie Dwyer”
Is anyone attending the Lowell Quilt Festival this weekend? I have a room at the host hotel for Friday and Saturday nights, if anyone wants to share expenses.
Bonnie Dwyer Quilt Appraiser, Certified by the American Quilter’s Society Member, Professional Association of Appraisers of Quilted Textiles State Coordinator, Home of the Brave Quilt Project Manchester, Maine (207) 446-7311
–
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2007 10:58:25 -0700 | From: “Kimberly Wulfert, PhD” <quiltdating@>
HI again,
I have been told my earlier request for recommendations turned up blank. However, it didn’t in the digest version.
I am looking for comments and recommendations for software specific to non-fiction writing that will help one to organize and locate their research notes quickly and easily. I have come across very few options for non-fiction organizing.
There are quite a few programs for converting citations into the preferred style; any comments on this would also be appreciated.
Thank you,
Kim Wulfert
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2007 20:18:52 -0400 | From: “Lucinda Cawley” <lrcawley@>
Will some kind soul please remind me about freezing a quilt to eliminate critters. Thanks. Cinda on the Eastern Shore
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2007 20:53:51 -0400 | From: “Lucinda Cawley” <lrcawley@>
Patriotic and political textiles were out theme for the Dating Club on Sunday afternoon. We were delighted to be joined by Bobbi Finley from Williamsburg and Sharon Waddel from the Hudson Valley. Bobbi brought her reproduction of the Lincoln, Grant, Colfax quilt made in 1869. You can see the original on p. 10 of Hearts and Hands.There were lots of red, white and blue quilts (naturally) and lots of Log Cabins. A center medallion had a miniature Lone Star in the middle, circa 1860, with a series of frames from the early 1900s. Jean Fries whose quilts are often featured in Quilters’ Newsletter showed us 9 thirties Sting Stars appliquéd to muslin and beautifully quilted. Jean’s husband found a 1950s print labeled in the selvage “Pirates, Ships and Sailors inspired by a 1950s Little Golden Book of the same name and recently reprinted. The quilt Jean made with the sailor fabric is charming. A WWII banner decorated with stars and parachutes said “Welcome Home Buddy.” We saw red fabrics from Garibaldi prints to early French toiles and turkey red border stripes A red, white and blue Ocean Waves from the 1930s was embellished with appliquéd orange stars. A 9-Patch variation with Hail Columbia sashing was very patriotic indeed as was a collection of Centennial fabric including “To Philadelphia” (the little guy riding the eagle) and the Harrison and Reform fabric from 1840. 9-Patches with white Turkey Tracks appliquéd on them and a modified Garden Maze set included fabrics ranging from 1850 to 1880 and signatures and locations including California and Missouri. We had Garfield in redwork and Sally Buchanan’s white crewel work spread signed and dated 1876. A quilt from Oklahoma made of wool rectangles
commemorated the Spanish American War with an embroidered portrait of
Theodore Roosevelt, along with a road runner, many initials, the date 1898 and the embroidered names Manila and Santiago. A very pretty VS. for Victory quilt in pink, blue and white had lovely floral embroidery. I forgot my Polk’s Fancy quilt which would have fit the theme perfectly and instead brought little bits: the JFK banner I bought at the AQSG auction, an Al Smith scarf, an “I Like Ike” bandana, the Centennial Exhibition bandana, etc. Scary when you realize how much “stuff” has
accumulated. Not part of the theme, but very exciting were a Mariners Compass from Loch Haven, PA (Central PA) circa 1860, a chintz 4-Patch (1830) with T-corners and a pillar print on the back, two 1850 Maryland beauties an Ohio Star all red and green except for one yellow and green star in the center and a Triple Irish Chain in red, green and yellow with a 1/2 square triangle border. We got some tips on using scrap booking supplies to store blocks and fabric. We also saw a few new bunnies which have entered the hutch. What’s the count now, Bunnie? Cinda on the Eastern Shore, land of bad restaurants, who enjoyed two wonderful meals on Sunday.
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2007 20:02:20 -0700 | From: “Margaret Geiss-Mooney”
Good evening, fellow QHLers – Here is the link to the National Park Service ConserveOGram that addresseses the how-to’s to use a regular freezer (NOT a frost-free model) to kill insect infestations:
http://www.nps.gov/history/museum/publications/conserveogram/03-06.pdf
Please follow the instructions very carefully.
… Will some kind soul please remind me about freezing a quilt to eliminate critters….
Regards, Margaret (Meg) Geiss-Mooney Textile/Costume Conservator Professional Associate, AIC
No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.476 / Virus Database: 269.10.25/926 – Release Date: 7/29/2007 11:14 PM
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2007 22:26:29 -0500 | From: Gaye Ingram
Several weeks ago, someone suggested that those interested in discussing the issues that arose on qhl/AQSG lists re Gee’s Bend exhibition might arrange to meet at the annual seminar.
I had noted that I believed the Gee’s Bend exhibition and the varied strong responses to it pointed to unresolved issues of importance beyond that particular exhibition—issues that included the appropriate standards for judging quilts, the various types of analysis which scholars and art critics might use to “read” quilts, the most appropriate venues for bodies of quilts like those from Gee’s Bend, and so on.
Specifically, I asked, Are there standards by which all quilts may be judged? Or does each quilt suggest the standards appropriate to it? How do we compare the Mid-western quilts of original design with those made from commercial patterns but with superior craft? What are our biases? Are they valid? In what ways do they limit or help us?
Should museums devoted to fine arts reject exhibits of folk art? Does folk art suggest a set of standards distinct from the ones appropriate to fine art? Jane Livingston’s essay in the Houston book makes a strong claim for the artistic value of the quilts. Has anyone challenged her methods and conclusions? If you disagree, will you? And what about the other essays, one by a member of our list?
How familiar are we with the body of quilts produced by Southern African-American makers? With Southern white makers? Is Gee’s Bend unique? How do the quilts of urban, northern African-Americans compare with those of rural, southern African-Americans? How do they relate to quilts of other regional traditions? Paul Arnett states flatly that the quilts and fame of Gee’s Bend are political. To what extent has politics, broadly defined, accounted for their fame? Can you prove that? Do you resent that? Feel okay with it?
What of legacy value? Have we now ruled that out as relevant in quilts? And what do those answers imply for African-Americans? The rest of us? What qualities are passed on in the GB quilts?
Several members have contacted me and asked when we were meeting. I did not recall that aside from a couple of folks, anyone had said they were interested in such an informal gathering. And I did not recall being the one appointed to arrange such a gathering.
If, however, there is sufficient interest in the Gee’s Bend quilts—NOT the paraphernalia, but the quilts themselves—and the issues they raise, I will try to coordinate the effort and locate the most convenient time and place. I will also, with help, try to focus the issues raised in our online discussions.
I don’t wish to raise the GB issue as a point of discussion on our lists. If you are interested in being part of such a discussion, simply email me privately and let me know, I will compile a list and see if I can find three or four disinterested people to help guide that discussion. It would help if you would also suggest time/times for it. When all responses are in, I will send a group mailing to those who reply.
This discussion would not be “official,” and it will not conflict with any scheduled seminar event.
In my post, I said,
“I’m talking about a serious discussion, a conversation from which we can learn. I believe it always benefits us when we examine our biases, our aesthetic and craft assumptions, and our reasoning. We almost always learn from the experience. I am inviting others to join me in a serious reconsideration of this set of quilts—-completely apart from their marketing—and more importantly, a reconsideration of the standards we use in general and how we employ them. I wonder how others reason about them and why. I wonder what standards others use and why.”
Just let me know if you’re interested. Nothing more.
Thanks, Gaye Ingram
Dear List,
Studio Quilt Study Group, the study group of the Greater Delaware Valley had another one of our famous field trips, this one planned for us by our farthest-flung regular attendee, Sue Reich. The same Connecticut Historic Societies that displayed their quilt collections for tours from the AQSG seminar last October opened their doors to us this week.
Sue regularly drives to NJ from her home in West-Central Connecticut to attend our bi-monthly meetings — and drives back home on the same day! I never really understood what kind of devotion she has to our group until DH Allan and I made the drive this week. It took three full hours, and that wasn’t in any heavy traffic!
Some 30 people attended, some from our group, some from the New England group, and two intrepid souls all the way from Kansas! No one was disappointed in the trip Sue planned for us and new friendships were formed.
I will not do a quilt-a-logue in this post because there were too many to describe or even to pick favorites, but I will describe the events of the trip.
Our first stop, on Tuesday at 12:30, was at the New Milford Historical Society, where we saw 31 quilts ranging in age from the early 19th century to 1976.
We should all know the famous painting of Elijah Boardman, 18th century merchant from New Milford and Senator from Connecticut.
http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewOne.
This painting has him standing in front of a bookcase and bolts of fabric which he carried in his dry goods store. We stood in the very same shop, which has been moved to the historical society grounds. In their main display hall is another portrait of Elijah, a copy of the original, but with the fabrics replaced with more books. Someone thought it was more fitting to show him with books once he was elected to the Senate.
Afterwards we drove to Sue’s beautiful home in the foothills of the Berkshires for dinner. The weather was perfect and we all got to wander in Sue’s gorgeous garden, in full flower and aroma.
After a drive of less than an hour we arrived at the same Marriott in Fairfield where AQSG was held last October, and after a brief rest we met downstairs for a 3-hour show and tell. Most had brought quilts that spoke of New England heritage, but we did see quilts from other areas.
Wednesday we drove to Wethersfield to see the quilts in the Wethersfield Historic Society, and both quilts, very early crewel covers and bed curtains, and the houses and contents of the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum.
Our new Kansas friends had another day of sight-seeing, but we made it home to NJ before dark.
Our many, many thanks go to Sue, who made sure that there were no glitches or disappointments during our two days in Connecticut. What a woman!
Judy Grow
