March 28 – April 5, 2001
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:
- Natural Dyes & Indigo — Members discuss natural plant-dye kits and a book on the chemistry of historic dyes, including a note on indigo dyeing with aged urine as a mordant. (see the article on indigo fabrics)
- Silk Crepeline Netting for Conservation — Continued detailed discussion of sourcing and applying silk crepeline netting to stabilize deteriorating silk, including the ‘upside-down bandaid’ application method and machine- vs. hand-quilting judging standards raised in a spinoff thread. (see the article on repair, restore, or conserve)
- Marion Cheever Whiteside Newton Story Quilts — Members discuss the mid-century story-quilt designer Marion Cheever Whiteside Newton and prior AQSG research on her work.
- An eBay Find: A Fabric-Covered Antique Book — Karen Alexander recounts finding an old fabric-covered book on eBay and the family history it led her to uncover.
- Quilts at End of Life — A member shares that her mother’s funeral parlor was filled with quilts, prompting a supportive discussion from others who had done the same.
Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2001 22:14:04 -0500 | From: “Mary Voss” <voss@>
On page 20 of the Dharma Trading Co. Spring /Summer Catalog they show a line of natural(plant ) dyes that include Indigo, Madder Root, Cochineal and many other natural dyes. The notation is that they come
From plants and bugs. They also list the book, The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing by J.N. liles for $17.95 Their toll free number is 800/542-5227. Hope this is the information you are looking for Phyllis. I just got the catalog last week and happen to notice this item. – Mary
From a chilly Holland, Michigan
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Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2001 22:47:45 EST | From: [from unknown]
I can vouch for both the book and the company. J.N. Liles is a chemist and re-enactor who redacted hundreds of natural dye recipes. His instructions are clear and reasonably easy to follow. As for Dharma Trading Company…their service is fast, and I was most pleased by the quality of the cochineal I ordered. Cochineal comes in the form of dried beetles that are ground to produce a wonderful magenta – just be sure to strain thoroughly through cheesecloth to avoid having bits ‘o bugs in your dye bath. Also, be sure to get some alum if you want to try anything but indigo, since natural dyes usually require a separate mordant…. Karen Evans ———
Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2001 22:11:00 -0600 | From: Laura Hobby Syler <texas_quilt.co@>
Actually, the netting that is being discussed is Silk Crepeline (sp). Nancy Kirk at the Kirk Collection has carried it. If she doesn’t have it, you can get it From Lacis in California. It is verrry pricey. If you have a good fabric store you can use silk bridal illusion. Stay away From the nylon tulle. Just like the polyester batting, it can eventually do more damage than nothing at all. Now, to play devils advocate. When restoring crazy quilts, sometimes the netting or crepeline will do no more than give you a repository for the little “shards” of fabric that are falling off. In restoration classes that we have had at the former QRS meetings, as well as those that I have conducted for VQTS, we have used the Upside down bandaid method, and done fusing. You have to be very careful as to the kind of fusible that you use. And it does take some practice to learn how and exactly where it is suitable for use. Some are very stiff and are not at all suitable. I’ve found the “fine fuse”, again from the Kirk Collection to work well. Also, the very lightest weight Stitch Witchery on the little roll, supposedly to be used for hems works well. Aileen’s Fusible are also soft. Hope this helps some. Laura
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Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2001 07:39:08 EST | From: Tubeywooby@
I have another quilt/first wife story I guess I should share (although am a little embarrassed). When my brother divorced his wife (she was the instigator), they had agreed that any belongings that came
From either family stayed with that party. My mother had made a quilt for Maria using vintage (30s) blocks and phenomenal multi-colored quilting (leaves quilted green, etc). I went to visit one weekend to help him get his apartment in order. The quilt was laying on his bed. I spent the night on this bed, and in the morning I took out a pin and tried to remove the “Maria” stitched into one border. I would have been successful, too, if the stitches weren’t so dern tiny. When my brother remarried, he gave me the quilt because my mama didn’t want it back (it made her sad). The next time she visited, she finished removing the Maria and quilted in her own initials. It now happily resides at my best friend’s house. Embarrassed in Houston, Melissa of CrazyFolk
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Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2001 08:24:21 -0500 | From: Judy White <jawhite@>
Laura, what is the upside down bandaid method? Are you actually fusing? This is a new technique to me. Judy White – Ct ———
Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2001 09:28:50 -0600 | From: Xenia Cord <xecord@>
Toni, the Marion Cheever Whiteside Newton quilts have already been well researched in the AQSG article I mentioned. The article is complete with a list of all of the designs completed, where they appeared, and also some designs that were never finished (Marion was killed while crossing a street in New York). I am aware of a dealer in NYC who has three of these quilts for sale, and will give contact information (serious inquiries only) off list. Xenia And no, sorry, I don’t have photos, and my guess is that the family still holds copyright to all of the designs. ———
Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2001 16:52:04 -0500 | From: Newbie Richardson <pastcrafts@>
Jan, I’ve worked on a boat load of “crazy” style quilts over the past 15 years. There is no “right way” to put the borders on. These were whimsical creations and makers used what they fancied – with in the fashion of the period. The early ones I’ve seen (c1880) seemed to have wide velvet,satin, or taffeta ribbon as borders. When yardage was used, then as little fabric was used as possible ie: no waste in the cutting. So each piece was cut with the cross grain. By that I mean that the border was cut From selvage edge to selvege end. Also, remember that this was a huge fad at the end of the 19th c. Many were started, but never finished. Just like the Dresden Plates and Grandmother’s Flower Gardens of the 20’s and 30’s. I think that I am guilty of saving some unfinished cross stich projects…too good to throw out…same thing! So lets not get too anal about “staying true to the original intent of the maker”. She is probably up in heaven, thrilled at the notion that the damn thing will finally get finished and appreciated! Cheers, Newbie ———
Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2001 17:08:20 -0500 | From: Newbie Richardson <pastcrafts@>
About 6 weeks ago, I posted the source for a netting that Winterthur’s conservation lab is now using exclusively. It is English. I know the curator of textiles, Linda Eaton. Before being named curator, she was a conservator and trained in England and Scotland. If you look at bridal illusion veiling under a loop or a microscope you will see that there are hard plastic beads at the intersection of each crossed fiber. It is a highly heat set knotted net, which is extremely abrasive. I stopped using any veiling for conservation over 2 years ago when I saw the results of some re-examination of conserved textiles by the American Institute of Conservators (AIC). Bottom line they had been abraded by the veiling. I especially avoid using it on brittle silks, which are really delicate. The netting that Winterthur uses is also a nylon net. But it is a lightly heat set net of bobbin net construction which has no hard beads at the intersection of the fibers. This net has a soft hand and can be custom dyed using dyes for protein fibers. It has a slight stretch and conforms well to shapes. Order From: Dukeries Textiles and Fancy Goods, Ltd./ Melbourne Rd. 15A/West Bridgford, Nottingham/ England / +44 115 981 6330 I have no idea what it costs. I haven’t had a project that I could write the trans-Atlantic phone call off to, yet! But I do know one thing. The research is there: do not use bridal illusion veiling if you care about the long term survival of any textiles! Newbie Richardson Past Crafts Studios Alexandria, Va ———
Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2001 17:22:54 -0500 | From: Newbie Richardson <pastcrafts@>
Shattered silk is the “thalidomide” of textiles! There is no way to stabilize it that is reversible. Think of crazy quilt patches as a pieces of stained glass that have shattered. Although together when flat, lift them up and gravity does a number on them. With that in mind, there is a way to conserve the appearance of shattered or split silk: archival bonding. Adhesives have come a very long way in the past 5 years. I use a product called “Fine Fuse” (the Kirk collection sells it) It is nylon filaments spun like a spider web. Place it between the silk and a backing fabric and press it with a warm iron and press cloth, it bonds to both fabrics. PERMANENTLY. The silk will not turn to powder. But you can not remove it From the backing, ever. The silk will retain the same drape, depending on that of the backing. I have used this technique on large embroidered Canton/Spanish/Piano scarves. I bond them to polyester chiffon. I have gotten great results. As I said, it is last ditch, is being used, tentatively, in some museums, but there is still a great deal of debate. Meanwhile, if the piece is a gonner anyway, I see nothing but good coming From using it! NOTE: this is not “Stitch Witchery” or a “glue”. It is simply mono-filament nylon and therefore does not off any gas and is stable. Newbie Richardson ———
Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2001 19:09:39 -0600 | From: “Jocelyn” <jsmartin@>
Brenda, The UGRR was not limited to plantations. Here in Lawrence, there is a building that’s now a fire station, that has been confirmed as having been a ‘safe house’- actually, a stone barn. Many Quakers in the Northern states served as conductors, providing safe houses, directions and clothing. One of the most crucial needs of escaping slaves was for clothing that was typical of free blacks. Once dressed properly, slaves could generally ‘pass’ by remaining silent and letting someone else speak for them (since their dialects and vocabularies would reveal them to be recent slaves). I remember reading one account of a Quaker lady giving away all her own gloves, because no woman with any claim of gentility would have gone out in public without her gloves, and the ex-slaves’ work-worn hands would have given them away in an instant as not being the wives of free men, as they were otherwise costumed to be. Properly dressed, they had a chance of blending in to the black community of northern cities, but not if they were dressed in the homespun and turbans of plantation life.
OTOH, there are many houses whose current owners think that they were stops on the UGRR, because of secret rooms and passages, but probably weren’t. Most of the secret passage houses in the North were built that way in case of attack (primarily, Indian attack). It’s true that some of the houses that already had secret passages were used by their owners as safe houses…but rather unlikely that anyone built a house c. 1830-40 with passages for the sole reason of helping escaped slaves. For one thing, house-building wasn’t a private affair back then- you had to have a lot of manpower. Neighbors would notice, and wonder why anyone would be putting in a secret escape, now that Indian attacks weren’t really a danger…and slavecatchers would probably hear little details like that. OTOH, in houses that were already 60-70 years old, the existance of secret passages probably had been forgotten by most people in the community. That’s part of the problem with the UGRR stories. People WANT to believe them, and continue to believe them, even when errors of logic are revealed, such as the date of construction of the house not corresponding to the era of the UGRR being a fairly good proof that the house was NOT constructed as a safe house. It’s a good story, and appealing because we’d like to believe that during that time, people were more like us than not. It’s more comforting to imagine that many, many people were helping slaves escape, and painful to realize that many people- perhaps even our own ancestors- thought that reporting escaped slaves and returning them to their owners was the moral thing to do…as moral as returning a strayed horse, or a lost wallet.
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 08:18:13 -0500 | From: Lesters <jeanlester@>
This discussion reminds me of one of his stories about Indigo dyeing. He uses “aged” urine as a mordant. He put this in an empty milk jug in the garage and one of his sons mistook it for the gasoline for the lawn mower. Got a new lawn mower! Jean
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<img align=”left” alt=”Debbie Roberts at the Textile Workshop” border=”0″ height=”250″ src=”images/PIC00011.JPG” width=”309″/>Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 13:58:27 -0500
From: “Pam Weeks Worthen” <pamworthen@> We had a wonderful day last Saturday, hosted by Barbara Wright, featuring Debbie Roberts, at Barb’s shop in Sturbridge, MA. there were about 14 of us, many QHL members, gathered around a linen covered table, oohing over a few dozen wonderful old quilts that we had all brought along to share. The biggest treat for me was a signed applique T-quilt dated 1818. As I said to the DH, I would have made the 2 hour drive just to sit beside this quilt for a half hour, say nothing about the other wonderful quilts. It was great to meet list-mom Kris, and Pat, who scored big on eBay last week, and I rode down with Lorie From Amesbury who is my new long-lost sister! Barb treated us to a great lunch, and we also had a spell of buy opportunities from a box sent along by Mary Koval, and of course there were the wonderful things available in Barb’s vintage shop. When’s the next one?
<img align=”left” border=”2″ height=”80″ src=”images/PIC00013_small.JPG” width=”100″/><img align=”right” border=”2″ height=”61″ src=”images/PIC00009_small.JPG” width=”100″/> Pam in NH and if you can believe it, ther are about 4 more inches of snow on the ground in my backyard, and our end of the state is getting it easy! (Click on the thumbnails to see the pictures up close.)
Date: [date unknown] | From: KareQuilt@
Date: Sun, 01 Apr 2001 10:19:02 -0500 | From: Laura Hobby Syler <texas_quilt.co@>
Got this message from Jean Lyle concerning ordering Crepelene. She has it packaged with the silk thread. This is a great deal for those of you wanting to experiment with it. However, I too, like Alan, would like more information from Hazel concerning the museum’s displeasure with the use of crepelene. We had a carpet beetle problem last year and I have noticed some possible dining going on on my yardage of crepelene….could be the problem… Laura
Date: Mon, 02 Apr 2001 11:15:15 | From: “Ann-Louise Beaumont” <albeaumont@>
Edie Zakem and I were asked by the Prince Edward Island (Canada) Advisory Council on the Status of Women to write a history of 20th century quilting in PEI for a project called “Firsthand” which documents some of the contributions women made to the arts and culture of the Island during this time. There are modules on photography, basketmaking (Mi’kmaq or Micmac), visual arts, rug or mat hooking, literature,and quilting.In addition to our original research, we were helped immensely by Sherry Davidson who had conducted the PEI Heritage Quilt Project documenting PEI quilts and quilters. She generously gave us access to her unpublished work. Shirley Moase also helped us fill in some blanks. The final result is a website that is to be used in the high schools here. A question section for further study on each module is being developed by the Department of Education exploring ideas suggested by each researcher. The site is in English and French and you can find it at www.gov.pe.ca/go/firsthand. We have included the Acadian (francophone) quilter Louise Comeau who represents her active quilting community and their traditions of excellence. From the Mi’kmaq (formerly Micmac) community on the Lennox Island Reserve, we showcased Christine Bernard with her wearable art. The garments she makes for her First Nations (aboriginal) community include applique (I can’t seem to make the accent on the e )and we saw a picture of the traditional applique peaked cap. We were looking for the ribbon applique skirts shown on p. 88 of”Old Nova Scotian Quilts” by Scott Robson and Sharon MacDonald. These skirts have a visual similarity to Seminole patchwork even though the technique is different. I just stumbled across a terrific website by the Nova Scotia Museum at http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mikmaq/ which has the Mi’kmaq Portraits Collection and you can see marvelous photos of men and women wearing traditional garments dating from the mid-nineteenth century on up. At the launch of our website a lady from the reserve told me that the appliqueed coat worn by Chief John T Sark is still with the family, as is the peaked cap worn by S. Mitchell, and that the Mi’kmaq got the peaked caps from the French. There is so much I don’t know about these garments that I can’t say any more intelligently. While quilting in PEI followed the general North American trends, there are many aspects that are unique to PEI.If you go to the website, you can find out what they are. Best Wishes Ann-Louise Beaumont in Murray Harbour, PEI, Canada where I have spent 4.5 hours shovelling snow in the last 2 days and have more to shovel today.
Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2001 13:18:35 EDT | From: Hazelmacc@
I will not be giving the name of the museum regarding crepeline not holding up. The person who told me works for more than one museum. l want to clarify that the museum person did not say to use bridal illusion — l use that for my own use. To be sure, there is no one solution to each of the fix-it problems. Hazel in No. VA
Date: Mon, 02 Apr 2001 13:22:32 -0500 | From: Laura Hobby Syler <texas_quilt.co@>
Hi Judy, This can be done in a couple of different methods for final application, but the end result does involve some fusing at one point or another. You can fuse a piece of “camouflage” fabric (not the hunting kind!) to a piece of muslin or dark color base fabric and either open the back and insert the bandaid and stitch the back closed or slip it in under broken threads from the top. Provided you have ample space. You don’t need to fuse the top that way, but you will continue to have the fabric fall out on you. The other way is to use a double faced fusible on the bandaid up side. This is then inserted into the quilt, usually though the deteriorated fabric from the top. The fibers are then gently and carefully stretched, combed, brushed or laid into as close to the original position as possible so that none of the “bandaid” shows. Often this is not possible which is why I try to match the color of the bandaid to the fabric on the front. Learning how to manipulate the aging textile and mend the breaks and tears with the fusible is difficult at best. I’ve been doing it for about 10 years now and still have to go very, very slowly. This technique works very well when you have great embroidery stitches around the edges of the piece that you do not want to disturb, but something needs to be done to the center of the fabric. Hope I’ve made myself clear. Would be a whole lot easier to show you in person! Laura In humid, soon to be soggy again N. Texas where it’s 68 degrees, and my birthday Iris look like they might cooperate and bloom on schedule next week!!! Judy White wrote: > Laura, what is the upside down bandaid method? Are you actually > fusing? This is a new technique to me. > > Judy White – Ct
Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2001 14:39:04 EDT | From: KareQuilt@
Thought QHl readers might find this free program interesting that the Smithsonian is offering Thursday, April 19, noon-1 PM. This is a part of a series they have been doing for sometime now about clothing and textile objects in the collection. The flyer reads, “From the Barnyard to Fifth Avenue: Making High Fashion Fabrics from Food. From the 1940s to the late 1950s, the textile industry in this country and abroad produced fabric from corn, soybeans, milk and peanuts. Only two of these fibers were consumed in large amounts by the American pubic: Aralac (milk) and Vicara (corn). Katherine Dirks shows samples of these fabrics, describes their use, and explains how and why they were made.” Karen Alexander
Date: Mon, 02 Apr 2001 16:56:41 -0500 | From: Newbie Richardson <pastcrafts@>
As far I know from my studies with Dr. Ordonez at the Univ. of Rhode Island and the opinions expressed by other AIC textile conservators, there is nothing “new” about the disadvantages of crepeline. It has all the problems of longevity of any very fine silk gauze. It just does not wear well over time. It does not harm the fabric underneath, you just have to redo the repair every 15 to 20 years or so depending on the amount of wear and display the piece gets. Textiles, by definition are in a constant state of deterioration. some last longer than others. So far the polyesters are doing the best, though they have not been around for more than 50 years. Then linen – witness the mummy shrouds from ancient Egypt, cotton – depending on how it was finished, wool (if the bugs don’t get there first!) and finally silk, the most fragile of all. I suppose that textile conservation is the profession of the true “Polyanna”. We just love tilting at windmills! Newbie Richardson
Date: Tue, 03 Apr 2001 09:40:13 -0300 | From: family.chisholm@ (Sara Chisholm)
My mother, a NJ quilter, recently lost her battle with cancer. We hung the funeral parlor full of quilts – some that were her work, and some of her favorite antiques – and draped the casket with her grandmother’s crazy quilt from the late 1890s. It was really quite a lovely quilt show! My sister and I, both quilters ourselves, wanted to send her away with a quilt, but couldn’t bear to part with any of her masterpieces. We quickly put together some star signature blocks made by her friends (as a millenium project) to send with her. The nine stars were alternated with nine plain squares to make a 3×6 block quilt – just the right size to tuck in around her. It’s nice to know lots of folks are being kept warm for their journey. Sara Hart Chisholm Middleton, Nova Scotia
Date: Tue, 03 Apr 2001 07:54:43 -0500 | From: Laura Hobby Syler <texas_quilt.co@>
Newbie, Thanks for the insight. I know that I’ve had to replace some of the crepeline that I put on my grandmothers quilts back in the early 80’s but she has them on “display” in her room at the nursing home and is constantly dragging them out to show off. I have never been fond of any type of overlay as it distorts the color and “shades” the true appearance of the fabric. As you say, there is nothing new about the disadvantages of crepeline, and we are truly tilting at windmills when we try to keep these beauties from falling apart. But we are a determined lot!!! Next, we should all meet at the beach and work on keeping the sand in place! Have a good Tuesday, Laura In mugger than yesterday N. Texas where the high is to be 84 today! Yikes!!!
Date: Tue, 03 Apr 2001 10:00:42 -0400 | From: “Pam Weeks Worthen” <pamworthen@>
Hi All! Am just posting a quick announcement for anyone within an easy drive of southern NH. Lorie Chase is the Regional Coordinator for NH for the AQSG and is giving a show and tell lecture in Lee, NH, tomorrow, April 4 at 7:30PM. Lorie will be bringing her quilts to show an overview of quilt history, and the audience has been invited to bring quilts to share. Rumor has it (and I’ve tried to confirm, but haven’t yet) that there may be a documented English quilt from 1810. “ping” me if you want directions, or use your map finder. The site is the Mast Way School, Mast Road, (RTE 155) Lee, NH. It is just on the outskirts of Lee Village, very near the police station. Pam, in NH where the sun is actually out today, the snow is disappearing from the Seacoast, but I hear there are still 5 ft of snow in the woods in the north!
Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2001 11:55:08 -0500 | From: pcrews@
I am writing to mention that we are offering a History of Quilts course as a distance education course this summer, June 12-July 10. It is offered to non-credit participants, as well as for graduate credit. Videotaped lectures will be mailed to students for viewing prior to once-a-week telephone discussions of the lectures and assigned readings via conference call. Email will be the mode of contact outside of class and for some of the class discussions. The weekly teleconferences will take place on Tuesday evenings from 7-8 pm CDT. Students who register for the course will be supplied with an 800 number to call. The lectures were delivered by top scholars in the field including Virginia Gunn, Merikay Waldvogel, Jennifer Goldsborough, Jonathan Holstein, Janet Berlo, Dorothy Osler and others. I will serve as the resident instructor for the course and will lead the weekly discussions by telephone. Detailed course information and registration information regarding the “History of Quilts” course and other summer workshops is posted on our web site at http://quiltstudy.unl.edu. Please share this information with anyone who might be interested in this opportunity. Thanks.
Patricia Cox Crews, Ph.D. Professor and Director International Quilt Study Center Dept. of Textiles, Clothing & Design P. O. Box 830838 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE 68583-0802 Phone: 402-472-6342 Fax: 402-472-0640 pcrews@
Date: Wed, 04 Apr 2001 23:14:22 -0400 | From: Mary Beth Goodman <mgoodman@>
At 1:55 AM +0000 4/4/01, Sara Chisholm wrote: >My mother, a NJ quilter, recently lost her battle with cancer. We hung >the funeral parlor full of quilts – some that were her work, and some of >her favorite antiques – and draped the casket with her grandmother’s >crazy quilt from the late 1890s. It was really quite a lovely quilt >show! > >My sister and I, both quilters ourselves, wanted to send her away with a >quilt, but couldn’t bear to part with any of her masterpieces. Sorry for your loss Sara, but what a wonderful tribute you made to your Mother. Nicely done. I recently made two quilts that in my head are intended as coffin quilts or pall-coverings. It was an interesting process. I started out making just one, two sided quilt, but each top wanted to stand on its own. People seem a little curious about why I made these two quilts, but there does seem to be a tradition of doing this and it’s just something I wanted to do. — Mary Beth Goodman Queen, NYQuilts! Quilts, vendors, lectures, classes! May 19-20, 2001 Russell Sage College, Troy NY http://www.nyquilts.org/ Now enter your quilts online at: http://www.@/~mgoodman/quiltreg/
Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2001 09:50:48 EDT | From: RBCochran@
In a message dated 4/3/2001 8:40:23 AM Eastern Daylight Time, family.chisholm@ writes: << My mother, a NJ quilter, recently lost her battle with cancer. We hung the funeral parlor full of quilts – some that were her work, and some of her favorite antiques – and draped the casket with her grandmother’s crazy quilt from the late 1890s. It was really quite a lovely quilt show! >> What Sara didn’t say is that her mother is Natalie Hart, our beloved friend and colleague. More than a wonderful quilt show, the memorial service was a lovely celebration of Natalie’s life. Her passion for quilting and life touched so many people that there weren’t enough chairs! Happy memories were shared, and poignant words were spoken, including this quote from Hannah Senesch: “There are stars who radiance is visible on earth though they have long been extinct./ There are people whose brilliance continues to light the world though they are no longer among the living./ These lights are particularly bright when the night is dark./ They light the way for mankind.” Natalie’s gentle and loving presence will be greatly missed by us all. Rachel Cochran Barbara Schaffer Rita Erickson for the Heritage Quilt Project of New Jersey
Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2001 14:52:13 EDT | From: KareQuilt@
I am crossposting a discussion topic that began on H-QUILT because I am not certain that everyone here on QHL also subscribes to H-QUILT, and I would like to hear from QHLers who may have observations and opinions to the issues being addressed as well. The topic is hand quilting vs. machine quilting: In reference to comments about the seeming shift of primary interest in quilting from hand quilting to machine quilting (I am not referring to piecing but only to the quilting), I would like to pose some other questions. Twice in the past week I have been approached by hand quilters who feel they are being overlooked in quilt show judging contests because machine quilting and hand quilting are being judged in the same categories, and they feel overwhelmed, outnumbered and overlooked. (I am not a quilt show judge myself and do not enter quilt shows.) This complaint is the reverse of what was occurring in the early 80’s when I first got into quilting. Both individuals who spoke to me brought up the point that they feel the big companies that sell sewing machines are behind this change because of the power and influence of the money they spend to underwrite judged quilt shows/contests. This is a very interesting question at this period in quilt history: what influence have the sewing machine manufactures had in the shift from hand quilting to machine quilting? Should hand quilted quilts and machine quilted quilts be judged in separate categories? Is it the lack of money for prizes that keeps the two in the same category in all these contests? Karen Alexander
Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2001 16:16:06 -0400 | From: “pepper cory” <pepcory@>
Hello Karen and all-what a good topic for discussion! I am a hand quilter who sometimes hires others to machine quilt samples, plus I teach quilting and judge shows. At this point I think we ought to keep hand and machine work together. A particular category’s prize money being given by a machine company does NOT influence a judge’s opinion. The exception is when the prize is designated for a particular sort of work, but you’ll commonly find that show organizers resist being told by donating companies their ideas for “Best in Show” and simply trust their judges’ expert opinions. I have given prizes to both hand and machine work. The point is: is the work (stitching and the whole package of workmanship/color/artistry) done well? My book “mastering Quilt Marking” addressed just this question in the chapter Quilting from the Judges’ Point of View. To quote: “…grouping machine and hand quilting together promotes a higher standard of workmanship. Machine quilters will realize their stitching will have to meet the traditional strict standards of hand quilting, while hand quilters are now on notice that they need to quilt their quilts as thoroughly as machine quilters do in order to compete.” There’s more but you get the gist. Unless those disappointed hand quilters have proof of a judge’s prejudice, this sounds like a new version of old-time sour grapes! There’s room to spare for all kinds of quilting–just do it well! Pepper Cory from the sunny Carolina coast
Date: Thu, 05 Apr 2001 20:09:47 -0400 | From: “Pam Weeks Worthen” <pamworthen@>
Pepper, I agree with you that machine and hand quilting should be judged in the same category (unless, obviously, the show is organized with prizes enough to keep them separated, such as some of the MAJOR shows) I have not judged a quilt show, but have had my work judged and am on the judging committee for my local guild. It’s about color, design and execution of the technique, not which technique is more desireable. It DOES encourage a higher level of craftsmanship, and if there are sour grapes from the hand quilters, it’s payback for the years I had to listen to “Oh, it’s machine quilted”, as if this was a sin. (ooooh, I’m in such a mood tonight!) I do both machine and hand quilting or applique, depending on the schedule and the project. As a maverick at heart, my greatest personal triumph after putting up with the groans and gasps of “fooling” people with my “mock hand applique”, was having one of the most stubborn advocates of NEVER ANYTHING BUT BY HAND ask me to teach her to machine quilt. My particular gripe on this topic is with people who piece a top, then send it off to be professionallly machine quilted, and enter it into a show without recognizing the work of the “second” quilter. I’m remembering an article in QNM within the last year on this subject. It was written by someone representing the professional machine quilters, encouraging people to have a written agreement with their clients that if a quilt is entered in a competition, the machine quilter must be recognized, too. There’s my 10 cents worth. pam in NH who antiqued all day instead of going to work, but don’t tell the board of directors! (now I have to work Saturday…)
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Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2001 20:11:41 EDT | From: QultFrFn@
In a message dated 4/5/01 8:34:39 PM, pepcory@ writes: <<Machine quilters will realize their stitching will have to meet the traditional strict standards of hand quilting, while hand quilters are now on notice that they need to quilt their quilts as thoroughly as machine quilters do in order to compete>> I agree with Pepper. I am, by choice, a hand quilter. However, I’ve done enough machine quilting to know that it isn’t as easy as some hand quilters believe — at least it isn’t for me. If I need something machine quilted I try to hire a skillful machine quilter. Many hand quilters, today, take the batting labels too literally. The result is that too many quilts, with hand quilting, are sorely under-quilted. Keep the techniques in the same catagory. I would like to suggest we allow BOTH machine quilting and hand quilting in the same piece…while we’re at it.
Nancy Brenan Daniel AZ Date: Fri, 6 Apr 2001 13:42:53 +1000
Pam and all, >My particular gripe on this topic is with people who piece a top, then send >it off to be professionally machine quilted, and enter it into a show >without recognizing the work of the “second” quilter. This is a “bug-bear” of mine too, I have just “encouraged” members of my quilting group into the world of acknowledging the input of others in their quilts, by introducing a Duo Quilt Category into our upcoming quilt exhibition, the rule was that ….”Any quilt made or worked on in any way by more than one person must be entered in the group or duo quilt categories….” the new duo category has the most entries in the exhibition. I am not sure whether I like this mixed-bag category, but at least it has achieved the desired result regarding recognition. Kate
