Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 16:57:51 +1000

From: "Kate Knight" <kknight@eisa.net.au>

Hi all,

Only the other night I was given a "recipe" by a well respected Aussie quilt

collector/historian who also happens to be a research chemist on how to

remove brown rust stains from old quilts...she recommended dissolving a few

tiny crystals of oxalic acid in warm water to make a very weak solution, and

using an eye-dropper moisten the rust stains....the oxalic acid reverses the

oxidisation of the metal and the stain "disappears", with rarely ever any

damage to the fabric. She did warn though, that occasionally when the stain

is bad and the rust has eaten into the fabric, after treatment you may be

left with a hole. (I suppose you need to decide whether you want a brown

stain or a white hole ??) I guess testing and caution are always in order.

Has any one ever heard of or used this method ?

Kate

kknight@eisa.net.au

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 06:58:43 -0400

From: Judy White <jawhite@courant.infi.net>

Quilter's Journal was a wonderful magazine that was part of my

subscription to AQS when I first joined in 1985. I think I have five or

six issues. It is full of history and articles about people who made

quilts and people who collected quilts - historical quilts, etc. I

really didn't understand what AQS was all about when I first began

quilting so I let my subscription expire and didn't renew again until

about 10 years ago, and by that time, the magazine was no longer

included with the subscription. I have a feeling that it was too costly

to publish and distribute, as many magazine publishers have found to be

the case. Anyway, if you can get you hands on some old copies, you will

enjoy reading them. BTW, it is entirely in black and white, no color.

One article that I particularly liked was about Electra Havemayer Webb

who was very wealthy and collected anything and everything that

interested her. Her collection became the basis for the Shelburne

Museum in Vermont.

Judy White - Ct

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 10:16:22 -0400

From: maria@lostquilt.com (Maria Elkins)

Regarding quilts in movies, I just watched "Witness" with Harrison Ford

which is mostly set on an Amish farm. In a couple scenes he is shown

wrapped up in what looks like a dark, wool log cabin with white centers.

Another scene shows a typical diamond in a square quilt and there is a scene

during a barn raising that has the women quilting around a frame with an

appliquid floral quilt made with printed fabrics. :) DH has been well

trained and helped me find these quilts!

Now a question maybe one of you can answer. In the movie they made a point

about a particular coat not having buttons because they are considered

"proud" but all of the men's shirts had buttons. Do the Amish use buttons

or not?

Maria

maria@lostquilt.com

http://www.lostquilt.com/

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 08:58:49 -0700

From: Julie Silber <quiltcomplex@earthlink.net>

I happened to be watching "My Life As A Dog," a wonderful Swedish film

made about 15-20 years ago. In one scene, the kid is shown on a couch,

the back of which is covered with an older Log Cabin quilt. Fascinating,

since the several hundred antique Swedish quilts collected by Asa Wettre

include MANY Log Cabins.

Maxfield Parrish Circus design -- I have an original copy of the pattern

and will e-mail a copy to anyone interested in seeing it.

Julie Silber

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 12:40:11 -0400

From: Kris_Driessen@hesc.com

Oxalic acid is the active ingredient in some rust removers and hydrogen

peroxide, I believe. I think I would try a commercial

product before using the actual chemical, which only works when hot. You

have to mix it with just-slightly-less-than-boiling water,

not a solution I would want to try on fabric. If you want to experiment ,

you can find small quantities in True Value hardware stores,

usually. It is more commonly used as a wood bleach.

Now, I *have* heard of the eyedropper method being used with hydrogen

peroxide. I haven't done it myself, though.

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 10:14:12 -0700 (PDT)

From: Cindy Brick <brickworksinc@yahoo.com>

I am researching this, and could use any advice

you-all have.

The company was stationed in Helmsford, NY, and the

quilt I saw appeared to be from somewhere between

1930-1970. Cotton batting.

Can you give me any more information about the

company?

thanks in advance, Cindy

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 21:42:14 +0200

From: Ady Hirsch <adamroni@netvision.net.il>

Hi everyone

I've just received Pat herr's book - Quilting traditions' and its

WONDERFUL! Beautifully written and documented, backed up by an impressive

bibliography, and full of great photos. I also got Mragaret Rolfe's

"Australian Quilt Heritage" - great book with some truly moving quilts

(quilts made by convict women on board ships, and quilts made by women

inmates of Japanese camps in south east Asia during WWII). What I was

wondering was, this book was published in 1998, and now I see there's

anothe book - Australia's Quilts, I think by Jan Manning (???) Has anyone

seen this more recent publication and is there any duplication of the

antique quilts in both books?

I've also succumbed and ordered the Rhode island book (bn.com sent a

discount voucher, and I simply couldn't resist). I'm now waiting with

baited breath to see what would one of the most expensive books in my

collection be like :-)

And more on books - when I visited my friend, Daniele Baumgarten in Paris,

she gave me the new French book on Boutis - "Boutis des villes - Boutis des

champs". I mailed the book from France, it has just arrived, and I'm

reading it armed with three dictionaries, but even if your French isn't up

to scratch, the quilts are breathtaking, and there's a lot of them!

And finally, re quilts in films - this is something I only noticed when I

became a quilter (when I was watching Gone with the Wind for the umpteenth

time) - when Frank comes home from the war, just before he ditches

Sue-Ellen to marry Scarlett, he's draped in (I think) a red and white quilt

while his lice ridden clothes are burned. If i'm not mistaken there's also

someone carrying a quilt in the burning of Atlanta scene. BTW, when they

started showing here "Dr. Quinnn medicine Woman" we called her "Dr. Quilt".

There was one spisode with a flue epidemic, the people there were dying in

droves, and all we could pay attention to were the magnificent quilts they

were covered with. Awful, isn't it? Quilts are so trendy now that interior

design magazines are full of them. We have here adiscount store that sells

"old" magazines (about 1-2 years old) for about $1, and I choose the ones

with interesting quilts, tear out the quilts and file them - great (and

inexpensive) design source.

Happy quilting

Ady in Israel

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 16:05:13 -0400

From: "John Cawley" <cawley@goeaston.net>

Back to John A. Hostetler. In my book, his book Amish Society is the last

word on the subject. On page 236: "The Amishman has two kinds of

coats.....All vests and coats worn for dress fasten with hooks and eyes. On

work coats, buttons, and in recent times, zippers and snaps are permitted in

some communities and not in others. All Amish men wear shirts and trousers

that button."

Cinda on the Eastern shore

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 13:45:02 -0700

From: Kimberly Wulfert <chrisa@jetlink.net>

I used hydrogen peroxide on a white areas of an 1875 courthouse step,

using a q-tip diped in the peroxide, and rub with pressure, onto the

spot. It worked better than anything else when you don't want to wash

the whole piece. The darkest spots did not come completely out, the

lighter ones did. I have to add that I was so afraid that it would eat

away the fabric, that i didn't leave it on for too long before rinsing

with fresh water with a cloth, over and over many times. So if one left

it on the dark spots longer, maybe they would come completely out. it's

been several years now and there is no sign of damage or return. I don't

even notice the spots at all.

Kimberly Wulfert

Ojai CA

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 19:56:19 EDT

From: KareQuilt@aol.com

Dear QHLers,

Well, the word seems to be that there is an Index of sorts for QJ, but not a

"exhaustive" one. I have seen back issues of Quilters Journal for sale in

public only once. How about the rest of you? I stumbled on a stack in a small

town in Indiana at an antique store, along with several issues of Nimble

Needle Treasures and Tumbling Alley as well back in 1995. I thought I had

died and gone to heaven! <g> I had never even heard of Nimble needle

Treasures or Tumbling Alley at that point in my life as a quilter. [Did any

of you see the article Hazel Carter and I did on Patricia Almy, Editor of

Nimble Needle Treasures, in the last issue of the Quilters Hall of Fame

newsletter?]

By the way, IF [ha!] you are really passionate about quilt history, there are

two organizations I highly recommend you join: the American Quilt Study Group

(AQSG-$35 a year; email is AQSG2@unl.edu) P.O. Box 4737 Lincoln NE

68504-0737, and QHF, P.O. Box 681 Marion IN 46952. Membership is $25 a year.

Email is quilters@comteck.com

We will not be inducting anyone into the Hall of Fame at this year's

Celebration (as we call it). Instead, we will be celebrating the life and

times of Marie Webster (designer extraordinaire and author of the first book

solely devoted to quilting history), our 1991 Honoree. Marie Webster's house,

about to be condemned and torn down by the city fathers of Marion in 1990,

was purchased and donated by her granddaughter to the Quilters Hall of Fame

in 1991 as the future site of our headquarters. It has been a long 10 year

process of trying to raise the funds to restore the house, but we are almost

there. We hope to officially open in 2002b

Come join us in Marion July 20-23 this summer. It is a great group, small and

intimate (not like the big huge quilt gatherings at all), and you can find

some great bargains at our silent auction tables throughout the weekend! <g>

you will also hear some great presentations on various aspects of quilting

history!

Karen Alexander

Press Secretary, The Quilters Hall of Fame

<g>

P.S. (I have a vested interest in seeing you all there!) And don't forget

AQSG 2001...the seminar AFTER this fall's meeting in Nebraska, i.e. 18 months

from ....now in Williamsburg, Virginia, Oct 12-14, 2001!! Barbara Smead and

Hazel Carter and myself are the Coordinators (with legions of willing

Virginia quilters to help us!) You don't want to miss AQSG 2000 in Nebraska

or AQSG 2001 in Williamsburg! Both are going to be dynamite research

conferences! If you have never been to an AQSG seminar, you are in for a

thrill of a lifetime if you go to Nebraska this year and Williamsburg next

year!

--------------------------------

Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 22:48:22 -0500

From: "Gail E. Hurn" <hghurn@satx.rr.com>

When I lived in Indiana, I remember being told by an old quilter: Wash the

quilt in the bathtub and then take it outside and turn it upside down

directly on the grass on a sunny day. She felt the chloroform in the grass

combined with the sun's rays helped remove those pesky brown spots. Of

course, check to make sure the grass is clean.

How anyone heard of this method? Have you tried it?

Gail Hurn

Amish Quilt Connection

http://www.amishquiltconnection.com

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 17 Jun 2000 11:24:35 EDT

From: Baglady111@aol.com

<<

Interested in going back to school? The Center has established a graduate

degree in textile history and textile design with an emphasis in quilt

studies. Michael James, world-renowned quilt artist, has joined our faculty

in their goal to expand student's knowledge of quilt history and to further

explore the quilt as a medium of artistic expression. Courses are being

offered via distance education so that students from across the world can

participate in this program. Additional information on our educational

opportunities can be found at <A

HREF"http://www.ianr.unl.edu/quiltstudy/EDU_main.html">http://www.ianr.unl.ed

u/quiltstudy/EDU_main.html</A>.

>>

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 17 Jun 2000 18:49:40 EDT

From: KareQuilt@aol.com

Undoubtedly, some of you are already familiar with the controversy about

Betsy Ross and the "first" national flag. I was not aware of its "depth"

until Thursday of this week (15 June) when I attended the "Looking American:

Exploring the Collections" series at the Smithsonian. This particular event

in the series was titled, "Stars, Stripes, and Eagles: Textiles with a

Patriotic Flavor." The first part of the talk was about the evolution of our

national flag, but Betsy Ross was never mentioned, just the dates of the

various Congressional flag acts (14 June 1777, 1 May 1795, and 4 April 1818)

and the designs approved on each date. The speaker went on to trace the

development of the eagle as our national bird as well and showed a number of

examples in both quilts and woven coverlets. Later in the talk she showed a

series of commemorative textiles that came out in the mid 19th century and

another series that came out in 1932. In the context of discussing these

commemorative textiles, she pointed to the one with Betsy Ross in it and

said, "You all realize, of course, that the story of Betsy Ross making the

"first" flag is a myth, right?"

Well, I kind of vaguely had heard somewhere that it might be a myth, but I

had never read any serious discussion of the issue one way or another.

However, I made note of the fact that a representative of the Smithsonian was

stating that it "is a myth" that George Washington had come to Betsy and had

asked her to make a flag. Then today someone in our local guild posted a

website for Betsy Ross in the Quilters Unlimited on-line newsletter. Curious,

I went to check it out. Imagine my surprise to discover just HOW

controversial this issue has been since the story was first told to the

public by a grandson in 1870! Does this remind you of another recent

controversy? Go check out the story. It is very interesting! (Be sure to

read all the sections to get the full import of the controversy, especially

the "Affidavits".)

http://www.ushistory.org/betsy/

Karen Alexander

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 17 Jun 2000 21:48:40 -0500

From: Mary Waller <mswaller@iw.net>

Gail wrote:

> ....told by an old quilter: Wash the quilt .....

> and turn it upside down directly on the grass on a

> sunny day. She felt the chloroform in the grass

> combined with the sun's rays helped remove brown spots.

A small clarification: the green stuff in grass is chlorophyll

(chloroform is a different chemical).

Chlorophyll does have deodorizing properties, hence the green flecks in

Clorets breath mints. I don't know if it has bleaching properties, but

it would first have to be released from its microscopic containers

(chloroplasts) in the grass cells. I'd guess we're more likely to get

grass stains that way, rather than stain removal.

The sun is a powerful bleaching/fading source of energy and laying out a

quilt or other object flat on the ground would expose the object to the

most direct sunlight.

If dew collects on the quilt, the drops or droplets of water could

intensify the sunlight, as a magnifying glass does. So a quilt that dew

collects on it gets a better bleach job.

Mary Waller, Vermillion, SD, USA --- yes, I was once a Biology teacher,

but that was long ago and far away

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 17 Jun 2000 22:44:26 -0500

From: "Karen S. Bush" <Birdsong@worldnet.att.net>

I just got back from Texas and found a book there, and 'dumbly' let a friend

buy THAT copy of it, thinking I'd get the other copy later. WEll, it was

gone when I went back and would love to have it....

This is an 'all out' alert for

A Painters Guide to Applique by Velda Newman...(pretty sure that's the full

title)

Amazon found it in the 'discontinued' but, a little pricey and was wondering

if anyone has it and would like to sell it to me. I looked on Kris's used

books pages, but, it wasn't on there either...please reply privately, I

would appreciate it if I could find it out there! :) kb

http://www.geocities.com/karenbushquilts/index.html

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