Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 23:19:49 -0500

From: "J. G. Row" <Judygrowblast.net

'' Nichts geht uber ein Kaffeestundchen

Meisige Hande und fleisge Mundchen''

I went to Translate-free.com and searched all their translation services, by

phrase and by individual words.  The only words any of them would translate

were the first three -- Nichts geht uber -- as "Nothing goes more...."  I

wonder if this is dialect.

I am sure others  on the list will be able to translate this completely, but

I had fun looking.

Judy in Ringoes, NJ

judygrowblast.net

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

Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 23:55:28 -0500

From: "J. G. Row" <Judygrowblast.net

I forget who it was that thought an older Amish quilter she knew might have

some wonderful stories to tell.  Someone else on the list suggested doing an

oral history with the lady.

I've been on our township's Historic Preservation Committee for about 6

years and have taken as my special project doing oral histories with our

community's older residents -- farm wives, farmers, veterinarians, teachers,

shop owners, and housewives.  I've attended a few seminars on doing them,

given by state historic agencies.  Most of the people I have interviewed

have been between 75 and 92 years old, and almost all had clear memories of

growing up in this farming community.  Cross referencing their interviews

shows no misinformation spoken into the tape.

In the past 6 years, of the 8 people I've interviewed, two have already

passed away.  Two people who would have had incredible memories, that I

didn't get to interview have also passed away.  One of these men was an

aviation pioneer, but he was already too ill to participate by the time I

found out about him.

My point is, if you want to know what these older citizens have to say, DO

IT NOW!  I cannot tell you how wonderful each hour and a half that I have

spent with these people is.  Actually doing the interview is very easy.

They are usually living alone and are so grateful for your time and

attention.  This project marks them as special people in the community, and

they know it and are proud.

Know what you want to ask, give the person a list of your proposed quesions

before hand, then go in with your tape recorder and get rolling.  The

subject might be embarrassed at first, but once you have them speaking about

what they know best -- their own lives -- they open up and pretty soon they

forget completely about the microphone.

The hardest part of oral histories is the  translating to hard copy.  It

takes me at least 8 hours to type in 45 minutes of recorded interview,

probably more.  But you must do this.  If you can get grant money to pay for

this, make applications as soon as you can, even before your first

interview.  One of our township's secretaries took one of the interviews and

put in short bursts of time while at work, and got it done in 6 months --

and we didn't have to pay her.

You must make at least 4 copies of the original tape, and 4 copies of your

hard copy.  The first copy is for the subject.  The second copy is for you

to translate from, and the 4th copy as well as the original should be

archived somewhere.

Our township is starting to put together booklets of the text with

appropriate photos that will be available at the municipal building for

future generations.

Also be aware that recording tape degrades over time.  I have recently been

made aware of this fact, and that all our interviews should be digitized.

We are now seeking funds (grant money) to do this.  Grants helped buy the

recording equipment, too.  You may want to look into video taping the

interview, but, even though I have a good video camera, I don't think the

subjects would be as natural and open as they are with just audio tape.  I

do make sure to take a number of good photos while I am at the interview.

If anyone is interested in more information on this very rewarding project,

you may contact me and I will try to get a bibliography together for you.

Oddly, not one of the women I interviewed was even vaguely  aware of any

quilting in this community.    I know because I specifically asked.

Judy in Ringoes, NJ

judygrowblast.net

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

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

Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1999 10:47:04 EST

From: AG32040aol.com

have a blue embroiderd kitchen piece while we are still on the subject,I

could use a translation. It has  pictures of a woman holding a turkey on a

platter, 2 steaming pots on the stove ,decorative floral embroidery in

corners,etc. On the top  part is '' Nichts geht uber ein Kaffeestundchen

                      Meisige Hande und fleisge Mundchen''

       There is a coffee pot to the right and a cup and saucer to the left

with more embroidery around it . I believe it is German but I cannot

translate it . Can anyone?

  AMY in MIAMI where it is cold today

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

Date: Wed, 06 Jan 1999 23:19:59 -0500

From: laurel horton <kalmiainnova.net

Jean wrote (quoted, actually):

>"Asking people about their lives fifty-five years earlier can

>be risky, since memories can fade or be embellished..."

I agree.  Last March I interviewed four women, all about fifty, about some

group quilts they helped make during the late 1970s and '80s.  The

experience gave me a whole new perspective on how quickly details can fade,

even those of important--memorable, one would think--events.  Usually I

prefer to interview people individually, but in this case it often took the

four of them hashing things out together to dredge up some of the details.

We're only talking about 15 or 20 years here, and these women are my age.

Maybe I'll plan to go back and interview them again on the same subject in

another 20 years and see what they can still remember!  That is, if I can

remember to do it.

But you can demonstrate this yourself by going back and reading personal

letters, journal entries, or--in my case--ten years' worth of Christmas

newsletters.  I was amazed by how much I had forgotten--stuff that was

important enough at the time to share with distant family and friends. 

Another example--my memories of, say, the 1960s are certainly influenced by

some of the documentary programs I've seen in more recent years.  A

retrospective view is always going to be different from a contemporary

account of the same event.  Ideally, we'd have both.  For instance, we

would all be keeping records of our activities--including everyday details,

and leaving them where future historians can find and interpret them in

light of what happened later.  But talk about information overload!

Laurel Horton

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

Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 10:37:26 EST

Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 10:46:22 EST

From: QuiltFixeraol.com

This is my week for trying to help people and having to go to all of you for

information.  My friend posted that she found the woolen woven throw that was

her grandmother's.  It is marked made by S. Hausman, Trexler Town, 1836.  This

is woven in a corner.  She would like to know more about it and how she can

get it appraised.  I know absolutely zero about this subject.  Anyone out

there who could help me?  Does this really mean that it was made in 1836? She

knows her Grandmother had it for over 50 years that she can remember.  Is

possible that some one of you collects throws as well as quilts?  Any help

appreciated.

Toni B.

QuiltFixeraol.com 

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

Date: Thu, 07 Jan 1999 12:37:18 +0400

From: Xenia Cord <xecordnetusa1.net>

Toni, what your friend has is really a jacquard coverlet, wool and

cotton, woven on a jacquard loom by Solomon Hausman  (ca. 1794-1866),

born in Pennsylvania, weaving in Lehigh Co., PA (Trexlertown)

1832-1850.  The 1850 census shows him living in Upper Macungie Twp.,

Lehigh Co., with Ephriam and Joel Hausman, who are also weavers.

Solomon is not listed as having an occupation at that time.   (Ephriam

is a known son of Solomon, no clear information on Joel's relationship.)

This information from the 1978 Checklist of American Coverlet Weavers,

pub. by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, Colonial

Williamsburg.  In 1978 they had located 16 of his coverlets for their

listing.

The coverlet was indeed made in 1836, as it is dated.  As with quilts,

condition, rarity, color, market demand would all affect its value.  She

needs to have it seen by someone who is knowledgeable about coverlets.

Xenia, in Indiana

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

Date: Thu, 07 Jan 1999 13:33:45 -0500 (EST)

From: JOCELYNMdelphi.com

On  5-JAN-1999 01:07:25.9 Judygrow said to JOCELYNM

   > I've done a couple of phrases for fun.  Be careful when translating

   >back to English.  You don't always come up with the same phrase you

Judy,

     I heard about someone who put in the phrase, 'Out of sight, out of

mind'....and when they translated it back into English, they got 'Invisible

Maniac'! <G>

Jocelyn

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

Date: Thu, 07 Jan 1999 15:19:47 +0400

From: Xenia Cord <xecordnetusa1.net

Peggy sent me a private message asking generally if coverlets were being

reproduced, and how to tell the difference.  I thought the list might

also be interested, so I am posting my answer to all.

Jacquard coverlets were woven on large looms on which the intricate

designs created on the coverlets were determined by punchcards not

unlike the obsolete IBM cards.  Each card had a series of holes which

corresponded to picks on the loom, which in turn raised certain warp

threads as the shuttle passed across the threads.  Creating the patterns

for jacquard looms was time-consuming, as each card had to be perforated

and tested within the whole composition, but eventually each

professional weaver had a number of sets of these cards, and the

purchaser could select the body pattern for the coverlet to be woven,

from a book of patterns.  The border design and the weaver's name, date,

and/or other device in the corners of the coverlet was his own creation.

These coverlets were woven in one long, narrow strip, with the cards

reversed in order half way through the weaving.  This created a mirror

image.  The strip was then cut in half and the long edges matched,

resulting in a center seam.  Careful weaving made this seam almost

unnoticeable when it was butted and hand-joined.   The top edge (where

the cut occurred) was hand-hemmed.

The technology and the equipment exists now only in museums and a few

other places.  There is a weaver in Vermont (I think) who does custom

weaving of jacquard coverlets and will put your name and date in the

corner, but he is (was when I read about him) years behind on his

orders.

The simple answer is that when you see a  coverlet with a center seam,

usually in dark indigo wool and white or cream cotton, with an intricate

body design of repeated motifs (usually circular in shape), and a date

or design in the corner - it's for real.  The center seam is the real

tip-off - there were also early coverlets woven without a seam on power

looms in factories, but most had the seam.  Once you've seen the real

thing, any later versions are easy to recognize - and they are not

common.

Xenia

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

Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 15:05:13 -0700

From: "Jeanne.Fetzer" <Jeanne.Fetzerintegrityonline3.com

I have a brother who is fluent in German and he wrote that it means

(roughly, without the rhyme):

"There's nothing better than coffee hour:

fluttering little hands and busy little mouths."

He asked however to check the spelling of "Meisige" and asked if it could be

"Miesige" and that the meaning would be different.

Jeanne.Fetzerintegrityonline.com

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

Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 23:13:53 -0000

From: "Sally Ward" <swardt-ward.demon.co.uk

A couple of years ago the Bowes Museum in County Durham, UK,  had a =

special exhibition in association with a college of art about Jacquard =

weaving.  A hand loom was set up for visitors to try, with a narrow =

strip being produced just as Xenia describes.  The setting up of the =

threads was extremely intricate.

I can tell you that working the loom was EXTREMELY hard physical work as =

well as requiring concentration and co-ordination to get the correct =

sequence of pedal operating (one each foot), shuttle slamming and peg =

moving.  All done whilst perched on a small, sloping wooden seat. =20

Sally

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

Date: Thu, 07 Jan 1999 19:05:33 -0500

From: paul hahn <phahnerols.com

Wasn't there mention of photcopying onto fabric a short time ago?  I

believe it was in relation to photocopying vintage fabric swatches for

use in restoration projects.  Could someone please refresh my

memory.....where would I go to get such a process done, what would I ask

for?  Does the process injure the original fabric piece in any way?

Should I bring along my own fabric for the "imprint" to be processed

onto?    I promise to pay more attention to anything in the future that

I may be even slightly interested in at a later date.

Nancy Hahn, Bowie, Maryland....where the students and staff did a joyous

snowdance at the end of school today, even tho they say we may only get

a dusting at daybreak....

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

Date: Thu, 07 Jan 1999 03:45:44 -0800

From: Denise Clausen <nadyneoregoncoast.com>

Dear friends

    I was forwarded this info about the author of the book and professor

recently mentioned on the list. Thought others would be interested, too.

The book I mentioned this afternoon is titled "Hidden in Plain View;

The Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad," author

Jacqueline Tobin. Due out February '99.

RAYMOND G. DOBARD, Associate Professor, Art History

Raymond G. Dobard  received the Bachelor of  Arts degree in Fine Arts

from Xavier University in Louisiana (1970), the  Master of Arts (1973),

and  the Doctor of Philosophy  (1975) in the History of Art  from the

Johns Hopkins  University. Since 1975, Dobard has been  affiliated with

Howard  University where he is an Associate Professor. Dobard is the

recipient of several Fellowships including the Johns Hopkins University

Horizon Fellowship, the John Hay Whitney Foundation Fellowship and the

Leopold Schepp Foundation Fellowship. In 1986, Dobard was awarded the

first Thomas Mann

Fellowship as Artist-in-Residence for the city of Lubeck, Germany.

Since 1986 Dobard's creative research has included the history and

construction of quilts. In 1989 and 1991 he demonstrated quilting

techniques at the Renwick Gallery along with the Daughters of Dorcas. He

has worked in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution in

workshops at the National Museum of American Art and the Alexandria

Black History Research Center. Dobard has participated in quilt forums,

has curated quilt exhibits and has lectured on the topic of "American

Quilts and the African American Tradition." An active quilter, Dobard's

quilts are featured in Lady's Circle Patchwork, American Craft, American

Quilter and Traditional Quilter magazines. He had his first one man show

at G Street Fabrics of Rockville, Maryland. In addition, Dobard's quilts

were selected for the Woodlawn Plantation Quilts of Merit show, the

Sumner Museum

exhibition of American Crafts, the Uncommon Beauty in Common Objects:

the Legacy of African American Craft Art, and the American Quilter and

Traditional Quilter magazines. Dobard serves on the board of directors

of the Virginia Quilt Museum and the Advisory Council of The Textile

Museum. 

after more searching....

Book Description

In l993, Jacqueline Tobin visited the Old Market Building in the

historic district of Charleston, South Carolina, where local crafts

people sell their wares. Amid piles of beautiful handmade quilts, Tobin

met African-American quilter Ozella Williams and the two struck up a

conversation. With the admonition to  "write this down," Williams began

to tell a fascinating story that had been handed down from her mother

and grandmother before her. As Tobin sat in rapt attention, Williams

began to describe how  slaves made coded quilts and then used them to

navigate their escape on the Underground Railroad. But  just as quickly

as she started, Williams stopped, informing Tobin that she would learn

the rest when she was "ready." During the three years it took for

Williams's narrative to unfold--and as the friendship and trust between

the two women grew--Tobin enlisted Raymond Dobard, Ph.D., an art history

professor and well-known African-American quilter, to help provide the

historical context behind what Williams was describing.

Now, based on Williams's oral history and their own research, Tobin and

Dobard offer proof that certain quilt patterns, including a prominent

one called the Charleston Code, were, in fact, essential tools for

escape along the Underground Railroad. And just as astonishing, the

authors uncover a sophisticated African-American network that relied not

only on the messages contained in quilts but also on those hidden in

spirituals and Masonic symbols. All of this suggests that there was an

organized African-American slave resistance movement that predated the

Abolitionist crusade.

Part adventure and part history, Hidden in Plain View traces the originof the Charleston Code from  Africa to the Carolinas, from the low-country island Gullah peoples to free blacks living in the cities of the North and shows how three people from completely different backgrounds pieced together one  amazing American story.  (Click on the picture to order.)

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

Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1999 20:53:38 EST

From: KareQuiltaol.com

Dear QHL readers,

The following is a response to the "translation request" concerning the

redwork kitchen cloth from my lingquist sister-in-law who teaches Serbo-

Hi Karen,

I recognized right away that it was Hungarian, without reading to the end of

the story.  But since I don't know Hungarian I can't comment on the

translation.  I can write it out (with the proper dots etc., which are

necessary to the spelling) and ask a Hungarian colleague.  Or you can just

trust the mother in question!

I would suspect that "engem" means "I'm happy" or the like -- the -m on the

end of a word (with front vowel or diphthong before it) occurs twice in the

first line ("my kitchen, my mirror") and once in the second "makes me happy"),

and -m is a very frequent mark of the first person singular (me, my, etc.) in

languages across the world.  But I'd still have to verify it with someone who

actually knows the language. love,   R

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

Date: Thu, 07 Jan 1999 20:40:07 -0600

From: Laura Hobby Syler <texas_quilt.comail.airmail.net>

Nancy,

As for use in restoration....What I've done...on a very limited basis,

mainly because I have been lucky enough to get the vintage stuff that I

needed . I have taken the quilt/fabric...what ever to the color copier and

made a xerox of it...then got Kinkos to do it on thier photo trasnsfer

paper and then just ironed it onto the appropriate "greigh" good..It does

not injure the original fabric in any way.....it's just like doing photos

for the memory quilt projects, only your image is the printed fabric.  Only

thing that I have come up against.( I've been taking *lots* of clients

quilts to the color copier for documentation of damage/repairs and to use

as additions to my fabric dating book---see article in the Dec VQTS

newsletter <G>)       

anyway..the new self service color copiers that we have at the Kinkos here

are not always accurate in color duplication. Get the tech or staff to

adjust the color on "their" nacgube, It may be a little more costly, but

with the repro thing, the color can be crucial.

Hope this helps..

Laura

In still foggy, and supposed to be again tomorrow...foggy N. Texas

but they say there is another blast of winter on it's way...yeah, right!!

At 07:05 PM 1/7/99 -0500, paul hahn wrote:

>Wasn't there mention of photcopying onto fabric a short time ago?  I

>believe it was in relation to photocopying vintage fabric swatches for

>use in restoration projects.  Could someone please refresh my

>memory.....where would I go to get such a process done, what would I ask

>for?  Does the process injure the original fabric piece in any way?

>Should I bring along my own fabric for the "imprint" to be processed

>onto?    I promise to pay more attention to anything in the future that

>I may be even slightly interested in at a later date.