Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1999 21:32:55 EST

From: ZegrtQuilt@aol.com

A friend of mine is looking for around 4 yards of 1840 red print

fabric..preferably a ribbon fabric, a paisley or a small red print--American -

and it can have other colors in it if it reads red predominently in excellent

condition. If any of you have any leads please e mail me. Thanks Shelly Zegart

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

Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1999 23:02:10 -0600

I'm not a member of this list but have been passed a little correspondence

about an alleged 'prisoners quilt' dating from the 1880s.  Transportation

of British convicts to Western Australia ceased in 1868, but in any case,

no women were sent to Western Australia.  Transportation to Van Diemen;'s

Land (Tasmania) which included women, ceased in the early 1850s, and to New

South Wales (again including women) in the late 1830s.  So, as one of your

correspondents said, it's not a prisoners quilt.

All Australian colonial governments had schemes to assist single women to

emigrate in the second part of the nineteenth century.  These women came

out not specifically as 'brides' (so it's not correct to refer to  'bride

ships', although indeed many did ultimately marry) but to enter domestic

sercice, which was often a government requirement as a pay back for the

assisted passage.  On board emigrant ships, these women were in government

patrties under the care and control of a shipboard matron.  They were often

encouraged to undertake needlework and materials were provided for the

purpose,  It's not impossible that some women from one of these ships could

have made a quilt.

I'd love to her more !

Dr Jan Gothard, History Programme, Murdoch University, Perth, Western

Australia

Dr Jan Gothard

History Programme

Murdoch University

Murdoch

Western Australia 6150

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

Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1999 23:18:53 -0600

From: Russell-Hill <russhill@ctesc.net>

Folks,

I have a question I hope you can answer.  A fellow bee member bought

some embroidered squares recently while in Houston TX.  These squares

are of the state flowers.  She has only 17 of them.  we are looking for

age and something about theses patterns.  So here is some info to help.

They are on point the states name is abbreviated ie Mass. or Miss.  This

was before the change to 2 letters.  there is a shield with the states

name in it and it is at the bottom of the point holding the stems of the

flowers.  Alaska is part of this group and it is all spelled out where

the others are not.  The shield is like three points at the top curving

down to a point at the bottom.  They are in pretty good shape one or two

may have some discoloring in a few places but I don't think it saw much

light because the colors of the floss are not fadded.  Also the floss

has some shine makes me think of silk. 

I can't think of any thing else to tell you but I will answer any

question that i can.  Your help would be greatly appreciated.  thanks

I also want to say thanks on the reviews of "Hidden......."  I have

changed my mind in wanting to read it. Sounds to good to be true.

Debbie

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

Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 10:48:39 -0500

From: laurel horton <kalmia@innova.net

Dear QHL:

Thanks for the responses to my query about stars with an odd number of

points. 

Audrey suggested:

>Check out The Smithsonian Treasury AMERICAN QUILTS, p. 48.  The Groom's

>Quilt by Benoni Pearce.  This quilt was made in 1850 and look at the

>stars in the bottom row.  The second block from the left has 13 points!

>The star in the middle has 9 points.  Maybe they had better drafting

>tools in the 1850's!

And I'll do it as soon as I unpack my books--we've been renovating.

However, sounds like the stars vary in this one, while the "Sunflower" is

very carefully drafted and all the stars are identical.

Bobbie requested:

>Give us a few more clues such as the overall size of the piece.  Were the

>colors representative of Pennsylvania Dutch quilts?  Were their borders?  Did

>the red print have black stems and leaves and yellow flowers? What color

>green?  I'm looking at the quilt from an age point of view and not from the

>significance of the number 11.  For all we know, perhaps there were 11

>children.

The quilt is most likely 1850-1860.  I haven't measured it, but it is

square and larger than the later quilts in the collection.  I can't speak

to PA German quilts since my expertise is in the southeastern states.  The

quilt has sashing typical of the immediate local area: two solid red strips

sandwiching a single white strip.  The single border is narrow for this

area and time, made from a red print with a small black figure--sorry, my

snapshots don't show the nature of the figure.  Hmm.  The maker had only

three children, but she herself was the oldest of eleven.  That's the

closest thing to a theory I've got at the moment.  Thanks!  (Maybe I'll

write a book about family size reflected in the number of star points.  I

could make the talk show circuit!)

Laurel Horton

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

Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 12:17:57 -0500

From: Nancy Roberts <robertsn@norwich.net

I'm gathering input for a potential magazine feature on how things have

changed in the textile field over the years (and why, if that

info is available and applicable). I had two thoughts which I'll share below.

If you have any you're willing to add, together we might come up with an

interesting piece. Please post them if you have some and I'll get back to

you. Many thanks! Nancy

1) When learning to sew in home ec. class (in the late '50s & early '60s), we

were taught to straighten fabric by pulling the daylights out of it. That was

because fabrics were often printed off grain and would not hang properly in a

garment unless we maltreated them in this way. When did that idea get phased

out and why?

2) Terminology has changed. Fabric used to be more commonly referred to as

"material". Today, that term seems dated when used, though I do hear it used

some.

3) Many quilters today prefer 100% cotton fabrics for quilting. There was a

time several decades ago when 100% cotton was not the popular choice. Blends,

stain-release finishes and wrinkle resistance were the by-words in fabric

shops.

What would you add?

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

Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 11:22:15 EST

From: Bethquilt5@aol.com

At the Michigan State University Museum we have a ca. 1890's silk diamonds

quilt tied with clear beads. At first glance it appears to be an eight pointed

layout like a lone star. Upon closer inspection the layout is seven pointed.

The diamonds are pieced concentrically and there are no corners. It is too

well executed to be one where the maker opted to leave off one unit of

diamonds because things didn't fit. It lays beautifully flat and is an

intriguing piece.

Beth Donaldson

Quilt Collections Assistant

MSU Museum

quilts@musuem.msu.edu or

Bethquilt5@aol.com

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

Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 12:00:56 -0800

From: ptwkwhs@prcn.org (N Mussellam)

Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

----------

> From: Nancy Roberts <robertsn@norwich.net>

>

> 2) Terminology has changed. Fabric used to be more commonly referred to

as

> "material". Today, that term seems dated when used, though I do hear it

used

> some.

>

Dear Nancy,

My grandmother sewed every stitch that I wore until the age of 18- and then

I still got many special outfits over the years that my GM and Mom tailored

for me. My Grandmom is now 95 and fabric was always referred to as "goods"

, and I always supposed that was shortened from Yard Goods. As we strolled

through a yard goods dept of a department store ( yeah- remember when the

best place to purchase fabric was in your multi storied department store )

she would stroke a bolt of camel and wool suiting and comment," This is a

nice piece of "goods".

Anyone else know of this term used?? I always will think of this term

fondly and remember her.

Nina in BC

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

Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 15:48:28 EST

From: JQuilt@aol.com

To: robertsn@norwich.net

Cc: qhl@cuenet.com

Subject: Re: QHL: how things change

Message-ID: <fcc17d3c.36d7089c@aol.com>

Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit

Small prints were called calico......Peter Pan and Concord were the most well

known print fabrics...Calico came in 36 in. width..summer fabrics were

linen,seersucker, pique, waffle pique and voile/lawn...toddlers/ young girls

summer dresses were made out of gingham,dimity,dotted swiss and

organdy....toddlers/young boys summer suits were linen and seersucker...

jean

jquilt@aol.com

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

Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 21:19:50 EST

From: JBQUILTOK@aol.com

To: QHL@cuenet.com

In a message dated 2/26/99 11:14:28 AM Central Standard Time,

robertsn@norwich.net writes:

<< 3) Many quilters today prefer 100% cotton fabrics for quilting. There was a

 time several decades ago when 100% cotton was not the popular choice. Blends,

 stain-release finishes and wrinkle resistance were the by-words in fabric

 shops.

  >>

I read in an old quilt magazine that an older quilter recommended the

poly/cotton blends over 100% cotton because it lasted so much longer.  (Sorry,

I don't remember the exact year or the name of the magazine - probably early

80's).  I used my blend scraps from clothing in some of my early quilts until

I realized they melted down some when hit with a hot iron.  Then I switched to

pretty much 100% for better piecing accuracy.  Double knits were popular for a

while also - they never wore out.

Janet 

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

Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 05:19:54 EST

From: JBQUILTOK@aol.com

To: russhill@ctesc.net, QHL@cuenet.com

In a message dated 2/26/99 9:39:15 AM Central Standard Time,

russhill@ctesc.net writes:

<< A fellow bee member bought

 some embroidered squares recently while in Houston TX.  These squares

 are of the state flowers.  She has only 17 of them.  we are looking for

 age and something about theses patterns.  So here is some info to help.

 They are on point the states name is abbreviated ie Mass. or Miss.  This

 was before the change to 2 letters.  there is a shield with the states

 name in it and it is at the bottom of the point holding the stems of the

 flowers.  Alaska is part of this group and it is all spelled out where

 the others are not.  >>

If Alaska is in the group it had to be after Jan 3, 1959 - the date Alaska

joined the Union.  I have a reprint of the 48 States Flower quilt designed by

McKim Studios & published in the Daily Oklahoman in the 1920's or 1930's. The

state names in it were in a roughly circular design & vary from 2 letter

abbreviations to spelled out names.  There were 48 states at the time this was

designed.

Janet

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

I'm not a member of this list but have been passed a little correspondence

about an alleged 'prisoners quilt' dating from the 1880s.  Transportation

of British convicts to Western Australia ceased in 1868, but in any case,

no women were sent to Western Australia.  Transportation to Van Diemen's

Land (Tasmania) which included women, ceased in the early 1850s, and to New

South Wales (again including women) in the late 1830s.  So, as one of your

correspondents said, it's not a prisoners quilt.

All Australian colonial governments had schemes to assist single women to

emigrate in the second part of the nineteenth century.  These women came

out not specifically as 'brides' (so it's not correct to refer to  'bride

ships', although indeed many did ultimately marry) but to enter domestic

service, which was often a government requirement as a pay back for the

assisted passage.  On board emigrant ships, these women were in government

parties under the care and control of a shipboard matron.  They were often

encouraged to undertake needlework and materials were provided for the

purpose,  It's not impossible that some women from one of these ships could

have made a quilt.

I'd love to hear more !

Dr Jan Gothard, History Programme, Murdoch University, Perth, Western

Australia

email:  gothard@socs.murdoch.edu.au

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

Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 09:12:03 -0800

From: Julie Silber <quiltcomplex@earthlink.net>

Hi All,

Julie Silber and My 2 cents worth: I have known Marilyn Kowaleski for almost 30 years -- she has a fabulous "eye" and a great deal of knowledge.

Living here in California, I have not been to one of those show/sales, but I have visited the shop on other occasions. Highest quality "stuff"

from an honest and reputable dealer. This decades long quilt junkie HIGHLY RECOMMENDS Marilyn K and her shop.  Julie Silber

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

Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 15:44:10 +0400

From: Xenia Cord <xecord@netusa1.net>

IMHO, maybe quilting an old top is OK if it is for your personal

pleasure, and IF you also clearly label the top as a multi-year project

(for instance, you finished a quilt begun by your grandmother).  The

problem comes when old tops, recently quilted, are offered to the public

without explanation, and with a price equivalent to similar quilts made

complete at one time. Many who admire old quilts are not quilt-literate

enough to recognize the recent activity, and I think most purists agree

that the most recent (major) activity dates the quilt. 

We are conditioned - have been throughout this century - to look at

quilts as PRODUCTS of some activity, and not to consider as fully the

PROCESS of creation.  But the process - and when it takes place - has a

lot to do with how we should assess the product.   Those who are more

sophisticated in their understand ing often feel that there is more to a

quilt than how it looks to the eye.  Back, thread, batting, quilting

design, intensity of quilting should all reflect the same period as the

quilt top.  Today's 100% cottons often have a chemical "memory" that

makes them behave, and behave differently from cottons of earlier

decades.  Processed cotton batts do not give the same appearance as

hand-spread cotton wadding.  Threads are manufactured somewhat

differently, I think.  We don't quilt as closely or as intensely over

the surface as quilters used to do (the batting, and also a difference

in standards). 

Finally, a rare top shouldn't be quilted anyway; and quilting an old top

should lessen, not increase, its value as an historical object.  So,

IMHO - this is like new wine in old bottles.

Xenia

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

Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 19:54:36 +0000

From: "Debora C. Wykes" <wykesfcn@tdi.net

< I have been pulling out all of the antique

>>"orphan" blocks that I've inherited or found... just wondering what

others of

>>you have done to display these. I'm going to be doing some redecorating

in the

>>spring and want to use these in my decor. Just want to know what good ideas

>>are

Go to QNM magazine, January/February 1998 and there is a beatiful article

"New Life for Old Blocks" bu Vivian Ritter with wonderful ideas for you.

The mag. is carried in my small city library so it should be available for

you. email me if you can't find it.

Debbie in Monroe, MI

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

Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 20:55:12 -0500

From: The Lesters <jeanntom@utkux.utcc.utk.edu>

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

Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 18:03:33 -0800

From: "R & L Carroll" <Robert.J.Carroll@GTE.net>

Hello!

Peggy asks the difficult question of how much should one pay for a quilt

that has recently been quilted.

 As a quilt collector who is constantly looking for quilts at flea markets,

antique shops, quilt shows, antique shows, and quilt dealer booths, I have

seen my fair share of quilts that have been newly quilted.  I have purchased

a few of these quilts.  If the quilting is excellent, there is plenty of it,

batting is cotton, back is right, and quilting is done in a style or pattern

consistent with the age,  I would be willing to pay about  50%-60% of the

price of the quilt , if, it had been quilted when the top was made.  For

example, if a quilt would sell for $600, I might pay $300.

If quilting is sparse,  batting wrong, or something else looks wrong to me

then I probably would not want to spend  50%.  And if there are too many

things that bother me I won't buy it.

 Usually the prices on these quilts are very reasonable, the seller probably

knows they can not get full price.  I have purchased a couple of these

quilts for an amount equivalent to what I would have paid for the top alone.

So the way I look at it is, I have the quilting for free.

I teach in a quilt shop that has an 80 year old lady who does quilting for

customers and I have seen dozens of plain looking old tops transformed into

beautiful quilts with the proper quilting.

 Is this the right thing to do to old tops?  I think it's up to the owner to

make that decision. It is really no one else's business. I don't believe it

lowers the value of the top, unless it's a Baltimore Album or some other

rare beauty or historically important top.  The exception is machine

quilting. I would not be interested in a quilt with machine quilting.  The

only antique quilts that I have ever seen with original machine quilting

were plain utility quilts.

This is the opinion of one quilt collector.

Laurette in So. California

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

Date: Sun, 28 Feb 1999 04:01:41 -0000

From: "Anne Copeland" <anneappraiser@mailcity.com>

--I agree with you totally, Laurette.  It is up to the owner to determine what to do with the top, and it is, in fact, no one else's business.  Years ago, when we were all just getting into this, there was a lot of controversy about doing new work on an old top, or repairing quilts in bad shape.  Knowledge and situations have changed, however, and we know better how to do a good job now, for the most part.  I also have seen newly quilted antique tops that, as you said, sell for as much as a quilt of similar quality.  There are certain quilt tops that cannot be quilted by hand because they would fall apart during quilting.  Even machine quilting would be a strain, so those are sometimes simply backed and either tied, or have no batting, just a backing and binding.  Again, it depends on the owners ultimate intent for the quilt.

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

Date: Sun, 28 Feb 1999 10:39:27 -0600

From: Laura Hobby Syler <texas_quilt.co@mail.airmail.net>

Debbie, as to the state blocks, check out the Aunt Martha's transfer

patterns. I sold them in my shop years ago and believe that they are still

available. They may be the set that your friend is looking for.

Laura

Is wonderfully springlike N. Texas

At 11:18 PM 2/25/99 -0600, Russell-Hill wrote:

>Folks,

>I have a question I hope you can answer.  A fellow bee member bought

>some embroidered squares recently while in Houston TX.  These squares

>are of the state flowers.  She has only 17 of them.  we are looking for

>age and something about theses patterns.  So here is some info to help.

>They are on point the states name is abbreviated ie Mass. or Miss.  This

>was before the change to 2 letters.  there is a shield with the states

>name in it and it is at the bottom of the point holding the stems of the

>flowers.  Alaska is part of this group and it is all spelled out where

>the others are not.  The shield is like three points at the top curving

>down to a point at the bottom.  They are in pretty good shape one or two

>may have some discoloring in a few places but I don't think it saw much

>light because the colors of the floss are not fadded.  Also the floss

>has some shine makes me think of silk. 

>I can't think of any thing else to tell you but I will answer any

>question that i can.  Your help would be greatly appreciated.  thanks

>I also want to say thanks on the reviews of "Hidden......."  I have

>changed my mind in wanting to read it. Sounds to good to be true.

>Debbie

[ 99060 ]