Date Wed, 03 Mar 1999 224705 +0400

From Xenia Cord <xecord@netusa1.net>

To QHL@cuenet.com

Anyone who needs something to do this weekend might want to check out

the "Great Midwest Quilt Show & Sale," a long-time show in Lebanon, OH,

sponsored by the local historical society. There are always a lot of

antique quilts vendors there (including me), several quilt exhibits, and

the town is brimming with antique shops. The show is at the National

Guard Armory, 113 Taylor (8 blocks east of the Golden Lamb hotel), and

exhibits are there and at the historical society. It's a little town;

you can't get lost. Check it out!

Xenia

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

Date Wed, 03 Mar 1999 204906 -0700

From Eileen Trestain <ejtrestain@earthlink.net>

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I have a machine quilted quilt from the turn of the century, complete

with binding (c.1910). I have a friend who has a home in TX and one in

CO, and she has purchased several quilts which appear to be hand

appliqued, quilt-as-you go heavily machine quilted c. 1870 quilts.

There is a museum in Texas that has several machine appliqued and

quilted quilts which were 1920's. I have a turn of teh century machine

top-stitch appliqued quilt, which is hand quilted with string, no less.

I have seen quilts which are made from machine quilted fabrics which are

then lined, and these were c. 1890. There are a quite a few machine

quilted late 1800 quilts, once you start looking.

Eileen

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

Date Thu, 04 Mar 1999 075825 -0500

From Alan Kelchner <quiltfix@mail.jax.bellsouth.net>

Well, I saw a quilt appraised at the first QRS conference (or was it the

third? It was the year QRS got to use the art gallery space for

appraisals and display). Anyway, someone brought in a c.1876 quilt done

in one patch - muslin and centennial panels (all the same). The entire

piece had been simply quilted on one of the old chain-style stitch

sewing machines. Definitely not a utility quilt.

Alan

who bought his first roll of freezer paper last night - making my art

quilts (new techniques to try) and needed to stabilize a piece of muslin

18x24. Laughed out loud when I opened the box, and inside the top were

tips for quilters! The Reynolds company is decidedly paying attention to

their customer base ......

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

Date Thu, 4 Mar 1999 091032 EST

From JQuilt@aol.com

Content-transfer-encoding 7bit

Alan mentioned that Reynolds Paper seems to be in touch with their customer

base...well I'm writing them today to suggest that they put out a box/packet

of their freezer paper in an 81/2 by 11 inch size, that will be compatible

with printers...

Let's see what the response will be...Maybe we all should do it....look at

what we did with the quilted Bathroom tissue company....

jean

jquilt@aol.com

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

Date Thu, 4 Mar 1999 093350 -0600

From DSefton@kcstar.com

Hello all. Dru Sefton here, the reporter at The Kansas City Star. Many

thanks to all of you who replied to my query re Kansas City Star quilt

patterns for The Star's upcoming book.

One more thing I'm looking for Photographs of quilters from the 1940s

through the early 1960s. Believe it or not, I'm having all kinds of trouble

locating any photographs! I can find quilting photos from the 1930s and

earlier and the 1970s and later, but 1940s, '50s and early '60s photos are

proving elusive.

If anyone out there has photos of women quilting, quilting bees, women

displaying their quilts, etc., in their personal collection, I'd be grateful

to hear. The Star would pay for a copy negative so you wouldn't have to send

the original - and you would then have the negative for future use. Also,

you would receive credit in our upcoming book. And a few free copies, of

course.

Any HELP is much appreciated!!!! Best, Dru

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

Date Thu, 4 Mar 1999 073454 -0800

From "Robins-Morris, Laura A" <lrobins@fhcrc.org>

>I think that, with few exceptions, all antique quilts were utility

quilts >in that they were made with a practical purpose in mind - to

keep people >warm.

I would beg to differ. I think there are more than a "few exceptions".

Maybe the majority (though I'm not even convinced of that, especially in

this century) were intended for use and warmth, but so many of the

quilts that have lasted until today are here because they were not used

or used infrequently. They were made for show and were put out as

beautiful bed covers and for special company. Sometimes warmth was way

down the list.

I think that some historians have pointed out, or given us good reason

to infer, that many women who had the time for fine needlework and the

money for pretty coordinated fabrics made quilts for many of the reasons

we do today -- because they enjoyed doing it and it was a means of

creative expression. That's certainly true of the 19th century applique

quilts, the intricately pieced quilts, and the beautiful pieces with

elaborate hand quilting. And the same is probably true for the

quilting revival of the 20's and 30's. Most people had easy access to

inexpensive blankets but women found they liked making quilts, and were

sometimes spurred on by competitions (e.g. Barbara Brackman's "Patchwork

Souvenirs" about the 1932 World's Fair quilt competition and the local

contests preceding it). Practical purpose probably wasn't the

motivating factor for that many.

I just suggest that the words "with few exceptions, all..practical

purpose...warmth" are a little extreme. Even when quilts were (or are

today) used as blankets, that doesn't mean that warmth was their primary

reason for being made. Quilters just liked making quilts. The fact

that they also have a real use is just icing on the cake!

Laura in Seattle

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

Date Thu, 4 Mar 1999 075956 -0800

From Kathy Tavares <kmtavare@uci.edu>

Peggy

I'm not a historian and until recently didn't pay to much attention to

history. That's the DH job (teacher). Anyway, I had an Australian

housekeepper about 23 years ago and she had said the she was descendant

from a woman who went to Australia from England as somewhat of a

slave/convict. The womand had been arrested in England and her punishment

was time in jail in England or going to Australia and making herself

available to be married by a man who was settling there. I have no idea if

this is even close to being true.

Hi friends,

A few things needed I am trying to locate an email or written address

for the author of the book Watercolor Quilts. The authors are Pat Maixner

Magaret and Donna Ingram Slusser.... would anyone on this list know how to

reach them other than going through the publisher?

Re old quilt tops i bought an antique triangle (a 1000 pyramid)

utility quilt top several years ago in an antique store for $40.00 and then

spent 5 months handquilting it. I knew that I would keep it in my family,

but I wanted it to be as true as I could, so I quilted it in the Bishop's

fan style and used 100% cotton batting and backed it in Harriet Hargrave's

line of fabric at the time. I read "Clues in the Calico" and dated it

between 1890-1910. It was full of cadet blues, blacks, reds, pinks, and

those turn of the century shirting prints. Anyway, I remember having such

fun reading that book and dating the top. After it was done, I clearly

documented everything I had done to it, and to this day, it is still my

favorite quilt I have ever done. And ever since I have read that book, I

have been fascinated with dating fabric. I really admire the experts. I

would like to think I would know a real gem if I ever stumbled across one

before I did anything to it, but every time I watch the Aniques Road show

and think of all these junky looking treasures that people have in their

attics, it does give me pause.

Someone also mentioned having never seen a machine quilted antique

quilt

that was anything other than a utility quilt. I happened to have a double

Irish chain quilt that was done we think in 1930, but might be earlier if

it was not my MIL's aunt who did it, but MIL's aunt's mother. Anyway, I

have this gem....the piecing is very nice but the machine quilting is so

unusual in the open areas....it looks like almost something the old

Spirograph game could make. It is heavily quilted, and although I wouldn't

say it was highly intricate work, it is most definitely elaborate. And I

think in the chain part, it looks something like stippling. The quilt is

just cadet blue and white and besides a foot long rip at the top edge of

the quilt, the darn thing would be near perfect! I will someday have this

repaired, but for now, I enjoy getting it out and looking at it.

Peggy in Columbus, OH

Now down to 20 UFOs from 24 since January 1st....making progress!

P.s. And could somebody please explain why it would be called a prisoner's

or convict's quilt it it was made by women coming to Australia to marry.

Were the women convicts, or were they marrying convicts, or did it feel

like prison marrying someone you didn't know.....!

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

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

Date Thu, 4 Mar 1999 080424 -0800

From "Robins-Morris, Laura A" <lrobins@fhcrc.org>

P.S to my post -- I might have a bit extreme myself and projected too

much of our 1990's feelings about quilting onto past generations. I

only meant that the need for creative expression has been around a long

time and it shouln't be overlooked in quilts made long ago. Function is

not always primary in the creation of functional objects.

I should just stick to lurking.

Laura in Seattle

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

Date Thu, 4 Mar 1999 124712 EST

From @aol.com

To QHL@cuenet.com

Subject QHL Goods

Message-ID <a860c38b.36dec720@aol.com>

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

Content-transfer-encoding 7bit

Patty -

Nope, not regional. The old term was "dry goods." Why it's now usually

"fabric" is beyond me. I'm also curious as to whether there were any "wet

goods." Anyone know?

Karen Evans

Easthampton, MA

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

Date Thu, 4 Mar 1999 110005 -0800

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

To <QHL@cuenet.com>

Subject QHL antique quilts/ utility quilts

Message-ID <01be6671$5932ed80$a718fed0@r.-carroll>

Content-Type text/plain;

charset="iso-8859-1"

Content-Transfer-Encoding 7bit

Laura, just wanted to say that I agree with you.

As a quilter who has made over a hundred quilts, there is definitely a

difference between the quilts I consider utility quilts and those I put on

the beds only occasionally, or in the case of my appliqued album quilts, not

at all.

One only has to look at some of the beautiful quilts that survive from the

19th century to see that these quilts were never meant to be used and used

up. Many women made quilts with beautiful expensive fabrics, extensive

intricate quilting, complicated piecing, and beautiful time consuming

applique. Hundreds and hundreds of hours of a woman's life went into these

quilts.

Some of these women left orders with the family that certain quilts were

not to be used, and suggested ways that the quilts could be passed down from

one generation to another.

The fact that so many of them were made with the thinnest of batting, so

that the quilting could be finer, confirms that warmth was not that

important.

When I consider that 19th century women didn't have electronic sewing

machines and all the gadgets we have to make quilts I'm sure that they

valued their time at least as much as I do. They also didn't have all of

the appliances we do to give us more time to quilt.

When I use the term "Utility quilt" I mean a quilt that was made to be used

daily with the knowledge that it would someday be used up.

I realize that this is probably a relative term. To one person a quilt

might seem very special and worthy of a place in the cedar chest and to

another person the same quilt would just be another quilt to use on the

bed.

I, myself, now consider some of my earlier quilts not so special, because

the quilts I've made since are so much nicer.

Laurette in So. California

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

Date Thu, 04 Mar 1999 122523 +0000

From Bobbie Aug <qwltpro@uswest.net>

To "Robins-Morris, Laura A" <lrobins@fhcrc.org>

CC "'QHL@cuenet.com'" <QHL@cuenet.com>

Subject Re QHL antique quilts / utility quilts

Message-ID <36DE7BB3.C335277A@clsp.uswest.net>

Content-Type text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Content-Transfer-Encoding 7bit

I considered quilts made as bed covers utilitarian, whether they were slept

under often or infrequently - they were made for a useful purpose. We do

not disagree. A matter of language chosen.

Bobbie a. Aug

Robins-Morris, Laura A wrote

> >From QHL Digest #62

> >I think that, with few exceptions, all antique quilts were utility

> quilts >in that they were made with a practical purpose in mind - to

> keep people >warm.

>

> I would beg to differ. I think there are more than a "few exceptions".

> Maybe the majority (though I'm not even convinced of that, especially in

> this century) were intended for use and warmth, but so many of the

> quilts that have lasted until today are here because they were not used

> or used infrequently. They were made for show and were put out as

> beautiful bed covers and for special company. Sometimes warmth was way

> down the list.

> I think that some historians have pointed out, or given us good reason

> to infer, that many women who had the time for fine needlework and the

> money for pretty coordinated fabrics made quilts for many of the reasons

> we do today -- because they enjoyed doing it and it was a means of

> creative expression. That's certainly true of the 19th century applique

> quilts, the intricately pieced quilts, and the beautiful pieces with

> elaborate hand quilting. And the same is probably true for the

> quilting revival of the 20's and 30's. Most people had easy access to

> inexpensive blankets but women found they liked making quilts, and were

> sometimes spurred on by competitions (e.g. Barbara Brackman's "Patchwork

> Souvenirs" about the 1932 World's Fair quilt competition and the local

> contests preceding it). Practical purpose probably wasn't the

> motivating factor for that many.

>

> I just suggest that the words "with few exceptions, all..practical

> purpose...warmth" are a little extreme. Even when quilts were (or are

> today) used as blankets, that doesn't mean that warmth was their primary

> reason for being made. Quilters just liked making quilts. The fact

> that they also have a real use is just icing on the cake!

> Laura in Seattle

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

Date Thu, 04 Mar 1999 124605 +0000

From Bobbie Aug <qwltpro@uswest.net>

To "Robins-Morris, Laura A" <lrobins@fhcrc.org>,

"'QHL@cuenet.com'" <QHL@cuenet.com>

Subject Re QHL antique quilts / utility quilts

Message-ID <36DE808D.C6B52523@clsp.uswest.net>

Content-Type text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Content-Transfer-Encoding 7bit

A note to my post

Guess I obviously didn't do a very good job of explaining my opinion. What I

was trying to say was crazy quilts made in the last quarter of the 19th century

were made, I believe, to showcase women's (primarily women) needlework talents

and were only made to be draped over the couch or piano. Today, we consider

quilts made to hang on the wall, wall quilts and like the crazies, have no

"utility" to them. MOST of the antique quilts (except crazies) were made bed

size. Compare the sizes of beds during whatever quarter century to the size of

quilts made during that same quarter century. What about Baltimore Album

quilts? Were they not made in the 1840's in sizes comparable to the beds in

use at that time? They had to be made with the idea of being placed on a bed

in mind.

Now, people have been using quiltmaking for decades as a vehicle for artistic

expression. And, continue to explore this medium. I'm just saying that the

quilts were made in sizes to fit beds! Hopefully, this clarifies what I was

originally trying to clarify. However, it is reassuring that 1) people read

what you take the time to write and 2) quilt lovers have such strong spirts!

Bobbie A. Aug

Bobbie Aug wrote

> I considered quilts made as bed covers utilitarian, whether they were slept

> under often or infrequently - they were made for a useful purpose. We do

> not disagree. A matter of language chosen.

> Bobbie a. Aug

>

> Robins-Morris, Laura A wrote

>

> > >From QHL Digest #62

> > >I think that, with few exceptions, all antique quilts were utility

> > quilts >in that they were made with a practical purpose in mind - to

> > keep people >warm.

> >

> > I would beg to differ. I think there are more than a "few exceptions".

> > Maybe the majority (though I'm not even convinced of that, especially in

> > this century) were intended for use and warmth, but so many of the

> > quilts that have lasted until today are here because they were not used

> > or used infrequently. They were made for show and were put out as

> > beautiful bed covers and for special company. Sometimes warmth was way

> > down the list.

> > I think that some historians have pointed out, or given us good reason

> > to infer, that many women who had the time for fine needlework and the

> > money for pretty coordinated fabrics made quilts for many of the reasons

> > we do today -- because they enjoyed doing it and it was a means of

> > creative expression. That's certainly true of the 19th century applique

> > quilts, the intricately pieced quilts, and the beautiful pieces with

> > elaborate hand quilting. And the same is probably true for the

> > quilting revival of the 20's and 30's. Most people had easy access to

> > inexpensive blankets but women found they liked making quilts, and were

> > sometimes spurred on by competitions (e.g. Barbara Brackman's "Patchwork

> > Souvenirs" about the 1932 World's Fair quilt competition and the local

> > contests preceding it). Practical purpose probably wasn't the

> > motivating factor for that many.

> >

> > I just suggest that the words "with few exceptions, all..practical

> > purpose...warmth" are a little extreme. Even when quilts were (or are

> > today) used as blankets, that doesn't mean that warmth was their primary

> > reason for being made. Quilters just liked making quilts. The fact

> > that they also have a real use is just icing on the cake!

> > Laura in Seattle

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

Date Thu, 4 Mar 1999 175330 -0000

From "Sally Ward" <sward@t-ward.demon.co.uk>

To "QHL" <QHL@cuenet.com>

Subject QHL ?Utility Quilts

Message-ID <000201be667a$10166920$eb58e4d4@bob>

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Save your second thoughts Laura - I think you have a good point. If =

utility was the over-riding factor in quiltmaking, why would people cut =

the fabric up at all? Or bother to make complicated patterns? And if =

'patchwork' was a way of using up small scraps and reclaimed fabric, =

why is it evident in so many old quilts that there were large pieces =

of new fabric deliberately cut up for the design?. Even in 'real' =

utility quilts made from, perhaps, woollen cloth samples, you can =

usually see that the maker took the time to arrange colours in a =

pleasing fashion, not just stick them together any old how..

The same priniciples apply as do to working in wood, metal, or any other =

medium. Table/chair legs would work without embellishment or turning, =

weather vanes would point the direction whether or not they look like a =

house/pig/boat/whatever, and ancient Romans could have pinned their =

clothes together without their brooches having complicated designs or =

inlaid stones. When it comes to creativity, we are talking basic human =

instinct.

Sally in UK

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