Archive for May, 2009

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Iowa Quilts on Quilt Index

Saturday, May 9th, 2009

PRESS RELEASE

IOWA QUILTS ON QUILT INDEX

DES MOINES, IOWA, ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA and EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN -May 8, 2009 – The Quilt Index, a partner project of the Alliance for American Quilts and Michigan State University, announces the public launch of an online resource cataloging nearly 2,300 quilts by 2,100 quiltmakers from Iowa, including quilts and other textiles collected by one of the leaders in quilt documentation.

This is the 8th state or regional documentation project to be added to the Quilt Index, and one of the largest. The Iowa quilts bring the total number of quilt records available at the online archive to more than 21,000, including quilts from museum and private collections. The Iowa quilts are a treasure to everyone from scholars to quiltmakers, covering many familiar patterns like Drunkard’s Path, Log Cabin and Irish Chain, as well as some unusual variations and original designs.

The Iowa Quilt Research Project was established in September 1987 to seek out and register Iowa quilts made prior to 1925 and record their history and makers. More than 500 volunteers staffed Quilt Discovery Days in 13 regions around the state.

Crossed Canoes

While recording information about cultural, historical and ethnic influences on quiltmaking in Iowa, the Iowa Quilt Research Project increased awareness of the value of quilts and encouraged quilt preservation. The resulting body of information was presented to the State Historical Society of Iowa in 1990 for preservation and to make it accessible to a wider audience.

An inductee into The Quilters Hall of Fame, Mary Barton of Ames, Iowa, is recognized as one of the first to document not only finished quilts, but also the methods, manners and social mores of mid-19th century quiltmakers.

Her desire to collect, understand and share has resulted in one of the most comprehensive collections of quilts, quilt blocks, fabric swatches, magazines, fashion plates and costumes ever assembled and donated to public institutions.

Nearly 200 textiles from her collection are recorded in the Quilt Index, including her own Heritage Quilt (pictured below), which was exhibited at the 1999 International Quilt Festival in the “Quilt Show of the Century”.

Iowa Heritage Quilt

Within the Index archives, Mary Barton’s collection is filed first and it’s worth browsing through to see what a keen eye she had for quilts. The three quilts shown here are all part of her marvelous collection. Both “Crossed Canoes,” the blue and white quilt (pictured above), and “Spider Web” (pictured below), were produced by unknown quiltmakers, and their beauty reinforces the sadness of lost history. The impressive appliqued Heritage Quilt was both designed and sewn by Mary Barton, completed in 1976. The full documentation for this quilt includes this information about the quiltmaker: “Mary Barton did not actually enjoy quilting – her interest was in the history of creating quilts.”

The State Historical Society of Iowa is pleased to partner with Michigan State University, the Alliance for American Quilts and the Institute of Museum and Library Services on the Quilt Index

“The Quilt Index brings Iowa’s quilting heritage to a national level, as well as allows us to share the wealth of the Mary Barton Collection with the greater quilting community,” said Jodi Evans, project manager and registrar for the State Historical Museum in Iowa.

Iowa’s initial participation in the Quilt Index will be supplemented with the addition of information and images of quilts held in the collection of the State Historical Society of Iowa.

Iowa - Spider Web Quilt

The Quilt Index is run in partnership by the Alliance for American Quilts, Michigan State University Museum, and MATRIX – The Center for Humane Arts, Letters and Social Sciences at Michigan State University. The Quilt Index merges tradition with technology and springs from the work of a unique team of researchers and experts committed to making significant, quilt-related data widely accessible to both scholars and the general public.

Applications to become Quilt Index contributors are now being accepted from institutions or quilt documentation projects, with a deadline of May 31, 2009. Information and application materials can be found at: http://www.quiltindex.org/collections.php.

Contact:
Amy E. Milne, Executive Director
(828) 251-7073
amy.milne@quiltalliance.org

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“It Takes Less Than a Minute”

Saturday, May 9th, 2009

The Breast Cancer site is having trouble getting enough people to click on their site daily to meet their quota of donating at least one free mammogram a day to an underprivileged woman. It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on ‘donating a mammogram’ for free (pink window in the middle).

This doesn’t cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate mammogram in exchange for advertising.

Here’s the web site! Pass it along to people you know.

http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/

Thanks to Mindy, for sending along this information to help disadvantaged women stay healthy!

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

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Visions of a White Mountain Palette, The Life and Times of Charles A. Hunt is Available

Friday, May 8th, 2009

Press Release

VISIONS OF A WHITE MOUNTAIN PALETTE, THE LIFE AND TIMES OF CHARLES A. HUNT IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE FROM THE MADISON HISTORICAL SOCIETY, MADISON, NH.

The Madison Historical Society continues to offer the book, Visions from a White Mountain Palette, The Life and Times of Charles A. Hunt, by Roy Bubb. The cost is $40 per copy; Mr. Bubb contributes 100% of the sale of each book to the Madison Historical Society Building Restoration Fund.

About the Book

Who was Charles A. Hunt? Roy Bubb, Madison Historical Society docent, was often asked that question from visitors, and so he began researching the life and work of this little-known artist. Bubb uncovered Hunt’s life in Nashua, New Hampshire, and his ties to Madison families. He found old photographs related to Hunt and his family. Interviews with Hunt’s cousins shed light on unanswered questions. The author discovered other paintings, not in the MHS collection, that were attributed to the artist. Bubb visited many Madison homesteads that were subjects of Hunt paintings. Subsequently, he uncovered history on the early settlers in town, who struggled to farm the rocky hillsides.

A native of Madison, Charles A. Hunt (1852- 1930) painted the farms of his hometown. In the manner of other White Mountain artists, he painted views of Mount Chocorua, the Saco River Valley, and Mount Washington. Bubb’s book includes critique from art historian, Charlotte Colby Anderson, who describes Hunt’s “wonderful sense of color” and “his excellent feel for composition.” All of this skill shows “a painterly ability in a supposedly untaught painter.”

Bubb located 20 paintings, some privately owned, and others from several museums. Perhaps this publication will uncover more works of art by Hunt, and he will once again be known for his artistic talents. Upon his death in Nashua, where he lived for 60 years, he was described in his obituary as “a landscape artist of considerable note.”

Visions from a White Mountain Palette, The Life and Times of Charles A. Hunt, was published in 2008 by Peter E. Randall Publisher LLC, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Book cost is $40, which includes shipping and handling in the continental United States. Copies may be obtained through the Madison Historical Society, PO Box 505, Madison, NH, 03849; by e-mail at ghostduster@roadrunner.com; or through their website, http://madisonhistorical.us/.

About The Author

Roy Bubb was born in Orleans County in western New York State of a farm family. Educated in the New York State University system, he taught in Niagara Falls, New York, later spending 25 years as Assistant Professor at the College of Brockport, State University of New York.

Upon retiring to Silver Lake, New Hampshire, he became interested in the artistic works of Charles A. Hunt, an unknown White Mountain painter, who spent many years in the Madison area between 1852- 1930. The author, in his research, relied on the recollection from distant cousins for information on this reclusive artist.

Prior to this book, Roy Bubb wrote his memoirs, Memories of Manning Corners, which was published by the New York Historical Society.

(We certainly enjoyed presenting a program about Sweetheart Pillows to the Madison Historical Society last year and attending another of their programs. Great fun! – Pat and Jim)

For more information, contact:
Mary K. W. Lucy
MHS President
PO Box 505
Madison, NH 03849
(603) 367- 4535
ghostduster@roadrunner.com

http://madisonhistorical.us/

Robin M. Tagliaferri Ferreira
MHS Secretary
(401) 826- 3013
rmtferri@gmail.com

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New Hampshire – Where the Purple Lilacs Grow

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

Patricia Cummings near stream on the way to Keene

Patricia Cummings, standing by a stream in (Stoddard, NH?) – on the “road to Keene.” photo by Jim, taken a few years ago, before my hair turned grey!

California is a different world. I lived there. The big cities have strange people … like the guy in the next car, speeding down the Interstate, sucking on a baby pacifier and looking at the occupants of our car, as if we were the crazy ones! In some instances, I think the most sane of all live at the zoo. When we visited the San Diego Zoo, some little boys on the school playground, just beyond the fence, decided to drop their pants and “moon” everyone, whenever the two-tiered, tour bus passed by. So special! Right …

People in California don’t have access to many antiques or antique stores, locally. There is a paucity of antique quilts there, compared to the Northeast. The New England states are: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Maine. Some folks in California do not know even that basic fact! We are such a draw for foreigners who visit here, with frequency. They probably know more about the geography than our own U.S. residents! In the fall, we seem to attract many Japanese tourists, and Germans, too.

New Hampshire is a melting pot of ethnicity and has been for centuries. Part of the reason was the Amoskeag Mills. If you plan a visit here, think about checking out the Millyard Museum and the Manchester Historic Association. Nearby, is the S.E.E. Museum where there is a simulated mill village constructed with thousands of Legos. It is a Science Center, primarily, and has many hands-on activities for children.

New Hampshire has it all: the mountains, the seashore, and the proximity to many outlet stores in Conway, NH; and over the border into Kittery, Maine. A stone’s throw from Boston, Nashua, NH is composed of quiet residential neighborhoods, lots of businesses and shopping. I do believe the sign that says, “Welcome” in French, should be changed to “Bienvenidos,” as Nashua has a large and growing Latino population.

Heading up the highway to Concord, one passes Manchester. The population is much less and there is next to no industry here; and little crime. We are home to the State Prison; the Swensen Granite Co. (quarries); and a great museum. Main street is composed of a lot of little shops, including two quilt shops (and another quilt shop is not far).

Concord is centrally located. To the west is Keene, with lots of shopping and eateries. It is home to Keene State College and Antioch College. To the north of Concord is Canterbury Shaker Village; Tilton, NH with its outlet malls; the Lakes Region with Keepsake Quilting; and the Remick Museum not far from there, not to mention the picturesque Mills Falls complex (hotel and restaurant) in Meredith; and the League of NH Craftsman’s shop in Meredith (a town that sits right on part of Lake Winnipesaukee). Hart’s Turkey Farm Restaurant can’t be beat and is often crowded; and the wonderful Moultonboro Country Store has something for everyone, from quilted pocketbooks, to iron hardware, to books, cooking gadgets, and Sasparilla to go with your penny candy!

In New Hampshire, there is plenty of opportunity to hike, bike, swim, canoe, and enjoy birdwatching and people watching. The Mall is a good place for the latter. Our small towns are generally composed of characters who tell it like it is, sometimes in quite a Yankee fashion. That is, the lingo might be hard for outsiders to catch, as would be the droll humor.

The seacoast is wonderful. I can smell the seaweed as I write this! I am not a sun worshipper and it is not fun to think of catching a few rays, but for those who like to lay on the beach, you’ll have a lot of other beached whales to keep you company. Speaking of whales, why not try a whalewatch, out of Portsmouth Harbor? Buy some Dramamine, just in case. Motion sickness is definitely not fun.

The White Mountains are very picturesque and have unique features you would enjoy. They have been the subject of paintings, forever. I had written about the Willey House, in a previous essay here. Our “Old Man of the Mountains,” a natural stone feature that is no more, except on old postcards and photos. I could go on and on. I love this state, having been born here, and I know its every nook and cranny, of which there are many, and I’ve only talked about some of its finer points.

I will bid you adieu, for now. I hope I have given you a glimpse of the place I call home.

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

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“Gossips”- a textile treasure made in 1830

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

On our website, I have an article titled “Gossips.” The topic is a textile made by Eunice Cook in 1830 that is appliquéd and depicts two people, presumably sharing gossip. It is unclear as to who named the piece, as textiles at that time, did not always bear a particular name. I have been enchanted at the number of times I have come across this image, in one way or another. The original small piece has been among the missing since 1938. All that remains is a WPA artist’s rendition of it in watercolor and graphite.

I have updated the file a bit. Today, I have posted additional photos and informatioin. “Gossips”

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

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What’s In A Name? A Discussion Eventually Quilt-Related

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

Today is “Cinco de Mayo.” In honor of that, the genealogical guide on about.com sent through a message about the meanings of Spanish surnames. Guerrero means “warrior.” The name Chavez, is actually of Portuguese origin and means “keys.” Spanish surnames are often connected with the occupations of ancestors, as you can see.

Now, take the word “yam” and the word, “sweet potato.” On one occasion, my mother caused a ruckus in a grocery store that advertised both yams and sweet potatoes. She always claimed that she knew the difference between them, although I never quite “got it,” taste-wise or otherwise. As she stood arguing about this with a manager, come to find out, yams and sweet potatoes were the same price that day, so it was just a matter of semantics, and who was “right.” It is really, really important for some people to be “right.” When that happens, it means that their capacity for learning is temporarily altered and they are not open to new information. Yet, I digress.

Recently, I and others who are interested in quilt history have been bantering about the use of terminology. To me, a “T quilt” is a temperance quilt. The first article I wrote, ten years ago, for the magazine then called, Traditional Quilter, (now called The Quilter), was an article about temperance quilts.

The term “T quilt” is also used by some people, generally those who are not native to New England, or who live outside of New England. To them, the words mean a quilt with cut-out corners that will more easily fit a 4 poster bed. The term, “T quilt,” made its way into print in a quilt history book, and stuck. The writer of the book lives in Kansas, although I do not know if she is a native of that state.

Most quilts of this type are found in New England, unless they have migrated with their owners and their 4 poster beds to other parts of the country.

Why quibble over terminology? Words help us to be on the same track and words facilitate understanding. That is one reason the topic is important. Indeed, if we are speaking of a quilt that was generally thought to have been made prior to 1860, why would we superimpose descriptive words that originated in the twentieth century to describe this object?

As a fellow quilt historian asked me, “Have you ever read any diaries in which a young woman mentions sitting down to make a “T quilt.” I have not, and neither has she! The words “T quilt” to mean cut out quilt for a 4 poster bed is a statement, out of time, and out of place.

We need to think about language and its fluidity. Yes, it is ever changing. As much as I enjoyed reading, Our Hearts Were Young and Gay, in high school, I could not say that around high school students today, without getting an undercurrent of snickers and laughter. The word, “gay,” has changed, as has the general acceptance of what the word now describes.

So, that’s the scoop from here. You say “yam” and my mother (would have said) “sweet potato.” By the way, have you ever heard the cassette by Metamora with the song that names many quilt block names? I haven’t listened to it for a long time, but really like it. As I recall, there is a song that mentions “sweet potatoes.”

Until next time,

Patricia Cummings, who shipped the first CDs of my new book, today AND worked on a quilt! More photos were added to the swastika article yesterday and to the front page.
Quilter’s Muse Publications

clown

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A Southern Treat

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

A favorite food in my family of origin was Lima Bean Soup. My mother claimed it was a southern dish to which she was partial because of her “heritage.” No matter that she spent only five years as a Georgia Peach! She made this soup often, usually with cornbread. The men all loved it. Any repairman who showed up in her small town would be given a bowl or two of this potent soup. Of course, the wives had to have the recipe, after hearing their husbands’ raves, and so the trend of making Lima Bean Soup spread throughout town. Many a woman did not like the soup, for reasons I cannot divulge. My mother’s own son’s family referred to it as, “Oh, The Beans Floating in Water Soup.” Some folks have no respect. If you have water, salt pork, salt, dried Lima Beans, and an onion, you’re good to go. Of course, she got more elaborate in her old age, adding carrots and calling it “Pioneer Lima Bean Soup.” “Rooty-toot-toot for the moon” is a phrase that takes on new meaning, when fondly remembering Mother’s Lima Bean Soup.

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Earthquake in Afghanistan Leaves Thousands Homeless

Monday, May 4th, 2009

Today, I heard from Rachel Lehr, Director of the Rubia project in Afghanistan. Some of you may remember her name. She was the translator for an Afghan woman/ artist who visited New Hampshire a few years ago. I wrote about Hafiza Malikbaba and her embroideries (through Rubia) to raise money for cultural literacy programs for the women and children of the poorest country on earth. Here is the latest news from Rachel in Kabul.

Village of Kodikhel in Shirzad
Village of Kodikhel in Shirazad

Many of you have been following news of the earthquake in eastern Afghanistan. The recent natural disaster that occurred in Shirzad District in Nangarhar province brought human and material losses to its inhabitants. Scores of lives were lost and more than fifty persons, men, women and children, were severely injured. The people of this district are very poor with limited employment opportunities available. The damages to the property and loss of lives are of such magnitude that it will take a long time for the dwellers of the disaster hit area would be able to recover. The quake that has caused this crisis left approximately 9,523 homeless.

Here in Kabul we have been experiencing an intimate view. Many of the people we work with at WADAN have been affected directly by this disaster. WADAN, (The Welfare Association for the Development of Afghanistan), an Afghan NGO working at the grassroots level in education, civic education and drug control, has provided an umbrella of support for Rubia in Afghanistan including office, housing, transport and mentoring.

This is a chance for us to help WADAN.

The initial quake was on April 17; aftershocks and tremors have damaged villages and destroyed scores of homes. Hundreds of families now live under the sky; children are the most vulnerable. More than 2200 children have lost access to basic services and education. To avert further human crisis and properly attend to the needs of the children, there is the immediate need to provide emergency humanitarian aid to re-establish education, housing, and health services.

Village of Samarkhel WADAN staff members are from the villages of Khogiani in Shirzad District, the epicenter of the earthquake. They are the men who guard us, make our tea, and drive us safely around town. They are kind. Most of their families have been displaced- their homes have been destroyed or are too unstable to live in. The elderly, women and children are all sleeping outside in UN tents in the cold and rain. One of the Kabul staff shared his distress with us over morning tea; he is a young man responsible for providing for his family of 16 and now they don’t even have a roof over their heads. Another staffer lost 6 members of his family. The full extent of the destruction and loss of life has not been tallied. Aid agencies, including the government’s disaster management unit have started relief operations in the affected areas. It will take time for relief to get to all the victims, for all the houses to be rebuilt, for schools to start up again. Time is something they do not have; conditions are worsening by the day.

I am asking you to please make a donation to Rubia’s specially designated earthquake relief fund. Rubia is working with several other organizations to raise $20,000 by the end of May. On May 1st we received word that the Goodrich Foundation, a member of our New England- Afghanistan network, donated $5000 to WADAN for earthquake relief: www.goodrichfoundation.org .

Village of Sarkot We will continue to collect donations through June. Pass this information and link along to your friends and colleagues. If everyone we ask gives just $25 we will reach our goal in a month. If you are in Afghanistan and wish to donate, please contact Rachel Lehr, who will be at WADAN till the end of May. 0788 705 404.

The funds you donate will be used to purchase supplies for the victims to begin rebuilding their lives right away. They need building materials, household items, clothing, food and cookware. The best way for us to help is to purchase locally, in Afghanistan, the supplies they need, and sending the people we know and trust directly to the area to distribute to those in need. We know the victims, and can get them relief quickly, directly and with accountability.

To donate online, please visit: Rubia http://www.rubiahandwork.org/earthquake.html

Rachel Lehr
Executive Director
Rubia, Inc.

Rubia, Inc., PO Box 100, Warner NH 03278, 603-397-3438

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New Book Available Today: Redwork Renaissance Revisited

Monday, May 4th, 2009

Patricia Cummings
Patricia Cummings, author of yet another book about Redwork and outline stitch embroidery!

In 2002, I wrote my first book, Redwork Renaissance: 49 Designs from an 1893 Coverlet. After a good run, we went on to other things, and the book was out of print for quite awhile. I began getting inquiries about its availability from friends of people who had bought the bound copy. Within the last year, we decided to bring the title back as an e-book on CD, with greatly-expanded content and additional information. The result is Redwork Renaissance Revisited by Patricia Lynne Grace Cummings and James Cummings, ISBN: 978-0-9769763-6-3. “Greatly-expanded” are the operative words with historically-significant textiles, and just downright cute motifs on many different items. Many designs are one to a page, ready to print out and trace for a project of your own.

The Crescent Moon Goddess was the central focus of the 1893 coverlet and I had adapted that pattern to a large framed Bluework piece. One reader, Linda Mageske, followed suit and added the moon goddess to her Crazy Quilt block. Here it is:

Linda Mageske's Crazy Quilt block
Linda Mageske’s Crazy Quilt block with a smaller version of the Crescent Moon Goddess. (There is a second, large, nineteenth century design of this type in our e-book, as well as directions for making a framed piece.

If you would like to learn how to do the stitches of Surface Embroidery, this book is great for any beginner. With the many quaint antique designs, the book is perfect for a child making a first quilt, or even a smaller item, such as decorating a pillowcase, my first project when I was five years old. I have a larger write-up about the book and its contents. One feature of the pdf file format of the book is that one can view thumbnails images on the left hand side of the screen. That makes it easy for finding the full size pages of patterns, without scrolling through dozens of them.

kitty design from an antique baby coverlet
This kitty design, on a new baby quilt made by Pat, was re-created from an antique quilt made in Canada. Notice the many straight stitches. It doesn’t get more simple!

I think there is a lot to like about this e-book and it features many designs that could be incorporated into Crazy Quilts or other projects that are smaller than full-size quilts or coverlets. As always, we hope that our products are synonymous with quality.

antique motif from unfinished quilt top - goose w/hat
The goose wearing a hat is one of 49 designs provided from an antique, unfinished, quilt top, a new acquisition for me.

For more information about this new product, please visit our Products Available page. We will mail you the actual CD. This is not a downloadable file. Offer good to U.S. addresses only. This is a really fun e-book. We have spent a great deal of time, effort, and expense to develop it, and we hope that you enjoy the results. There is additional information on the publications by Pat page of the website, and on the home page.

Patricia and James Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

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Quilters’ S.O.S. -Save Our Stories – Interviews 50 Quiltmakers about their Obama Quilts

Saturday, May 2nd, 2009

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release

Living the Dream quilt by Ms. Bracy

“Living the Dream,” by Diana Bracy

Asheville, North Carolina, April 28, 2009 – More than 50 quiltmakers inspired by President Obama have been interviewed for Quilters’ S.O.S. – Save Our Stories, an oral history project for the Alliance for American Quilts. Throughout the presidential campaign, Karen Musgrave, volunteer and co-chair of the project, kept reading stories and seeing more and more images of quilts inspired by Barack Obama. Wanting to capture this moment in our history, she began interviewing those quiltmakers for Quilters’ S.O.S. – Save Our Stories. These interviews have been added to the more than 900 interviews in the project.

“I want to thank all the quiltmakers who shared so openly their thoughts and experiences in the interviews. This “feminine medium” continues to take ordinary materials to create something of great meaning and to provide us with an important glimpse of our history,” said Musgrave.

The quiltmakers were eloquent about what inspired their quilts. Carolyn Crump, a gifted art quilter from Houston, Texas who employs an unusual three-dimensional appliqué style, said, “I don’t know too many people that listened to his speeches or came in contact with him that didn’t want to be a better person … The quilt that I designed is part of me and when I’m dead and gone that quilt is going to be here, and that is part of me that I left behind saying this man touched my life.”

Indeed, like several of the quiltmakers interviewed for the project, Crump said she isn’t done making Obama quilts: she plans to make a total of 44, tracing his path from childhood to the presidency.

From Vision to Victory by Ms. Crump

Detail view of “From Vision to Victory,” by Carolyn Crump

All the quilts and the stories behind them are a unique expression of the maker’s impression of the “Obama phenomenon.” Now that Obama is President, these quilts have become even more significant. The quiltmakers represent a broad spectrum of political views from avid Obama supporters, to Hilary supporters, to staunch Republicans. Their skills range from beginner to professional. Participants also include those from two exhibits, “Quilts for Obama: An Exhibit Celebration of our 44th President” and “President Obama: A Celebration in Art Quilts.”

Many of the quiltmakers drew upon the iconography of the campaign. Others took the literal image of Obama a step further and used elements of culture and Pop Art in their quilts, while others simply did a literal interpretation. The themes of family, patriotism, Africa, civil rights and hope were also popular.

Obama Equals Hope quilt by Jeanette Thompson

“Obama Equals Hope,” by Jeanette Thompson

The Alliance for American Quilts is a national non-profit organization that supports and develops projects to document, preserve, and share the history of quilts and quiltmakers. The AAQ brings together groups and individuals from the creative, scholarly and business worlds of quiltmaking to advance the recognition of quilts and their makers in American culture.

Specific questions about Q.S.O.S. can be directed to Karen Musgrave, karenmusgrave@sbcglobal.net or call 630-579-1024.

Photographs of the quilts can also be seen as an online book at http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/qsos/Obama_qsos.php.

For further information, please contact:
Amy E. Milne, Executive Director
(828) 251-7073
amy.milne@quiltalliance.org

This press release is published by Quilter’s Muse Publications as a public service.

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Posted in Announcements, Art Quilts, Black History | 1 Comment »

Letter from Disturbed Quilt Book Reader

Friday, May 1st, 2009

April 30, 2009

In Maggie Malone’s book, Quilters Shortcuts, there is a “Swastika” block. I can’t believe anyone would dare to name such a block. It’s deplorable!

I will never purchase any of her books or information.

There are millions of families that are affected by (what) the symbol represents. People whose families are either dead or fought to defeat such hate and evil. What was this woman thinking?

Did you know? How can you represent such a person?

I am sorry for you if I have upset you with this. Nothing is that good or important that they have to identify with that awful symbol.

Sarah L. Smith

PS: Yes, I dare to use my real name.

I wrote back to Sarah:

Dear Sarah L. Smith,

I am not sure what you mean when you say that I “support” Maggie Malone, but before I get ahead of myself, let me say this: My great grandmother was Jewish. She left Austria, due to persecution, and arrived in America in the 1880s. What Hitler did to the Jews in Eastern Europe during World War II is reprehensible, inexcusable, and horrendous. If any of your relatives were affected, I am terribly sorry.

As far as the quilt block itself, that geometric configuration was not created to honor Nazi Germany. It is an ancient art symbol that had sweet meanings before Hitler turned the graphic into something else. I have never heard of anyone making the Swastika block to honor Hitler or his actions. Some early quilts have this block, before there was any association with anything bad.

As quilt historians, we all, including Maggie Malone (in her quilt block identification book), and even Barbara Brackman in her Blockbase computer software program and Encyclopedia of Pieced Patterns, acknowledge the existence of the block, as well as one of its many names, “Swastika.” It is not a value judgment on anyone’s part. It is recording history. History is History. History is what happened. We may not like it, but it happened.

I hope this helps you to better understand the background of the quilt block configuration, as well as the role of quilt historians to record the various names for quilt blocks, AS PUBLISHED.

Thank you for your concern. If we tried to get rid of every reminder of World War II, it would not be possible. It would be along the same lines as shooting Ken Burns for making a documentary film about WWII. I hope you can understand, now that I have carefully explained. Thanks again for writing. I always like the chance to set someone’s mind at ease. I don’t imagine that either you or I will be making a quilt with Swastika blocks, any time soon.

Pat

After writing this letter, I could see the need for a more involved explanation. Tonight, I have put together a new file on my website:
The Swastika Quilt Block and the History of the Symbol.

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

http://www.quiltersmuse.com

Posted in History, Quilt History | 3 Comments »

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