When hearing of the recent weather events in Japan, Luana Rubin, owner of e-Quilter, a large online vendor of fabrics, set a goal to send 1,000 quilts to Japan. Her goal has been reached and exceeded. She states in a newsletter today that the last possible day to deliver quilts to Mission of Love in Ohio is May 15, 2011, an organization that has graciously offered to handle the shipping (via the Air Force). Thanks to all who participated in this component of sending relief/comfort quilts to the people of Japan, and thanks to Luana, a business leader who is known for her charitable efforts and organizing.
Archive for May, 2011
“Quilts for Japan” Goal Reached by e-Quilter’s Luana Rubin
Wednesday, May 11th, 2011Historical Events
Tuesday, May 10th, 2011As they are happening, events of historical importance are often taken in our stride as just another report on the evening news. When we are bombarded with the same news, night after night, with problems we can’t readily change, it is the natural human response to begin to be weary of the reports. Last night, I sat riveted to the television. I happened onto a PBS documentary that explored music in relation to the Civil Rights Movement. I was in Junior High School and in the first years of high school when violence escalated. The footage portrays the terrible violence, even against innocent children, is horrifying. One nine year old boy was stopped on his bicycle, grabbed, and castrated. There were hangings, lynchings, beatings, shootings, stabbings, burnings, tear gas attacks, provoked dog attacks, and such hatred toward people of color, it was/is unfathomable to understand. The thought occurred to me, after being so involved recently in reading about the Civil War, that at the end of that war the Black man got his “freedom” but did not get his “right” to be treated as a human being.
To see Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Harry Belafonte and other musicians who were so well known to me in the 1960s, captured on film, brought me back to another place and time. I couldn’t and still can’t believe the hatred spawned by politicians in the south. A song was even sung about the famous/infamous Governor George Wallace.
“We Shall Overcome” may be the best known song that came out of the turmoil, an old song steeped in religious viewpoints. I recognized an old Carter family song, “Shall the Circle be Unbroken?” and many other tunes. I could not help but recall Baez’s melodic voice singing “Carry It On.” (“Every victory’s gonna bring another / Carry it on/ Carry it on/ Carry it on/ Carry it on”).
The sacrifice, in terms of human suffering, has been very great, indeed. What I liked most about the video was the representation of unity through the marching together of protestors, and in some instances, the holding of hands. The music, too, held people together in their resolution to seek the truth and the light where there was only darkness and misery. I never realized before just what horrible places Alabama and Mississippi were in the 1960s, fraught with discrimination and antagonism. I am thankful for films like this. They remind us to never go back and to never buy into prejudice, based on the uncontrollable factor of one’s born skin color.
Unfortunately, we have other unwelcome people in our midst today, according to some. With any justice at all, we can follow the suggestions of some of the “thinkers” of our time such as New York’s mayor. He suggested on “Meet the Press” that if Hispanic/Latino workers paid into Social Security but were not able to collect until they became citizens, this could be a boon to the S.S. system. He is correct. As I have written much about Immigration Reform before, I will not bore you with my thoughts. They are “on the record.” I am happy that others are still trying to find solutions. Down with the stupid notion of “white supremacy.” Hitler is dead.
Patricia Cummings
Amazing Circus Themed Crazy Quilt at the Quilt Complex
Monday, May 9th, 2011Today, Julie Silber who is an active preserver of quilt history through all of her many activities from film producer to curator to quilt collector/quilt dealer (and fun auctioneer for the American Quilt Study Group’s seminars), has come up with an amazing Crazy Quilt that previously belonged to Mary Strickler. Below is a full-size view of this extraordinary piece. I am amazed that in my personal collection, I have one of the prints of children. I love the large size pieces of fabric that show children and animals and I just adore this quilt! Hope you enjoy seeing it! Thanks to Julie for permission to post it here. I appreciate all of her efforts and those of her helpful partner.
Overall view of a beautiful Crazy Quilt. The fun, however, lies in the details. Be sure to visit all of the many close-up photos at Julie’s site:
http://blog.thequiltcomplex.com/
You can read much more about the theme of Victorian Crazy Quilts on my website: Quilter’s Muse Publications. I have enjoyed making this style of quilt for many years now, have taught Crazy Quilting as a workshop to guilds and Community Education participants and have had some of my quilts published in Miniature Quilts (out of business and formerly published by Chitra Publications) and The Quilter magazine articles. Very fun, indeed! Just key in the words, “Crazy Quilt” in the search engine on our main website. Enjoy!
For Kindles
The full length film of “Hearts and Hands,” first produced by Julie Silber, Pat Ferrero and the late Elaine Hedges, may still be available directly from Julie Silber. It is a wonderful film. Don’t miss it!
Contact info for Julie:
Julie Silber
The Quilt Complex
P.O. Box 729
Albion, CA 95410
707-937-0739
Patricia Cummings, quilt historian, and one of the first regional quilt coordinators (1993-1994) for the American Quilt Study Group
Chester, Vermont Quilt Show: An Event Overview 2011 – Part II
Sunday, May 8th, 2011The “Quilts Around the Town” Quilt Show in Chester, Vermont is such fun with all of its special features. This year they had special demonstrations such machine quilting by Mara Novak of Flying Goose Custom Quilting. Sandra Palmer of Woodstock, VT, a Vermont quilt appraiser was on hand. The atmosphere of this old Victorian town is a perfect setting. In keeping with the theme, there was a highly-embroidered late Victorian period Crazy Quilt on display with beautiful surface stitchery.
Here is a photo of a close-up of the Crazy Quilt.
We spotted this beautiful red, white and black quilt on a porch.
We enjoyed seeing the Hugging Bear Inn again and this lovely and artistic-looking gnarled old tree.
Look closely for the owl in the tree!
While Jim was taking a lot of outdoor photos, I was checking out the books for sale. I found a book I could not pass up with Linda McCuean’s $100,000 Challenge quilt winner featured on the front. Forty other inspiring quilts that were entered into the 2006 contest are featured. Jim, being fond of candid shots, snapped my photo.
We are always drawn to two types of stores: quilt stores and bookstores. This time around I did more damage financially in the quilt store. What an amazing treasure trove of fabrics.
On the way up to Chester, we stopped at the Vermont Country Store, but not realizing that there was a quilt display upstairs in the textiles/linens section, we missed it. Sue Ashe had created a special set of quilts that were hanging up there. We were content to purchase some Sasparilla, Blackerry Seedless Jelly, Common Crackers, Vermont Cabot Cheddar Cheese chunks, and two Cherry Garcia’s, an ice cream bar named for the musician, Jerry Garcia, and produced by Ben and Jerry’s.
The ice cream filled a void until after we viewed the show. We stopped at Heritage Deli and Bakery that specializes in sandwiches made with freshly baked bread. I had the “Grace Coolidge Egg Salad” and Jim opted for the “Ethan Allen” with Turkey, cranberry, stuffing with mayonnaise, served on wheat bread. Both were delicious!
The restaurant has a glass case just inside the entrance with special ceramic creations by Susan Leader who makes various types of platters, contains, light switch plates, etc. in the Mingei style of pottery done in Japan. Everything was lovely! There was also a quilt hanging inside the restaurant, as well as oil paintings. There are round tables and booth tables covered with oil cloth and glass and some of the seating is old fashioned deacon benches. Very quaint atmosphere.
We took other photos, but I am exhausted, having spent yesterday in the ER. I’ll sign off for now. Hope everyone is having a wonderful Mother’s Day and that you enjoyed a glimpse of a journey enjoyed by Pat and Jim.
Wonderful new book!
Chester, Vermont Quilt Show: An Event Overview 2011
Saturday, May 7th, 2011Jim and I thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Chester, Vermont to view the many “Quilts Around the Town” quilt show. In this blog entry and the next, I will show you some of the scenes and quilts we liked the best. The ladies seem to outdo themselves every year and certainly, Sue Ashe who is organizer of this local event and the quilt shop owner of “Country Treasures,” outdid herself in the number of quilts she personally contributed for the show, one volunteer stated.
We headed up to Vermont on Friday. It was a “perfect” day of about 69 degrees with just a light 10 mph wind blowing, wind enough to keep away the blackflies, those pesty up-your-nose, in-your-eyes and ears creatures that make one want to run for cover and are most irritating here in New Hampshire to gardeners and others. Vermont has them, too, but the males come out first and just swarm. The females are ferociously in search of blood offerings for their unborn offspring and are the worst biters. But, I digress!
The first quilt we spotted upon stepping out of the van was this one.
A botanical theme quilt with repeat designs, stretched as if mounted on an artist’s frame. This first quilt is one we noticed in show held both indoors and outdoors. As you can see, this one was propped up against a doorway.
An unusual quilt with antique-looking, cross-stitch motifs is this one:
Being a fan of antique butterfly quilts, I really liked how Christine Cathcart put together the following quilt that she calls “Scrapppy Patch Appliquéd Butterflies” (70″ x 94″). It is reminiscent of the 1930s and all of their hopeful butterfly quilts! I enjoyed seeing how she pieced the blocks to form various other interior quilt configurations.
Signage at the show was inconsistent. Sometimes sizes or quilter’s name or provenance were mentioned, sometimes not. I just want to say that this is a quilt show review. We always love to give credit where credit is due, so if you see a quilt and have more information about one of them, please DO let us know. We will be happy to add it, a unique capability of this Internet format.
I fell in love with a miniature quilt and the unique way in which it was “tied” by Kathy Beam. She used seed bead buttons to tack the corners of some of the blocks in the quilt seen below:
The overall size of the quilt was not provided.Some of the pieces appear to be about 1/4″ large.
The variety of quilts displayed was striking. The show offers some antique quilts, highly-embellished art quilts, and even a two-sided quilt. There was a surprise around every corner and only one quilt pattern of a bear was a repeat of one I’d seen in another show, perhaps the same one I complimented at the 2010 Billings Farm & Museum exhibit in Woodstock, Vermont last year.
Quilts of Valor, a charitable group that gives quilts to veterans, was represented by an exhibit of lovely red, white and blue quilts. One of the quilts is vaguely reminiscent of Swastika blocks but but actually has another published name. Do you know the name? I’m giving you a challenge to look it up! Let me know. If you can’t find it, I’ll share the information. I just love the color combination and think that this is a striking piece of work!
Many thanks to all who work so hard to make this show a destination for loads of quilters who arrive by bus. This concludes our first segment of coverage. As always, thanks to Jim Cummings for taking photos. On the way home to New Hampshire, I remarked, “Life doesn’t get better than this!” We continue to enjoy simple treasures.
Pat Cummings
Chester, Vermont: Quilt Show Weekend – May 6-8, 2011
Wednesday, May 4th, 2011Quite a few months ago, a reader wrote to ask me when the next quilt show weekend would be occurring in Chester, Vermont. Not being a local, I had no clue but tried to “Google” to see if I could find out. The show had not yet been announced. Well, I just remembered the request and have located the following link for this coming weekend:
We attended this show and really enjoyed the displays and the fact that there is a nice quilt show right downtown where it takes place. In fact, I came home and wrote about the show. Here is a website link to our previous coverage: Show Review
History Repeats
Wednesday, May 4th, 2011The odd thought of “Thomas” occurred to me this morning. If you remember your Bible instruction, or even if you are not totally familiar with the Bible, you may recall the one apostle who did not believe accounts that Christ had risen from the dead. He said that he needed to see the wounds. Now, I am not comparing Christ to Osama bin Laden but I can’t help but see the parallel between the disbelievers. If there were any doubts as to the credibility of the story, there would be verified new broadcasts from the Muslim world, showing the figure in question to demonstrate that he is still alive. Instead, from all news sources I can find, everyone in the world truly believes that the U.S. military “took out” this force of evil.
No matter what the president decides to do, in regard to providing a photo as proof, he will come under attack. He always has and for very stupid reasons. I wondered today if President Lincoln was asked to provide a birth certificate, or going further back in history, if George Washington was asked to do the same. I take account of the fact that my own mother, born in Georgia in the early 20th century, was NEVER issued a birth certificate. No one bothered keeping records! So, when it came time to apply for Social Security, she had to apply for a non-driver’s license and that was taken as proof of citizenship (which doesn’t say a whole lot for the security process).
With his ratings “up” this week, in light of this military action, President Obama’s detractors will try really hard to undermine him in any way possible. It is a no-win situation. If the photo of a dead bin Laden is published, then most people with sensibilities will be grossed out, including me. It will seem crass, similar to dancing on someone’s grave. It doesn’t seem civil. However, if the photo is not released, a conspiracy theory will remain. I think I’d opt for the latter as it is the lesser of two evils. The United States does not have to prove anything. We just do what we do to protect our citizens so that all of us can go about our peaceful, if not sometimes mundane lives.
Like other Americans, I feel that justice was served, as much as it could be. There is no equal equation: “One” death will never equal “thousands”. For all the doubting Thomases out there, my suggestion is “to get a life.” As a true and patriotic American, I am proud of the decisiveness and action of our president. His actions proves our collective resolve to not be trod upon. In light of our grief, we were diminished after 9-11. It seems that we have gathered strength in this one action and now that one specific goal is accomplished, it is time to move our troops out of a no-possible-win situation and out of harm’s way. I hope that there is as much resolve in doing that as there was in this one deadly action to remove a terrorist threat from doing more damage to all who value freedom.
Patricia Cummings
Library of Congress Announces Opportunity for Teachers
Wednesday, May 4th, 2011Applications now available to serve as Teacher-in-Residence during the 2011-12 school year
Since 2000, the Library of Congress has recruited teachers to work with Educational Outreach staff to help teachers incorporate the Library’s collection of over 16 million digitized primary sources into high-quality instruction. Previous Teachers-in-Residence have led professional development workshops for teachers in Washington, DC, and across the United States. They have represented the Library at various conferences and meetings and developed teaching materials and lessons that use the Library’s digitized primary sources for national distribution.
The successful Teacher-in-Residence candidate will be innovative and collaborative, be fluent with the Library’s digitized primary sources with experience using them in instruction, and have a history of leadership and staff development. The Library will give preference to applicants who teach students considered to be underserved based on ethnicity, socio-economic status or geography.
The selected teacher will participate in this program via an intergovernmental personnel agreement between the Library and his or her home school district. The Library will reimburse the district for salary and benefits paid to the teacher during the school year, and will release the Teacher-in-Residence for all district holidays and vacations.
The teacher will receive a $1,500 monthly housing stipend if he or she teaches outside of the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. The Library cannot pay for travel or moving expenses.
In addition to assisting Educational Outreach staff, the Teacher-in-Residence will undertake a project to benefit his or her home school or district to be implemented during the following academic year. This project could be a workshop on teaching with primary sources for fellow teachers, a unit using Library of Congress primary sources, or some other product or activity using Library of Congress digitized primary sources that can be implemented with students or fellow teachers. As part of the application process, teachers should propose projects that were designed in collaboration with teacher colleagues and have the support of appropriate school and or district administrators.
To be considered, teachers should fill out and submit the attached application with an accompanying letter from a school or district administrator authorized to approve an intergovernmental personnel agreement. Applications will be evaluated based on the teacher’s creativity and willingness to contribute to the educational community as evidenced by his or her description of past activities and recommendation letters, and the feasibility and value of the project that the applicant proposes.
The Deadline for applications is June 17th. Please direct any questions to edoutreach@loc.gov
CALL FOR TEACHER-IN-RESIDENCE APPLICATIONS
The Educational Outreach Division of the Library of Congress is seeking applications from secondary teachers for a Teacher-in-Residence position during the 2011/12 school year.
Since 2000, the Library of Congress has recruited teachers to work with Educational Outreach staff to help teachers incorporate the Library’s collection of 11,000,000 digitized primary sources into high-quality instruction. Previous Teachers-in-Residence have led professional development workshops for teachers in Washington, DC and across the United States. They have represented the Library at various conferences and meetings and developed teaching materials and lessons that use the Library’s digitized primary sources for national dissemination.
The successful Teacher-in-Residence candidate will be innovative and collaborative, be fluent with the Library’s digitized primary sources with experience using them in instruction, and have a history of leadership and staff development.
The selected teacher will participate in this program via an intergovernmental personnel agreement between the Library and his or her home school district. The Library will reimburse the district for salary and benefits paid to the teacher during the school year, and will release the Teacher-in-Residence for all district holidays and vacations.
The teacher will receive a $1,500 monthly housing stipend if he or she teaches outside of the Washington DC metropolitan area. The Library cannot pay for travel or moving expenses.
In addition to assisting Educational Outreach staff, the Teacher-in-Residence will undertake a project to benefit his or her home school or district to be implemented during the following academic year. This project could be a workshop on teaching with primary sources for fellow teachers, a unit using Library of Congress primary sources, or some other product or activity using Library of Congress digitized primary sources that can be implemented with students or fellow teachers. As part of the application process, teachers should propose projects that were designed in collaboration with teacher colleagues and have the support of appropriate school and or district administrators.
To be considered, teachers should fill and submit the attached application with an accompanying letter from a school or district administrator authorized to approve an intergovernmental personnel agreement. Applications will be evaluated based on the teacher’s experience using primary sources, creativity and willingness to contribute to the educational community as evidenced by his or her description of past activities and recommendation letters, and the feasibility and value of the project that the applicant proposes.
Important Dates:
Applications due: June 17, 2011
Selection decision: June 24, 2011
Residency period: Dates match those of the home district’s school year
Sending an Application:
Security measures cause a delay in the delivery of regular mail. Applications should be sent to the Library by email to: vawu@loc.gov, or by Federal Express, to: Vivian Awumey, Teaching with Primary Sources Program Manager, Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave., S.E. Washington, DC 20540-1300.
Application Check List:
• Completed application form
• Current resume or curriculum vita
• Project plan
• Recommendation/support letters from one or two collaborating teachers and an administrator who will supervise your proposed project
• Letter from an individual authorized to approve intergovernmental personnel agreements
This announcement is brought to you courtesy of Quilter’s Muse Publications
Jim West’s New Venture: “Quilt Deal” – an eBay-like Site for Quilters
Monday, May 2nd, 2011Courtesy Advertisement
Dear Quilters Around the World!
Have I got a deal for you!!
Introducing the very first online website designed for quilters to BUY & SELL in an international flea market.
There is someone out there in our quilting community who is just waiting for what you have to sell! Maybe you have a sewing machine you are no longer using and you want to sell it and make some extra cash. Or maybe you can’t afford to buy a new sewing machine, and you are looking for a good second hand one to purchase, well QuiltDeal.com is the place to go to make the deal! For $5.00 per item, you can post items you have to sell! Post your item with details and pictures for up to 2 months!
The categories for you to buy and sell things include fabric, quilts, sewing machines, thread, buttons, books, magazines, tours, notions, embroidery items, patterns, kits, jewelry, services for quilters and much more! Create your own “store” where quilters can visit and see everything you have to offer. If you are a quilt shop owner or you manufacture products for quilters, this website will be extraordinary international exposure for your product and enhance your profit considerably!
Mark your calendars for May 16th when our website launches and you can start making your deals!
For those of you who would like to get a jumpstart on your “dealing”…
Beginning May 9th our site will be open for you to register and submit up to 10 separate items for FREE. That’s right, one week before the site officially launches submit 10 items, for FREE, so they will be up there when the site launches on May 16th. That’s a $50 value!
Visit our site often, we will be offering all kinds of specials and even free giveaways!
Spread the word and tell all your quilting friends about the very first online quilter’s buying and selling website called QuiltDeal.com!
Read more about QuiltDeal.com in the current issue of Quiltposium Magazine. www.Quiltposium.com
This announcement brought to you as a courtesy of Quilter’s Muse Publications, an educational website for quilt and embroidery aficionados and fans of the Humanities and the Arts.
An Eye for an Eye and One Body for Thousands of Others
Monday, May 2nd, 2011This morning was the first I’d heard of the death of bin Laden after all these long years of war, loss, and mental anguish, as well as the nuisance of constant vigilance in America that continues today. We need to be on “high alert” more than ever before. I am almost positive that the militant Muslim community who already wishes us ill will be enraged and seek retribution. Their evil ways and threat to humanity continue to loom on the horizon even though their leader is now in the land beyond knowing.
In one sense, I stand with other Americans who applaud the sanctioned actions of the CIA operatives who so bravely took this leader down. On the other hand, I grieve for our enemy, knowing that we are all children of one God and that even bid Laden was someone’s son and brother. It is always a shame when someone dies and has not fulfilled a potential for good, but instead, has traded that opportunity for executing the reverse.
My words mean little. The truth is that the long-hunted prey, the perpetrator of senseless and deadly acts, is now dead himself. Praise be to God that one more evil man has been taken out of the world and removed from the potential of doing more evil deeds. So saying, on a human level, my heart still grieves. There is nothing on earth, not even the death of Osama bin Laden, that can bring back the brave soldiers who have fought the results of his collaborative efforts to do America harm. He was successful.
President Obama’s Official Video Announcement of May 1, 2011
Patricia Cummings
Who Is Tracking You?
Sunday, May 1st, 2011The Internet is more complex than one would ever think and we are learning more about it daily. Yesterday, on a radio broadcast, I heard about “bots” for the first time. Wow! A “bot” is short for “robot.” Programs can be set up to target and track specific users based on information that is provided. That information can be used to ask for marketing purposes, charitable donations, and other uses, including fraud. It was somewhat amusing to hear about “bots” that competed in bidding in an online auction for a book. The price soared to $47 million dollars or some such outrageous figure. What do they know? They are just “bots,” and as such, are not responsible for paying the final auction price.
Be very careful about the type of personal information you divulge. We are all keen to interact with each other and be friendly. Keep in mind that some Internet users are criminals just looking for an opportunity at identity theft or worse.
Technology is infringing on personal security. The recent stir is about i-phones that track one’s every move and stores information about one’s whereabouts indefinitely. To be able to use the GPS indicator, which is driven by satellite, that feature was included. The company is now calling it a mistake that they will attempt to correct in the future.
While we are on the subject of personal information, how many times have you checked out at a store register, only to be asked for your zip code. Please decline. If you are paying by credit card AND provide your zip code, it is an entry point into other critical financial information about you that can be used for devious purposes. I guarantee that you won’t be happy with the results.
Initially, the Internet was created as a means of sharing scholarly information. It has morphed into a huge social media network. The danger of the kind of “sharing” that goes on is that one never knows how one’s information will be used, nor by whom or in what fashion. Use of the internet calls for a new kind of sophistication and insight. The word “ignore” is a very good one to learn when spam e-mails pop up that ask for ANY passwords or other personal information or warn you that your income tax return was not accepted or that someone has tapped into your bank account (just verify your bank account number, please!). Make sure you know with whom you are interacting and why, and be reluctant to click on any email with no subject line and a “curious” sender, whom you do not know. Never click on unknown attachments. A word to the wise…
For more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_bot
