An Interview with Donald Beld
Quilter and Quilt Historian
Don Beld of California founded the Home of the Brave Quilts program, a grassroots effort whereby quilters could volunteer their time in making quilts to comfort grieving families of soldiers who have been lost in the "War on Terror."
Don has consented to be interviewed and has provided some photos of the kind of quilts he likes to create: those which represent history. All of the quilts on this page were made by Don Beld.
Click on the thumbnail photo to see a larger view. To return to this page, use the "back button" on the top of your screen.
"Rosa Parks, Breaking the bonds of Segregation," hand pieced, hand quilted and machine quilted.
Pat: Don, most people in the country associate your name with the "Home of the Brave" Quilts program that you founded. How did you happen to get involved with quilts and quilting, and what year did you begin making quilts?
Don: I have been doing needlepoint and cross-stitching since the Rosy Greer days, as a way of stress management, especially on long airplane flights. My son suffered from a long terminal illness and died in March of 1992. I used to sit by his bedside in the hospital and do needlework to keep him company; but after his death, I decided I didn't want to do that anymore. The shop where I bought my thread coincidently had a 12 week "traditional" hand quilting class that started the week after his death--I signed on for it as a new hobby. The rest, as they say, is history.
"The People's Choices: Quilters Salute 19th Century Americans," hand pieced and hand quilted.
Pat: You seem to really love U.S. history and historical events. Can you tell us about some of your quilts that have historical connections?
Don: Actually, almost all of my quilts have some type of historical connection. I have a personal theory that American quilting is the "folk art chronicle" of American history. We have always made quilts to memorialize important events, politicians, generals, social movements, religious beliefs, political parties, etc. It is an interesting area of pursuit, awaiting a doctoral thesis in the future.
"Stonewall Jackson" quilt: hand pieced and machine quilted.
Some of my quilts (are): a Stonewall Jackson quilt, identified by Nancy Cabot in the 1930s; one I call "The People's Choices," which has eighteen blocks named for famous nineteenth century people; more recently, one I call "Rosa Parks: Breaking the Bonds of Segregation"; my "Let's Roll! Flight 93, 9-11-01, Heroes All," which has been accepted into the museum at the Flight 93 National Monument in Somerset, Pennsylvania; and a quilt called, "Fallen Timbers: A Salute to the Heroes of 9-11," for the firefighters and police officers who died in the Twin Towers collapse. All of the "recent" themed quilts use old nineteenth century patterns in new ways.
"Fallen Timbers: A Salute to the Heroes of 9-11." Don describes this quilt as a variation of Drunkard's Path called Falling timbers and I thought that with it put together this way it looked like the grid work of the Twin Towers after they collapsed--and of course, the firefighters and police officers are the "Timbers" of our society. This quilt was done entirely by hand. I cut out all the pieces with scissors, marked them, put about 1/3 of them together and had the ladies from my guild put the others together (all by hand), then hand quilted it." Don added hand trapunto work to spell out the words, "Liberty," "Equality," "Dignity," and "Humanity," in the borders. the centers of the circles have trapuntoed eagles, wreaths, baskets and hearts.
Pat: During the Civil War, women in both the north and the south made quilts, some for soldiers in the field, and others for fund raising efforts to buy gunboats (in the south). Do you see strong similarities in the response of quilters to war then, and now?
Don: The Women's Auxiliaries, associated with the U.S. Sanitary Commission, was the first great, non-religious charitable movement in the history of the world. In addition to their fundraising and supply efforts at the "Sanitary Fairs," the women in the North made an estimated 250,000 to 400,000 cot size (48" x 84") quilts for the military hospitals and soldiers' use during the Civil War--all by hand! During the First World War, quilters made "Red Cross" quilts to raise funds for the war effort of the Red Cross. Quilters have continued their charity efforts ever since. It is mind-boggling when we stop to think about the millions and millions of quilts that America's quilters have made and given to homeless people; the elderly; the sick; abused spouses and children; fire, earthquake, hurricane, and flood victims, as well as to raise money for local charities.
"Let's Roll! flight 93, 9-11-01, Heroes All," will reside in the Flight 93 National Monument Museum in Somerset, Pennsylvania. The quilt is hand pieced, and hand and machine quilted. Don says: "All of the fabrics and designs in this quilt have meaning, as was common in Victorian quilting."
Pat: One of your quilts has been permanently collected by a museum. Congratulations! Other quilts of yours are on public display, and yet others will be in a special exhibit in 2007 at California's largest quilt show, "The Road to California." Do you hand piece and hand quilt all of your work?
Don: I hand piece all of my quilts, and if they are hand quilted, I also did that--but, as I am sure you know, I won't get many quilts made, if I didn't have some machine quilted. My machine quilting usually is done by a good friend, Cathy Kreter, from my guild, Citrus Belt Quilters in Redlands, California.
Pat: Historically, quilting has had boom periods followed by times of less activity We appear to be in a period right now when "newcomers" are still joining the ranks (last estimated at 21 million quilters). Do you think that this trend will continue for at least a little longer? What is the driving force for this type of creativity...for you, in particular, and for others, as far as you know?
Don: I don't know when the current upswing in quilting will begin a downward turn--but I expect that two of the reasons for our current upswing are: 1) people are interested, in today's complex world, of returning to older, slower methods--we seem to value handmade furniture, potter, (and) arts and crafts more than folks did in the 1960-80 period; and 2) I think that the freedom and expressiveness of the new "art"--especially fiber art-quilts allows new quilters to feel secure about showing their individuality.
Pat: What are the most often asked questions when you present a lecture?
Don: Well, besides the obvious question about why I started in what is basically a woman's "sport"; most of my talks concern history and quilting and the rich quilting tradition--so many questions are about the people I talk about.
Pat: Do you have any other thoughts you'd like to add?
Don: I would like to say that I am amazed at the response nationally to the Home of the Brave Quilt Project. When we started this project in August 2004, we had sixteen losses in Iraq and Afghanistan in the Inland Empire area of Southern California (it now is up to forty six); and I thought, "Well, I can make sixteen quilts, if no one helps."
But quilters are givers. We not only have made all of our forty six quilts, but my guild has made dozens more. The response of the women in my guild encouraged me to try to move this nationally. My thinking was that is just one more family got a quilt and knew that ordinary Americans understood their loss, then the program would be a success.
With the help of folks like you, Pat, we are now in forty seven states, the District of Columbia, and Australia; and have distributed more than seventeen hundred quilts to the families of the fallen--all of this without paid publicity; corporate donations or sponsorship--just from the hearts of quilters of America to the hearts of the families of the fallen.
I read every Internet obit on the fallen as we send their quilts--it has been a humbling and deeply moving experience for me and all the wonderful folks associated with the project.
Pat: Your work and your vision have certainly inspired a lot of quilters to honor the war dead by the work of their hands. You also inspire people to want to know more about our nation's history through the "lessons" contained in your quilts.
One last question: Are you available to teach or to give lectures. If so, how can folks contact you?
Don: Anyone who wants to help with the Home of the Brave Quilt Project can contact me at donbeld@pacbell.net The same is true if they would like to contact me about lectures or teaching. The reception to my talks is good--not because I am so wonderful--but because many quilters aren't aware of our history and my talk helps them to identify with this fabulous, national, centuries-long movement.
Note added in 2008: Donald Beld has retired as national coordinator for the HOTB program.
Pat: What are the names of the talks that you offer?
Don: My former talk was called, "The People's Choices: 19th Century Quilters Salute Their Heroes."
Currently, for 2007-2008, I am offering a talk called, "On the Road to Damascus: My Spiritual Journey Through Quilting."
Pat: Thank you so much for participating in this interview, Don. Best of luck in all of your future endeavors!
This concludes our interview with Don Beld on June 1, 2006.
To see examples of the type of quilt blocks used in the Home of the Brave Quilt Project, please consult the original web file featured on our website.
An index to other Home of the Brave files on our website.
Gunboat Quilts: A History by Patricia Cummings
©Copyright 2006. Patricia L. Cummings, Quilter's Muse Publications, Concord, NH. All rights reserved.