I'm cleaning out and sharing so for the next couple of months I will be giving away books and artwork. However, I'm not doing a stand leave your name and I'll have a drawing for the winner. Instead, I'm going to ask questions and you need to leave a reply. This will help me with different things that I am curious to know. I want to create a dialogue.
When I was a kid, I was extremely curious. I drove my mom crazy asking questions. I always knew when my questioning was over when she would say, "Curiosity killed the cat." You can image my delight when I discovered the saying had a second part, "And satisfaction brought her back." Didn't make my mom happy.
So here is the question for this round, "How is history, and specifically quilt history, important to you?" If it is not important to you, "Why not?"
The winner will receive a copy of Spike Gillespie's book Quilts Around the World: The Story of Quilting from Alabama to Zimbabwe with a forward by Karey Patterson Breshenham (see book description below). I contributed two essays to the book. It is because of those essays that I was given the opportunity to write Quilts in the Attic. Thank you Spike!
The winner will be announced next Monday. Can't wait!
Book Description:
This essential book for all quilters and quilt collectors tells the fascinating story of quilting around the world, illuminated by the international quilt community's top experts and more than 300 glorious color photographs. Covering Japan, China, Korea, and India; England, Ireland, France, and The Netherlands; Australia, Africa, Central America, North America, and beyond, Quilts Around the World explores both the diversity and common threads of quilting. Discover Aboriginal patchwork from Australia, intricate Rallis from the Middle East, Amish and Hawaiian quilts from the United States, Sashiko quilts from Japan, vivid Molas from Central America, and art quilts from every corner of the globe. Also included are twenty patchwork and applique patterns to use in your own quilt projects, inspired by designs from the world's most striking quilts.
I really like to look at what is the same and what is different. I really enjoy block books such as Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns. I like looking at them because it makes my imagination run away and think of new things to make. I also like to see quilts that women have made under dire circumstances, such as by candlelight or after the end of a day filled with fieldwork, housework, etc. It makes me grateful for what I have. Also, the way women put blocks and fabrics together is really inspiring. A recent show at the San Jose Quilt Museum on Scraps quilts really re-energized the 9 patch for me. Thanks for the offer.
ReplyDeleteJaye
artquiltmaker.com/blog
Hello Karen! I love quilt history. When I spent a summer in Australia, I enjoyed learning about quilting in the different techniques and words for things compared to what we use. My dear friend Mimi Ayars was a quilt historian finatic! She loved quilt history and inspired me to enjoy it in so many ways. We would share stories we read or things we learned about quilters from around the world over a cuppa tea. I miss her dearly. If I won your book, I would, just like quilters do, offer to share it with my bee members so that they may read it and learn about quilting around the world.
ReplyDeletePam L.
Oh - wrapped in times with Mimi - I forgot to specifically answer the question! It is EXTREMELY important to all women, whether they know it or not, because it is who we ARE! It is our voice. We make quilts for reasons - it is an extension of our being. Whether it be to warm a child, lift the spirits of a friend or someone in need. QUilters have done this for centuries and will continue to do so. Mimi gifted me with a small book called "The QUilters" because she loved women's stories and because she set out to meet one of the women in that book. This is why I love quilt history and why it is important to me. The women are as important as the quilts they make.
ReplyDeletePam
my facebook was acting up all weekend. i missed this.
ReplyDeletei have some living quilt history. quilts my grandmother and great-grandmother and mother made. one in a pattern we had never seen. finally found a dresden star pattern that is similar.
Quilt history is important to quilters, whether they spend time studying it, or merely glance into it. But it tells a story, you decide if you want the full novel, or merely the 'Coles notes' version by how much time you commit to it. And if you are a woman, part of your past can probably be traced to a quilt. Mine can, and I am so proud of that.
ReplyDeleteI love the historic quilt designs and i like the idea that people used scraps to make them, they didnt go out and spend hundreds of $ on fabric and batting and backing.
ReplyDeleteQuilt history is very important to me. I love knowing about how & why they made quilts in the past and all the particulars about why they used that fabric and those patterns.
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew more about the ladies in my family that made quilts. One grandmother did and the other grandmother was told she couldn't quilt and the others took out her stitches when she left. :)
History is important to me because I want to know how we got here. Quilt history is important to me because my ancestors were quilters. Quilting means so much to me I want to know how it conects me with the generations of the past. I have sat through so called diversity classes that were only designed to anger white people. Well, I had signed up to seek the common thread between people. We already knew about our differences. I wanted to know how we are alike. I have found through my own studies that we are more alike than different. Mommas still worry about their babies and children still try to please their parents. Quilts are those common threads through every culture, every generation.
ReplyDeletesherriewohlgemuth@yahoo.com
Quilt history is my life (after my family, of course), I am an AQS Certified quilt appraiser and live and breathe q. history.
ReplyDeleteI have to correct the myth that early quilters used scraps (San Jose exhibit had focused on scraps but in the 1950's era not the 1850's era). In the 1800's esp. early, quilting was a wealthy woman's game (required $ and leisure time or servants); others used blankets. Take care.
Quilt history is important to me because I want to know where I came from in order to know where I am going! I look at all those antique quilts and try to unravel the story od their creator. Was she old or young, happy or sad, rich or poor. What was she thinking about during those hours with needle and thread in hand? I love looking at all the different fabrics. Quilts are an insight into the culture fo the times in which each was made.
ReplyDeleteHi Karen - Quilt history is important to me mostly because quilts have been so many women's outlet for the urge to create and to surround themselves with beauty. When I started reading about quilts in the 70s I realized that something had been missing from my life - and I started stitching again, after not having done much of that since my Mom taught me when I was little. I'm still a "wannabe" quiltmaker - I will get there someday - but I haven't stopped doing handwork - stitching, or beading, or knitting - ever since. And if not for quilts I never would have gotten to know you! Love you!
ReplyDeleteBecause traditionally quilts were textile constructions, quilt history is a telling and vibrant slice of the history of world-wide trade and industry. Fabric was seen, sought-after and traded, sometimes against great odds, whether erected by sumptuary laws or distance or isolationists regimes. For me, the quilter's love of the new, the beautiful, and the unique is one of the best parts of the story.
ReplyDeleteI don't have quilting in my history, but my mother was always working on a knitting project, or making a dress for me.. Wished I had known about quilting earlier in life.. It was actually through quilting that I found my biological family. Wanting to know if they were artists and quilters pushed me to do research with one of my quilting friends..So history is the very basics in our life.. we learn from it.
ReplyDeleteQuilt history is important to me because it offers so much information about the lives of our foremothers that may not be available elsewhere. In my town/area you can see how the similarity of many of the early quilts was due to the quilters having belonged to the same church, sharing patterns that later extended into the community at large. The textile industry was so important to my region's development (New England), and the recognition of its importance led to the museum in Lowell which now draws visitors from around the quilting world. The names of quilt patterns gives clues to what was important in the lives of women- so many names have political significance, proving women were interested in current affairs even though it would be decades before they could vote. I own several antique quilts that are a treasure trove of information. One was made in Kansas around 1895, I purchsed it in Florida in the 1990's. I know the maker's name and was able to find more information about her and her family online. Another quilt looked at first glance like a very busy, vibrant scrap quilt from the late 1930's-1940's, but closer inspection of the 54 fabrics used showed that many of the prints were repeated in several colorways. In my opinion, the quilter was unlikely to have made clothing, curtains or aprons from so many of the same fabrics. I suspect, although I can't prove it yet, that the maker worked in a textile mill. The quilt was purchased in NE Connecticut and was likely made in the region.
ReplyDeleteQuilt history connects us to our past in a decidedly feminine way. Yes, I know there were/are male quilters and rug makers, but it is primarily thought of as a woman thing. I'm a bit of a subversive and I always like to tell people who don't know about it, the role that quilts played in the underground railroad and women's suffrage. Here were all those men thinking their women were going about women's work when they were really activists. I think quilt guilds today may be missing opportunities to do the same...while our DH's think we are looking at pretty fabric and having lunch. The role of activism today is many times taken up by art quilters who feel free to express their opinions.
ReplyDeleteBefore I became interested in quilt history (I have been a certified quilt appraiser and budding quilt historian since 1993), history for me held no real context except in a very few instances. It was mostly about wars and the and the key events that have happened over history. But I had no "basket" to really put any of that into. When I began to do research into quilt history through my first quilt history book, Barbara Brackman's Clues in the Calico, suddenly a whole new world opened up for me. Suddenly I had a basket or a context that had meaning for me. This was the story of everyday people and how they were living during these times and how different larger events were affecting their everyday lives.
ReplyDeleteQuilts in one form or another have been used throughout history for every imaginable reason - to keep warm, to protect the body from harm during times of war, to bury those lost in wars and to other reasons, to surround someone in process of giving birth, to raise monies to support a vast number of causes, and for social commentaries and tributes. Today it has become recognized as a major art form, along with its many other roles. The history of quilts in society, I believe, is truly unique. Quilts also represent a living and vibrant form of history, not just for the past, but for the ongoing history of mankind. I know that for me, it is something that will continue to intrigue me and draw me into more studies for the rest of my life.
Quilt history for me is almost undefinable. It is like love -- the more you give the more you receive, and there's always a capacity for more. It fills my heart and mind. It enhances and supports the spiritual connection I feel when I am restoring or repairing an old quilt or completing an unfinished legacy. The entire realm of quilt history feels personal to me and everything about it keeps me learning and growing. It has brought me into a world filled with wonderful people like you who write and speak and share you knowledge. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteJan Masenthin
Quilt history provides a grounding or basis, allowing me perspective on where I am in my quilt journey and who I am as a quilter -- how I fit in. I am awed by some historic quilts and quilters and shake my head in disbelief by others, just the same as contemporary quilts and quilters. But I observe and learn from all, creating and strengthening identification with and relationship to quilters through all ages. Several years ago I organized an ingathering of my greatgrandmother's quilts for a show at my family reunion under the theme "A Bond With the Past - a Gift To the Future." That's how it is with quilt history - it informs who we are today.
ReplyDeleteMaretta
What a great-sounding book! Our history is so important to who we are today and just how we got here. When I travel and visit museums it's so interesting to see what quilting was like in a different place and time. This would be a good book for anyone's shelf. Thanks for the opportunity to own a copy.
ReplyDeleteLynn Kunz
As i search for my birth daughter born August 3, 1967 in Portland Oregon; I reflect on the quilts used in the Underground Railroad for those seeking safe destinations all from the block design. This was a sign given from safe houses passed on to those traveling who knew how to read the quilt or block in the way it was hung; usually outside, on a fence, or on/in a window.
ReplyDeleteThe graveyard quilts had tombstones on them with dates of birth and death or just a name and birth date and used as a family album passed on down through generations the way we used pencil and paper, or the PC for our documentation. Some Bibles have family history in them as do these made from fabric. Not for warmth alone, but treasured as a legal documentation. I create quilts with my daughter in mind documented so when I find her she has these memories to wrap herself in all with dates and oodles of love in the stitches. Quilts..........made out of love for love, warmth, gift giving, documentation to be kept forever. Who knew a piece of cloth turned into a quilt is much more than a cover up, it is the security of our love for our fellow family and strangers received out of respect for life.
Colleen Kelly
I find that the history of quilting has not really changed that much in the years since I used to sit under my grandmother's quilt frame playing with the jar of buttons. The women chatted about their kids and husbands. They loved fabric and the challenge of the patterns and color combinations. Of course we have it easier now with our rotary cutters and fancy machines. But the thrill and feelings of accomplishment, and just the love of creating will never change
ReplyDeleteKay Laboda
This is what I love about quilts. They express the narrative of the maker's life. Each quilt has a story, reflective of the world of the women's life that made it. Without the history, we may not be able to fully appreciate what the quilt means. I borrowed the best book on textiles from the library that had wonderful detail about textiles and quilts-what was popular, what was available, how they were made and the historical significance. I want to know those women before us. They are survivors and I want to know their stories. Quilts reflect what binds us to the women in the past, to women around the world and to women in the future...
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, I won the book "Quilts, around the world'."
ReplyDeleteThank you so very much, i am totally humbled and appreciative of your generosity. What do I do to receive this gift?
Karen, from my heart, Thank you again, i can hardly wait to sit with my cup of something and a good light devouring each and every page.
Colleen Kelly
Colleen, Congrats! I just need your address. Please email it to me at musgrave.karen@gmail.com and I'll get it into the mail to you. Enjoy! Hugs, Karen
ReplyDeletei like to know what has come before me--what's new, what's been done before. some styles and ways of doing things seem to work regardless of what is "in" at the moment. Some things just seem to be timeless. I love that!
ReplyDeleteAmy Doigan Selmanoff
I'm a quilter that comes from a long history of quilters. I have many of the quilts dating back to my great-great-great grandmother, great-great,great, and grandmother(my mother skipped the desire). These quilts specifically show the history in my family. I can tell who had money (fabric choices) and who didn't, were they young and just learning or experienced with a needle and embellishment. The styles of these quilts have definitely influenced my own. Some are very traditional, some very crazy with lots of embellishment. You see this in my work of traditional and art quilts. I'd love to see the book and see if these styles influenced my ancesters. Thanks for the chance.
ReplyDeleteEleny