Issue 147 Winter 2020-2021 News Publication of the American Quilt Study Group v In this issue The Value of Revisiting Research: The Jane Gordon Quilt BY WILLIAM AND CHARLENE STEPHENS

6 Two Stories in Redwork

10 AQSG Seminar 2021

12 Midwest Fabric Study Group

Figure 1: The Jane Gordon quilt, (Fig.1) features an elaborately inked center panel surrounded by an appliquéd wreath. (Photo used with permission of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, #1941-109-1)

he 1841 Jane Gordon quilt has been The on-point chintz squares combine with 19 Tat the Philadelphia Museum of Art checkerboard pieced blocks of vibrant Virginia Quilt (PMOA) since it was donated in 1941. Turkey red print to make a very large Museum Exhibit A bequest of Philadelphia native Natalie 118 inch by 126 inch quilt. The identical Rowland, the quilt is an illustrative chintz blocks surrounding the intricate example of available fabrics and style inked center contain a very familiar dahlia of mid-nineteenth century design floral noted by quilt historian Barbara in Philadelphia. Brackman in her blog as appearing in at CALENDAR least thirty other mid-century quilts.1 (see ON PAGE 19 Although simple in design, the quilt Fig. 1) nonetheless makes a dramatic statement with its elaborate central block inking. Continued on page 3 Call for Papers The American Quilt Study Group (AQSG) seeks original, previously unpublished research pertaining to the history of quilts, quiltmakers, quiltmaking, associated textiles, and related subjects for inclusion in the annual volume of Uncoverings, a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal. Submissions are welcomed on an annual basis, with a firm deadline of June 1 each year.

Complete submission and manuscript guidelines are available on the AQSG website: americanquiltstudygroup.org/manuscript-guidelines/

SUPPORT FOR AQSG

Miki Peine Special thanks to the following individuals and Lahala Phelps organizations for “over-and-above” gifts of support Beverly Proulx to AQSG between August 1, 2020 and Elizabeth Richards November 30, 2020 Elsie Ridgley in honor of Barbara Brackman Unrestricted Donations Jan Rodgers Joanna Baxter Susan Salser Linda Baumgarten Alice Shaner-Simpson Joan Leahy Blanchard Alexandra Schweitzer Jodi Bratch Candace St. Lawrence Joan Brink Carol Veillon Sandra Brothers Ann Wasserman Margaret Cramer Stefanie Woolverton Barbara Eikmeier Restricted Donations Endless Mountain Quilt Guild Susan Day AQSG Endowment: Kathleen Decker Carol Esch Carole Dehlinger Marjorie Farquharson Lenna DeMarco Carolyn Mazloomi Lyn Dennis in memory of Catherine Mary Trower Bets Ramsey in memory of Linda Claussen Barbara Eikmeier in memory of Nancy Hornback Sara Schamerloh Taryn Faulkner Susan Seater Faith Fiene Publications Fund: Sherri Flynn Sherri Flynn in honor of Muriel Lander Kim Froedge Amy Korn Sylvia Jennings Galbraith Anita Loscalzo Barbara Garrett Rebecca Riley Cathy Glover Varene Teresi Lynn Gorges Lucy Hilty Research Fund: Nann Blaine Hilyard Karen Alexander in honor of Hazel Carter Ellen Horn Carol Hood Laurel Horton in honor of Judy Buss Star Ann Kloberdanz Cuesta Benberry Keynote Sponsorship Fund: Claire Kropschot Connie Chunn Kay Lee Susan Franklin Barbara Litman Susan Price Miller Anita Loscalzo Fredi Slaughter-Walker in memory of Marion Coleman Florence McConnell in honor of Carol Gebel Support for Seminar 2021 Polly Mello Our sincere thanks to these Sponsors Marian Ann Montgomery Orange Grove Quilters Guild in honor of Donna Jenks Paper Presenters and the Publication of Uncoverings: Nancy Ostman Lone Star Quilt Study Group Kelli Pedas Mark and Ruth Ann Dunn Foundation

2 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS Winter 2020-2021 The Value of Revisiting Research... (cont. from page 1)

The quilt is bound with a striped Jane’s marriage did not occur on simple tape, attached with a single the quilt’s May 1841 date but a stitch catching both the front and year later, in May 1842. back and is expertly hand- quilted with ten stitches per And to make attribution even more American Quilt inch of diagonal lines forming confusing, in 1842 Jane Gordon allover diamonds. moved and stayed near Harrisburg, Study Group PA, with no children of her own. The PMOA webpage in March 2019 How did the quilt become a The American Quilt Study Group showed a full picture of the quilt bequest of Philadelphia’s establishes and promotes the highest but no closeups, stating that the Natalie Rowland who was no standards for interdisciplinary inking read “Made and presented relation to Jane? quilt-related studies, providing to Miss Jane Gordon & Co. by opportunities for study, research and Mary Ann Skerrett, E.B.Phillips, When we visited PMOA in 2018 publication of works that advance the Geo S. Lang, Juli[a]n Phillips, E. for other research, Ms. Blum asked knowledge of quilts and related subjects. Phillips, Phila. May 1841.” us to investigate the Gordon quilt to answer the mystery of “Jane BOARD OF DIRECTORS Despite the clear inscription, Jane Gordon & Co.” Today’s access to Jayne Steffens...... President Gordon’s quilt has raised many online genealogical resources and Deb Dahab...... Vice President questions with museum staff city business documents could Jodi Evans...... Vice President about its origin, attribution clarify details not easily accessed Dana Balsamo...... Secretary and provenance. in 1941. Although we had not yet Nancy Bavor...... Treasurer seen the quilt itself, we took on the Kim Baird Unlike most other quilts in the quest for clarification. Karen Dever PMOA collection, the attribution Lisa Erlandson of the quilt to “Jane Gordon & A year later, we returned to PMOA Taryn Faulkner Co.” was very unusual and has with research results that Sherri Flynn long piqued the curiosity of Dilys frustratingly gave no clear answers, Susan Jerome Blum, the PMOA Senior Curator of instead raising even more Ebie Morris Costume and Textiles. Also questions. But, after viewing the Sharon Pinka unanswered were the identities quilt for the first time spread out Sharon Waddell of Jane, the four women and one on the museum tables and man, and their relationship to each inspecting the actual inscription, AQSG OFFICE STAFF other. Unfortunately, expanded the pieces fell into place! Armed Judy J. Brott Buss information about the quilt’s with the documented research Executive Director donation was nonexistent. It was on both the inscribed names Patricia Colombi assumed since 1941, but never and the business of dry goods in Member Services Coordinator verified, that “& Co.” referred to Philadelphia, we had an “aha” Jane’s unnamed fiancé. Adding moment when the real makers BLANKET STATEMENTS to the mystery was the fact that of this quilt became clear both IS PUBLISHED FOUR TIMES ANNUALLY Deadlines are February 1, May 1, August 1 and November 1. Blanket Statements Seminar Edition is published annually following Seminar. AQSG welcomes submissions to Blanket Statements. Information on editorial guidelines and policies may be found at www.americanquiltstudygroup. org/publications.asp or from the editor at [email protected]. SUPPORT FOR AQSG (CONT.)

PUBLICATION STAFF Hallie Bond...... Editor Kevin Gaskins...... Graphic Design Mary Kerr Keynote Speaker Presentation: Maryland Seminar Committee in Marianne Fons CONTRIBUTING WRITERS memory of Lucinda Cawley Special Presentations: Nancy Bavor, Judy Brott Buss, Neva Hart, Midwest Fabric Study Group in Mary Anne Kemper, Amy Korn, Jayne Northern Virginia Fabric honor of Dale Drake Dating Club Steffens, William and Charlene Stephens Ebie Morris Washington Quilt Study Group Live Auction: Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates

Winter 2020-2021 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS 3 The Value of Revisiting Research...

Figure 2: The Gordon Quilt inked poem and presentation inscription was most likely the work of a professional scrivener. (Photo by C. Stephens)

to us and PMOA Associate Costume Curator Kristina This inscription is inscribed above a long poem which Haugland. We were able to write a revised story gives credence to the reason for its creation. The poem for this quilt, unearthing a fascinating window into references Hymen, the Greek god of both marriage and Philadelphia quiltmaking and the sale of fabrics in the the wedding feast. The poem features the Victorian 1840s. The PMOA has updated their website and the euphemism for marriage as “the yoke of Hymen” and actual makers of the quilt are now credited with the is encircled by an appliqued wreath featuring many recognition they deserve.2 of the poem’s flowers and fruits, each with significant meaning to Victorians. It reads: As a result of this recent scholarship, reexamination of the quilt inscription and genealogical research on the To Hymen’s pleasant yoke. Oh yield people named on the quilt, we have ascertained that this quilt was not made FOR, but rather made BY Jane A Yoke of Grape Vine trimmed with flowers Gordon, with a newly revised reading of the inking as: “Made and Presented to Geo. S. Lang by Collected from the labored field Miss Jane Gordon and Co., Mary Anne Skerrett, EB Phillips, Juli[a]n Phillips, E. Phillips.” From Natures wilds from Arts gay bowers The inscription is inked in the center medallion of the A wreath! Where Fruits and Flowers entwine quilt on an elaborate bow with multiple tails, surrounded by an appliquéd wreath of roller printed Alternate round a silken chain chintz floral cutouts. The positioning of the writing made it easy to misread for and by whom the quilt The Apple with the Eglantine was made. (see Fig. 2)

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The Cala with the Golden Grain Rowland, and eventually to Jennie’s daughter, Natalie Rowland. George’s quilt was in the possession of his Use with Beauty granddaughter Natalie Rowland when she gifted the quilt to the PMOA in 1941. Love with Duty Scholarly quilt research should never be static but be Twining round and round again. reviewed periodically to both recognize improved technological capabilities and incorporate new We have found no attribution for the poem’s scholarship in the field. Rather than looking at review authorship at this time, but since the poem mentions as an attempt to correct mistakes, it can be an specific flowers in the appliquéd chintz wreath important contribution to growing knowledge about surrounding the inking, it could have been penned for important textile history. Ascertaining Jane Gordon’s this occasion or the appliqué was chosen to illustrate role in the creation of this important quilt helps create the poem. Jane’s sister Matilda wrote and published a more accurate picture of her artistry and poetry so it is possible that either she or even Jane contribution of women in this field. v could have written the poem. It is unusual to have such a long, inked inscription—a subject perhaps for future research!

This quilt was presented in May 1841 to Philadelphia dry goods store owner, George Shortread Lang, on the occasion of his marriage to Annie Traquair on 15 June 1841. Inking reveals the names of the quilt’s makers, most likely headed by “Jane Gordon and Company.” Endnotes All were female employees of the Lang’s Dry Goods 1 Barbara Brackman, “Dahlia Bouquet Chintz: Another Ubiquitous Fabric,” Store, had sewing experience and unfortunately, since September 9, 2018, http://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/2018/09/dahlia-bou- they were “spinsters,” have extremely limited quet-chintz-another.html, accessed September 12, 2020. documentation in official records. The use of the 2 https://philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/46170. identical dahlia chintz blocks is more easily explained since the quilt was made by a group working in a html?mulR=2007233324|1 dry goods store, with ready access to bolts of fabric. 3 Philadelphia City Directories are available through Temple University Libraries, (Perhaps this particular print was one in ample supply https://guides.temple.edu/c.php?g=525412&p=3591413, 1816-1817. so using a great deal of it was not an issue!) 4 Philadelphia City Directories, https://archive.org/details/philadelphiadire- 183536phil/page/78/mode/2up But the focus of this research is Jane Gordon and George Lang, so we will concentrate on them and give a brief look at their stories. George S. Lang owned, with his sister Jane Lang, a successful and large dry goods store wrapped around the corner of 8th and Filbert Streets from the 1820s through the 1870s. Jane Lang ran the day to day operation of the store while George, an accountant and financier, likely handled the store’s finances. About the Authors: Charlene and William Stephens Jane Gordon was born in Philadelphia in 1820 to Rosanna Cormack, a “mantua maker” and John Charlene and William Stephens are longtime educators, historians Gordon, a tailor3, according to the 1816-1817 and independent researchers who enjoy delving into nineteenth Philadelphia City Directories. After John died in 1821, century quilt history. Their recent research “Nothing Thou Love Rosanna listed her textile business under John’s name Be Lost or Die” on an 1846 quilt made at the Vermont Asylum in the Directories, eventually opening her own dry for the Insane, will be published in the 2020 edition of AQSG’s goods store on 13th and Vine Streets in 18354 near the Lang Store. Jane worked for Lang’s Store as evidenced Uncoverings. by the inscription on the quilt. With the new information about the recipient of the quilt, it appears that the Jane Gordon/George Lang quilt remained in and descended through the Lang family. Although no documentary evidence v substantiates this, circumstantial evidence does. The likely descent was from recipient George S. Lang and Annie Traquair Lang to their daughter, Jennie Lang

Winter 2020-2021 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS 5 Two Stories in Redwork By Mary Anne Kemper

her husband, John, in 1958. Tiny in stature, she was energetic with a ready smile and a twinkle in her eye, except when errant grandchildren or their neighborhood counterparts displeased her! Granny, as we all called Anna, was a daughter of Gustav and Ursula Davatz Hoffmann. Gustav (1851-1930), a minister, and Ursula (1859- 1897) were both Swiss immigrants who had married in 1891. Ursula died from consumption (tuberculosis) when Anna was four. She, her older sister Lena (1892- 1946), and their baby brother Henry (1896-1968), lived at the Evangelical Children’s Home in St. Louis for a few years after their mother’s death while their father served a congregation in Gasconade County, Missouri. (Fig. 1) The children were delighted with a new mother when Gustav married Louise Anna Rauch (1876-1952) in 1905. Rev. Hoffman then became the pastor of St. Paul’s Evangelical Church on the Mississippi River bluffs a few miles outside of Old Monroe, Missouri. He served there from 1906 to 1920.2 Between 1906 and December 1909, by kerosene lamp light in the attic of St. Paul’s hilltop parsonage, the two girls stitched thirty-two penny squares, eighteen setting triangles and four borders in redwork. (Fig. 2) They sewed the blocks together by hand and hemmed

Figure 1: Lena, Anna and Henry Hoffmann about 1900. Used by permission of Patricia Freese Gifford.

have long enjoyed the sharp contrast of red and Iwhite. This drew me to redwork, in varied needle art forms and in quilts. Special things are often close by and you don’t even realize it! My next-door neighbor as a teenager now owns a redwork quilt created by her grandmother, great-aunt and mother, stitching a family story over four generations. A quilting acquaintance has come into possession of thirty-two redwork penny squares from a great aunt’s estate, and she ponders what to do with them. While interviewing both of these women about their respective redwork possessions and family stories, connections began to appear. Stories of needlework and families separated by miles both offered glimpses into redwork stitchery in rural and urban east-central Missouri at the turn of the twentieth century.1 Anna Hoffman Freese (1893-1984) lived next door Figure 2: St. Paul’s parsonage, Old Monroe, Missouri, in 1909. to my family in Winfield, Missouri, after the death of Used by permission of Patricia Freese Gifford.

6 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS Winter 2020-2021 Two Stories in Redwork

hand quilted it for all-season use. Following Anna’s death in 1984, Mary stitched the quilt’s story in red around the outside edges. The quilt is now in the care of Patricia Freese Gifford, and is listed as #144 in the Lincoln County Missouri Historical Society Quilt Registry Project.5 (Fig. 3) The individual penny squares owned by the author’s quilting friend came from the collection of Margaret Lucille Rickard Folkers Edelbeck (1897- 1985). Margaret grew up near the present-day Monarch Levee, in St. Louis County, Missouri, where her family were farmers. Margaret was the youngest of eight children with her next sibling Mary (known as May), nine years older than Margaret, and the next sibling Charles, eleven years her senior. Throughout her life she maintained close relationships with both with May and Charles. For a time, May lived with Margaret. At her death, a large portion of Margaret’s estate went to Charles’ daughter Cecile.6 Margaret (known as “Maggie”) married Water Folkers, a machine shop operator, in 1925. (Fig. 4) They lived in St. Louis County. In later years, Walter ran Folkers Hardware Store in Webster Groves, Missouri with his family. Walter and Margaret had no children but traveled extensively as Margaret’s postcard collection proves. Figure 3: “Granny’s Quilt,” Quilt #144, Lincoln County Historical Society Quilt Margaret was active in the Webster Registration Project, Patrick Reid, photographer. Used by permission. Groves Presbyterian Church and was known for her very stylish wardrobe. Walter died suddenly in 1942. Margaret married Richard Edelbeck in 1951. the edges to make a summer coverlet. As was the custom then for summer coverings or coverlets, they Throughout her life, Margaret collected and carefully finished the edges by turning under and stitching down saved things, whether from her many travels across 3 the United States, or family letters, needlework, and and did not use backing or batting. They finished the 7 coverlet in time to give it to their stepmother, Louise, books. There is little evidence that she stitched any for Christmas 1909. kind of needlework, and the squares themselves do not suggest her work. Four squares have writing, one dated Anna remained in the Old Monroe community, “1899.” Margaret was born in 1897. Another carries marrying John Freese (1894-1958), a farmer, in 1917. the embellished initials “S. F.” After tracing three After Pastor Hoffman died, Louise gave the coverlet generations of the Folker family, (Margaret’s first to Anna. For many years, Anna’s granddaughter, Pat husband) no one with those initials could be found. Freese Gifford, remembers the coverlet being on Anna and John Freese’s bed during the summer.4 Some Margaret obviously had an appreciation for years later, Anna’s daughter-in-law and Pat’s mother, needlework, however. She collected different types and Mary Beckemeier Freese, gave it batting, backing, and passed them to her favorite niece, Cecile, who was an avid seamstress, doing embroidery and quilting. The

Winter 2020-2021 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS 7 Two Stories in Redwork

patterns Harding listed: frog, owls under an umbrella, cat, rooster on wash barrel, girl jumping rope, girl with muff, woman with rake and an owl on a branch. Anna’s quilt contains two similar designs to examples in the Harding books (a boy with a bubble pipe and a poppy flower arrangement). These are each repeated twice, as was the horseshoe, which was not a match to any horseshoe designs in Harding’s work. The remaining twenty-six squares in Anna’s top are flowers, leaves and birds, each different. The fourteen setting triangles are a single maple leaf pattern which is a match in Harding’s work without the words.9 A butterfly, the 1909 date and the initials “L” (for Louise) and “H” (Hoffmann) are stitched in the four corner triangles. The thirteen- by sixteen-inch borders have a repeated leaf and tiny flower blossom pattern, which was not found in any of the author’s sources. (Fig. 6) The white binding is a half-inch wide on the top (three-inch fabric folded in half with quarter inch seams), machine-stitched to the top and hand-stitched down on the quilt’s back. The borders are quilted in rope patterns, with a clover pattern used in the setting squares and corner quilting patterns of five varied sized pointed ovals. The penny squares are quilted with a four petaled flower within a swagged square. The quilt’s dimensions are eighty-three and one-half inches by ninety-three inches. These penny squares from the turn of the twentieth century, one group stitched into a quilt and the second Figure 4: Walter and Margaret Rickard Folkers 1925 Wedding Photo. from a needlework lover’s estate, give clues to family Used by permission of Cheryl Bommelhorst Reichle. stories and history. In addition, they demonstrate outline embroidery commensurate with redwork penny square designs throughout the United States. thirty-two, nine-inch redwork penny squares were part These two stories in redwork relate patterns and of Cecile’s inheritance from her Aunt Margaret. (Fig. 5) techniques with family history, both oral and written, The penny squares are of white muslin and show no to the larger community. Once again, the “connecting evidence of being printed at purchase, tracing wheel threads” of needle arts help to record the history of marked, pencil- or powder-marked. Only two have our lives, past and present. v any age spots and those are small brown marks. The present owner, Cheryl Brommelhorst Reichle, Cecile’s daughter, did wash and press the penny squares upon receiving them. Anna’s quilt and Margaret’s penny squares have some things in common. Both were embroidered with two-ply Turkey Red embroidery thread in stem stitch on white muslin squares, nearly all measuring nine About the Author: inches before finishing. They are different in that although Margaret’s squares do not have signs of Mary Anne Kemper marking, five of Anna’s quilt squares show remnants Mary Anne Kemper is a retired Elementary of pin-prick and stamping powder marks or a tracing Music Educator. She enjoys quilting and the wheel. There are also some light quilting pattern lines on the quilt. history of her local community, Troy, MO. Her interests are whole cloth quilts, hand quilting The patterns in both are indicative of 1880–1920’s patterns of the 1840-80’s and the connection of redwork subjects as documented in Deborah Harding’s quilts with family history and stories. Her Red and White: American Redwork Quilts and Red special joy is the needlework interests of her and White Redwork Patterns.8 In the thirty-two three granddaughters. She would like to thank Connie Chung and squares in Margaret’s collection (no repeats) there is Ann Hazelwood for their information and guidance with redwork one similar match, a dog, and nine exact matches to needle art.

8 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS Winter 2020-2021 Two Stories in Redwork

Figures 5 & 6: Redwork Penny Squares, photographed by the author. Used by permission of Cheryl Brommelhorst Reichle.

Endnotes www.quiltindex.org/essay.php?kid=1E-B9-4 (accessed 10/20/2020). 1 For more information on redwork see: Barbara Brackman, Clues in Calico: A Guide to Identifying and Dating Antique 2 Interviews with Patricia Freese Gifford August 23, 2020 and September 3, Quilts (Marshall, VA: EPM Publications, Inc., 1989), 106-108, 146. 2020, Winfield, MO. Deborah Harding, Red & White: American Redwork Quilts (New York, NY: 3 Sharon Pinka, “Embroidered Summer Spreads,” Blanket Statements, Winter Rizzoli International Publications Inc., 2000). 2008-09, 1, 3. Deborah Harding, Red & White: Redwork Patterns (New York, NY: Rizzoli 4 Gifford interview. International Publications, Inc., 2000). 5 “Quilt Registry Notebook, 2016” Lincoln County Historical and Geological Jenny Carr Kinney, Quilting Designs from the Past: 300+ Designs from 1810- Society, Troy, MO #144. 1940 (Lafayette, CA: C & T Publishing, Inc., 2008), 72, 104,105. 6 Phone interviews of Cheryl Brommelhorst Reichle July 18, 2020 and August Lynnne Shultis, “Analysis of a Late Nineteenth-Century Redwork Quilt Top,” 20, 2020, Troy, MO. Uncoverings Vol. 28 2007, ed. Johanna E. Evans (Lincoln, NE: American Quilt Study 7 Reichle interview. Group, 2007) 97-128. 8 Harding, Red & White: American Redwork Quilts, 20-35. Mary Worrell, “Redwork: A Textile Tradition in America.” The Quilt Index 9 Harding, 75.

Winter 2020-2021 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS 9 focus on AQSG

Annual AQSG SEMINAR Aug 18-21, 2021 in Harrisonburg, Virginia: QUILTS, historic private homes, collections, eight museums, MORE QUILTS By Neva Hart

hether virtual or in person, Seminar 2021 will Wexplode your eyes, hearts, and hands with examples of material culture dating from the mid- 1700s. The Shenandoah Valley’s gorgeous scenery is the setting for exhibits, tours, lectures, and close-ups of quilts, quilt makers, and venues showing quilts as old as George Washington! (Yes, he slept here!) The Virginia Quilt Museum will host us as we absorb curated exhibits of famous quilts, storied quilts, formal quilts, utility quilts. Learn specific characteristics of quilts made in the region—the patterns, techniques, colors, fabrics, the history…what makes “Valley” quilts unique, quilts by Quakers, Scots-Irish, Germans, Swiss pioneers and descendants. Guided tours of historic houses and owners’ quilt collections will add to scholarly lectures and study centers—the opportunities we always anticipate from our annual meeting. All while meeting, greeting, wining, dining, spending and elevating our knowledge of historic textiles. Our headquarters will be the new Hotel Madison on the campus of James Madison University in historic Harrisonburg, VA, centrally located in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley. Abundant outdoor activities will Figure 1: Virginia Quilt Museum

Figure 2: Detail of Bushong quilt, 1853 (VQM collection)

10 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS Winter 2020-2021 Annual AQSG SEMINAR... focus on AQSG

Figure 3: Sites House, ca. 1801 (home of Beverley & Jeffrey Evans, Broadway, VA) keep non-quilter travel companions busy while we research and explore our options. Block off the dates now on your 2021 calendars. Like Stonewall Jackson, start planning your own Valley campaign to savor the Shenandoah! v Figure 4: “Farmer’s Delight” ca. 1860 (VQM collection) v

WELCOME TO THOSE WHO HAVE RECENTLY JOINED AQSG:

Amie Adelman, Azle, TX Patricia Harants, Memphis, TN Robin Bartels, Reading, MI Betty Kisbey, Lincon, CA Elizabeth Bauer, Brooklyn, NY Stella Lang, Atlanta, GA Robert Bergelson, Philadelphia, PA Valerie Langue, Winf ield, IL Laura Bishop, Peachtree Corners, GA Betsy Lanning, Medford, OR Peggy Calvert, Orange CA Amy Matin-Barickman, Kellie Coombs, Catlett, VA Prairie Village, KS Kathleen Decker, Williamsburg, VA Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi, West Chester, OH Paula Dornenburg, Broomf ield, CO Linda Mueller, Charlevoix, MI Emelie Gevalt, Long Island City, NY Mindy Sederquist, Fairview, UT Deb Geyer, Marion, IN Linda Wehrmeister, Concord, CA Victoria Grivas, Milford, PA April Yorks, Flint, MI

Winter 2020-2021 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS 11 focus on AQSG

The Midwest Fabric Study Group Carries On By Amy Korn

In October, member Roberta Gellner alerted us to the potential closure of the department of Textile Merchandising and Fashion Design (TMFD) at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. We crafted a letter protesting the closure and sixty-one members signed it, pleading for continued funding and operation. Our first virtual activity was a zoom conference, “American Spirit: Patriotism and Quilts 1800-2020” presented by Xenia Cord on Sunday, November 1. The two- hour presentation was free to members and accommodated up to 100 participants. Dale Drake assisted Xenia Figure 1: From our “Sacks of Stories” Zoom presentation with Judy Barmann, by monitoring and with her granddaughter, Poppy, modeling feedsack fashions! admitting members to the session. Such themes as the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the War Between the States, the American Centennial (with specific imagery of the eagle, flag, shield, and Lady Liberty), hat do quilt-starved, housebound, antique quilt WWI, the Great Depression, WWII, the Vietnam War, Wresearchers and fabric lovers do when the going and the Bicentennial were covered with multiple gets tough? They rejoice with the activities of a images and descriptions. regional study group! The Midwest Fabric Study Group (MFSG), founded in 2002 and now with more than 125 Additional zoom meetings are scheduled for the next members, has continued activities and enrichment seven months and will include such topics as: “Sacks throughout the run of the COVID-19 virus. Members and Stories,” feedsacks and other textile bags with are primarily in Ohio and Indiana, but several quilt Judy Barmann; “Spiders and Birds and Flowers, Oh lovers join us from as far away as Arizona and New My!” a case study of a Tree of Life and cut out chintz York. After the pandemic forced cancellations of our appliqué quilt with Peggy Norris; “Quilts on the annual August study day, as well as a highly Covers,” magazine cover art with Susan Price Miller; anticipated Red and Green Extravaganza in and “Rose of Sharon,” an examination of a popular Shipshewana, Indiana, many generous members floral appliqué pattern with Sharon Pinka. Interspersed donated their fees from the cancelled meetings to beef with planned programs will be focused “show and tell” up our treasury. In addition, MFSG once again of member pandemic projects and antique quilts. sponsored a seminar paper for 2020 in honor of member Janet White, who researched and persevered We are hopeful that 2021 will allow some in-person to move the chat group from Yahoo to Groups. io. Two meetings later in the year, but in the meantime, we quilts were donated to the AQSG fundraising auction will focus on our love of quilts and the chance to share from the collection of member Marilyn Sholtis Riehl. in a virtual setting. v And a member-to-member book sale was held with each seller donating $2 to the MFSG coffers for each book listed.

12 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS Winter 2020-2021 The Midwest Fabric Study Group Carries On focus on AQSG

Figure 2: From Xenia's program on patriotic quilts. The featured quilt is “Stars and Stripes” dated 1917, from Twentieth Century Quilts 1900-1950, page 99. Both photos by Ruth Pedigo. v

Join the AQSG Email Discussion on Groups.io! Did you know that AQSG has a free email discussion group? The email group is a great way to connect with other members, post information about study group meetings or quilt exhibits in your area, share photographs of new quilt finds, and discuss all manner of topics of interest to other quilt history enthusiasts—even find a roommate for Seminar. If you'd like to join the group, send an email to [email protected]. We're looking forward to hearing from you!

Winter 2020-2021 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS 13 focus on AQSG FROM THE OFFICE By Judy J. Brott Buss

Please join in sending appreciation to the very talented and dedicated Uncoverings 2020 team for this year’s outstanding volume: editor Joanna Evans; authors, Deanna Allred, Linda Baumgarten/Gretchen Guidess/Kimberly Ivy, Charlene Bongiorno Stephens/William G. Stephens, Mary Bywater Cross and Hallie Bond; Lorie Chase, chair of the publications committee; Dale Drake, chair of the paper review committee; members of the paper review committee; Kevin Gaskins Design; The Sheridan Press. Thank you all, for the many, many hours contributed to produce this year’s volume. A hearty welcome to Sharon Pinka, newly elected member of the AQSG Board of Directors. Sharon begins a three-year term on January 1, 2021. She has been serving AQSG as chair of the Mentoring Committee and will continue to do so plus take over as chair of the Publications Committee following Lorie Chase. Our sincere appreciation goes to Lorie for her very capable interim leadership of the Publications Committee. Thank you, thank you Lorie for your generous dedication of volunteer time and talent to the work of AQSG! THANK YOU TO ALL MEMBERS for outstanding support of AQSG through your membership, both those recently joined for the first time and those renewing for 2021. All kinds of ideas and plans for online programming are swirling around for AQSG in 2021. Some events will be for members only so be sure to take note of the Member Password you received in your December Member Acknowledgement letter. Some events will be for a small fee but there will also be free offerings. The free offerings are a great way for you to share AQSG with people you know who might be interested in our organization. AQSG membership grows by working on it together!

Some Facts and Figures to note: October Virtual Seminar Study Centers $17,691 Unrestricted Live Auction $9,410, Unrestricted $3,050 Fund a Need earmarked for Technology upgrades

November Virtual Quilt Show and Sale Vendor Members donated $3,348 Unrestricted to AQSG Special thanks to Xenia Cord, Julia Kelly-Hodenius, Jane Lury, Claire McKarns, Cindy Rennels, Julie Silber for an amazing show and generous support of AQSG

December #Giving Tuesday With a goal of $2,500 for the Quilt Study Program we raised $2,355! That’s 94% of our goal—Wow! Thank you everyone! --Judy Brott Buss v

14 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS Winter 2020-2021 focus on AQSG FROM THE AQSG PRESIDENT By Jayne Steffens

Winter is often regarded as a good time to observe, reflect and resolve. So, perhaps it is a good idea to take a few minutes and look at the many ways AQSG gives to its members as well as the various avenues members can use to give to AQSG. AQSG gives to its members by...

• keeping the Mission Statement alive and well • adhering to research standards in publications • publishing five issues of Blanket Statements each year • publishing Uncoverings annually • annually offering the Endowment Outreach Grant and four research grants, Lucy Hilty Research, H. Mark Dunn Research, and Sue Cummings Research • annually offering a fellowship grant for financial help for attending Seminar • offering unique opportunities to present research through panels, poster sessions and study centers • making research and publication mentors available to all • presenting both free and paid events online • offering a quilt study project biennially • coordinating a multifaceted Seminar each year (when possible!) You can give to the organization by...

• volunteering for committee, board activities or as a mentor • offering to present as part of the virtual activities or in a Seminar setting • membership dues (have you considered upping your membership category?) • participating in the Annual Spring Fund Appeal • donating to the Endowment Fund or to another designated fund • designating AQSG as a recipient in your estate plan • supporting vendors, book sales, sponsors and special projects • talking up AQSG to colleagues, friends, and quilt lovers • contributing to our publications • joining the online conversations. I’m sure I missed something! But you can see that the give and take of AQSG does indeed make for a rich and rewarding organization. I invite you to take advantage of the possibilities! Jayne Steffens

Winter 2020-2021 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS 15 focus on AQSG

Treasurer’s Update - December 2020 By Nancy Bavor

The year 2020 has been an extraordinary year for everyone and every organization, including AQSG. At the end of 2019, AQSG was in a good financial position and poised to weather the unknowns of 2020 and long-term effects of COVID-19. Members can have confidence in the dedicated staff, board and members who “pivoted” and quickly developed virtual experiences to replace our in-person ones. However, we are not out of the woods yet, financially speaking. One of the reasons AQSG has remained strong through the years is because of the support of its members, though membership dues and donations. You recently received your renewal notice. If you are able, please consider upgrading your membership level or adding a little extra. The virtual study groups in September were very popular and brought in revenue but not enough to replace our wonderful in-person seminars. Be sure and sign up for the next session of study groups February 2021.

I know that I have not been getting out much, shopping, dining in restaurants, or going to movies. Nor will I need that special outfit for the holiday parties I won’t be attending! If your year has been the like, as you review your year-end finances, consider donating that savings to AQSG! v

AQSG Endowment Grant Deadline Approaching By Jayne Steffens

The AQSG Endowment Fund not only provides stability for our organization, but also enables us to use a percentage of the earnings to distribute in the form of grants. These grant funds are available to members and non-members alike. The purpose of the grant program is to encourage and facilitate education and outreach in quilt related studies. Former recipients include:

2016 South County Museum, Narragansett, RI – Slant Board 2017 Baldwin Reynolds House, Meadville, PA – Quilt Racks Migrant Quilt Project, Jody Ipsen & Peggy Hazard – Traveling Exhibit and Appraisal

2018 Virginia Quilt Museum, Harrisonburg, VA – Exhibit Guides and Color Catalog 2019 Iroquois Indian Museum, Howes Cave, NY – Exhibition Support th 2020 Brooklyn Waldorf School, Brooklyn, NY – 7 graders creating a history project in a quilt Ridgewood Historical Society, Ridgewood, NJ – Quilt and Coverlet Show support Is there a museum, historical society, school or other organization in your area that could use financial help to aid their education and outreach efforts about quilts? Applications must be submitted by February 1, 2021. Please see the AQSG website for further details.

16 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS Winter 2020-2021 Quilt world news The Travels of Lincoln the Bear

Lincoln is visiting Deb Geyer and friends at The Quilters Hall of Fame. It’s a bit cold here, but Lincoln doesn’t mind. He was very good about wearing his mask and he enjoyed a dance with Marie Webster. He (and all the other visitors and staff) enjoy the AQSG “200 Years of Solid Color” exhibit at the Hall of Fame.

Winter 2020-2021 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS 17 Book notes

Art Quilts Unfolding: Fifty Years The Fabric of Civilization: How of Innovation Textiles Made the World Martha Sielman, Nancy Virginia Postrel Bavor, Lisa Ellis, Sandra Sider Basic Books, 2020 Schiffer, 2018

Alabama Quilts Wilderness through World War II, 1682–1950 Mary Elizabeth Johnson Huff and Carole Ann King Foreword by Steve Murray

Alabama Quilts: Wilderness through World War II, 1682–1950 is a look at the quilts of the state from before Alabama was part of the Mississippi Territory through the Second World War—a period of 268 years. The quilts are examined for their cultural context—that is, within the community and time in which they were made, the lives of the makers, and the events for which they were made.

Starting as far back as 1682, with a fragment that research indicates could possibly be the oldest quilt in America, the volume covers quilting in Alabama up through 1950. There are seven sections in the book to represent each time period of quilting in Alabama, and each section discusses the particular factors that influenced the appearance of the quilts, such as migration and population patterns, socioeconomic conditions, political climate, lifestyle paradigms, and historic events. Interwoven in this narrative are the stories of individuals associated with certain quilts, as recorded on quilt documentation forms. The book also includes over 265 beautiful photographs of the quilts and their intricate details.

To make this book possible, authors Mary Elizabeth Johnson Huff and Carole Ann King worked with libraries, historic homes, museums, and quilt guilds around the state of Alabama, spending days on formal quilt documentation, while also holding lectures across the state and informal “quilt sharings.” The efforts of the authors involved so many community people—from historians, preservationists, librarians, textile historians, local historians, museum curators, and genealogists to quilt guild members, quilt shop owners, and quilt owners— making Alabama Quilts not only a celebration of the quilting culture within the state but also the many enthusiasts who have played a role in creating and sustaining this important art.

Mary Elizabeth Johnson Huff (1944–2019) was author of numerous books on quilting, including Martha Skelton: Master Quilter of Mississippi; Threading the Generations: A Mississippi Family’s Quilt Legacy; and Mississippi Quilts, all published by University Press of Mississippi. Carole Ann King is curator for Landmarks Foundation at Old Alabama Town, a collection of authentically restored nine-teenth- and early twentieth-century historic structures in downtown Montgomery.

18 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS Winter 2020-2021 Places to go Experience Winter with Our Latest Exhibit The Virginia Quilt Museum Reveals “Reds and Uncoverings 2021 Authors Chosen Greens: Threads of Winters Past” Congratulations to these authors for On Friday, November 20th, 2020 the Virginia Quilt Uncoverings 2021 who will present their papers Museum opened “Reds and Greens: Threads of at Seminar 2021: Winters Past” to the public for display. Alice M. Hines, PhD, “Connecting Threads: A “These quilts have a lot of charm,” says Susan Friendship Quilt and the Origins of a Vibrant Farmer, the Executive Director of the Virginia Quilt and Innovative Quilting Community” Museum. “The way the reds and greens fade into different shades tells a lot about the history of dyes Diana Bell-Kite and RaeLana Poteat, and how they change through the centuries. These “Searching for Margaret: Race, Memory and a quilts are a great representation of historic quilting North Carolina Quilt” techniques and artistry.” Anita B. Loscalzo, “A Tompkins County, New “Reds and Greens: Threads of Winters Past” is York Quilt Top Mystery” curated by Susan Farmer and Rachel Gregor, the museum’s Curatorial Assistant. Quilts featured in Meta M. Van Nostran, “The Threads of the exhibit date back to the 1800s and are part of Redwork” the Virginia Quilt Museum’s permanent collection. The Virginia Quilt Museum is the Official Quilt Museum of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Founded in 1995, the museum’s mission is “celebrating and nurturing Virginia’s quilting heritage.” The CALENDAR museum's three floors of rotating exhibits are open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am – 4 pm. The museum is located at 301 S. Main St. February 1, 2021 Harrisonburg, VA. Deadline for Research and Endowment For more information about the Virginia Quilt Grant Applications Museum, please visit http://www.vaquiltmuseum.org or email Paige Hildabrand at February 21,2021 [email protected]. Board of Directors Meeting February 27-28, 2021 Virtual Study Centers

August 18-22, 2021 Seminar, Harrisonburg, Virginia

LOOKING AHEAD

September 28 - October 2, 2022 Seminar, San Diego, California

Blanket Statements Deadlines February 1 May 1 August 1 November 1 Figure 1: Brashears Baltimore Album Quilt, created by the friends and family of Joseph Brashears, 1848. Virginia Quilt Museum.

Winter 2020-2021 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS 19 NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION US POSTAGE PAID LINCOLN NE PERMIT NO. 1147

Quarterly News Publication of the American Quilt Study Group 1610 L Street Lincoln, Nebraska 68508-2509

Email: [email protected] Website: www.americanquiltstudygroup.org Printed on recycled paper to protect the environment

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Call for Papers The American Quilt Study Group (AQSG) seeks original, previously unpublished research pertaining to the history of quilts, quiltmakers, quiltmaking, associated textiles, and related subjects for inclusion in the annual volume of Uncoverings, a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal. Submissions are welcomed on an annual basis, with a firm deadline of June 1 each year.

Complete submission and manuscript guidelines are available on the AQSG website: americanquiltstudygroup.org/manuscript-guidelines/