Issue 144 Summer 2020 News Publication of the American Quilt Study Group v In this issue A Quilt Mystery: Searching for the Cherry Tree and Birds Quilt BY LENNA DEMARCO

7 A Long and Winding Road

10 Weathering the Storm

14 Hidden Treasures, Pt. 3

Figure 1: Cherry Tree Medallion Quilt from the estate of Queenie Smith (1898-1978), a film dancer and actress in the 1930s, and was found in Redlands, California. Collection of the author. Photo by Lynn Miller.

number of years ago while pieced and applique patterns but one quilt Arummaging through an estate resale in particular caught my eye (Fig. 1). It was shop in Redlands, CA I came upon a in a medallion format and consisted of a 17 stack of quilts listed as from the estate of single cherry or apple tree in the center, Study Group Queenie Smith, a 1930s stage and film bearing oversized fruit and flanked by two actress and dancer. Having been a oversized birds at the base. Above and professional dancer all my life, I was below were two pots of whimsical immediately intrigued. Nothing indicated flowers while two stalks of unidentifiable Smith as the maker but dancers typically buds were placed along the right and left do some sort of hand work to fill up the sides of the quilt. A border of appliqued CALENDAR long hours of waiting at rehearsals, classes grape leaves, grape pods, and fat yellow ON PAGE 23 and performance so perhaps she did make birds encircled the entire quilt. The Nile them. Most of the quilts were typical 1930s Continued on page 4 Call for Papers The American Quilt Study Group (AQSG) seeks original, previously unpublished research pertaining to the history of quilts, quiltmakers, quiltmaking, associated textiles, and related subjects for inclusion in the annual volume of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

Our sincere thanks to these 2021 Seminar Sponsors: Anonymous in memory of Rose Elisabeth Seminar 2021 Paper Presenters and Publication of Gloria and Richard Comstock Uncoverings 2020 Kanawha Valley Quilters Guild, South Charleston, WV Karen Alexander Mary Kerr Lone Star Quilt Study Group James McHone Jewelry, Harrisonburg, VA Robert and Ardis James Foundation Patchwork Plus, Dayton, VA Mary Kerr Nick Powers Maryland Seminar Committee in memory of Jill Wilson Lucinda Cawley Special thanks to the following individuals and Midwest Fabric Study Group in honor of Janet White organizations for their “over-and-above” gifts of Ebie Morris support to AQSG between February 1, 2020 and May 1, 2020. Washington Quilt Study Group Jill Wilson Unrestricted Donations and Pledges including Dime A Day Donations Keynote Speaker Nancy Bavor Marianne Fons Virginia Berger Saturday Special Presentation Lorie Chase Jeffrey S. Evans Deb Dahab Sunday Special Presentation Jodi Evans Northern Virginia Fabric Dating Club Taryn Faulkner Jill Wilson Sherri Flynn Susan Jerome Welcome Events and Seminar Hosts Barbara Menasian in memory of Barbara Gonce Virginia Quilt Museum Ebie Morris in memory of Gwen Marstons Seminar 2021 Committee R. H. and Betty Roberts Thursday Welcome Reception Jane Steffens Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates Sharon Waddell Thank you to these sponsors for their additional Restricted: Cuesta Benberry Keynote Fund Seminar support Kim Baird Karen Alexander

2 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS Summer 2020 Board Nominations (05/01/2020) By Deb Dahab

American Quilt ach year, AQSG members are asked to approve a slate of candidates to Study Group Eserve on the AQSG Board of Directors. This year the Board is pleased to present two outstanding individuals for consideration by the membership. They are Ebie Morris and Sharon Pinka. Both candidates are The American Quilt Study Group long-time members of AQSG and have demonstrated exemplary establishes and promotes the highest service to the organization. standards for interdisciplinary quilt-related studies, providing Your Board of Directors is the governing body and voice for the opportunities for study, research and organization and represents you, the membership. Please feel free to publication of works that advance the reach out to any Board member if you have questions or suggestions, knowledge of quilts and related subjects. particularly as we navigate through 2020 and beyond. For a current list of Board members see https://americanquiltstudygroup.org/governance/. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jayne Steffens...... President Karen Dever...... Vice President Ebie Morris Jodi Evans...... Vice President Ebie is from Villa Park, Illinois and is also Dana Balsamo...... Secretary completing her first term on the Board of Nancy Bavor...... Treasurer Directors. Ebie has a background in the Kim Baird not-for-profit sector that includes planning Nancy Bavor and scheduling programs and staff Lorie Chase resources, fundraising, marketing, and Deb Dahab public relations. Ebie has been Taryn Faulkner instrumental in securing sponsorships and Sherri Flynn support for all aspects of AQSG’s annual Susan Jerome Seminar. Ebie enjoys studying, Ebie Morris acquiring, and restoring or completing Sharon Waddell antique quilts. She collects and sell antique and vintage textiles and quilts. Ebie was a AQSG OFFICE STAFF founding member of the Northern Illinois Judy J. Brott Buss Quilt Study Group and is a member of the Executive Director Midwest Fiber Study Group. Anne Schuff Member Services Coordinator

BLANKET STATEMENTS Sharon Pinka IS PUBLISHED FOUR TIMES ANNUALLY Sharon lives in Bellville, Ohio and served Deadlines are February 1, May 1, August 1 and on the AQSG Board of Directors from November 1. Blanket Statements Seminar Edition 2013-2018. She is a retired is published annually following Seminar. AQSG English/journalism teacher and librarian. welcomes submissions to Blanket Statements. She was board secretary for three years Information on editorial guidelines and policies and currently chairs the Research and may be found at www.americanquiltstudygroup. Publications Mentoring Committee. She org/publications.asp or from the editor at enjoys quilt research and her work related [email protected]. to the Rainbow Quilt Block Company from Cleveland, Ohio, and a group of antique PUBLICATION STAFF chintz quilts connected to a Hallie Bond...... Editor specific Charleston, South Carolina Kevin Gaskins...... Graphic Design family has been published in Uncoverings. Sharon is active in numerous quilt study CONTRIBUTING WRITERS groups, the Quilter’s Hall of Fame, and the Judy Brott Buss, Deb Dahab, Lenna DeMarco, Richland County (Ohio) Museum. She Laurel Horton, Sandra Staebell, Sandra Starley, collects antique quilts and tops and enjoys speaking to quilt groups around Jayne Steffens, Lue Turner the country. v

Summer 2020 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS 3 A Quilt Mystery: Searching for the Cherry Tree and Birds Quilt (continued from page 1)

green and pastel shades identified the quilt as most likely having been made in the second quarter of the twentieth century. Although I was not familiar with the pattern, my initial reaction was that it was probably one of many commercially produced kit quilts of the period. Once I began researching, I discovered something quite different. Two nineteenth-century quilts of this pattern are currently housed in museum collections. Although a maker has not been identified for either quilt, they are so startlingly alike that it begs the question as to whether they were made by the same person or members of the same family or community. The Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) owns the first identified example (Fig. 2);1 the second quilt resides at the International Quilt Museum (IQM) in Lincoln, Nebraska (Fig. 3).2 A date of 1850-60 is applied to both and the IQM suggests a possible Lancaster, PA, origin for their textile. Deeply faded, both quilts are done in the four-block, red-and-green applique tradition of the mid-nineteenth century so popular with many German-American quilt makers. The motif choices of a large tree of life flanked by oversized birds and Figure 2: “Cherry Tree and Robins Bride’s Quilt,” unknown maker, 1820/50. 76 fanciful flora immediately call to mind the colorful 1/8 “ X 75 7/8”. The Art Institute of Chicago 1919.546. fraktur images found throughout German-American décor, especially those identified as Pennsylvania Dutch. A second influence may have come from the late- eighteenth to early-nineteenth century Indian palampores. These large cotton textiles generally feature a central image of a heavily rooted, mythical tree surrounded by oversized and bizarre flowers and birds. A lush blossoming vine containing fruits, flowers, and animals often encompasses the central motif. The earliest documented quilt of this pattern was procured by the AIC in 1919. Donated by Emma B. Hodge, it was identified as “Cherry Tree and Robins Bride’s Quilt.” Initially dated ca. 1820 it has since been revised to 1820/50. No other information accompanied it. Emma and her sister, Jene Bell, were collectors of decorative arts and had amassed a large collection of textiles including 28 quilts assumed to have been made between 1820 and the 1860s.3 The entire collection was donated to the AIC in 1919. The green has faded to a dun color and the purple of the grapes has turned to brown, while the Turkey red and cheddar remain strong (Fig 4). Considering these changes in the dye, a more accurate date may be closer to the last quarter of the nineteenth century as the green has faded in a manner and to a color consistent with aniline dyes produced post-1870s. Unlike many makers of four-block, red-and-green appliqué quilts of the mid-nineteenth century which feature an open ground to allow for dense and skillful quilting, the maker of this example chose to fill nearly the entire space with her applique figures and used primarily outline and simple straight line quilting. This approach is more consistent with late-nineteenth Figure 3: “Tree of Life,” unknown maker, 1860. 96” x 76”. rather than mid-nineteenth century quilts. Owned by and used by permission of the International Quilt Museum 2004.16.34.

4 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS Summer 2020 A Quilt Mystery: Searching for the Cherry Tree and Birds Quilt

Figure 4: This detail of the AIC quilt shows the fading the green fabric, consistent with post-1870 aniline dyes. Notice how the Turkey red and chrome gold stayed strong. The purple grapes, now brown, made have been made from an earlier purple fabric.

exhibits various degrees of fading. However, rather than transitioning to a blue or more yellow-green such as happens with an overdyed green, this green appears duller and greyer. The IQM quilt boasts a larger border and more open space in the background. The quilting in this quilt is also fairly simple, using cross hatch and outline stitching. The presence of fugitive dyes in various fabrics of both quilts indicates a likely use of commercial dyes providing additional evidence for construction dates of 1870 or later. Although the quilts show slightly different placement for some motifs, they are very nearly identical. The AIC quilt has two additional floral boughs on the right and left sides, and a few more birds encircling the central sun image and treetops. The four trees in the IQM quilt are rather chunky and are identical to each other, while the trees in the AIC quilt The IQM quilt is dated c. 1860 and identified as “Tree are slimmer, vary in the number of Life.” It is slightly larger than the AIC quilt. The and placement of branches, and bear more fruit. Both major color loss is in the red areas, which have faded quilts share nearly identical tree trunks. The to a salmon color. This could suggest a home recipe surrounding grape vine of the IQM quilt is well or a commercial dye such as Congo red (Fig. 5). The planned and symmetrical, while the vine of the AIC red appliqué thread retains its color. The green fabric quilt is more free-form. The placement of the birds, grape pods, and leaves in both borders are quite similar. The birds in the IQM quilt are plump and rounded, while those in the AIC example are slimmer and more realistic. In spite of the fading, the color choices in both quilts are very nearly the same. What is truly remarkable, and argues for a close connection between the two makers, is that the majority of the figural templates for each quilt are almost exactly the same. Somehow each maker seems to have had access to many of the same templates, or the opportunity to copy. There is no written evidence that the two quilts are related, only their remarkably similar design. At this point in my research I have found no other documented nineteenth-century quilts of this pattern.

In January 1922, Ladies Home Journal ran an article on “Old-Time Patchwork and Applique Quilts,” featuring the Cherry Tree and Robins quilt housed in the AIC ( Fig. 6). Tissue paper patterns were offered Figure 5: This detail of the IQM quilt shows the fading of both the red and through the Home Pattern Company of New York, and green fabrics. The red has faded to the pale salmon color often occurring with suggested that the maker use the more fashionable, Congo Red dye. The green is fading to a greyish green, not typical of earlier, softer pastel palette of the era. From this point on, we overdyed greens. Photo by the author. find numerous twentieth-century examples of the quilt

Summer 2020 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS 5 A Quilt Mystery: Searching for the Cherry Tree and Birds Quilt

Figure 6: “Old Time Patchwork and Applique Quilts,” Ladies Home Journal, Figure 7: This twentieth-century interpretation of the Cherry Tree and Birds January, 1922, featured the Cherry Tree and Robins Bride’s Quilt from the quilt by Paragon first appeared in the 1940s but was in continuous production AIC and offered the first commercially published pattern of the quilt. into the 1960s. This particular example is signed and dated VM 1966. Collection Photo by the author. of the author. Photo by Lynn Miller. pattern incorporating a broad color palette and possible single maker. We need to follow up the varying placement of the motifs. Some, like mine (Fig. possibility of Lancaster, Pennsylvania origin for the 1), feature a single tree in the center. Color choices IQM quilt. Could it apply to the second quilt? We may range from sweet pastels to heavy browns, dark greens, never know the who, where and why of the quilts but and rust, depending upon the decade in which the in the meantime, we can continue to wonder about quilt was made. I have been able to identify nineteen and admire these nearly two-hundred-year-old textiles. v examples of this pattern with either a twentieth- or twenty-first century attribution. Endnotes In the 1940s, Paragon Needlecraft offered a “Cherry 1 Unknown, Cherry Tree and Robins Bride’s Quilt, Art Institute of Chicago, Tree” kit quilt (Fig. 7). It features four cherry trees, https://www.artic.edu, accessed Feb. 14, 2020. a central wreath, and fat yellow birds flitting across 2 Tree of Life, #2004.016.0034, International Quilt Museum, https://www.inter- the background. A simple vine border of leaves and nationalquiltmuseum.org/, accessed Feb. 14, 2020. cherries completes the quilt. The quilting is linear and simple. The motifs are softer and rather cartoon-like 3 Judith A. Barter and Monica Obniski, For Kith and Kin: The Folk Art Collection at but there is no doubt that it is an interpretation of the the Art Institute of Chicago (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2012), original nineteenth century quilt pattern. This quilt is 11-14. signed VH and dated 1966. The two nineteenth-century Cherry Tree quilts remain a mystery. Quilters from this period produced a About the Author: plethora of applique patterns like Whig Rose, Harrison Lenna DeMarco Rose, or Pot of Flowers, each with the maker’s personal interpretation, but there are only two Cherry Lenna DeMarco is a retired professor of dance Tree and Birds quilts and they are almost exactly alike. and an independent quilt historian. The founder Obviously it’s an original pattern and there is a of AZ Quilt Study Group, she is a past president connection between the two quilts. Closer scrutiny of of AQSG. She writes and lectures on women's each quilt’s construction techniques, fabric used, and and quilt history and her quilts have been the size of the motifs may shed some light as to a featured in numerous exhibits.

6 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS Summer 2020 A Long and Winding Road: The Journey to the “Whitework Textiles: Women Stitching Identity” Exhibit By Laurel Horton and Sandy Staebell

espite American textile scholarship’s she set about to address that lack, knowing that she Ddevelopment during the last quarter of the would be wandering into unfamiliar territory. In twentieth century, white embellished bedcovers have addition to white whole-cloth quilts, there were also been largely ignored, undervalued, and misinterpreted. embroidered and woven white bedcovers (collectively The women who made them were assumed to be described as counterpanes). She realized that, within merely decorating their homes or keeping their hands each of these specialized genres, the white examples busy. Further, because traditional wedding dresses occupy the margins. By exploring the place where are white, people have surmised that white bedcovers these margins intersect, it seemed possible that their were made for a bride’s “hope chest.” However, recent commonalities would converge to reveal an research offers evidence that these early American expressive whole. textiles are not just individual examples of the skill Horton began by examining and photographing white quilts and counterpanes in major museum textile collections, and then narrowed her focus to large and small collections in southeastern states. She found that many of the white quilts and counterpanes donated to museums were accompanied by provenance, providing sufficient data to research the lives of the makers. With name, dates, and places, Horton conducted historical research in libraries and archives. A month-long fellowship at Winterthur gave her access to its extensive library, where she sought to understand the historical context of the early nineteenth century, the period in which most of the surviving white quilts and counterpanes were made. “I struggled to set aside everything I thought I knew about the subject, and to formulate open-ended questions without grasping for answers. I looked Figure 1: Stuffed and corded quilt, Temperance Wren Sharp, ca. 1810. Kentucky for some continuity from European needlework Museum 1806. (Photograph by Laurel Horton) traditions, but found nothing that explained the proliferation, variety, and spontaneity I was seeing in American bedcovers. Early on, I had to let go of the and artistry of individual women; collectively, they assumption that the American tradition of hand-sewn survive as documents of women’s silent participation quilts and counterpanes preceded the advent of in the political and economic development of the new commercial machine-made imitations. This allowed United States. me to see that American white bedcovers were directly influenced by imported British woven textiles, The path to the exhibition, Whitework: Women which in turn had been derived from European Stitching Identity, at the Kentucky Museum, Western traditions of white quilted bedcovers dating back to Kentucky University, is a long and winding road. Guest the fourteenth century.”1 Curator Laurel Horton remembers her first steps of her journey: “I was aware of white whole-cloth quilts This new understanding, along with a reading of back in 1975, but my early research focused on Liberty’s Daughters, by historian Mary Lynn Norton, patchwork. Years later, when I looked for an came together in an “Aha!” moment.2 During the late authoritative source to cite for an early white quilt, I eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, patriotic was surprised to realize that none existed.” In 2006, women supported the embargo of imported British

Summer 2020 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS 7 A Long and Winding Road...

A solo journey became a collaborative effort in 2014, when Horton presented a paper, “Dresden Embroidery in Kentucky Counterpanes” at a conference in Frankfort, Kentucky.3 Kentucky Museum Registrar/ Collections Curator Sandy Staebell told Horton, “I think we have some counterpanes like that in our collection.” In 2015, Horton visited the Kentucky Museum (KM) to photograph their white quilts and counterpanes, and she and Staebell discussed the feasibility of mounting an exhibit of these overlooked textiles. Horton had already examined white bedcovers at the Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) in Frankfort, and she noted that a high percentage of the whitework in both museums were accompanied by detailed information about the makers and their families. The decision to focus the exhibit on Figure 2: Embroidered counterpane, Bettie Whitney Napier, inscribed 1907. whitework examples from Kentucky, a state Kentucky Museum, 1993.14. (Photograph by Laurel Horton) that holds a special place within the cultural geography of textile making, made sense for several reasons. Early white explorers in the Kentucky wilderness had described pristine forests and deep rich soil. Kentucky was settled during the late eighteenth century, largely by Virginians. Virginia had been a hotbed of Revolutionary sentiment, and some veterans accepted land grants in lieu of pay. In 1792 Kentucky became the first state west of the Appalachian mountains, making it an ideal laboratory for exploring the extension of patriotic beliefs into the interior. Settlers to the “New Eden” came from many different ethnic, social and cultural backgrounds. Enslaved African Americans accompanied some families, though the considerable contributions of their unpaid labors in building farms and towns went largely unrecognized. Horton had noticed that the majority of the handed-down family stories include some version of a “home-production narrative,” Figure 3: White sampler (detail), maker unknown, late 19th century. Kentucky indicating that the maker herself Historical Society, 1976.1.46. (Photograph by Laurel Horton) participated in the production of the flax or cotton yarn and/or cloth in her quilt or counterpane. A few family narratives describe the involvement of enslaved textiles, which included white embellished bedcovers, weavers, and it is certain that many other enslaved by making their own. Their voices silenced by laborers were involved in producing and processing the propriety, they created material artifacts to fibers for these textiles. substantiate their symbolic efforts toward home production and economic independence. This new Although donors and curators described the fibers as perspective illuminated the path, situating the work of flax or cotton, there was no evidence that the fibers individual women within the context of a larger had actually been tested. Fortunately, Dr. Margaret movement. From this perspective, Horton presented Ordoñez, a textile conservator and costume historian, numerous conference papers and published six had retired from the University of Rhode Island and articles in American and British journals between relocated to Middle Tennessee, where she set up a 2008 and 2019. conservation lab. She readily agreed to provide the

8 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS Summer 2020 A Long and Winding Road... expert technical assistance needed to determine This exhibition seeks to bring these textiles out of both the fiber content and the weave structures in storage cabinets so that they can be appreciated and the textiles. understood as material artifacts of the lives of women living two hundred years ago. They are more than In 2018, Ordoñez and Horton visited both the KM and elegant expressions of women’s virtue and virtuosity, KHS collections. They examined the early white to be valued for the variety, individuality, and artistry bedcovers, took fiber samples, and used a specially of their stitches. They are also documents of their outfitted microscope to examine and photograph the makers’ involvement in the early years of the new weave structures. Back at her lab, Ordoñez examined American republic. During an era when women had the fiber samples under a high magnification no public voice, they used their needlework as a microscope. She was not surprised to find that many medium for self-expression of personal political of the fibers were blended from cotton and flax yarns beliefs. These women were the wives and literal spun together. There was clear evidence of both daughters of the American Revolution, and Kentucky hand-spinning and hand-weaving in nearly all of the provided conditions in which they experienced a quilts and counterpanes. heightened perception of their role in the creation of the “New Eden.” The KM has a gallery reserved for this type of exhibition. Horton and Staebell worked with a diagram The Kentucky Museum is located on the campus of of the gallery to determine how many items would Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. Due fit and how they could be displayed. Some of these to the Coronavirus, the opening date for this exhibit is 200-year-old bedcovers are in surprisingly good shape, uncertain. When established, the date will be but others are stained and fragile. Prior to publicized through AQSG. You may also call 270-745- installation, Dr. Ordoñez will examine the KM textiles, 2592 or visit the museum’s website for updates. v assess their condition, recommend conservation treatments, and attach conservation sleeves to specific textiles. Depending upon the level of treatment required, conservation of some textiles may be possible. Endnotes Horton had determined that the KM and KHS 1 Kathryn Berenson, “Quilts Works ‘of Naples’: The French and Italian Context collections included examples to illustrate all the of the Tristan Quilts,” Quilt Studies 13 (2012): 7-37. techniques, styles, and themes identified for 2 Mary Beth Norton, Liberty’s Daughters: The Revolutionary Experience of American interpretation. Luckily, the two institutions are long- Women, 1750-1800 (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1980). time collaborators, and KHS signed on as a co-sponsor, agreeing to loan all of the items requested for the 3 “A New Look at Old Textiles: Dresden Embroidery in Kentucky exhibition. Funding exhibits and programming is a Counterpanes,” 2014 MESDA Conference, Frankfort KY, October 24, 2014. challenge for any museum, and this project put together a combination of internal and external funding. A 2019 award from the American Quilt Study Group’s Lucy H. Hilty Research Grant supported Horton’s expenses related to research, interpretation, and label writing. A second award from AQSG’s H. Mark Dunn Research Grant funded production costs About the Authors: for the catalog as well as honorariums for the essays Laurel Horton in it. Money raised during the KM’s 2019 “Adopt an Artifact” fundraiser will underwrite the cost of Laurel Horton is a quilt scholar, author, examining the KM textiles and attaching of sleeves. editor, exhibition consultant, folklorist, and Additional funding provided by the E. Rhodes and fabric artist. She has been a member of AQSG Leona B. Carpenter Foundation will also support since 1983. the exhibit. Efforts to more closely align the exhibit with the curricular needs of WKU students resulted in programming that targets history and fashion Sandy Staebell merchandising majors and folk studies graduate students. In addition to Horton, a folklorist, and Dr. Sandy Staebell has served as the Registrar/ Ordoñez, a fashion historian and textile conservator, Collections Curator of the Kentucky Museum the panel will include Dr. Kate Brown, a specialist in and an Associate Professor at Western Kentucky early American history at WKU. These three scholars University. Her research interests include will also participate in a program open to the wider Kentucky quilts, historic fashion, political university community as well as the general public and memorabilia and decorative arts. She has been will contribute essays to the exhibit catalog. a member of AQSG since 1995.

Summer 2020 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS 9 Weathering the Storm: One Quilter’s Journey Back From a Flood By Lue Turner

Figure 1: Damaged items curbside after the flood

n June 13, 2008 the Cedar River, which runs granted back into the neighborhoods by the National Othrough the heart of Cedar Rapids, Iowa Guard. Tina remembers when her friends in the EIHQ (population approximately 200,000), could be insisted on going to her home to recover the quilts. contained no longer. After several weeks of heavy and Tina told them, “Okay, if we are gonna get arrested, I continual rains the river rose and finally crested at guess we will all get arrested together.” The thirty-one feet, more than nineteen feet beyond flood mission regarding the quilts was about rescue and stage.1 Homes that were previously evacuated now salvation and not long-term preservation. The goal was stood with water up to their rooflines. The flood to try and get the quilts back to a presentable state affected 10 square miles of businesses and homes, and “decontaminate” them, as the quilts were marred or more than 1,300 city blocks. Cedar Rapids was at with mold, mildew, stench, and stains from the filthy a standstill with a loss of power in certain areas and river water they had marinated in for weeks. Tina restricted water use, not to mention the thousands explained the process they used, which may sound of people that were displaced from the 5,283 quite harsh to many that work with antique or fragile damaged homes.2 quilts. She used phrases such as “hosed them off on [a] driveway,” “rolled them and put them in a freezer,” In 2008 Tina was a quilter who lived in the heart of “thawed them out and put them in a kiddy pool and Cedar Rapids.3 Everything in the basement and main stomped on them,” “put them in a washing machine level of her home was destroyed or damaged, with a little bit of bleach,” and “laid them out to dry including quilts that were being used on beds or [on driveway].” hanging on walls. In an effort to save the quilts, members from Tina’s quilt Guild (Eastern Iowa Amazingly, the second story of Tina’s house was left Heirloom Quilters [EIHQ]) were determined to help untouched. This area of the home was Tina’s sewing retrieve these quilts even before full access was room and workspace. While it was not destroyed

10 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS Summer 2020 Weathering the Storm...

Skills. This is a mission of the EIHQ—to continually make and create quilts for any persons or organizations that are in need. This purpose identifies with long standing ways that quilters have organized themselves to provide “material and emotional comfort to those in need.”4 Participating in SOS was something Tina felt strongly about. “I was helping someone else, even though I was still trying to deal with this.” Tina identified with one way in which participating in quilting can be healing. “Through its fabrics and associated activities, quilting softens and smooths the rough edges of painful realities.”5 As a way to give back, Tina continued to participate in SOS when it was decided that several hundred quilts would be made by EIHQ and given to flood victims. Figure 2: Damage left from the flood left thick deposits and mold everywhere Tina describes what she saw that day as she helped in the giveaway. “People that I knew, they stood in line for three or four hours. And people were so physically in the flood, it still had to be relocated grateful. That was another thing, why would you during rebuilding and was inaccessible. Just as her people do that for us? I think everybody felt like if home was needing to be rebuilt, Tina also had to they couldn’t physically help, they could help that rebuild her life, and sewing and quilting was a large way—lots of tears, lots of thank you’s. It was awesome. part of that. Having sewing machine in tow, Tina was It was really awesome.” able to participate in EIHQ’s SOS group—Sharing Our

Figure 3: Water line left on quilt shows where flood water settled for several days

Summer 2020 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS 11 Weathering the Storm...

Figure 4: Water and mold damage on back of quilt

Endnotes Years after the flood Tina continues to be involved in 1 Gazette Communications. Epic Surge: Eastern Iowa’s Unstoppable Flood of 2008. SOS and making quilts for donation, “I feel like if I can help somebody else stay warm, I have accomplished 2008, Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Gazette Communications, Inc. something. It’s giving back something to the whole 2 Gazette Communications. Epic Surge: Eastern Iowa’s Unstoppable Flood of 2008. community that they gave to me, which was to help 2008, Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Gazette Communications, Inc. me survive all this stuff.” 3 Tina (quilter), interview with author, August 19, 2013, transcript. 4 MacDowell, Marsha, Luz, Clare, & Donaldson, Beth. Quilts and Health. Indiana Not only did Tina survive the flood and ensuing aftermath, but the quilts that her fellow Guild University Press, 2017, p. 111. members had risked arrest to obtain, survived too. 5 Krone, C. H. & Horner, T. M. “Her Grief in the Quilt.” Uncoverings, vol. 13, There was a quilt left on Tina’s bed that was 1992, p.120. ravaged by the flood. After the hosing, the freezing, the stomping, and the washing with bleach, Tina feels it came out “pretty good,” with only minimal stains on it where it was touching wood. This quilt still holds a About the Author: place of honor in her home. Tina reflects, “the things Lue Turner that were in the flood mean more to me than I think Lue Turner is an assistant professor in Child they did before. Because they survived like I did.” The saved quilts are a symbol of survival. To this Tina & Family Studies at Empire State College in shares, “yep, that is how I feel. They went through it Rochester, NY. She holds a MS and PhD in just like I did.” Marriage & Family Therapy, and most recently has been interested in the role that quilts and Tina needed to rebuild a home and a life, and she did quilting play in emotional and trauma this through her connections to quilting and fellow healing. She has sewn quilts and clothing since Guild members. Acts of quilting to “give back” enabled she was a child and grew up watching her grandfather sew for Tina to survive the trauma. Her own quilts now serve hours on end. This "quilt story" from the Cedar Rapids flood of as a reminder of all she has been through and the 2008 is just one that was gathered by Lue from quilters in her indelible strength it takes to survive. Her quilts hometown in Iowa. Lue happened to be back in Iowa to visit her survived the flood right along with her. They all have parents that weekend in June 2008 when the river crested. a story. v

12 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS Summer 2020 Weathering the Storm...

Figure 5: Metaphoric “survivor” quilt on the bed in the rebuilt home

Quilt Study Postponed AQSG Quilt Study, "Medallion/Framed Center Quilts: History of a Style", is postponed until Seminar 2021. I know for some of you this means you get to sit back and relax because your quilt and written statement are done. For others who tend to procrastinate, you have been given an extension on your project. The Quilt Study committee has adjusted the timeline and deadline dates for the study. Since we still have a few openings, we will continue to take applications to participate. April 1, 2021 is the new application deadline and also the deadline for turning in your written statement. Because of this skipped year, Quilt Studies will now run on odd years instead of even. The next Study will be in 2023. We want to thank all of you for your time and interest in the AQSG Quilt Study. We know the 2021 Study is going to be a fantastic exhibit of Framed Center/Medallion quilts! If you know of someone who talked about participating but never got around to choosing a quilt, please encourage them to participate. Application forms may be found on the AQSG website. We are also here to answer any questions. [email protected]. Jill Meszaros and Lee Ellsworth 2021 AQSG Quilt Study Co-Chairs

Summer 2020 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS 13 Hidden Treasures, Part 3 By Sandra Starley

I shared some of my statistical analyses in Hidden Treasures - Part 2, Quilt History Mystery, X Marks the Spot? Blanket Statements Issue 142, Winter 2019- 2020. The most significant discovery was the number of Vansants. Thirteen of the 36 blocks with names feature a Vansant or Vanzant. They are from the Gerrett/Garrett Vansant family (Vanzandt, VanSand, VanZant, etc.) who immigrated to America in 1652 from the Netherlands. Their roots in America date back almost 370 years. Garrett was only eight when he arrived with his father in New Amsterdam. By 1681, Garrett was a magistrate in New Utrecht, Long Island, New York. Before the end of that century, Garrett and his sons bought significant acreage in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. They established residency in Bucks County where a century and a half later their descendants made this quilt. For more information on the family, see http://www.vanzandtsociety.com/. Rural farming communities of the 1800s were insular and interrelated. It was common for cousins and other relatives to marry. Often brothers from one family would each marry sisters from another family. This quilt has Vansants who became Hunters and Hunters who became Vansants, as well as Vansant/ Figure 1: A Variety of inscription methods on Vansant Quilt. Top left, Elizabeth Hellings, Hunter/Hellings, and Hellings/Hibbs Ellis, handwritten. Top right, Matilda Richardson, stamped. Bottom right, D.W.B. connections. The quilt is a tangible document of these Goodno, stenciled. Bottom left, Phebe A Myers - stamped. close relationships. Through research, I narrowed the top’s construction date to five years: between 1844 and early 1850. Matilda Hellings married William Harmon Richardson in 1844. Her signing as Matilda Richardson his Turkey red X signature quilt continues to be indicates a date after her wedding. Phebe Myers Tmysterious while providing important insights into married Israel Allen Hibbs in September of 1849 and American history. The quilt hails from Middletown is a Myers on the quilt. Israel is also on the quilt. In Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The 1850 March 1850, two of the quilt couples wed. Rachel Census shows many of the named people living there, Ellis married Joseph C. Vansant, and his sister Anna which help date the quilt to circa 1850. While most Elizabeth Vansant married Garrett Goodnow. The quilt people would call this a signature quilt, the majority lists Rachel and Anna’s maiden names. Perhaps the of those named did not actually sign their blocks. The quilt commemorates one of these latter marriages. It quilt maker(s) applied 27 of the 36 names with inked seems more likely that it celebrates the Ellis/Vansant decorative signature stamps. The names were set in or the Vansant/Goodnow wedding. No immediate stamps with small pieces of type like the letters used members of the Myers or Hibbs family show up on the in typesetting a newspaper. Some quilt scholars now quilt. Only one of Garrett’s siblings, teenager D.W.B. advocate the use of “name inscribed” quilts rather (David Wesley Bartine) joined him. In contrast, than signature quilts for quilts with multiple names. several of Rachel’s siblings appear with her. A number I suggest using both phrases along with details of the of Vansants are on the quilt including Anna Elizabeth inscription method or methods, i.e. stamped names or and Joseph C. Vansant’s parents. handwritten names signed by one person. Names were also applied by stencils, hand embroidery, and even Research on the Vansants and related families is written by paid scriveners. It is critical to transcribe all continuing. I will be comparing the fabrics and names found on a signature quilt. It is also very signature stamps used to try to find more connections important to document the methods used to place between the named individuals. Stay tuned for more those names on the quilt. This information may information on this interesting historical piece. If provide valuable clues to connections between the anyone has additional insight into these families or the named people. area, I would love to hear from you. v

14 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS Summer 2020 Hidden Treasures, Part 3

WELCOME TO THOSE WHO HAVE RECENTLY JOINED AQSG:

Gail Auen, Verona, VA Stephanie Bertics, Aurora, CO Jennifer Bolt, Harrisonburg, VA Joy A. Branham, Eidson, TN Donna H. Carter, Hydes, MD Julie Crowley, Butte, MT Windy T. Dukes, Matthews, NC

Figure 2: 1840s Eagle/floral signature stamp (“S.A.Derosier?”) Michelle Fox, Liberal, KS and stencil (“S.E. Corliss”) Starley Collection. Jo Haraf, Sarasota, FL Cynthia Hay, Harrisonburg, VA Alice M. Hines, Oakland, CA Julie E. Hughes, Newtown, CT Amanda Isaac, Burke, VA Judith Jensen, Mountain Home, AR Martha Keagle, Addison, VT Sheryl A. Low, Lakebay, WA Tina M. McKee, Salem, MO Cena Mayo, Minneapolis, MN Deborah McGuire, Little Kimble, Bucks, United Kingdom Kristine Persun, Conifer, CO Jennifer Rapacki, Lakewood, CO Tamara Ross, Elk Grove, CA Figure 3: 1840s Lovebirds signature stamp with loose letters, Fern Royce, Berkeley, CA shown on Vansant quilt. Starley Collection Beth Russell-Smith, Southhampton, MA Norma Shoemaker, Papillion, NE About the Author: Carolyn Silflow, Roseville, MN Lue Turner Linda Slye, Louisville, KY Christine Sperling, Lewisburg, PA Sandra Starley is a nationally certified quilt appraiser, historian, researcher, quilt collector, lecturer, designer and instructor. She Susan Standley, Federal Way, WA maintains an extensive collection of both antique quilts (early, William Stephens, Smyrna, DE unusual and masterpieces) and research materials and is active in Betsy Stewart, Denver, CO the American Quilt Study Group and the Quilt Alliance. Flinda Terteling, Boise, ID She presents trunk shows on quilt history/dating and antique quilts as material culture. She enjoys reproducing quilts from her Shae Vaughn, Kalamazoo, MI collection especially in small scale. She has won national awards Jamie Vowell, Bozeman, MT for both her antique reproductions and has been part of several traveling exhibits and has quilts featured in national quilt magazines and several historical quilt books.

Summer 2020 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS 15 focus on AQSG

Staying in Touch While Staying at Home

We are all finding new ways to stay in touch with our loved ones and friends during these stay-at-home times. Our board members are keeping our organization rolling through phone conferences and now Zoom meetings. And even though exhibits are closed and meetings are cancelled, we can all still share our love of old quilts through a variety of electronic options. AQSG has four:

- The official member email distribution list, maintained by the AQSG office. This is how we all receive our monthly News and Notes and our quarterly Blanket Statements. No action is required on our part, and it is a one-way communication method.

- The AQSG email discussion group on groups.io, formerly on Yahoo. 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 list moderator Dale Drake at [email protected].

- The public AQSG Facebook page, “American Quilt Study Group.” This is maintained by member and past president Lisa Erlandson, and includes posts about important AQSG news as well as photos of beautiful quilts. Lisa welcomes new posts and photographs.

- The private AQSG Facebook page, “AQSG Members Only,” also maintained by Lisa Erlandson, is an active and lively Facebook discussion area with lots of photos. Contact Lisa via the Facebook page to join. As we dream about visiting museums, attending quilt conferences and traveling to exotic locations with our quilt history friends we can still “see” each other electronically. Stay safe everyone, and stay in touch! --Dale Drake

2020 Grant Awards

Congratulations to this year’s Endowment grant recipients. An award to The Ridgewood Historical Society in Ridgewood, New Jersey supports an exhibit catalog for the Bergen County Quilt and Coverlet Show planned for September 25 and 26, 2020. The show will feature quilts and coverlets from 1800 to 1976 from museums in the area and private collections. The catalog will serve as a permanent record of the quilts and coverlets displayed. The second endowment grant recipient is the Brooklyn Waldorf School in Brooklyn, New York located in the historically black neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant. Using a multi-disciplinary approach, seventh grade students will collect oral histories that tell the stories of the neighborhood, its residents, former students, and their historic school building, Claver Hill Castle. These will inspire the creation of a quilt which will then hang in the school. Congratulations, also, to recipients of other AQSG Research Grants. The initial Sue Cummings Research Grant has been awarded to Rebecca Gellner of St. Mary’s, West Virginia to assist in her project, “Peaceable Labors: Quaker Quilt Connections from Virginia to Ohio.” Also, a grant from the Lucy Hilty Research Fund has been awarded to Hallie Bond of Long Lake, New York to assist in the final stage of the Northern NY Quilt Project. Hallie will study the diaries of quiltmaker Rhoda Clark, which are at the State Museum in Albany. Congratulations to all and we look forward to hearing and reading the results of your research.

16 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS Summer 2020 focus on AQSG

Study Group Examines Museum Quilts

The Northern Illinois Quilt Study Group visited the Glen Ellyn Historical Society on February 1 and spent the day with staff and volunteers examining the various quilts in the collection. The group’s shared knowledge provided historical description and context as well as an understanding of textile and condition issues. Study Group members shared tips on the maintenance of historic quilts with historical society staff which then spread the information to its membership through the newsletter. The quilt study group emphasized periodic refolding, padding with acid-free tissue paper, and protection from ultra-violet radiation. The photograph shows a detail of a redwork quilt that impressed the group. The zigzag borders are formed of tiny feather stitches.

An Area Study Group During the Coronavirus Pandemic By Carol Williams Gebel, Moderator, Sacramento Area Quilt Study Group

Although the Sacramento Area Quilt Study Group had to cancel its April meeting, we did manage to have a bit of fun. We always have a book raffle at our meetings. So, on April 26, 2020, which would have been our meeting date, we had a special book raffle, remotely. An email announced the event a couple weeks before with the date of the twenty sixth and the time that the adventure would start. There would be three winners and six books for the winners to select among. The email included pictures of the covers of the books with brief descriptions so that the winners would easily be able to pick out which books they wanted. At the appropriate date and time, emails were sent with the questions, one at a time. The participant who correctly answered the quilt history question and emailed their answer to the moderator first won that “round”. There were two questions on nineteenth century quilt history and one on twentieth century quilt history as provided below: Question #1: What two colors did quilters like best to use on a white background for applique in the mid-1800s? Question #2: What two dyestuffs used in the nineteenth century produced stable reds? Hint: one is “vegetable/ botanical” and one is “animal/biological”

Question #3: Who in the following list did NOT design quilts and sell quilt patterns and/or quilt kits? Marion Cheever Whiteside, Marie Webster, Ruby McKim, Florence Peto, Hubert Ver Mehren, Ann Orr. This raffle activity was described as great fun by our group’s members and a good way to maintain contact while we were sheltering in our homes. It is easy to organize and might be fun for other study groups that have had to cancel meetings. For the answers to the questions, see page 18.

Summer 2020 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS 17 focus on AQSG FROM THE OFFICE By Judy J. Brott Buss

Please welcome Pat Colombi, our new Member Services Coordinator, who began work in the AQSG office on May 1. Pat comes to AQSG with extensive background in office management and a broad range of experiences. In March we said farewell to Anne Schuff who moved to a new position as Office Manager with a local law firm specializing in environmental issues. Anne was very excited about her new challenges and expanded opportunities. During Anne’s time with AQSG, the organization and the office underwent several significant changes and Anne’s abilities were key as we made those successful transitions. Many of you got to know Anne personally through Seminar and other contacts and will want to join me in wishing her all the very best in her new career. The summer issue of Blanket Statements is where we announce the Annual Membership Meeting, usually held at Seminar. Please watch for information, later this summer, about plans to hold AQSG’s 2020 Annual Meeting as a virtual event. Per Section IV (e) of the AQSG Bylaws, results of the Board of Directors election will be announced at the Annual Meeting. Please refer to the Nominating Committee Report presented in this newsletter to review the Slate of Nominees for the AQSG Board of Directors. In July AQSG members will receive a written ballot for voting on the Board of Directors. The summer issue of Blanket Statements is also where we usually spend a lot of space promoting and describing the upcoming fall Seminar. This year is different. As you already know, Seminar in Harrisonburg, Virginia has been rescheduled to August 18-22, 2021. Co-chairs Beverley Evans and Gloria Comstock have been outstanding in their response to the challenges that come with this change and are diligently making contacts to reschedule tours and events. The timing for next year is driven completely by availability of the hotel. As you can imagine many, many events had to be moved around in addition to AQSG’s Seminar. We were able to secure the new dates with a $20,000 non-refundable deposit, a significant amount from our operations fund that had to be paid by May 8, 2020. That deposit will be applied to next year’s Seminar costs. For the past several years AQSG has focused on building the Endowment along with solid foundations in other invested funds, in order to offer grants, fellowships, and important member programs and benefits such as the biennial Quilt Study and our annual journal Uncoverings. Funding for AQSG operations is spaced throughout the year including the fall membership drive, Seminar fundraisers, the spring appeal campaign, and your generous donations sent with memberships or at other times throughout the year. Thank you to all who participate in supporting the “inner workings” of AQSG as well as the outreach activities! As with countless organizations and businesses across our country and around the world, AQSG is accumulating a list of “Firsts.” First time for the organization to apply for a loan of any kind for any reason, first time to not hold the annual Seminar, first time for a virtual annual meeting, and I’m sure more “firsts” are on the way. As with other challenges that AQSG has weathered, the continuing developments with the COVID 19 pandemic are being met with determination and grace. AQSG has amazing members and leadership who are rising to the challenges being faced by everyone these days. Please be safe and stay well. Sincerely, Judy

Answers to Quilt History Questions (from page 17): Question 1: Red and green Question 2: Madder and Cochineal Question 3: Florence Peto

18 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS Summer 2020 focus on AQSG FROM THE AQSG PRESIDENT By Jayne Steffens

My electronic devices continue to provide me with an endless stream of information during these extraordinary times. Over and over again, I see the importance of creativity and the arts in expressing the hopes and fears that are now a part of our daily lives. There are songs from balconies, virtual tours through museums and displays of homemade protective masks. Along with the arts are the messages from historical societies urging us to keep journals and use social media to record our daily lives. Imagine the quilts being made right now to offer comfort to those who are sick or fearful or just to memorialize current events. Yes, this pandemic is definitely history in the making. I am curious about when the first research project will be submitted to AQSG. As our personal lives have changed in many ways over the past few months, AQSG is also facing challenges as a result of the pandemic. But thanks to our outstanding board, staff and volunteers, we are forging ahead with energy and purpose. Here are some of the things that are happening.

Seminar 2020, scheduled for Harrisonburg, VA has been postponed. Through the extraordinary efforts of the local committee headed by Beverley Evans and Gloria Comstock, Seminar and the lineup of related activities have been rescheduled for August 2021. Thanks also to our outstanding Event Coordinator, Kathy Webber, who successfully negotiated with the host hotel. Save the dates - August 18-22, 2021. As a result of the decision to postpone Seminar, the AQSG Board formed an Ad Hoc Committee to address the impact on publications, research, and educational programs as well as the need for fundraising. Several committee members are also working with sponsors, study centers, vendors, quilt study deadlines etc. Here are some of the ideas we have discussed and, in a few cases, decided. Uncoverings will be published in 2020 with the papers accepted for this year. Authors will present their papers in Harrisonburg in 2021. You will find additional information about future deadlines and paper presentations elsewhere in this issue. Without a 2020 Seminar, the Ad Hoc Committee is looking at various ways to engage both current and potential members in learning and camaraderie using the internet. This is new ground for many of us but we think it will be exciting to leverage technology and expand the ways in which we connect with our members. Lisa Erlandson welcomes suggestions from you. Email her at [email protected]. Fundraising is more important than ever. In past years, over 60% of our income was received through Seminar activities (approximately 30% is from membership fees), so we are challenged to think of different ways to support AQSG. While we have healthy balances in our restricted and unrestricted funds and the endowment fund that you have so generously contributed to in the past, we prefer to balance the budget each year rather than dip into our reserves. With that in mind, I would like to remind you of the ongoing annual fund drive. You should have received a letter in the last few weeks about this campaign. Thanks in advance for your thoughtful contributions. In this new normal it is heartening to read the AQSG Mission Statement and realize it is still meaningful and valid. So please read it again and enjoy the solidity of our 40-year history. The American Quilt Study Group establishes and promotes the highest standards for interdisciplinary quilt-related studies, providing opportunities for study, research, and the publication of works that advance the knowledge of quilts and related subjects. Stay tuned for some exciting new learning opportunities. Please take care of yourselves, stay healthy, and keep the research going if you can. Jayne Steffens

Summer 2020 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS 19 Quilt world news Where in the World is Lincoln? Unlike so many of us, Lincoln the AQSG Bear has been able to travel during the pandemic. He is diligent about following all the protocols, including wearing a mask when he goes out. He doesn’t like to wash his paws, though, so he’s not shaking hands with anybody. He would like to bump elbows, but he can’t find his. He spent time with Vickie Coleman in Lexington, Kentucky, helping her make masks and advising on the “Bear Paws” blocks in her latest quilt. Then he went up north to Pam Weeks in New Hampshire and helped her with her garden—even in the snow!

20 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS Summer 2020 Book notes New Releases of Interest to Our Members and Releases Coming Soon. . .

Divided Hearts, a Civil War Threads of Life: a History of Friendship Quilt: Historical the World Through the Eye Narratives, 12 Blocks, of a Needle Instruction & Inspirations by Clare Hunter by Barbara Brackman

Civil War Quilts by Pamela Weeks and Don Beld

Places to go As of this writing, we aren’t going anywhere, and museums, galleries, and events are closed or cancelled. Do check with the institution or venue if you would like to plan a visit. Below are a few notices we received that are still relevant in these home-bound times. Dream about future exhibit trips! That said, perhaps now is a great time to wander through the many virtual exhibits out in cyberspace. Probably many of you have been doing that already. The International Quilt Museum (https://www.internationalquiltmu- seum.org/) has a robust online presence, and presently is even offering lectures and a video series. Other institutions like the New England Quilt Museum present images of exhibition quilts (https://www.neqm.org). Many museums present their collections online, complete with catalog data. Be an armchair explorer! And keep your eye out for quilts or themes you’d like to follow up for a Blanket Statements article.

American Folk Art Museum https://folkartmuseum.org/ The American Folk Art Museum (AFAM) is launching a community project in conjunction with its exhibition “Signature Styles: Friendship, Album, and Fundraising Quilts,” which explores quilting as a shared creative endeavor. Audiences of all ages are encouraged to design their own section of a quilt and share an image of their square with the museum. As AFAM receives and organizes digital submissions, individual sections will be brought together to form a larger design that will be shared on the museum’s social media channels. Participants will also have an opportunity to have their square added to the AFAM Archive. Submissions (via JPEG or PDF) can be sent to [email protected]. “The signature quilt is a symbol of shared inspiration and creativity, often the result of a collective undertaking,” said Jason T. Busch, Director of AFAM. “At a time when we are physically distancing but seeking to stay socially connected, we invite our community to interpret our collection and contribute a design to the museum’s very own signature quilt.”

Summer 2020 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS 21 Places to go The Newark Museum of Art https://www.newarkmuseumart.org Four Quiltmakers, Four American Stories spotlights four distinctly different quilts made between 1864 and 2010. Quiltmakers, working alone or together, tell stories by assembling and stitching fabric into layered images that warm loved ones, adorn furniture or hang on walls. Each quilt is as unique as its maker or group of makers, whether replicating traditional patterns or creating new designs. The quilt materials—new, store-bought fabric, scraps from worn clothing, and second-hand textiles—and the patterns reveal thoughtful Fig. 1: Friendship Star Quilt; Elizabeth Hooton (Cresson) Savery (1808–1851) choices that add meaning to the stories. These and others; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; 1844; cotton and linen with ink; quiltmakers embedded their narratives in the Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, gift of Marie D. and Charles works on view: an 1864 New Jersey album quilt, A.T. O’Neill, 1979.26.1. Photo by Matt Hoebermann. a 1920s Louisiana crazy quilt, Phantoms in a Chinese Restaurant (1991) by Debbie S. L. Lee, and America in Context #3: American Gothic (2010) by Luke Haynes. Amy Simon Hopwood, the Museum’s Associate Curator of Decorative Arts said, “Historically and continuing today, the Museum has championed blurring distinctions between folk art, abstract art, and studio craft. The Newark Museum of Art takes pride in presenting contemporary artists who adapt and expand upon the quilting tradition.” The museum is scheduled to reopen May 28, and the exhibit to remain on view through February 14, 2021. To confirm or for further information, visit www.newarkmuseumart.org. Fig. 2: Hudson River Quilt, Irene Preston Miller and The Hudson River Quilters, Croton-on-Hudson, New York, United States, 1969–1972, Cotton, wool, and blends with cotton embroidery, Gift of the J.M. Kaplan Fund, 1991.3.1 Photo: Matt Hoebermann

The exhibit “Signature Styles: Friendship, Album, and Fundraising Quilts features pieces that, by their natures, were meant to be read not only as a whole by also square by square. Although the form is known by various names—including friendship, album, and fundraising quilts—what all of these types share in common is the composite nature of the quilting project, in which individual signed blocks have been brought together to form one quilt. Often a group undertaking, each block was typically named for—and frequently made and/ or paid for by—a different member of a community.” The exhibit is at AFAM’S Self-Taught Genius Gallery in Long Island City and requires an appointment to visit, even in normal times. To enquire whether the gallery is open and to schedule a visit, please contact [email protected].

22 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS Summer 2020 Places to go The Maine State Museum https://mainestatemuseum.org/ The Maine State v Museum has announced a new schedule for its major CALENDAR new exhibition Maine Quilts: June 1, 2020 250 Years of Uncoverings 2021 deadline Comfort and Community. Summer and Fall 2020 Originally Virtual Events and Meetings scheduled to open this August 1, 2020 summer, the Blanket Statements deadline exhibition will have a new opening date of April 17, 2021. It will November 1, 2020 run through July 30, 2022. Blanket Statements deadline To avoid light damage to the quilts’ fragile fabrics, the Maine State Museum’s exhibition is planned as November 2020 a two-part presentation. The first part will be from Membership Renewals sent for 2021 April 17, 2021 through mid-December 2021. The second will be from late December 2021 through January 1, 2021 July 2022. A different selection of quilts will be Deadline for Membership Renewal for shown in each of the two presentations. “An added 2021 Directory benefit is that we will be able to show twice the number of quilts over the exhibition’s duration,” February 1, 2021 says exhibition curator, Laurie LaBar. Deadline for Research and Endowment “For over 200 years, Maine women kept farms, Grant Applications businesses, and families together when men were at sea, at war, or in the woods,” continues LaBar. Blanket Statements Deadline “The quilts they meticulously made are striking Deadline for Seminar Poster and Seminar works of art and reveal information about how these women lived, the social networks that Panel Abstracts supported them, and the ways Maine changed through the years. Most Maine quilters were middle-class women, who are usually absent from LOOKING AHEAD historical records. The information we can glean from their quilts beautifully deepens and enriches May 1, 2021 the story of Maine’s past.” Blanket Statements Deadline Accompanying the exhibition will be a book by August 18-22, 2021 LaBar, Maine Quilts: 250 Years of Comfort and Seminar, Harrisonburg, Virginia Community, co-published by the Maine State Museum and Down East Books and available before September 28 - October 2, 2022 the end of 2020. Seminar, San Diego, California The photograph shows one of the exhibition quilts, a pieced and appliqued quilt made ca. 1872 by Eveline Greenwood Cushman of Lisbon, Maine, ca. 1872 (photo courtesy Maine State Museum). v

Summer 2020 AQSG BLANKET STATEMENTS 23 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

ADDRESS 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/