It’s that time of year when a quilter’s fancy turns to thoughts of THE quilt show in Paducah.  Even if you’re not going, you want to go someday, or you’ve been at least once, or you know someone who is going.  It’s THE BIG SHOW.  But not this year! Sadly, QuiltWeek is another Corona Casualty. (Don’t worry; QuiltWeek has been postponed, and other events are still planned for Lancaster, Grand Rapids, and Charleston.)

Despite those alternatives, we’re all going to mourn the loss of the annual week-long extravaganza that has become so much a part of our quilting psyche.    So, while we’re all sheltering in place and feeling like our foundations are being rocked, it’s a good time to look behind the scenes and learn about the prime mover for this iconic event: Hall of Fame honoree, Meredith Schroeder.

Usually when I blog, I tell a little about the Honoree and then refer you to the Hall of Fame website, but today, I’m sending you straight there. Go to https://quiltershalloffame.net/meredith-schroeder/ to learn about Meredith’s career.  The reason I’m short-cutting is twofold: first, because there isn’t much written about Schroeder—in fact, the Hall of Fame has no publications by her, and no artifacts or objects related to her.  And second, because I want to write a lot about the events and organization spearheaded by this very private woman which made her an inductee.

I say private, but that’s not quite right.  By all accounts, Meredith Schroeder is, for all her standing in the quilt industry, a very approachable person.  It’s said that you don’t have to go through layers of corporate bureaucracy to reach her.  (I didn’t try, but I believe it.) In my research, I found one article about how she gave tips to a local guild about setting up their quilt show.  And there are hundreds of articles linked to her name as awarding prizes (yes, big cash awards which she solicited from sponsors before anyone else had the idea). None of those articles headline Schroeder; they are all along the lines of “Local quilter wins at international quilt show”. 

That reminded me of a meme I’ve seen about how successful women build each other up. And that’s exactly what Meredith Schroeder has done over the past thirty-five years. She has created and sustained a platform for all of us to strive, dream and maybe even achieve in our quilting efforts. I remember seeing a nine-patch quilt at one of the Paducah shows I went to and wondered how it fit with the hyper-embellishments, precision piecing, true-to life pictorials and other spectacular quilts at the show.  I was told that the show organizers felt it was important to display all levels of skill so that all attendees would learn something or have something to aspire to.  Could you be more inclusive than that? Thanks, Meredith Schroeder, for reaching us all!

If you’re ready for a break and some eye candy, here’s a link to all the wonderful Best in Show quilts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHWyhRxDjV0 Of course, there are several other things to thank Meredith Schroeder for: American Quilter’s Society (membership info here: https://www.americanquilter.com/promos/join_aqs_original/  )  and The National Quilt Museum (not open now, but there are some very cool virtual “shows” up on the website), and the Certified Appraiser program (I took classes in 2012 and 2013—photos below–, and although I wasn’t certified, I learned a ton, and they started me on my quilt history road, so I’m grateful.)

The American Quilter’s Society also offers online quilt classes on their ‘iquilt’ platform, and is currently providing a free online code to preview on of their classes. The code is IQUILTFREE and can be redeemed until June 30, 2020. Perfect timing, since we’re not going anywhere soon.

Well, that’s it for Paducah, AQS, the Museum and Meredith Schroeder.  Except to say that her birthday is coming up on April 21^st.  If you enjoyed reading this, or have enjoyed any of the quilting events/sites started by her, drop in to the AQS Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/AQSonline/  ) and leave her a birthday message. And think about building up someone; be like Meredith.

Your quilting friend,

Anna

I was going to try to write something with an Easter/Passover theme, but even with 50+ Honorees, I couldn’t make the stretch.  But, not to worry; I stumbled across something that led me to Florence Peto.  I’ll tell you what I found after I introduce her.

Florence Peto was an East Coast gal (New York and New Jersey), and she was active in promoting quilting by participating at fairs and quilt expos, collecting quilts, writing for magazines, lecturing in person and talking on radio stations there. She also touched the mid-century quilt world by corresponding with quilters around the country and was a “Pen Pal” to several other Hall of Fame Honorees, and to Emma Andres, who isn’t in yet (but who produced some iconic quilts). It’s hard to tell who inspired whom in their letters.  She is famous for writing American Quilts and Coverlets (a book in every quilt historian’s library) and Historic Quilts (a book that is now too pricey for many, listing at upwards of $350 used). Here she is showing off some quilts. My Bee is working on Round Robins, and I think I can get some ideas from the one in her hands.

Read more about Florence Peto here https://quiltershalloffame.net/florence-peto/

Peto was an excellent needleworker too.  She made samples of quilt blocks to use as visual aids for her lectures. If you want to see her in action, go to https://www.cah.utexas.edu/db/dmr/image_lg.php?variable=di_07292  And here’s a broderie perse block from the Quilters Hall of Fame Collection. (That technique is next on my list to try; I doubt mine will look as good.) Next to it is another of Peto’s applique pieces from TQHF’s Collection.

But what fascinates me about Florence is how she continues to be an “influencer” to this day. What lead me to write about her was that I discovered “she” has a Facebook page.  Imagine:  born in 1881, died 50 years ago, and still active on social media!  How “Back to the Future” is that?  Ok, she doesn’t write it herself, but there is so much of her eye candy, it’s almost like she does. Check it out. https://www.facebook.com/Historic-Quilts-by-Florence-Peto-1971106299806491/ 

And if you’re a quilter yourself, you might be interested in trying to recreate one of Peto’s designs.  There is a website where you can purchase patterns for four of her designs and even some reproduction fabric taken from or inspired by her quilts.  (You can also find these on Etsy.) Here’s the site, and no, the Hall of Fame and I have no connection to it. https://www.hooplapatterns.com/shop/Florence-Peto-patterns.htm  But since I’m giving them a free plug, they shouldn’t mind if I show you a picture or two.  This is from the “Calico Garden Crib Quilt” (49″ x 39″) by Florence Peto,1950. Pieced, appliqued, and quilted cotton. Shelburne Museum permanent collection.  The original has some fabulous old fabric.

Florence Peto’s influence doesn’t stop here.  So many people have written about her, including Virginia Avery, who was the topic of last week’s post, and Hazel Carter, who is one of the founders of The Quilters Hall of Fame. And, like so many Honorees, she’s been the topic of a Quilt Show episode.  Quilt Historian, Joyce Gross wrote about her, and later donated several Peto-made or related quilts to the Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin: Winedale Quilt Collection, Florence Peto Collection; you can see some of these quilts on The Quilt Index.  And if you weren’t in quarantine, you’d find Florence Peto quilts held by the Shelburne Museum in Vermont, the Henry Ford, the Newark Museum, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

So, taking a cue from Florence Peto, who do you think is an influencer today, worthy of becoming an Honoree of the Quilters Hall of Fame? There must be writers and quiltmakers out there who are reaching a wide audience and having an impact on the quilting world. If you can identify someone, why not nominate her or him?  The process isn’t hard (I’ve done it, and will tell you about my experience in a later post), and the form to get started is here https://quiltershalloffame.net/honoree-nomination/ .

That’s it for this week. Wishing everybody Dayenu for Passover, or an Alleluia for Easter; and if you don’t celebrate, just wishing you good health.

Your Quilting Friend,

Anna

I’ve been sewing masks this week, as many of you have, and it got me to thinking about my days of garment sewing (BQ—before quilting).  I didn’t learn quilting from my mother or gran, but I did make a lot of clothes in high school and the early years of my marriage. And no, I’m not sharing a photo of my home-made prom dress, but I will say that the sprigged voile sleeves were difficult.

I wonder how many current quilters followed the same route, from garments to quilts?

Someone who did was Hall of Fame honoree Virginia Avery. But Jinny, as she was known, took it to a whole new level and pioneered what we now call “wearable art”. She taught herself to sew clothes– without a pattern– at age twelve, and then, when the Bicentennial quilt craze came along, she started teaching others to quilt, even though she herself wasn’t really a quilter.  This can-do attitude carried her through life, and maybe explains why she wore a signature rhinestone pin that spelled, “It’s OK”.  Words to live by these days.

Avery seemed to love not only rhinestones, but all things flashy and improvisational.  Her quilted jackets were made in sumptuous fabrics like Thai silk, African cotton and gold moiré. One jacket, a tribute to New York City, had subway tokens stitched into it.

It’s hard to imagine in these quarantine times having a place to wear fancy garments, but it’s still nice to dream.  Or think about taking your socially-distance walk wearing this cape that Avery made. 

This is “Of Thee I Sing Baby”, a circular cape made as an invitational piece for the birthday of the Statue of Liberty, sponsored by the Museum of American Folk Art in New York City, 1986 – from March 1998 issue of Quilters Newsletter Magazine.

These book covers, from the Hall of Fame library or available on Amazon and sometimes e-Bay, give you another taste of Avery’s fashion flair.  She wrote three other books, all of them “outside the box”.

How did she come to be so creative? “We are all surrounded by designs every day of our lives,” is her answer to where her inspiration came from. “We just have to learn to open our eyes and see.” The coat on the cover of Wonderful Wearables was inspired by Avery’s own life.  I won’t say what the connection was in this post;  you can read more , and see her modeling the piano coat here: https://quiltershalloffame.net/virginia-avery/ .

So, my takeaway from Virginia Avery is that I can use this externally-imposed and internally-accepted quiet time to open my eyes.  I don’t see myself ever going totally free-form, but maybe I’ll find an architectural detail that will become a shape for a quilt block. But even if all I see is a different way to look at color combinations, “It’s OK”.

And I’ll close with a picture of my own wearable art, Covid-19 style. Look close, it has horses (because as we learned from Dr. Dunton in last week’s post, and we saw with Virginia Avery, you should have more than one hobby.) Stay well, and be creative!

Your quilting friend,

Anna

So many of us are staying home these days and using our quilting to keep the cabin fever at bay while we are in “voluntary exile for the good of the realm.” Crafting and art-making as a mental health aid is not a new idea, and it was actively promoted by The Quilters Hall of Fame honoree William Rush Dunton Jr.

Dr. Dunton was a psychiatrist, not a quilter, so you might ask why he’s an honoree.  Well, he collected photographs of quilts, studied the Baltimore Album genre, mounted several quilt exhibitions, and self-published a quilt history book that garnered a net loss of $3,000 in 1946 dollars. (It’s a collector’s item now –quite rare and pricey.)  There are two copies in the Hall of Fame library if you ever get to Marion.  Here’s the cover of one, and a quote from the introduction.

“In this book a number of quilts are pictured and described which possess interest from several standpoints. Some are remarkable for their intrinsic beauty, others for the history associated with them and still others because they seem to point to fashions or social customs of bygone days. It is hoped that there may be stimulated in the mind of the reader a greater respect for the needlework of the women who have passed on and also for their artistic ability which found expression with the needle and fabrics rather than with brush and paint or modeling tools and clay. It is hoped that the reader may be stimulated to pursue a similar hobby.”

So, he’s recognized as an early quilt historian and aficionado.  But Dr. Dunton is most famous for his use of quilt therapy with the mental patients in his care at the Sheppard Asylum (later known as the Sheppard and Enoch Pratt hospital) and Harlem Lodge, a private sanitarium near Baltimore.

There he encouraged sewing groups as a way to divert the patient’s thoughts along a productive and rewarding channel. That seems obvious now, but it was breakthrough in the early and mid- 1900’s. Here’s an excerpt from a letter in the collection of The Quilters Hall of Fame, written by his daughter, Helen Dunton Furst:

“My father’s work with the mentally ill was his life’s work and he felt that occupational therapy was a most important form of treatment. Group therapy was not well known then I believe and his idea of having a group of ladies working on one project suggested the idea of quilt making.”

There’s lots more information on Dr. Dunton at this link: https://quiltershalloffame.net/william-rush-dunton-jr/ . Or, if you’re on the Hall of Fame website, click the three-line icon in the upper right, select “Honorees”, then “Honoree List”, and then click on Dunton in the second row.  It makes good reading while you’re stuck at home, and you’ll be amazed to learn what a Renaissance man Dunton was! Please be amused at the quote about “a nervous lady;” like all of us, Dr. Dunton was a product of his times.

On the other hand, he was ahead of his time in suggesting that for good mental health, everyone should have an indoor as well as an outdoor hobby. I think we can all count quilting as our indoor hobby, but what do you do outdoors?  I ride an old horse and garden until it gets too hot. Rarely do I combine “in and out”, but here’s the first flower quilt I made (all floral fabrics for the petals) and a detail of a more recent one made as a charity quilt.

Please comment on any projects you are using as therapy sessions. And remember to thank Dr. Dunton for promoting quilting as a way to get our minds off all that’s happening.

Your quilting friend, Anna

There are 52 Inductees (one is a married couple) and one Heritage Honoree in The Quilters Hall of Fame. I’m not going to take them in order, but I will start at the beginning. Not the first Inductee, but the first in the house; that’s Marie Daugherty Webster. So many of you already are familiar with Marie Webster and why she deserves to be an inductee, and I won’t give you her full story, but if you haven’t met her, let me introduce you:

 If you want to get to know Marie better, you can read a charming biography co-written by one of her grand-daughters at https://quiltershalloffame.net/marie-webster/

But for today, let’s focus on the business part of Webster’s
life. She made her home, and operated her business in the building that houses
the Hall of Fame Museum. If you travel to Marion, IN, you can see the gracious
entry opening to what was the front parlor, and take the stately staircase up
to the room she used as her office. Imagine raising a family there, maintaining
a position as one of the local social elite, and hopping on the train for a
business trip to Chicago.  

Maybe in some later week I can write about the designer aspect of Webster’s career, but in the meantime, let’s take a look at some of the records of her business ephemera. The Museum usually has a rotating display of some of Marie’s own quilts, her clothing and personal items, but you probably didn’t know that there are many business artifacts in the collection too. Here’s an example of how her patterns were marketed.

This is a 1930’s original multi-fold trade catalog labelled
“Quilts and Spreads”.  It shows nine
Marie Webster patterns in black and white with pricing and colors
available.  The blurb explains how the
kits were shipped, “ Attractively boxed, these Quilts and Spreads are furnished
ready to make, including all materials accurately stamped on a foundation of
best quality white cambric, and the Spreads on a heavy foundation of either
white or unbleached material.” 

You can find other trade items in the Museum’s collection at
https://quiltershalloffame.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/1462A6EC-FD09-445C-AFB4-833843745621

https://quiltershalloffame.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/E188A91F-06AC-4004-B423-719130381878

https://quiltershalloffame.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/8F88F984-7F3C-4D5F-A3E8-282682226921

I’m wondering who in today’s quilt world would compare with Marie Webster?  Fons and Porter immediately come to mind as women who built a sideline into a serious business which is still going strong today.  They are also Hall of Fame inductees, and I’ll write about them another week.  But surely there are some more recent entrepreneurs who would be comparable.  I sometimes wonder whether the internet has changed the way we do business to the extent that, either there is no longer a place for a Webster-style business, or we have so many small businesses that no one stands out. What do you think? I would love to hear who you think could be a current parallel to Marie Webster as a quilt designer and entrepreneur. 

Your Quilting Friend, Anna

Our top priority is the health and safety of our community, guests, volunteers and staff members. Based on recommendations by the Indiana Governor’s office and the Indiana State Department of Health, The Quilters Hall of Fame will be closed March 18 through March 31. At that time we will re-evaluate the situation. In the meantime, we will be sharing “eye candy” and stories on our blog, https://quiltershalloffame.net/ and on our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/The-Quilters-Hall-of-Fame-88678485145/?ref=bookmarks. Thank you for your continuing support and your love of quilting!

Come to The Quilters Hall of Fame and be filled with Delight! Fiber artists from Studio Art Quilt Associates express the theme of delight and abundance in a creative way. These quilts will be on display until May 9, 2020.

Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. (SAQA) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt: “a creative visual work that is layered and stitched or that references this form of stitched layered structure.”

Founded in 1989 by an initial group of 50 artists, SAQA now has over 3,600 members: artists, teachers, collectors, gallery owners, museum curators and corporate sponsors. With access to our museum-quality exhibition program, SAQA members challenge the boundaries of art and change perceptions about contemporary fiber art.

As a part of SAQA’s dynamic creative community, members can take their artwork and career to the next level.  We offer a wide range of exclusive resources, mentorship programs and professional opportunities.

In addition, SAQA documents the art quilt movement – our publications include full-color exhibition catalogs, the Art Quilt Quarterly magazine, and our new book, Art Quilts Unfolding: 50 Years of Innovation.

Posted by Deb Geyer