The Quilters Hall of Fame Blog

William R. Dunton - 1979 Honoree

2012-01-16T11:32:00.000-08:00

William R.Dunton

(1868-1966)

Quilt Collector, Author, Psychiatrist

by Karen B.Alexander

It’s hard to realize just how manyyears have passed since I saw my first exhibit of Baltimore Album Quilts at theBaltimore Museum of Art in the early 80s. I was new to quilting at the time butloved appliqué and was stunned by these beauties and intrigued by theirhistory. I would soon learn thatthe first person to research and document this particular style of quilt wasmale and among the first 5 people inducted into The Quilters Hall of Fame in 1979 – Dr. William Rush Dunton of Baltimore.

1997.007.0319, International Quilt Study Center, UNL,www.quiltstudy.org. To access more traditional Baltimore Album quilts in the IQSC collection, see end ofarticle.

Born in Pennsylvania in 1868, Dr.William R. Dunton was psychiatrist at Sheppard-Pratt Asylum in Baltimore formany years in the early part of the 20^th century, had a longassociation with Johns Hopkins University as an instructor in psychiatry andwas a founding member of three professional societies within his field.
BunnieJordan’s chapter on Dunton in the book “The Quilters Hall of Fame” goes intointeresting detail about his professional career as a psychiatrist as well asan occupational therapist. In fact, he wrote the first complete textbook onoccupational therapy and is often called the “father of occupational therapy”. Howvery appropriate that the “father” of occupational therapy would include quiltingfrom the very beginning of his exploration of the benefits of occupationaltherapy! Today many millions of women (and men) know of quilting’s manyemotionally satisfying benefits.

Dunton is said to have beeninfluenced by his mother’s love of needlework for in 1877, the year of itsfounding, she was an early pupil at the Philadelphia School of Art Needlework. However,he acknowledges in the introduction to his book “Old Quilts” that he can recallno quilts in his home as a boy and speculates “their making was toounfashionable in large cities to interest many during the 1870s.” However, muchlater in life when he came across a long forgotten box in his own closet, hewrote, “a tea box of diamonds ofcolored silks in which I recognize some of my childhood neckties….and I believeI assisted in cutting these.”

Dunton credits TQHF Honoree MarieWebster’s 1915 book “Quilts: Their Story and How to Make Them” with awakeninghis interests in documenting and recording early quilts and their history,although he writes, “it seems that I must have had an interest before that time or I should not havewanted to read the book.” He also quickly realized that the process ofselecting color and pattern, as well as the social interaction that quiltstraditionally engendered, would be of great benefit to his “nervous” patients. Asa psychiatrist, he thought his female patients could benefit from the quietcalming influence of needlework as well as the sense of accomplishment itbrought.

Copake Annual TextileAuction - ca. 1850 MD Album Quilt - sold June 30, 2007

Although Dunton did not focus exclusivelyon needlework as a fitting form of occupational therapy for his patients,quilts took on a special meaning for him personally. Or, more specifically, thedocumentation and collecting of quiltstook on new meaning for him and quickly became one of his many personal interestsafter he fell under their spell and began a correspondence with Marie Webster,soon after her book was published in 1915. Eventually he would correspond witha small cadre of quilt scholars who undoubtedly encouraged him to publish hisown book.
Unable to find a publisher willing to take on his book, Duntonself-published 2,000 copies. Every book is hand-numbered and today copiescommand a hefty price in the market place, if you can even find one.

From our perspective today, we findit rather amazing that any male, but perhaps especially a psychiatrist, wouldbe planning and executing a quilt exhibit in 1916. But on September 5, 1916,when Dunton held his first quilt exhibit for his patients, he would in fact exhibit50 quilts — quilts borrowed from the families of patients and friends, as wellas three loaned by Marie Webster herself. Dunton would go on to curate three quilt exhibits for the BaltimoreMuseum of Art as well, with the 1944 exhibit featuring the quilts that had cometo intrigue him the most —Baltimore Album quilts.

*Members of the BaltimoreAppliqué Society made tracings of the original Mary Mannakee quilt that residesin the collection of the Daughters of the American Revolution and then made areproduction quilt which was raffled to raise money for the DAR. Marylou McDonald,Past President of the BAS, and her stitch group, called Friends from the Heart,also decided to exchange blocks made from these tracings. Marylou made oneblock (top row, far right) and the borders. In early 2002, the finished quilttop was sent to a quilter in Kentucky to hand quilt.

Dunton is responsible more than any other early quilt historian for documenting quilts that had a specialaffiliation with the Baltimore area. His groundwork research on this stylehelped later quilt historians trace the influence of the Baltimore-style as itevolved and made its way into other regions. Plus, Dunton's research covered much more than just this one style.

Dunton was a meticulous recordkeeper and archivist. In late 50s to early 60s his extensive collection of researchmaterials and photographs was donated to the Baltimore Museum of Art.The Baltimore Applique Society,founded in 1993, raised $5,600 in 1997 towards stabilizing the Dunton papers sothat they could be made available to researchers. This passionate group ofappliqué-lovers and quilt historians continues to support the preservation of theDunton archival material as well as the Baltimore Album quilts in more than onemuseum collection.

Beginning attop: Dunton article from TQHF Honoree book, Katzenberg book, AQSG’s Uncoverings1994, Dunton book bearing his signature. Photo courtesy of Karen Alexander.

In 1980 Dena Katzenberg created anexhibit of 50 Baltimore Album quilts and produced a thoroughly researchedcatalogue. Out of print very quickly, the catalogue continues to command a high price.

The point I am makingis that the exhibit traveled and created such a national awareness of BaltimoreApplique quilts at the time that prices soared, bringing more and more quiltsout of family closets. The end result — more and more of the old beauties began to bedocumented.

Jennifer Goldsborough’spresentation at the 1994 AQSG seminar in Birmingham, AL, shed additional new light on this genre of quilt andis well worth studying. The Baltimore Album style continues to enjoy a strongresurgence among quiltmakers today thanks to the many new teachers.
EllySienkiewicz of Maryland, with her many books, is perhaps the most well known. Somewherein the depths of all my quilt history files, I have a photo of Elly from theearly 1980s in our guest room, cuddled under one of her spectacular appliquéquilts that featured her daughter.

Speaking of early quilt historians,Dunton mentions the work of five women — in addition to Marie Webster — whofurthered his own education about quilts and suggested these authors could dothe same for his readers: Florence Peto, focus of the first article in thisseries; Ruth Finley, focus of the 2^nd article in this seriesarticle; plus Ruby McKim, Carrie Hall, and Rose Kretsinger, who will be coveredin future articles. Peto was in touch with Carrie Hall and Rose Kretsinger,though I am unaware if Dunton ever had direct contact with these last twoHonorees.

Be sure to keep up with the doingsat The Quilters Hall of Fame here at the blog or the TQHF website. Feel free to contact mewith any questions you may have.

Meanwhile, keep those needlesflying and spread the word about how quilts enrich your life and the life ofour communities!

Karen Alexander

Past President, The Quilters Hall of Fame

Member of AQSG since 1981, Western Washington Rep.

Of Note:

Be sure to visit the International Quilt Study Center’s Collections Database to see more Baltimore Album quilts. There are several ways to query thedatabase and how one does it determines, of course, the results. If you enteronly "album" as pattern or key word, you will get ALL album quilts,not just Baltimore. If you enter "Baltimore" in keyword you get onlythe Baltimore Albums plus other quilts with Baltimore origins. The latter doesgive you fewer, and does include the Baltimore Albums. The images retrieved bythe Collections Database are low resolution, not "zoomable".

The second way to see the IQSCquilts is via Quilt Explorer. Give it a few seconds to load. There are fewer quilts in this area; however, they are all high resolution,therefore you may zoom in for great details. If you search by"Style/Type" and select Baltimore Album, there are three gorgeousquilts in high res. Note that when you start to zoom in on one of these imagesyou may drag the image around with your mouse to see all parts of the quiltclose-up, a dandy little feature.

The Quilt Index, sponsoredby the Alliance for American Quilts, is another great place to see BaltimoreAlbum quilts and their derivatives and you search it in a very similar way asthe IQSC’s data base.

Bibliography:

Debby Cooney,“A Legacy Revised: New Access to Dr. Dunton’s Work” in Blanket Statements, Issue 55, Winter 1998/99, (Lincoln, NE: AmericanQuilt Study Group)

William Rush Dunton,Jr., MD, Old Quilts (Baltimore:Privately printed, 1946)

Jennifer F.Goldsborough, “An Album of Baltimore Album Quilt Studies” in Uncoverings 1994, ed. Virginia Gunn (SanFrancisco, CA: American Quilt Study Group)

Eileen (Bunnie)Jordan, “William Rush Dunton,Jr.”, The Quilters Hall of Fame, ed. MerikayWaldvogel and Rosalind Webster Perry (Marion, IN - The Quilters Hall of Fame,2004)

Eileen Jordan,“Dunton Papers Available Soon”, in TheQuilters Hall of Fame Newsletter, No. 14, Fall 1998 (Marion, IN: TheQuilters Hall of Fame)

Dena S. Katzenberg,Baltimore Album Quilts (Baltimore:the Baltimore Museum of Art, 1981)

EllySienkiewicz, Baltimore Beauties andBeyond (C&T Publishing, 1989)

*The quilt made by the members of Friends From the Heartowned my Mary Lou MacDonald 1st Row (l to r):

Inge Scheumann Ft.Meade, MD

Kay Twit Cockeysville,MD

Marylou McDonald Laurel,MD

2nd Row

Jan Carlson SevernaPark, MD

Lucinda Mayan Hartley,DE

Anna Holland Heathsville,VA

3rd Row

Polly Mello EllicottCity, MD

Chris Miller Columbia,MD

Anita Askins Annapolis,MD

4th Row

Barbara Brown Odenton,MD

Darlene Christopherson ChinaSpring, Texas

Kathy Suita Cockeysville,MD

Yvonne Porcella: A Retrospective

2011-12-13T16:52:00.000-08:00

PRESS RELEASE

Carnegie Arts Center

Turlock, California

MEDIACONTACT

RebeccaPhillips Abbott

YVONNE PORCELLA: ARETROSPECTIVE

January 18-March 14, 2012

DISTINGUISHED ARTIST 2012

The Carnegie Arts Center is dedicated to recognizingexcellence in regional artists through its Distinguished Artist program, anannual event that includes an award and retrospective exhibition for thehonoree. “We are extremely proudto honor Yvonne Porcella in this first year,” says Rebecca Phillips Abbott,Executive Director and Curator, “She is a remarkable textile artist whose workstoday are in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC,the de Young Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum ofArt & Design in New York, NY, the Phoenix Art Museum, and numerous others.” The Carnegie’s retrospective exhibitwill trace Porcella’s career from her earliest works up to and including thepresent. “In the process,” says Abbott, “we are all given the opportunity tocelebrate and honor a life’s work.”

A native Californian, Porcella was born in Watsonville, CA,studied nursing at the University of San Francisco, graduated in 1958 andworked part-time as an operating room nurse until 1979, and raised fourchildren with her husband, Bob. All the while, she was also working as an artist.

Porcella’s gift for artistic expression began in the 1960swith observations that the same fabrics were used again and again in thegarments people were wearing. Shebegan spinning her own thread, weaving her own fabrics, and making her owngarments, and was soon involved in the Conference of Northern CaliforniaHandweavers. In these early years,Porcella was influenced by ethnic clothing, primarily from Guatemala and by piecedand embroidered textiles from Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. In 1972 she had her first exhibition ofweavings and wearable art. In 1977she published Five Ethnic Patterns, followed by an ethnic pattern book PlusFive then Pieced Clothing in 1980 and by Pieced Clothing Variations in1981. More publications wouldfollow, including Yvonne Porcella: Art & Inspirations, published in 1998.

Her shift from weaving to quiltmaking began when she startedto make garments out of patchwork. In 1979 she attended the West CoastQuilter's Conference and by the following year she had completely stoppedweaving. It was a pivotal moment,so much so that she can tell you the date and time she last wove: 28 April 1980 at 8:30 in themorning! By 1981, she had created"Takoage," her first art quilt which was later acquired by theSmithsonian Institution for its Renwick Gallery, located across the street fromthe White House in Washington, DC. It was a promising start for Porcella who rapidly emerged as a visionaryforce artistically and in the art quilt movement as a whole. As founder of the Studio Art Quilts Association and President of the Board of Directors, she worked tirelessly inthose early years to establish art quilting as an artistic genre in its ownright.

Takoage, 1981

Yvonne Porcella’s art quilts are known for their boldoriginality as well as for their intricate narratives which inevitably treatthe experiences of everyday life with a great deal of energy, substance, andnearly always humor. Waiting forPink Linoleum, 2001, laments the lack of an arts center in Modesto. At the time this quilt was made, itappeared there would be no funding for building what later became the GalloCenter for the Arts.

Waiting for Pink Linoleum, 2001

In it two figures can be seen running from the prospect of funding an arts center. A vaudevillian hook at the center helps to propel their flight. There is as well a subtle poke at the absence of the visual arts, in view of the prominence of the musical clef. The visual arts were surrendered early in the preliminary discussions involving the arts center. In this image, bold colors divide the quilt on the diagonal. One senses that the figure to the right is moving extremely quickly out of the image frame to the right while the figure to the left is flustered and running in the opposite direction. Form and color are merged here for a sophisticated artistic statement that takes life on its own terms and finds all the joy there is to find in it.

Early Weavings, 1970s

As a retrospective exhibit, this exhibit includes worksrepresenting distinct sensibilities in Porcella’s artistic output for a richand varied selection, including the early weavings; ethnic-inspired garments; aseries focused on the kimono form; American iconography; quilts forgrandchildren; quilts for an especially whimsical take on life; quilts asautobiography, and hand painted quilts.

Asked to reflect on her career, how it began and what drivesher as an artist, Porcella says: "As a child, motherly love taught me to knit and sew, and ripmistakes and make it right. Curiosity led to self education, enhanced by acollection of books, visits to museums, and exploration of textiles from othercountries. Imagination generated inspiration and freedom led to invention. Ilearned creativity comes from making your own rules, understanding the limitsof your chosen materials, and having confidence in personal skills.”

“I do what I love with determination,” she continues, “Aneed to finish each action has developed into a major collection of creativework full of color, filled with events in my life, things that I have heard, emotionsof the moment, exploration of American iconography, revisiting experiences as awife, mother, nurse, weaver, mountain climber, author, teacher, world traveler,craftsman; living amidst the beauty of California’s central valley."

“Through Porcella's works we appreciate these everydaymoments more clearly and perhaps enjoy them more fully as a result,” saysAbbott.

As is her custom, Porcella’s wearable art works frequentlyhave humorous titles, including Kaleidoscopically Yours, How Old Are You Now?, Walking the Streets ofTomorrow, the latter a reference to a vest made with leftover fabric. Many of the early garments were madefrom a rich mixture of ethnic textiles, re-cast by Porcella into a style thatis uniquely her own.

While the early garments were intended to be worn, Porcellamade others with the intention they would not be worn. The series was titled “Kimono as Quilt”and it was a subtle affirmation of the art quilt as an artistic genre. These garments were made to be viewedas works of art. Porcellaexperimented with strip piecing and black and white checkerboard blocks in theearly kimonos. The interiorsquickly became as important as the exteriors. Pasha On The 10:04, for example, features a dynamic exteriorof black, white, and red with small accents of rainbow colors. Its interior reveals a printed fabricwith a hand painted figure. Inother works, hand painting would become a counter to bold colors.

Pasha on the 10:04, 1984

Mickey Mouse, McDonald’s, a cheeseburger, a pink flamingo,spinach, even 99¢ become the stuff of American iconography in Porcella’shands.

I (Heart) American, 1988

All can be found in a series of quilts she made in the 1980s that explore and celebrate what a foreign visitor, in particular, might consider quintessentially American. Youthful, energetic, unstoppable—these quilts suggest all this and more.

Of the autobiographical quilts, In Loving Memory serves asan early example of its type. It is rich in detail and poignant. Porcella writes, “Memories are part ofthe family experience. When I wasyoung, memories were not something to dwell on…. Only later in my life, nowthat I am old enough to remember the losses, does memory play an integral partin my creative life.” Familyphotographs transferred to fabric are surrounded by fabrics intended to conveytime as a continuum here. Otherquilts such as Memories of Childhood, 1988, reflect memories that are uniquelyhers.

In Loving Memory, 1987

Quilt for a Grandchild, Vittoria Lee, 1990

In this same spirit are the quilts Porcella made for each ofher grandchildren and now great grandchildren. Stylistically they trace the progression of her techniquesand are filled with references to family and the passage of time. In Quilt for Vittoria Lee, Porcellaselected some of the fabric she used to make curtains for her ownchildren. Filled with symbols,this quilt includes roses that serve as a reference to her own grandmother,whose name was Rose. The colorpink honors a female child while the heart signifies love. The black and white checkerboard foundin this quilt echoes her early works in still another reference to time.

Wisteria le deuxieme, 1995

The bold colors that are the hallmark of Porcella’s workwere often countered by a softer, pastel palette achieved through hand paintingsilk. Porcella believes theinspiration for this may have come from living among the almond trees of theCentral Valley. Suggestive ofwatercolor, these subtle colors introduce nuances. There is a stillness to them and with that a timelessness.

There may be nothing more joyous than a purple dog leapingover a lady with green hair. Muchof Porcella’s work is about living life fully, joyously, and imaginatively andPurple Dog and Green Hair, 2003, is no exception. Words, symbols, and musingshave been seamlessly incorporated into the overall design. One can find “P&B” at the topright. The word “Textiles” appearsat the bottom right-- below the heart for “I (Heart) Textiles”—all a referenceto a line of fabric Porcella developed for P&B Textiles in 2003. The question mark is morepronounced. It is self-referentialand has its origins in a defining exchange with a store clerk. “What is yourlast name?” he asked. "Porcella," she replied. “First initial?” he asked. “Y,” she responded. “Because we need it," he explained. There was surely a moment’s pause on her part as sheabsorbed what had just happened, but from that time on “Y” and “?” becameinterchangeable in any number of her works.

Purple Dog and Green Hair, 2003

The series Four on the Square, begun in 2000, was anexperiment in bringing different themes together: rain, olive, iris,holidays. Pictured here areseveral of each including months of the year expressed in color or mood. Thisseries featured silk fabrics and fusible web, allowing for free hand cuttingand leading to a more painterly abstract effect in the process.

Four on the Square, 2000

Series of Faces were made between 1998 and 2002. Many were for hospitalinstallations. The faces began asself portraits but soon took on a life of their own. For Porcella, the series pictured here harkens back tothoughts of Mariah from Paint Your Wagon, or Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, orsimply frightening faces from childhood. The Mariah of Paint Your Wagon “throws the stars around, and sends theclouds a’flyin’!”

Series of Faces, 1998-2002

Yvonne Porcella: A Retrospective

CarnegieArts Center Distinguished Artist, 2012

Onview January 18 through March 14, 2012

CarnegieArts Center

250North Broadway

Turlock,CA 95380

Telephone: 209-632-5761

Open: Wednesday - Sunday, 10 am – 5 pm

www.carnegieartsturlock.org

$5admission (member discounts apply)

Childrenunder 12 are free

[1] It can take more than several moments to find thesecond figure in this, at the left center and top. It is part of the fun ofencountering a work by Porcella!

PRESS RELEASE

December 9, 2011

MEDIA CONTACT

Rebecca Phillips Abbott

209-632-5761

Ruby Short McKim Revival

2011-11-20T17:17:00.001-08:00

Ruby Short McKim, July 27, 1891- July 1976

by Karen B. Alexander*

“What is the compelling fascination of quilts?” is a question I hear frequently once someone discovers my passion for quilt history. One of the reasons I give is because quilt history is a natural vehicle for learning about the changing theories of social history and, more specifically, the changing tides of women’s history. But quilts also have an amazing thread linking them to the study of economics, trade and the industrial revolution.

After the 1880s, quilts also gradually began to reflect the shifts in Western attitudes about children and childhood, i.e. childhood as distinct from the world of adulthood, a trend that blossomed as we entered the 20th century.

Children, Art and Ruby Short McKim

"Love From Sarah". Art by Sarah Alexander (age 3-7) interpreted through needlework

by quilt-maker Wini Alexander, 1976.

Children and art naturally make me think of Ruby Short McKim, the 33rd Inductee of The Quilters Hall of Fame. McKim's first quilt designs focused uniquely on themes that would entertain children.

McKim's first series: Quaddie Quilties - 1916

Ruby Short was born into a time of great change for women, as was Marie Webster, in whose restored home TQHF is now headquartered. Marie was born in 1859, just as the American Civil War was about to fire its first shot. Ruby was born 1891, the year Marie turned 32 and the year Thomas Edison patented the motion picture camera.

Interestingly enough, both Ruby and Marie launched themselves into a quilt-related business just about the same time in the 2nd decade of the 20th century, only one was in her early 50s and the other not yet 20. They surely knew of each other but I am not aware that they ever corresponded with one another. But I could be proven wrong. Historians are digging all the time for new material and information.

McKim and Cottage Needlework Industries

Cottage needlework industries were certainly not unheard of in the first quarter of the 20th century, but not all of them impacted the direction of quilt design to the degree that both Marie Webster and Ruby McKim did. An excellent paper by quilt historian Cuesta Benberry (1922-2007), “Quilt Cottage Industries: A Chronicle,” established groundbreaking research on this subject. You can find Benberry’s article in the 1994 hardback book, Quiltmaking in America: Beyond the Myths, published by AQSG. AQSG still has copies available.

Both Webster and McKim were forerunners of an explosion of similar quilt-related businesses that emerged during the late 20th century quilt revival. One only has to track the ads in the popular needlework and quilt magazines of the time to see these phenomena emerge. The Internet and other new technology only added to women’s ability as well as opportunity to create and work from home at something they loved.

Another version of Quaddie Quiltie as seen on eBay 2009

McKim's Early Life

Ruby’s father, Morris Trimble Short, was 47 when she was born and died when she was 10. Viola M. Vernon Short, her mother, was 24 years younger than her husband and a powerful role model in Ruby’s life. Viola had already proven herself quite capable as a teacher prior to her marriage and as a missionary’s wife following the family’s move from Illinois to Missouri two year’s before her husband’s death. She was an avid promoter of children’s education and believed that children should be allowed to make their own mistakes and then deal with the consequences. She had her own unique way of training her children how to manage their own meager resources that could well be used as a model today. I found this aspect of Ruby’s childhood as described in Jill Sutton Filo’s AQSG research paper particularly fascinating. (Click here to read more about Filo's research.)

McKim_Jolly Circus Quilt Series - 1921

Early Interest in Art

Ruby showed a very early interest in drawing and was known to carry a sketchbook with her everywhere to the point that some family and friends, Filo discovered, jokingly referred to it as part of her wardrobe. Her senior year of high school she served as art editor of the yearbook with twenty-five pages bearing her pen and ink sketches, harbinger of much artwork to come. At age 19 she headed for the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts in New York City where she studied while rooming with her married sister.

The renowned Frank Alvah Parsons, pioneer in graphic design and commercial illustration, was joint administrator of the school the four years prior to Ruby’s arrival and became the director during her one year of study, 1910-1911. Without a doubt, Parsons’ philosophy had great impact on Ruby’s artistic and entrepreneurial development. Parsons’ influence was far reaching in American cultural history.

McKim_Jolly Circus Quilt Series - 1921

McKim Begins Teaching Art in Public Schools

Ruby returned home to Independence, MO, after only one year in New York. Although the reason is not known for certain, finances probably had a lot to do with it. Back home Ruby began to teach in the public schools and in 1912 became the Supervisor of Drawing for the Independence School system, overseeing all grades elementary through high school. Jill Sutton Filo’s ground breaking research on McKim published in AQSG’s Uncoverings 1996 reveals a delightful interview Filo conducted of a 93 year old former student and neighbor of Ruby’s. Ruby was apparently an extremely popular teacher among her pupils.

AQSG Uncoverings1996

Designing Career Officially Launched 1916

“Bedtime Quilt”, or the “Quaddie Quiltie” series as it soon became known, launched Ruby’s “official” career on May 7, 1916 in the Kansas City Star. It was Ruby’s first published series. Barbara Brackman writes in Women of Design: Quilts in the Newspaper that “the ‘Quaddy Quilties’ … are thought to be the first syndicated pattern series” by a quilter, as well as Ruby’s first published series.

McKim_Quaddie Quiltie Series - 1916

The quilt from my collection whose blocks you see here bears only 9 of the 20 different patterns from this first series. A fabric tag on the back says: Carol Burr Baby quilt made for Richard born 1918. Although the red sashing is badly worn in places, especially across the top border, I was thrilled to stumble upon such an early copy of Ruby’s first series.

This first series was a joint copyright venture with well known author Thorton W. Burgess, who died in 1965 at the age of 91, wrote over 170 books and 15,000 stories throughout his life. His characters, such as: Peter Rabbit, Joe Otter, Hooty the Owl, Jerry Muskrat, and Bobby Raccoon are famous worldwide. It was an auspicious beginning to Ruby’s career to land this joint venture.

McKim_Quaddie Quiltie Series - 1916

As seen on eBay in 2010

Early Wife and Husband Team Hit the Road Together

to Promote McKim's Business

After marriage and soon after the birth of her first child in 1918, Ruby’s career quickly resumed. She and husband Arthur, a public relations man by profession, were often on the road visiting with publishers in an effort to build relationships that would help increase her syndication network. While away on business, Ruby often wrote home to the grandparents who were caring for Betty, and sketched delightful scenes of children busy at play or work as she had witnessed or imagined them while on her trips. A second daughter was born in 1924 and a son in 1935. The family kept Ruby’s letters and sketches and treasure them today.

A Rare McKim Find

“The circus is coming to town!”

In 1921, Woman’s World presented Ruby’s whimsical angular Jolly Circus Quilt and offered pre-stamped kits. I have inserted blocks thru-out the article from this pattern series.

McKim_Jolly Circus Quilt Series - 1921

I was very fortunate to stumble across a summer spread made from this pattern a few years ago. It is the only example of this pattern that I have seen in person, though I have seen photos of other examples. It had apparently hung in an antique shop for a good long while and its muslin background on which the embroidery is done is discolored, perhaps from tobacco smoke? But, fortunately, there are no holes.

In spite of all the modern forms of entertainment that have come along to distract all of us since my childhood, it is still the memory of the news “The circus is coming to town!” that stirs some of the most anticipatory memories of childhood. There was truly something magical about the circus in the late 1940s and early 50s before our culture had become so saturated with more sophisticated forms of entertainment.

McKim_Jolly Circus Quilt Series - 1921

Business Expands to Mail Order

In January 1922, Ruby became the Children’s Art Editor of a new publication, Child Life Magazine. This relationship, which included quilt patterns and needlework projects for children, continued into the 1930s. With the birth of their second child in 1923, the grandparents begged the couple to end their many road trips.

With the growing wide-spread exposure of her more distinctive designs, Ruby’s efforts soon evolved into a mail-order business. Their wide-spared traveling meeting businessmen and newspaper editors face-to-face had paid off. From her pen would flow a veritable flood of some 20 embroidery and quilt patterns that were syndicated in various publications as she competed for space with the Nancy Page Quilting Clubs during the 20s and 30s.

A Crayola version of McKim's Jolly Circus series as seen on eBay 2009.

Click here to see more about Crayola quilts.

McKim's 16-year association with Child Life began in 1922.

March 1927 cover

Early Recorded Children's Quilt Contests

Nursery Rhymes series - 1922

The Nursery Rhymes series seen in Laura Fisher's on-line store in 2009.

According to Jill Filo's research, Ruby’s Nursery Rhyme series (examples above) was the vehicle of one of the earliest recorded children’s quilt contests as seen in Ohio’s Sunday Cleveland Plain Dealer in 1922. Filo also articulated in her nomination letter of Ruby to The Quilters Hall of Fame, “The 1926 Colonial History Quilt, an American Sesquicentennial celebration, instigated the January, 1927 “Old-Time Quilts” show and contest in Seattle, Washington sponsored by the Post-Intelligencer.

1926 Colonial History Series

As seen on eBay 2011

1926 Colonial Series from collection of Karen Alexander

A few weeks before the stock market crash, the 1929 Flower Garden Quilt contest set the stage for the 1930 Indianapolis Star’s two and a half day quilt show which attracted 468 quilts and 14,004 visitors…”

1929 Flower Garden series.

In addition to the 1930 Indianapolis Star contest, the near-by Marion Chronicle in Grant County sponsored its first public quilt show. The show was judged by none other than Marie Webster, Indiana’s leading quilt history expert at the time, and a nationally known quilt designer and author in her own right 1911-1942.

Modern Merchandizing of Quilting

As the popularity of syndicated quilt pattern series grew, more and more newspapers held contests and exhibits of the best completed quilts, which in turn generated more and more publicity and business for quilting supplies and patterns. One could say that McKim helped begin the tradition of the modern merchandizing of quilting long before the late 20th century quilt revival emerged and took it to an even higher level with its seemingly endless array of patterns, new tools and gadgets.

McKim - The Audubon Bird Life Quilt - collection of Karen Alexander

The Audubon Bird Life Quilt from McKim's 1931 book

Successful Farming magazine ran five of Ruby’s features from 1922-1928 with Ruby selling transfer patterns for the first time in this publication in November 1928.

Farm Life first published in 1930

McKim Continues to Expand Venues of Publication

How much more could this amazingly productive woman juggle? For starters, she began writing her “Adventures in Home Beautifying” column January 1928 for Better Home and Gardens Magazine, focusing on a different room of the house each month. In that same year she and her husband Arthur founded McKim Studios in Independence, Missouri, which soon became a successful mail-order needlework supply and pattern business.

Sketches of McKim's Peter Pan series as seen in McKim's 1931 book and now Rose Lea Alboum's

The American Legacy Quilt Index Series

Key Player in Launch of the Kansas City Star Newspaper Quilt Series

Although Ruby’s first patterns appeared in the Kansas City Star in 1916, it wasn’t until September 1928 that Ruby became a key player in the launch of the Kansas City Star’s on-going promotion of quilt patterns, beginning with her traditional Pine Tree pieced pattern. This was the beginning of a 33-year tradition by the KCS newspaper of offering full-size quilt patterns, although Ruby herself would stay involved only until September 20, 1930, at which time Eveline Foland took over.

McKim's Early Quilt Pattern Anthology

Ruby’s self-published 1931 book, 101 Patchwork Patterns, one of the earliest quilt pattern anthologies that had detailed instructions, was a natural next step in the progression of her career. It is still considered a classic and revised reprints are readily available, but it’s far more fun to track down a copy of the original hard back shown above.

McKim's Influence in Quilt World Compared to Tiffany's in Diamond World

The book cemented Ruby’s place as one of the giants of early 20th century quilt history. As the Dayton Daily News declared Oct 2, 1932, “wherever quilts and quilt patterns are known, the name of ‘McKim Studios’ is as famous as the name Tiffany is famous in the diamond world.” Ruby was included in the first edition of Who’s Who Among American Women and her influence on American quilting continues unabated, as her patterns enjoy still another revival in the 21st century.

1932 McKim Studios Mail Order Catalogue

Page from mail order catalogue.

I don't know the name of the little girl for whom the doll quilt (below) was made. Thanks to my quilt history friends, however, who pointed me to the above McKim catalogue, I do now know that if you ordered the 12 stamped blocks each 9 inches square, you received the doll size printed quilt as a premium. The little doll blanket measures all of 19x14 inches and has a salt bag as its back.

If you ordered the complete pattern series from the catalogue, you were given a free printed doll quilt top.

(from the collection of Karen Alexander)

Example of a McKim pattern series (below) carried in the newspaper.

McKim Steers a New Course

Doll collecting is considered in the top 5 collection topics in the world today. (See what they were in 1942 by clicking here.) By the late 1930s Ruby was focusing more and more on her doll business. Though Ruby started Kimport Dolls by importing dolls from around the world, the company eventually began manufacturing porcelain dolls itself. Kimport Dolls also published Doll Talk for Collectors, a magazine for the Dolly Hobby Club, for decades.

The old McKim's Studio eventually became Kimport Dolls' business residence. Together Ruby and Arthur once again worked as a team until Arthur’s death in 1967. The doll business continued approximately 10 more years and ended not long after Ruby’s death in 1976. In 2006 the site of the old McKim Studios in Independence, Missouri became Woodstock Inn Bed & Breakfast.

The Third Generation Steps Up to the Plate to Revive McKim Studios

It has been exciting to see Ruby’s two granddaughters take on the challenge of carrying on Ruby’s legacy by re-issuing her designs and even creating them in some new forms.

Click here to go to their website. Then scroll to the bottom of their page and click on this phrase: VIEW THE PHOTOS of RSM featured at the Quilt Show in Ilwaco, WA (opens in a new window) to see some of the McKim quilt patterns being made today.

The family ahs also been encouraging and assisting the Jackson County Historical Society to begin the process of collecting the historic ephemera related to McKim Studios’ design and business history.

If you have additional information about Ruby McKim or would like to share one of your quilts in this post, please feel free to contact me. Questions? You can reach me byclicking here. I don’t claim to have all the answers but I may be able to help point you in the right direction.

To see more vintage McKim quilts, click here to visit the blog Quilts-Vintage and Antique and see what one quilt collector has managed to find.

Meanwhile, keep those needles flying and the flame of curiosity burning,

Karen Alexander

Past President

The Quilters Hall of Fame

*This article 1st published 27 July 2009 in the TQS Quilt Pioneer Series and updated in November 2011 for the TQHF blog.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

(1) Rose Lea Alboum, Index To The Ruby Short McKim Quilt Blocks (no date but my guess is about 2005) http://www.americanlegacyquiltindexes.com/

(2) Christine Bowman, “Jill Sutton File — One Researcher’s Road”, AQSG’s Blanket Statements, Winter 1996

(3) Barbara Brackman, Women of Design: Quilts in the Newspaper, Kansas City Star Books (2004)

(4) Chris Jones, “Ruby McKim” in The Quilters Hall of Fame, ed. Merikay Waldvogel and Rosalind Webster Perry (Marion, IN – The Quilters Hall of Fame, 2004)

(5) Heidi Kaisand, Better Homes and Gardens: Century of Quilt. Meredith Corporation (2004), publishers of Better Homes and Gardens and American Patchwork and Quilting

(6) Jill Filo Sutton, “Ruby Short McKim: The Formative Years” in Uncoverings 1996, ed. Virginia Gunn (San Francisco, CA: American Quilt Study Group, 1996)

(7) Jill Sutton Filo, “Ruby short McKim’s Roly Poly Circus Quilt”, 75th anniversary Edition 1923-1998, Charlottes, Press, Akron, Ohio (1998)

(8)McKim nomination letters from the files of The Quilters Hall of Fame

(9) AQSG member Rose Marie Werner has been doing research on companies and designers of the quilt kits of the 20th century. McKim Studios has been included in her research. Watch for her website to go live sometime in the next 4-8 weeks at quiltkitsID.com.

(10) Jackson County Historical Society. Researchers are welcome to make an appointment and visit the Jackson County (Mo.) Historical Society's Archives to research into the Ruby Short McKim Collection. The collection is organized into three main categories: 1) Personal Papers (including those of Ruby’s parents/grandparents); 2) quilt and appliqué patterns (including both her syndicated materials in newspapers and magazines; and, those which her Independence-based business published); and 3) Doll Talk magazine, and doll-related materials of Kimport Dolls. JCHS welcomes donations, and are appreciative to the individuals who have kindly transferred selected materials to help build a more complete McKim collection. www.jchs.org/archives/archives.html

11) Rose Lea Alboum's The American Legacy Quilt Index Series

List of SERIES QUILTS by Ruby Short McKim

This is a “work in progress” list and in-put is greatly appreciated.

Coded items are from the new McKim Studios series as created by Ruby’s Granddaughter

1916 - QUADDY QUILTIE BOOK • Item #QS 204

Originally offered by Ruby Short Published in 1916

1916 – MOTHER GOOSE

1922 - NURSERY RHYME QUILTIE BOOK • Item #QS 202

Originally offered by Ruby Short McKim Pub in 1922

1923 – ALICE IN WONDERLAND

1923 – BETTY BLUE & BOBBY SHAFTOE

1923 - ROLY POLY CIRCUS QUILT BOOK • Item #499

Originally offered by Ruby Short McKim Published in 1923

1924 – CHILD LIFE

1926 - PETER PAN QUILT BOOK • Item #QS 201

Originally offered by Ruby Short McKim Published in 1926

1926 – COLONIAL LIFE

1927 - BIBLE HISTORY QUILT BOOK • Item #400

Originally offered by Ruby Short McKim Pub in 1927

1928 – AUDUBON SERIES

1929-30 - FLOWER GARDEN QUILT BOOK • Item #401

NOTE: Includes patterns for alternate quilting block and border

Originally offered by Ruby Short McKim Published in 1929-30

1930 - FARM LIFE QUILT BOOK • Item #403

NOTE: Includes patterns for alternate quilting block and border

Originally offered by Ruby Short McKim Pub in 1930

1930 – BONNET BABIES

1930 – PATCHWORK QUILT

1931 – PARADE OF STATES

1931 - STATE FLOWERS QUILT BOOK • Item #QS 205

Originally offered by McKim Studios Published in 1931

1932 – FRUIT BASKET

1933 - TOY SHOP WINDOW QUILT BOOK • Item #439

NOTE: Includes pattern for alternate quilting block

Originally offered by McKim Studios Published in 1933

1933 - WILDWOOD FLOWERS QUILT BOOK • Item #QS 203

NOTE: Includes pattern for alternate quilting block

Originally offered by McKim Studios Published in 1933

1934 - THREE LITTLE PIGS QUILT BOOK • Item #481

NOTE: Includes border pattern

Originally offered by McKim Studios Published in 1934

1934 – FLOWER BASKET

1935 - RHYMELAND QUILT BOOK • Item #QS 207

Originally offered by McKim Studios Published in 1935

1937 - AMERICAN SHIPS QUILT BOOK • Item #QS 206

Originally offered by McKim Studios Published in 1937

The NEW TQHF updated Book is here!

2011-11-17T08:25:00.001-08:00

Announcing....drum roll, please....

TQHF is thrilled to announce the launch of it's updated hard-cover, lavishly illustrated new book The Quilters Hall of Fame: 42 Masters Who Have Shaped Our Art. Published by Voyaguer Press, this is a "must have" for any quilt lover's library and a perfect gift for any friend.

You can order the book directly from TQHF or through the publisher here.

The cover is unique in that the circle you see is cutout from the cover revealing the quilt inside.

Back cover

The Next Honoree!

Come join us in July 2012 at the historic Marie Webster House in Marion, Indiana, for the induction of Eleanor Burns as the 43rd Honoree!

Eleanor Burns Announced as 2012 Inductee

2011-09-11T18:19:00.000-07:00

Photo courtesy of Quilt in a Day

Join us for Celebration 2012 as we induct Eleanor Burns!

The Quilters Hall of Fame is pleased to announce EleanorBurns, author of over 107 quilt instruction books, and host of her owntelevision show for over 22 years, as the 2012 Quilters Hall of Fame inductee.

Eleanor Burns' fans are legion. Her warmth, sense of humorand passion for teaching is legendary; her marketing skills and enterprisingspirit greatly admired; her classes kept up to date to reflect the latestcontemporary trends in the market.

The 1978 self-publication of her first book, "Make aQuilt in a Day: Log Cabin Pattern," was a pivotal decision in Burns'business career. Yes, she self-published before the day of e-books! Thereafter,she became a prolific author, revered teacher trainer, popular televisionpersonality, and celebrated industry role model.

Burns ventured into the television world on The LearningChannel in 1985. In 1990, her Quilt in a Day TV series began airing on PBS andis still broadcasting nationwide and abroad. In 1998 Burns created her firstcollaboration fabric design series, Anniversary Florals, with Benartex, Inc.followed by several other popular fabric design series.

In 1999 Burns received the Michael Kile Lifetime AchievementAward for her support of the quilting industry and her work to achieve along-lasting effect for the advancement of quilting. This award is the mostprestigious and coveted award in its field. In 2005, Eleanor Burns was namedone of 5 quilters voted All American Quilter by an on-line survey conducted bythe American Quilters Society.

The date for Burns official induction is July 21, 2012. VisitBurns' media theater here.

In looking over past Celebrations, I came across an articleI wrote for the Fall 2000 edition of the newsletter of The Quilters Hall ofFame and thought you might enjoy it. Eleanor Burns was a speaker that year as was Merikay Waldvogel, anotherfuture inductee of TQHF.

Quilting has a long colorful history in America, much of itsurrounded by myths still hard to shake off in spite of the now well documentedfield of quilt history that was launched in 1980 with the founding of theAmerican Quilt Study Group. Thehumble quilt has touched innumerable aspects of the American experience andreflected the evolution of our culture.

The mission of The Quilters Hall of Fame is to celebratequilting as an art form by honoring the lives and accomplishments of thosepeople who have made outstanding contributions to the world of quilting; byrestoration and preservation of the National Landmark home of quilt designerMarie D. Webster in Marion, Indiana; by promoting programs, exhibitions,publications and research; and by collecting, preserving and documentingmaterials related to the honorees of The Quilters Hall of Fame.

Enjoy!

Karen B. Alexander

Past President

PS: Double click on the two images below to enlarge.

Double click on the above to enlarge.

The Passing of Ardis James

2011-07-15T19:05:00.000-07:00

Ardis Butler James 1925-2011

(photo courtesy IQSC)

We are all saddened by the passing of Ardis James on July 7. Ardis was to have been inducted into The Quilters Hall of Fame on Saturday July 16, together with her husband Robert, in Marion, Indiana. Friends and family will still gather in Marion to salute this remarkable woman, bearing witness to all her many accomplishments on behalf of quilts during the traditional open-mic salute of the new Inductee.

The many years of the generous but quiet philanthropy of Ardis and Robert James has helped educate the larger public about quilts and at the same time helped sustain quilt artists, quilt history organizations, and researchers. The Jameses have helped build creditability and recognition for quilts in the largest sense of that word in both academic and art corridors. Truly, the larger international textile world has been touched by their commitment to “the quilt”, not just our nation.

The Jameses philanthropic activities eventually led to establishment of the International Quilt Study Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the creation of an endowed chair (Ardis James Professorship in Textile, Clothing & Design at the university), and the establishment and donation of one of the most outstanding private quilt collections in the world comprised of both antique and contemporary quilts. In addition, they provided significant annual support to both the American Quilt Study Group as well as the Studio Art Quilt Associates.

The New York Times' photo story can be found by clicking here. Below is a photo taken in their home in 2002.

(Credit: Chris Maynard for The New York Times)

The Alliance for American Quilts will most likely be releasing their video interview of the Jameses within the year. Watch for it to be posted here http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/treasures/.

Some have asked about sending flowers to the family. The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, memorial gifts be made to the International Quilt Study Center & Museum in honor of Ardis.

Here are the details:

Checks should be made payable to the University of Nebraska Foundation with a notation that they are for the IQSCM Ardis James Memorial.

The address is:

University of Nebraska Foundation

1010 Lincoln Mall; Suite 300

Lincoln, NE 68508-2886

Please feel free to contact us if we can be of any assistance.

Karen B. Alexander

Past President

Register Now for Celebration 2011

2011-04-02T22:28:00.000-07:00

Just click here to go to the registration form.

The registration information for the induction of Ardis and Robert James into The Quilters Hall of Fame is now available!

Read a short bio by clicking here.

The heart of Indiana quilt history

is right here in Marion, Indiana!

It's that time of year to think about heading to Marion Indiana to help us celebrate quilt history once more!

The dates are Thursday-Saturday,

July 14-16, 2011.

Honoree Joyce Gross in the News

The Bonham Visitor’s Center will also feature quilts from the Winedale Quilt Center, showcasing historic quilts from the Joyce Gross Quilt History Collection. Gross’ collection is composed of historically significant quilts and research materials assembled by one of the foremost authorities on twentieth-century American quilt making and contains more than 170 examples of American quilting. The eight quilts on exhibit during the Quilt Hop will illustrate the variety of the collection, including pattern and kit quilts, as well as original patterns from award winning quilt makers. Barbara White, Briscoe Center, UT-Austin, will give a special presentation on the quilts at the beginning of the hour, every other hour, starting at 10:00 a.m. To read the full news report and see a few quilts, click here.

The Passing of Jean Ray Laury

2011-03-04T23:51:00.000-08:00

Jean Ray Laury 1928-2011

(photos of Jean Ray Laury's work taken by
Karen Alexander at AQSG Seminar 2009)

from the quilt "Listen to Your Mother" by Jean Ray Laury

It is with deep sadness that TQHF shares the loss of another of its Inductees. Honoree Jean Ray Laury passed away Wednesday, March 1, 2011, in Northern California. Click here for more details.

Photo by Pat L. Nickols

Above, Jean Ray Laury at the Grand Opening of The Quilters Hall of Fame July 2004 in Marion, Indiana. (The great-granddaughter of Marie Webster and her daughter sit behind Jean.)

Photo by Bob Johnson.

Jean Ray Laury being introduced to the crowd at the Grand Opening of The Quilters Hall of Fame in Marion, Indiana in July 2004. (Also in the front row L-R with Jean, with their backs to the camera, are Cuesta Benberry, Joyce Gross, Jinny Beyer, Karey Bresenham and Donna Wilder.)

It has been suggested by more than one quilt historian that the pivotal person in quilt history whose influence bridged the "pre-1970s" quilt world and the "post-70s" quilt world was Jean Ray Laury of California.

Jean Ray Laury's first book - 1966

Books from 1970 and 1974.

While studying art and design at graduate school at Stanford University in the late-50s, Laury made “Tom’s Quilt” for one of her Master’s classes. It was her first quilt and it became the catalyst that launched a long productive career that spanned many aspects of the art and feminist world, as well as the quilt world.

You can see her very first quilt --"Tom's Quilt" -- here.

Jean Ray Laury started designing and making "modern" as well as whimsical quilts in the late 1950s. Naturally, books followed. Her Sunbonnnet Sue Goes to the Quilt Show poked gentle fun at the changes the modern quilt world was bringing into quilters' lives.

Sue sees her first contemporary quilt.

In May and June of 1982 (Issues #142 and 143) Bonnie Leman featured Laury as a guest columnist in the pages of Quilters Newsletter Magazine for the first time.

Eventually Leman wrote in her editorial (January 1983-Issue #148), "I am happy to tell you that Jean Ray Laury is back with another column, and the really good news is that she will be with us in nearly every issue this year. The two columns she wrote for us last year drew so many letters from you that it seemed clear to me you wanted more of her wit and wisdom. So she will be with us regularly for awhile." And so she was for over 20 years.

So much of Laury's work was tongue-in-cheek humor with a message. She often delivered her message with "spoonful of sugar" that left you smiling and remembering the message long afterwards!

Click here to order this book by Jean Ray Laury

Her book The Creative Woman's Getting-It-All-Together-At-Home Handbook created no small stir in 1975 when it first appeared. A room of her own? Just how far would these mere quilters go?

In 2005 San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles did the first major retrospective anyone had done of the life and work of Jean Ray Laury.

~Four Pioneers of the late 20th century Quilt Revival~

TQHF Honorees left to right: Jean Ray Laury with her signature red glasses, Yvonne Porcella and Bets Ramsey. TQHF Honoree Joyce Gross is seated in front. Photo by Karen Alexander

The above photo was taken at the San Jose Textile and Quilt Museum, San Jose, California, Oct 2009 during the AQSG 2009 Seminar.

The Alliance for American Quilts selected Laury as one of its "Quilt Treasures" and filmed her in her home for posterity. She is one of only 14 people to date in the quilt world to be thus honored.

(Right:) Her series on aging on display at the 2009 AQSG Seminar in San Jose, Califorina is one of Laury's more recent pieces.

In 2003 Laury donated her personal papers on children's books to the Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children's Literature at Henry Madden Library California State University, Fresno. These papers are available on-site for research.

Here are just some of Jean's many books on display at the 2009 AQSG Seminar where Jean was the Keynote speaker.

Take a few minutes to view her colorful website and enjoy reviewing her many contributions to late 20th century quiltmaking.

I suspect there will be much more written about Jean Ray Laury over the years as new generations of women discover her art, her humor and her wisdom. In the meantime, be sure to read Colleen Hall-Patton's AQSG paper Jean Ray Laury in the 1960s: Foremother of a Quilt Revival in Uncoverings 2005.

You may leave a tribute or a story about Jean below in the comments field. We will see that the family receives them.

For more tributes, see Barbara Brackman's blog, Lesley Riley's blog and SAQA's blog.

Karen B. Alexander

Quilt Historian
Past President
The Quilters Hall of Fame

UPDATE:

Jean's obituary, which she wrote herself, was published in the Fresno Bee.

I Write This For My Many Friends

Don't mourn for me. I have had a long and happy life, a wonderful family, and an exciting and satisfying career. My family includes Frank, my husband for most of over 60 years, who has always been incredibly supportive, helpful, and fun to live with. Our son Tom is a voracious reader, and for more than forty years a beekeeper. Tom's wife, Dr. Ritva Laury is a linguist who divides her time between Fresno and the University of Helsinki, Finland. Our daughter Lizabeth Laury works with horses and writes. Mike Brown teaches chemistry and physics at Washington Union High School. Ritva and Mike are very special additions to our family. Our granddaughter Anna Laury, M.D. completed her final boards in 2010 and pursues her career in Boston. Her sister, Emma Laury, J.D. graduated in May 2010 from law school, passed the California Bar and now works at OSHA in Washington, D.C.

Among my most cherished friends of many years are partner and co-author on several books, Joyce Aiken; the talented and remarkable Stan Bitters, a diamond covered in clay dust; and Ruth Law, Los Angeles toymaker, and friend for over sixty years. It's been wonderful working with fellow artists and writers. My Book Club, which has met for over forty years, has been special, and I've enjoyed our discussion group, Dry Creek Seminar, and my writing groups. I have always loved writing, and have had numerous books published, and many articles, parodies and essays. It has been a constant in my life. I recently completed a collection of stories, titled "Growing up in Doon, the 1930's: A Quilter's Memoir" about life in Iowa with my sisters, Jackie, Joan and Joyce.

My quilting career gave me the opportunity to travel the world: Japan, Australia, Canada, Norway, France, England, South Africa and many other countries. Quilting friends from across the United States have been an important part of my life, having always been enthusiatic and supportive in whatever I did. I was never far from home when I was with quilters. As wonderful as teaching and traveling were, getting back to Fresno felt like coming home. It has been wonderful being here with you. To all of you, thanks for being with me on this journey.

Remembrances may be made to Hinds Hospice; Marjaree Mason Center; or at jeanraylaury@... NEPTUNE SOCIETY Of Central California 1154 W. Shaw, Fresno (559) 222-7764

Celebration 2011 Induction Registration

2011-02-23T18:53:00.000-08:00

Just click here to go to the registration form.

The registration information for the induction of Ardis and Robert James into The Quilters Hall of Fame is now available!

Read a short bio by clicking here.

The heart of Indiana quilt history
is right here in Marion, Indiana!

It's that time of year to think about heading to Marion Indiana to help us celebrate quilt history once more!

The dates are Thursday-Saturday,

July 14-16, 2011.

The TQHF Celebration Planning Committee has once again put together a great variety of workshops and lectures that cover both quilt history and the how-tos of quilt making.

If you have never seen the Marie Webster House, you are in for a treat.

Here 2003 Honoree Georgia Bonesteel leads a walk-thru of The Alliance for American Quilts exhibit
"Put A Roof Over Our Heads" at Celebration 2007. These small quilts were later auctioned by the Alliance
on the Internet to raise funds for The Alliance.

Please come join us for three jam-packed days of fascinating history and beautiful quilts!

Gwen Marston had the honor of leading the exhibit walk-thru of the 2007 Honoree Mary Schafer Quitl Exhibit.
(TQHF founder Hazel Carter in blue. Gwen Marston in green.)

And don't forget the Annual TQHF Auction that takes place during Celebration! A favorite with the crowd, the TQHF Auction is a great place to meet up with friends for a little friendly competion while you help support a great cause!

The TQHF Auction is not to be missed! From antique quilts to art quilts, we have great variety each year.

In 2007 we were gifted with a number of art quilts. Several were made by Mary Jo Bowers of Chicago, which you see hanging behind Georgia Bonesteel and Hazel Carter.

All the items in this photo EXCEPT the one Hazel Carter is holding were in the 2007 TQHF auction.

Please consider making a donation of antique quilt pieces or an antique quilt, a wall hanging you have made, quilt ephemera you have found at a flea market or other related quilt items to this years auction!

Check back here soon for more instructions on where to send your Auction donation and when!

And thank you for support The Quilters Hall of Fame!

Ardis and Robert James — 2011 Honorees Announced

2010-09-15T23:42:00.000-07:00

Ardis and Robert James Selected as 2011 Honoree

photo courtesy of the International Quilt Study Center

The Quilters Hall of Fame has selected Ardis and Robert James of Chappaqua, New York to be its 2011 Honorees.

The many years of the generous but quiet philanthropy of Ardis and Robert James has helped educate the larger public about quilts and at the same time helped sustain quilt artists, quilt history organizations, and researchers. The Jameses have helped build creditability and recognition for quilts in the largest sense of that word in both academic and art corridors. Truly, the larger international textile world has been touched by their commitment to “the quilt”, not just our nation.

The Jameses philanthropic activities eventually led to establishment of the International Quilt Study Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the creation of an endowed chair (Ardis James Professorship in Textile, Clothing & Design at the university), and the formation of the world's largest and most comprehensive quilt collection held in public trust. The collection now comprises more than 3500 antique American quilts, contemporary art quilts, and international quilts dating from the 1700s to the present and representing more than 30 countries. In addition, they have provided significant annual support to both the American Quilt Study Group as well as the Studio Art Quilt Associates.

Ardis and Robert James chose to place their extensive private quilt collection in their native state at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which has long established expertise in both the science and art end of textiles. They donated not only their quilt collection, but also significant funds to underwrite it. The newly created museum in Lincoln, Nebraska is now known as the International Quilt Study Center & Museum. The quilt museum is located in a new building called Quilt House, for which the Jameses generously donated the leadership gift.

Due to their continued support of all aspects of this significant collection and its endowment, the collection is now made available for exhibits as well as to serious scholars and researchers from all across the world. As a result, a strong state-wide volunteer support base has been created that is a great assistance to the staff making it possible to maintain and show the collection.

Ardis and Robert James represent a unique couple in the quilt world of talent and commitment. The Quilters Hall of Fame is pleased to extend to them the recognition they justly deserve for the contributions they have made to the international quilt world.

Karen Alexander

Past President

The Quilters Hall of Fame

CLICK HERE for 2011 REGISTRATION FORM

DATES: 2011— Induction Events July 14-16, 2011

INDUCTION Day — Saturday, July 16, 2011 in Marion, Indiana

CONTACT: Becky Faulstich

WEBSITE: www.quiltershalloffame.net
Phone: click here

Remembering Bonnie Leman

2010-09-05T18:16:00.000-07:00

Bonnie Leman 1991, courtesy Myron Miller/LCPQ #74

BONNIE HALE LEMAN

1926-2010

There is perhaps no more quintessential icon of the late 20th century quilt revival than Bonnie Leman, founder and editor of Quilters Newsletter Magazine.

The quilt world lost a great friend yesterday with her passing. One could easily say Bonnie Leman was THE HUB of the quilt world for almost 30 years. She appeared on the scene in September 1969 with her first issue of Quilters Newsletter and soon left her tracks around the world*. With grace she passed on the baton of leadership at QNM to her daughter Mary in 1996.

Bonnie and husband George built their business together until George's passing January 12, 1986.

Photo appeared in QNM Sept 1994 on the 25th anniversary of QNM.

Bonnie was inducted into The Quilters Hall of Fame in 1982, the same year she and the family launched their 2nd quilt magazine QUILTMAKER. Click here to read about her induction.

The Leman children in 1972 comprised much of the staff of QNM.
Photo appeared in QNM Sept 1994 on the 25th anniversary of QNM.

Bonnie passed away peacefully in her daughter's home surrounded by her family. You will undoubtedly be hearing more about Bonnie and the talented Leman family in the coming days as the quilt world salutes and plays tribute to their amazing mother.

The Leman Family in 1994 on the 25th anniversary of QNM.
Photo appeared in Bonnie' editorial in the Sept issue.

Thank you, Bonnie, for all that you did to revive and expand both the art and the history of that great American icon, THE QUILT. Indeed, you helped it become an international icon of the highest caliber.

Thank you, Leman family, for sharing your mother with us for so long. Our hearts go out to you in your loss.

Karen Alexander
Past President
The Quilters Hall of Fame

*Click here to watch a live video interview of Bonnie done by The Alliance for American Quilts' Quilt Treasures project.

PS: The family welcomes comments and suggests that you post them here on the TQHF site for the family to read.

The family placed the following in the Denver Post.

Bonnie Hale Leman, 83, of Arvada, CO, passed away on Saturday, September 4, 2010. Born in Purdin, Missouri on September 28, 1926, to Rex and Laura Hale. She left home for college at 16 and graduated from Park College three years later. She moved to Denver in 1953 and met her husband George Leman while they were both pursuing master's degrees at the University of Denver. She was a mother, teacher and freelance writer until she found her calling in the publishing business, when, in 1969, she founded Quilter's Newsletter Magazine. Through her magazine she helped revive and foster an appreciation of quilts as a great American art form that continues to this day. Bonnie grew her magazine readership to more than 200,000 subscribers in over 100 countries, as well as writing and publishing numerous books and other publications on quiltmaking. She travelled much of the world in the course of her career, made hundreds of friends, and contributed to the growth of the quiltmaking art in many countries. She retired in 1995 to enjoy her children and grandchildren.

Preceded in death by her husband George Leman (1986), she is survived by her daughters Megan O'Gorman (John O'Gorman), Mary Leman Austin (Milton Austin), Emilie Leman, Georgianne Holland (Ted Holland), David Leman, Andrew Leman (Glenn Alfonso), and Matthew Leman (Tara Williams Leman). Her cherished grandchildren include Jerome and Pauline DeFelice; Jessica, Laura, and Eric Bender; and Avery Leman. Also survived by her beloved brother Roy Hale and family of San Francisco; and the Jack and Betty Most family of Carlsbad, New Mexico. A Rosary will be said Monday, September 13, 7:00 p.m., Mt. Olivet, 12801 W. 44th Ave., Wheat Ridge, CO 80033, 303-424-7785. Funeral mass will take place Tuesday, September 14, 10:00 a.m., Sts. Peter and Paul Church, 3920 Pierce Street, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033-4942, (303) 424-0402. Reception information will be available at the funeral service.

This just came from the family Friday September 10 and is posted at their request.

From Mary Leman Austin

The Leman family is so touched and grateful for all the kind words and fond memories that have been posted here. It is a great comfort to her family to see that she is remembered fondly not only for her wit and warmth but for all her accomplishments and contributions to the quilt world, about which she was quite humble. Our deepest thanks for your kind thoughts, from all of Bonnie’s family.

GRANT ENABLES THE QUILT INDEX TO TAKE STEPS TO GO INTERNATIONAL!

2010-08-09T22:04:00.000-07:00

The Quilt Index received a $100,000 grant this week!

We here at TQHF heartily congratulate them! These funds are a much appreciated encouragement to their on-going mission.

TQHF Honoree Merikay Waldvogel has been deeply involved with The Quilt Index from its founding.

A follow-up story to the press release emphasizes that this grant is to support steps towards internationalizing the Index so that "content and use" goes well beyond the national emphasis it now has. This is a really significant new step.

This link gives you a bit more of that very important aspect of the story.

The Quilt Index fills a vital role in community history, family history and women's history by capturing and indexing quilts and their stories! We welcome the possibility that quilts residing in other nations may now be included too.

Aside from the MSU Museum, the Quilt Index’s other partners include MATRIX: The Center for Humane Arts, Letters and Social Sciences Online — an MSU digital resource and research center — and The Alliance for American Quilts .

I have had the privilege of working with the Quilt Index for three years as a member of the Signature Quilt Pilot Project Team. If you own a Signature Quilt yourself, you may want to familiarize yourself with this project.

Every quilt history program requires on-going financial and volunteer efforts, including The Quilters Hall of Fame!

We hope you will choose to help sustain at least one quilt history organization on an annual basis through a donation of time or funds. We couldn't survive without your generous caring support!

Karen B. Alexander
Past President of TQHF

If you would like to donate to The Quilters Hall of Fame, click here.

PS: You can read more of my quilt research by clicking here.

Second Round of Marie Webster Birthday Parties Begins!

2010-08-06T10:41:00.000-07:00

THEY DID IT AGAIN!

The Morgan County Schoolhouse Quilters Guild enjoyed their Marie Webster birthday bash so much last year that they decided to do it again.

Expert cake maker Lisa Dodson outdid herself again with a second Webster design-inspired cake. This year, instead of each buying a slice of cake, the guild just made a blanket donation of $150 to the Hall of Fame. Thank you Morgan County Schoolhouse Quilters Guild!!

Holding the cake are (left) Lydia Stout, owner of Ady's Fabric and Notions in Morgantown, Indiana, the host for our meeting and birthday party, and (right) Lisa Dodson, the cake maker.

Last year Dale Drake, who organized the first party, brought Marie's 1915 book "Quilts: Their Story and How to Make Them" , The Quilters Hall of Fame book (three-ring binder format) containing the stories of the first 34 Honorees. She also shared Rosalind Webster Perry's two books "A Joy Forever" and "Marie Webster's Garden of Quilts" to share with the party goers and gave a brief history of Marie's contributions to the quilt world.

Here is the page from A Joy Forever which this year's cake is based on.

This year guild members all celebrated everyone's birthday with

a fat quarter exchange, and we're saying "Marie Webster!" in the group shot. I think they all now know who Marie is now!

Thank you, Morgan County Schoolhouse Quilters Guild, for your on going support of The Quilters Hall of Fame!

PS: Here is the cake Lisa Dodson created last year to celebrate Marie Webster's 150th birthday and TQHF's 30th birthday. This cake replicates Marie Webster's Windblown Tulip quilt design which first appeared in "Ladies Home Journal" in 1911. (Do not confuse this with the Mt. Mist design. It is very easy to confuse the 1930 Mt. Mist Wind Blow Tulip design with Marie's 1911 design. Today Mountain Mist credits Marie for having inspired their design.

Karen B. Alexander
Past President

PS: You can read more of my quilt research by clicking here.

Listen to Your Mother! — Jean Ray Laury

2010-07-29T16:19:00.000-07:00

from the quilt "Listen to Your Mother" by Jean Ray Laury

TQHF 1982 Honoree Jean Ray Laury started designing and making "modern" as well as whimsical quilts in the late 1950s. You can see her very first quilt here - "Tom's Quilt".

Photos by Karen Alexander

TQHF Honorees left to right: Jean Ray Laury with her signature red glasses, Yvonne Porcella (middle back); Bets Ramsey. TQHF Honoree Joyce Gross is seated in front.

The above photo was taken at the San Jose Textile and Quilt Museum, San Jose, California, Oct 2009 during the AQSG seminar.

The Alliance for American Quilts selected Laury as one of its "Quilt Treasures" and filmed her in her home for posterity. She is one of only 14 people to date in the quilt world to be thus honored.

So much of Laury's work is tongue-in-cheek humor with a message. She often delivers her message with "spoonful of sugar" that leaves you smiling and remembering the message long afterwards!

Her series on aging on display at the AQSG seminar is one of her more recent pieces.

In 2003 Jean donated her personal papers on children's books to the Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children's Literature at Henry Madden Library California State University, Fresno. These papers are available on-site for research.

Here are just some of Jean's many books on display at the 2009 AQSG seminar where Jean was the Keynote speaker.

Her four delightful children's books are:

Sunbonnet Sue Goes to the Quilt Show (Fresno: Hot Fudge Press, 1985).

Sunbonnet Sue Makes Her First Quilt (San Francisco: The Quilt Digest Press, 1987)

No Dragons on My Quilt (Paducah: American Quilter’s Society, 1990)

14,287 Pieces of Fabric and Other Poems (Hong Kong: C&T Publishing, 1994)

These are "must have" books in any child's library! Most of Jean's books are still available directly from Jean's website or thru on-line used book dealers.

See a related article here.

Karen B. Alexander
Quilt Historian

Honoree Shiela Betterton

2010-06-05T16:09:00.000-07:00

It’s always exciting when a museum with a major quilt collection publishes a book showcasing the quilts in its collection. The American Museum in Britain published just such a book this winter—Classic Quilts from The American Museum in Britain (ISBN 13: 9781857595987)

[Click on highlighted words in green to follow links to more information.]

The Quilters Hall of Fame feels a special connection with The American Museum in Britain due to its relationship with the museum’s founding textile advisor, Shiela Betterton. Betterton created the museum's original quilt collection. As a result of her work with the collection—as well as her research and writing in the field of quilt history, Betterton was inducted into The (International) Quilters Hall of Fame in 1999.

Betterton, who was born near Newcastle upon Tyne in 1920, passed on December 26, 2008, at the age of 88. However, we are fortunate that this intrepid quilt historian was able to take part in this book before passing on. Indeed, she wrote the Preface to the book.

Left: Shiela Betterton is interviewed by Karen Alexander in September 2007 at The American Museum in Britain.

Classic Quilts from The American Museum in Britain has a little of everything when it comes to American quilts for the book’s authors, Kate Hebert and Laura Beresford, elected to showcase a wide range of examples from the museum’s collection. This particular collection of quilts is considered by many to be the finest collection of American quilts outside the USA.

Although the book is not an in-depth quilt history book, the photos of the quilts are gorgeous and the notes about each quilt give you basic information which offers a good starting point for further research, if you are so inclined.

There are two primitive basket designs to be found on two of the appliqué quilts in this collection that I found particularly delightful. See page 29 for one in the border of Miss Porter’s Quilt (1777 Eastern Seaboard) and page 35 for another in the border of an 1850 Rose of Sharon (New York State).

One of my favorite things about this book is its close-ups of the fabrics in several of the quilts, in particular the Mosaic quilts on pages 52-55, both which happen to be from Virginia.

The close-up photos of fabrics is a real plus for anyone wishing to learn how to date quilts by studying the fabrics they contain. However, I am ever wanting more, especially of the quilt shown on page 96 (Log Cabin Quilt – Barn Raising Variation from Vermont) whose back is made up of sixty (7 inch square) blocks. The blocks themselves consist of half-square triangles. The variety of fabric scraps used in this quilt's back would delight any lover of early cotton fabrics.

Interested in further fabric studies? Click here to see the excavation of a quilt within a quilt. Click here to see a Dye History Timeline.

This books is a must buy for its photos alone in this writer’s opinion.

Karen B. Alexander
Quilt Historian
Past President
The Quilters Hall of Fame

Star of Bethlehem Quilt (c. 1835) on back cover of Classic Quilts from The American Museum in Britain

PS: You can read more of my quilt research by clicking here.

Jean Wells Kennan

2010-01-08T12:46:00.000-08:00

Cottage Quilt Industries
Become Big Business in Late 20th Century
Introducing Jean Wells Keenan of Sisters, Oregon
by Karen B. Alexander

poster by Dan Rickards

Quilting in the 20th century has touched many lives in profoundly different ways. Some quilters have even gone on to create a business out of their passion that has enabled them to support themselves and even their children. A few have even put those children through college! But the one thing quilters all seem to have in common is our love of color and the feel of the fabric beneath our fingers.

In a previous article I shared with you the success Ruby McKim experienced with her quilt pattern business in the first half of the 20th century and touched briefly on Marie Webster’s quilt business success as well. These successes are only some of the contributions both women made to the quilt world that earned them induction into The Quilters Hall of Fame.

Jean Wells Keenan of Sisters, Oregon fits right in with these two earlier multi-talented female entrepreneurs. Some call such businesses “cottage industries”. However, Keenan took her talents as a teacher, designer, author and quilt shop owner to another level all together.

Let's Look Back for A Moment

Interest in the various needlearts tend to wax and wane with every generation. The fluctuating interest in quilting in the 20th century is no exception. Although much had previously been written about weaving and embroidery and even lace-making, it wasn’t until the publication of Marie Webster’s book “Quilts: Their Story and How to Make Them” that anyone had attempted to write a book solely dedicated to the history of the quilt.

Webster’s designs, which began to appear in 1911 in The Ladies’ Home Journal, and her 1915 book set-off a new national interest in quilts. Marie’s story* is a fascinating one, especially in light of all the quilt-related businesswomen that would come after her.

As the U.S.A. approached its bicentennial in 1976, the emergence of women’s history as a separate field worthy of serious academic study is now a well-documented fact. The proliferation of serious quilt history followed shortly thereafter. The founding of the American Quilt Study Group (AQSG) in 1980 by Sally Garoutte of Mill Valley, CA specifically helped set high academic standards for this newly emerging field.

The concept of needlework “cottage industries” touches upon this article's subject. However, Jean Wells Keenan—a renowned quilter and teacher—would take the concept of "cottage quilt industry" one giant step further in the late 20th century.

Cottage needlework industries were certainly not unheard of in the first quarter of the 20th century, but not all of them impacted the direction of quilt design to the degree that both Marie Webster and Ruby McKim did. An excellent paper by quilt historian Cuesta Benberry (1922-2007), “Quilt Cottage Industries: A Chronicle,” established groundbreaking research on this subject. You can find Benberry’s article in the 1994 hardback book, Quiltmaking in America: Beyond the Myths, published by AQSG. Amazon.com carries used copies.

Both Webster and McKim were forerunners of an explosion of similar quilt-related businesses that emerged during the late 20th century quilt revival. One only has to track the ads in the popular needlework and quilt magazines of the time to see these phenomena emerge. The Internet and other new technology only added to women’s ability as well as opportunity to create and work from home at something they loved.

2010 TQHF Inductee —Jean Wells Keenan
The life and career of the newly announced 2010 Quilters Hall of Fame Inductee —Jean Wells Keenan of Sisters, Oregon—is an excellent example of the influence of one of the foremost quilt entrepreneurs of the late 20th century. Keenan came to her ultimate profession within quilting through a serendipitous occurrence in her career as a Home Economics teacher in the Oregon public school system in the 1960s. However, her interest in sewing began far earlier in childhood.

The Roots of a Future Career
Although no one in the family quilted during the years Keenan was growing up, Keenan was fortunate to have a grandmother who greatly enjoyed sewing and crochet and noticed the budding interest of her two granddaughters in sewing and encouraged them.

Ah, what a difference a grandmother can make in a child’s life. The seeds were thus planted, watered and tilled. What an amazing variety of creativity would one day emerge from such a humble beginning.

Many shifts were occurring in the fiber arts world in the second half of the 20th century that further set the stage for someone like Keenan. Addressing these changes in a 1993 Uncoverings article, Honoree Bets Ramsey wrote: “… between 1950 and 1970 certain artists began to adopt and incorporate various quilting techniques in their work, coinciding with a new awareness of the value of women’s work and an acceptance of fiber as an art medium.”

About this same time educators in the late 1960s began asking, “Why are we pushing only gender-specific Home-Ec and Shop classes? Girls need to learn to use tools and boys need to learn to survive in a kitchen and thread a needle.” It was this particular cultural shift that was the catalyst for setting Keenan’s interest in quiltmaking in motion.

Shifts in Educational Goals
In 1969, in the process of fulfilling her new curriculum requirement to find a project to assign to the boys in her class, Keenan came across some English patchwork in a book. What appealed to her were the geometric shapes. Geometry, numbers, math! What an excellent vehicle for teaching various lessons, not the least of which was accurate cutting and sewing! This was not frou-frou stuff as any quilter knows, as well as any engineer. Accurate measuring, dexterity at intricate assemblage and patience is something that any student can benefit from.

Keenan had the boys make floor cushions but was soon taken with the whole process of putting colorful fabrics together in a variety of new shapes. Having loved sewing and fabric since childhood, this new venue was right down her alley. It didn’t matter that she had never seen quilts made. Patchwork was still sewing and it was done with a colorful variety of fabric and patterns. Piecing is piecing, right?

Quilting on the Rise Across the Country

The 1960s and 70s also saw the rise of other events that stirred up new interest in the fiber arts: the first quilting cooperatives; the formation of numerous new quilt guilds across the country following the American Bicentennial and the introduction of quilt conferences, beginning with the creation of the Mill Valley Quilt Authority in California, founded in 1970 by Joyce Gross and Sally Garoutte.

The creation of other major quilt-related organizations followed: the National Quilting Association (1970) in Greenbelt, MD; the launch of Bets Ramsey’s annual Southern Quilt Symposium in conjunction with Hunter Museum (1974) in Chattanooga, TN; and the creation of the Continental Quilting Congress by Hazel Carter in 1978 and her subsequent creation of The Quilters Hall of Fame the following year.

In 1975 Karey Bresenhan, stepped onto this stage just about the same time, creating her first “Quilt Fair” in Houston, Texas, and founding Quilt Market four years later in 1979. “Quilt Fair” would eventually morph into the International Quilt Festival, the largest quilt event in North America. Quilt Market, designed exclusively for quilt shop owners, is arguably the event that gave credence to and created an industry from a cottage craft. As Honoree Donna Wilder wrote me recently, Quilt Market, from the earliest years of the late 20th century quilt revival, "brought together companies and quilt shops, spreading the awareness of quilting and expediting the styling and availability of quilting fabrics and notions, that made it possible for quilt shops to grow and prosper.”

Jean Wells Keenan stepped onto this stage in the mid-70s, her talents and love of teaching now poised to take off in a whole new direction, and take off she did.

The Second Step: Keenan's Dream Emerges
A year after moving to Sisters, Oregon, Jean Wells Keenan decided to use money from her teacher’s retirement account to rent space where she could teach quilting as well as sell quilting supplies. That same year she also launched the first Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. This was 1975, an auspicious year when you consider it in the context of the events listed above.

Just a year or so earlier Keenan had discovered old family quilts her mother had packed away in family cedar chests. What an exciting catalytic discovery that must have been for her as well. Quilts were not uncommon in her family after all!

When Keenan opened The Stitchin’ Post in 1975, could she possibly imagine what lay ahead — an outdoor quilt show that would eventually exhibit some 1200 quilts each year from around the world and would utilize some 3,000 volunteer hours from a cooperative community to pull off? An annual week-long “quilt school” showcasing some 30+ teachers? Twenty-seven books, including the 11 she has co-written with her daughter Valori Wells Kennedy? Perhaps not. But in fact because of those first steps she dared to take, the dream became a reality, enhancing countless lives.

A Life-Changing Event for A Whole Community
The impact of the growth of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show on the community of Sisters, Oregon is not difficult to imagine. With the surge in interest in quilting following the U.S. Bicentennial, the Quilt Show grew so large that a non-profit corporation was eventually established to manage the show and related events for the benefit of the Sisters community and school groups, and to educate the public about the art of quilting. This is one of those rare occurrences in quilt history where quilting changed a whole community. This in itself sets Jean Keenan Wells apart from the average quilt shop owner.

This amazing woman’s impact continued to expand year after year. In 1979 she wrote her first book. In 1980, the year after Hazel Carter founded The Quilters Hall of Fame as an adjunct of the Continental Quilters Congress, Keenan added the Quilter’s Affair, a week-long schedule of workshops that coincides with the Quilt Show. Today it attracts close to 1600 participants from all over the world.

Whole families drive to Sisters each year and camp out for the week so that the quilter in the family can attend classes. The estimated numbers for the over-all crowd that is attracted to Sisters each year — some just to see the quilts and to shop — is 15,000-20,000. Keenan further assists the community by hiring local high school students to tote sewing machines and materials to and from classes each day; play jazz during Picnic in the Park; set-up and serve and clean up the Picnic in the Park for 800+ guests; conduct the Around the Block Fiber Art Stroll; plus pick up trash throughout the weekend.

"Paradise Garden" by Jean Wells Keenan

Always one to be deeply involved in community activities, Jean Wells Keenan served on the Sisters School Board from 1975-1978, (chairing the committee 1977-1978), and early on became an active member in the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce, a relationship she maintains today. In 1984 she became a participant in the Central Oregon Community College Small Business Development Program, and later became an advisor to the Oregon State Board of the Small Business Program, as well as a Board member for the Central Oregon Economic Development Council 1989-1991.

As one letter nominating Keenan to the hall of fame read, “To name all who she has encouraged to develop their full potential would simply be impossible.”

Oldest Quilt Shop in the USA?

It is quite possible that The Stitchin’ Post is the oldest quilt shop in the U.S. Certainly it’s the oldest quilt shop still in the hands of its original owner. In acknowledgement of her business acume, Keenan was named recipient of the Michael Kile Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1998, the highest award that the quilting business industry gives. She was also the first quilt shop owner to be inducted into the Independent Retailer Hall of Fame in 1997. In 2008 she was one of eight Oregon State University alumni honored in its year-long Centennial Celebration salute.

Keenan is indeed a major player in today’s evolving “quilt world,” with its far-reaching impact on commerce, manufacturing, and related technology. She has also made many contributions to the beauty and aesthetics of this well loved art form and has traveled the world to teach both quilting and the business of successful quilt shop management.

Active for almost three decades as a noted quiltmaker, author, designer, teacher and entrepreneur, Keenan has managed to stay on top of a fast paced and changing retail business in its many complex aspects. At the same time she was consciously looking to the future once again. Kennan diligently prepared the next generation in the person of her daughter Valori Wells Kennedy to carry-on the quilt legacy and responsibilities in the Sisters's community, making Valori her partner in 2005.

Keenan the Designer
Keenan is also a passionate gardener and, like Marie Webster, her gardens greatly inspire and influence her quilt designs.
In writing all of the above, we haven’t even touched upon Keenan’s award winning quilts, some of which you can see here, or her gifts as a designer.

There is so much more to explore about this talented, generous businesswoman and quilter.

Keenan is well deserving indeed of the honor of becoming The Quilters Hall of Fame’s 40th inductee. Mark your calendars for July 15-17, 2010 and come celebrate with her.

Although the Celebration 2010 Registration form for Keenan’s induction won’t be available until April, there are other interesting news items to see on the TQHF website and on the TQHF blog between now and Celebration 2010.

Meanwhile, keep those needles flying and spread the word about how quilts enrich your life as well as the life of our communities!

Karen B. Alexander
Quilt Historian

PS: All articles and material (including photos) on this blog are copyrighted. Please click here if you wish permission to quote significant portions.

Please have the courtesy to cite this blog as a source if you quote short portions or use any information you read here in any published format.
Sources:

1) The Alliance for American Quilts, Q.S.O.S. Tape No. 71; interview of Jean Wells Keenan by Leah Call, November 3, 2003

2) Bend Bulletin, Bend, Oregon, May 5, 2009; Jean Wells Keenan interview by Kimberly Bowker

3) Bets Ramsey, “Art and Quilts: 1950-1970”, Uncoverings 1993, Laurel Horton, ed. (San Francisco: American Quilt Study Group, 1993) 9-40

4) C&T Publishing: The Stitchin’ Post named an Inspirational Shop

5) Jean Wells Keenan's nomination was organized and spearheaded by Anne Foster of Portland, Oregon. Selected letters from this nomination file were referenced for this article: Rose Horton, Kathy Pazera, Kathie Olson, Donna Wilder, Karen Bresenhan, and Alex Anderson. All letters of nomination are on file at The Quilters Hall of Fame.

6) See Oregon State University Synergies, Nov 1, 2008

*Marie Webster’s granddaughter, Rosalind Webster Perry, republished this seminal work in 1990 but added a comprehensive must-read chapter about Marie’s own life and business. “Quilts: Their Story and How to Make Them” is available through the TQHF Museum Shop.

PS: You can read more of my quilt research by clicking here.

The Legacy of Cuesta Benberry

2009-12-03T15:24:00.000-08:00

The Legacy of Cuesta Benberry, an African American Quilt Scholar
MSU MUSEUM EXHIBIT SHOWS NEWLY ACQUIRED QUILT COLLECTION

Photo courtesy of Michigan State University Museum

(Click here to see the story of the above quilt.)

In a new exhibition opening Dec. 6, the Michigan State University Museum will premiere the textile collections of the late Cuesta Benberry, one of the twentieth-century's pioneers of research on American quiltmaking and the forerunner of research on African American quiltmaking.

"Unpacking Collections: The Legacy of Cuesta Benberry, an African American Quilt Scholar" explores the production and meaning of collections and, for the first time, shows this new collection acquired by the MSU Museum in 2009. The exhibit runs Dec. 6, 2009 - Sept. 5, 2010 after which it will begin its national tour.

"Every collection reflects a point of view, a passion, a mindful purpose of the collector who made it," explains Marsha MacDowell, MSU Museum curator of folk arts and MSU professor of art and art history. "In literally unpacking a scholar's collection, a museum or an archive has a responsibility to care for, research, interpret, and make accessible the contents of the collection. It is when a collection—its parts and its whole—is figuratively unpacked, that we can learn more about the scholar and the subjects they researched."

Photo courtesy of Michigan State University Museum

Click here to read the story of the Black Families Series #1 by Carolyn Mazloomi.)

The Cuesta Benberry African and African American Quilt and Quilt History Collections contains 52 quilts (including family quilts and the only one Benberry actually made), notebooks, quilt kits and patterns, and scores of notes and clippings related to quiltmakers, quilts, and quilt exhibitions. A founder of the American Quilt Study Group in 1980, Benberry was also the author of several books about quilt history, including "Always There: The African American Presence in American Quilts" and "A Piece of My Soul: Quilts by Black Arkansans." See a "Quilt Treasure" web portrait of Cuesta Benberry here.

Photo courtesy of Michigan State University Museum

(Click here to see the story of the Shoe Quilt.)

Benberry had a long association with the MSU Museum, the home of the Great Lakes Quilt Center, and when she passed away in 2007, her family gave the Michigan State University Museum her collection of African and African American quilts and her quilt history. Then in 2009, the American Folk Art Museum in New York City transferred its Benberry collections to the MSU Museum so that the bulk of her work could be in one place where it could be more effectively accessed for research and educational uses.

Photo courtesy of Karen Alexander

(The same quilt as it hung at Cuesta's memorial service.)

Over the past year, MSU Museum staff, students, and volunteers have been "unpacking" — sorting through, cataloging, and re-housing Benberry's collection.

"In the process, these workers have been engaging in discussions of their observations about both the collection and the collector and the issues and insights that help make collections available for research, teaching and exhibitions," adds Mary Worrall, co-curator of the exhibition and Assistant Curator, MSU Museum.

The work is not complete with this exhibition, MacDowell says. With an Institute for Museum and Library Services National Leadership grant, the MSU Museum is now working to make selections of Benberry's extensive collections digitally accessible to a worldwide community of researchers and educators. Already the quilts from her collection have been added to the Quilt Index and selections from the rest of her collections will also eventually be available on the Internet.

A series of related educational programming, including lectures, workshops, demonstrations, and a symposium are now in the process of being planned and information on these will be announced in January and will be posted at .

The MSU Museum's Great Lakes Quilt Center has evolved from the sustained and significant quilt-related activities and resources at the Michigan State University Museum and the museum's long-standing interest in and commitment to preserving and presenting traditional arts history. Learn more at: www.museum.msu.edu/glqc/index.html

This exhibition is made possible by a Creating Inclusive Excellence Grant from the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives at Michigan State University with additional support from an anonymous gift.

The MSU Museum is Michigan's natural science and culture museum and the state's first Smithsonian Institution affiliate. The MSU Museum—accredited by the American Association of Museums—collects, preserves, studies and interprets cultural artifacts and natural science specimens, with collections numbering more than 1 million in four buildings on the MSU campus. One of the oldest museums in the Midwest, the MSU Museum is committed to education, exhibitions, research and the building and stewardship of collections that focus on Michigan and its relationship to the Great Lakes and the world beyond.

The MSU Museum features three floors of special collections and changing exhibits and is open seven days a week free of charge (donations are encouraged). Located on West Circle Drive next to Beaumont Tower on the MSU campus, the MSU Museum is accessible to persons with disabilities. Hours are Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. -5 p.m.; and Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Visitor parking is available in front of the building and at metered spaces at the Grand River Ramp, one block away at the corner of Grand River Avenue and Charles Street. For more information, call (517) 355-2370 or see http://museum.msu.edu .

Additional links on Cuesta Benberry:

1) Quilt Treausres at Alliance for American Quilts
2) Watch video interview of Cuesta Benberry
3) "Remembering Cuesta" by Karen B. Alexander
4) New York Times article.
5) Washington Post article.

PS: You can read more of my quilt research by clicking here.

The Quilt Index and Merikay Walvogel

2009-11-20T23:09:00.000-08:00

Our 2009 Honoree, Merikay Waldvogel, has been deeply involved in The Alliance for American Quilts for a number of years and has been especially active in helping with two of their projects: The Quilt Index and Boxes Under the Bed.

The Quilt Index is a collaboration of The Alliance for American Quilts, Michigan State University Museum, and MATRIX: The Center for Humane, Arts, Letters and Social Sciences Online. If you haven't yet browsed The Quilt Index, you are in for a treat.

(photo by Sue Jones)

Coinciding with the launch of the new and improved Quilt Index site is the launch of their Signature Quilt Project. You can now search to see if there is a particular name on a quilt or even a place name. However, most Signature quilts uploaded to the Index before the creation of the Signature Quilt Pilot Project do not yet have names transcribed. This will all take time.

Three blocks from a New York Signature Quilt

Transcription can be challenging if signatures are numerous or difficult to read, but it is very rewarding to make the effort. In the process be reassured, you are adding important information to women's history, quilt history and community history.

To read the behind-the-scenes story of one research project in progress on a New york Signature quilt, click here.

(Click on photos to enlarge.)

In addition, I have just finished transcribing 250+ names on a 1941-1942 Navy Signature Quilt now in the Quilt Index Signature Quilt Pilot Project.

I know Merikay Waldvogel—as well as our other Honorees—would encourage all of us to document all of our quilts but especially our Signature Quilts! You can download a form by clicking here and begin documenting your own quilts. If a museum or State/Regional Documentation Project wishes to enter a collection into The Quilt index, visit this link for guidelines.

In addition to quilts, The Index is also beginning to digitalize quilt ephemera beginning with The Quilt Journal - An International Review. You can now download individual issues of this journal as a pdf file by clicking here. Waldvogel is now assisting The Quilt Index with the digitalization of her own extensive quilt history ephemera collection.

Another exciting project to look forward to when completed — with NEH support, the Quilt Index project team andhe American Quilt Study Group (AQSG) have worked together to digitize abstracts for AQSG's journal, Uncoverings, and to develop a plan and budget for future inclusion of the journal in the Quilt Index.

The founder of AQSG, Sally Garoutte, is also an Honoree of The Quilters Hall of Fame as are several very early members of AQSG: Joyce Gross, Cuesta Benberry, Barbara Brackman and Bets Ramsey. You can read a short biography of each here.

Click here for an article by Merikay Waldvogel about the AAQ Crazy Quilts contest.

Click here for Part 1 of an interview of Merikay by "The Collector's Weekly".

Click here for Part 2 about collecting American quilts by Merikay Waldvogel in "The Collector's Weekly".

Until the next TQHF update,

Karen Alexander
Click here to reach me by email.

PS: You can read more of my quilt research by clicking here.

Celebration 2009 Report

2009-08-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

Celebrating the Induction of Merikay Walvogel
and 30 Anniversary
of The Quilters Hall of Fame!

Welcome!

The event that officially kicks-off the Induction of a new Honoree into The Quilters Hall of Fame is the narrated walk-thru the Honoree conducts of her/his exhibit. Here we give you an overview of the exhibit as Merikay Waldvogel begins sharing her stories, followed by selected photos with accompanying exhibit notes prepared by the Honoree that appeared in the official commemorative program book.

Each new Inductee presents an exhibit of her/his choosing at the time she is inducted. Merikay Waldvogel chose quilts that reflected her 30-year journey as a quilt collector and quilt historian. All exhibit notes in this post in italics come from the TQHF 2009 exhibit notes written by the Honoree.

Photos in this report are courtesy of Merikay Waldvogel, Debbie Quinn, Barbara Brackman, Sue Jones and Rosalind Webster Perry. Please do not use without written permission from TQHF. )

(You can click on any photo to make it larger.)

A Quilt Career Begins
In 1980, I named my quilt business "Quilts Alive." I planned it as a side-line interest to my then full-time job as an English-As-A-Second-Language teacher. I would write about, lecture on, and research quilts. My business cards carried a line drawing of my first quilt—an oddly shaped North Carolina Lily quilt I bought in 1974. I had had an on-going conversation with that quilt. First it was, "Oh my gosh, that's a fabulous quilt!" Then when I owned it, I wanted to know more. I headed to the library. I networked with newfound quilt experts. The goal was to bring that quilt to life.

After all these years and long after I took on a full-time quilt career, the phrase "Quilts Alive" still encapsulate the joy I feel when studying quilts and quiltmakers. In a sense, I am bringing these historic textiles to life and giving voice to the women (and yes, men) who made them. This exhibit contains some of my favorite quilts: quilts collected for their fabrics or patterns; quilts made in Tennessee, my adopted home state; quilts that sparked a specific research project; quilts made by family and friends; and quilts I have made.

Here Waldvogel shares the story behind Milky Way Log Cabin made by Sara Frances Abernathy Smith circa 1900 of Pulaski, TN.

The quilt behind Merikay is a Basket Quilt - Maker Unknown, Knox County, TN, 1910s-1920s. To learn more about the Milky Way Log Cabin quilt, go to The Quilt Index here. When that page opens, click on "Search" at the top of the page and type in the name of the quilt or the maker's name.

(Coxcombe & Currants - left)

The Coxcombe & Currants quilt at the bottom is ca 1850s-1860s from an estate sale in Cleveland, TN. This is a pattern that must have originated in East Tennessee since I have found a dozen other quilts using this same large four-block wreath design with a historical link to the Cleveland area. This one is probably older than the other. It is more heavily quilted and the solid green fabric is typically found in 1850s quilts.

The Coxcombe & Currants at the top is similar in overall layout, but is less elaborately quilted and the green has faded to a beige color which often happens with green fabrics of 1880s quilts. The antique dealer was having the machine-stitched binding replaced with a hand-stitched one. I told her I would take it "as-is" since machine-stitching is an important clue to the date of the quilt.

Bird's Eye View of the Chicago World's Fair - by Richard H. Rowley, Chicago in 1933 (photo on right)

The Sears National Quilt Contest, held in conjunction with the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, attracted over 24,000 entries probably because of the $1000 grand prize. There was a bonus prize of $200 if the grand-prize quilt was an original design commemorating the Fair’s theme—A Century of Progress. Unfortunately, the judges did not consider the original designs worthy of top regional prizes. Few reached the final round of judging.

In 1934, to calm the criticism, some of the originally designed quilts were displayed in the Sears Pavilion when the Chicago World’s Fair was re-opened for a second summer. This quilt with its entry tag clearly visible was photographed at that time by Sears. Barbara Brackman and I both tried to find “Mrs. Louise Rowley” and her quilt, to no avail for our book. We included only the photograph.

In 2001, I purchased the quilt at an antique auction in N. Georgia. The quilt came with a hand-written note saying, “This quilt was made by Richard H. Rowley, the son of Louise Rowley.” And there began another interesting research venture to find out more about Richard and why he made this quilt.

(You can see this quilt in the book "Patchwork Souvenirs of the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair" page 13.)

To the right, Jerry Ledbetter, Merikay's husband shares his quilt's story.

For Christmas one year, my husband asked people to make House Quilt blocks for his Christmas present. He hoped he would get enough to make a full-size bed quilt. With red solid and red print fabrics he gave them, some people did their own houses in appliqué. Others signed traditional quilt blocks that his mother made for them. As the blocks came in, he drafted a quilt layout with triple sashes. His mother, Virginia Ledbetter quilted it by hand on an old-fashioned quilt frame suspended from the ceiling.

This quilt was also exhibited at the National Quilting Association 1990 Show in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Sampler Quilt Top-only by Iora Almina Philo Pool, Morgan County, TN, 1870s-1880s. (Collection of Linda Claussen)

Bets Ramsey and I documented this quilt top in the mid 1980s and included it in our book Quilts of Tennessee. Nearly 25 years later, the quilt top appeared in an antique store in Chattanooga. Hearing of the news, Linda Claussen quickly made arrangements to acquire the quilt top. Jean Lester has been restoring it so that it can be displayed. This is its first public viewing. Bets Ramsey, writing about this quilt in 1986, surmised that the maker wanted “to make as many different blocks as she could. Having no regular set, the units flow into each other in happy medley.”

For more wonderful photos of this top, see: Ramsey and Waldvogel Quilts of Tennessee: Images of Domestic Life Prior to 1930 (Nashville: Rutledge Hill Press, 1986), 12 and 108 and Eva Earle Kent “The Tennessee Heritage Sampler: Reflecting Quiltmaking Tradition” in Quilters Newsletter Magazine #211 (April 1989).

Special friend Susan Salser had a bouquet designed to resemble the centerpiece applique bouquet of her grandmother Mary Gasperik's Indiana Wreath quilts. Salser and Waldvogel collaborated on the Mary Gasperik Quilt Index, the first private collection added to the Quilt Index. The bouquet designed by Carol and Randy Power of Marion, Indiana was a spectacular complement to both the induction banquet and the exhibit gallery.

To see Mary Gasperik's "Indiana Wreath" quilts, CLICK QUILT INDEX HERE. Then enter "Indiana Wreath" in the Search box.

Here it is — the North Carolina Lily quilt that got Waldvogel started!

Without any knowledge of quilts—new or old, I purchased this quilt one Saturday morning in the mid 1970s. I was looking for some artwork for my studio apartment in Chicago. The asymmetry of the patterning made me wonder about the maker and what was going on in her life. Unfortunately, I never found out.

I learned my first important lesson to always ask the seller for information about the quilt, the place it was made or the quiltmaker. Even without that key information (and maybe because of not having it), this anonymous quilt opened up an avenue of exploration that greatly enriched my life.

(Exhibited first: “A Patchwork Garden” at The Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, TN April-May 1981. You can see a large photo of this quilt on page 62 of Quilt with the Best edited by Carol Cook Hagood (Oxmoor House, 1992). See the page with this photo in Quilt with the Best below in the display Waldvogel put together.)

A Small Side Exhibit:
Wandering Down Memory Lane

Books, photos, research notes, letters and other memorabilia from Merikay’s archives were nicely arranged in nearby display cases by Debi Shepler of Marion. This was an absorbing display of a busy researcher's challenges, accomplishments and humorous moments.

Waldvogel's collaboration with 2001 Honoree Barbara Brackman on Patchwork Souvenirs of the 1933 World’s Fair was a major contribution to quilt research.
Waldvogel also co-authored two books with Honoree Bets Ramsey and her own book Soft Covers for Hard Times added greatly to the knowledge of the revival in the interest of quilt making in the 1920s and 1930s.

The blue and off-white Square in a Square quilt in this cabinet was pieced by Waldvogel and machine-quilted by Shirley Greenhoe.

Waldvogel exhibit notes read: I made this quilt at a workshop led by Barbara Brackman at the Point Bonita Getaway in 2006. Started by [Honoree] Joyce Gross, the annual week-long retreat in California held in late January is now headed by Kathy Ronsheimer. Point Bonita is the time when I actually try to make quilts, but given its spectacular location on San Francisco Bay, I am more often out walking, hiking, and gazing at the sunsets.

Here you see Southern Quilts: Surviving Relics of The Civil War, one of her collaborative books written with Honoree Bets Ramsey.

Other Honoree Events

In addition to the special exhibit our Inductees present each year, they also presents a lecture and/or workshop depending upon their own specialty in the quilt world. This year Waldvogel organized a panel on quilt pattern collecting and presented a lecture.

Left to right: 2001 Honoree Barbara Brackman, Merikay Waldvogel and Connie Chunn of St. Louis, Missouri.

The two hour panel covered a lot of information. Barbara Brackman presented a humorous overview of collecting, sorting, and retrieving. She talked about how she originally compiled her pieced pattern encyclopedia and announced the forthcoming reprint of her applique encyclopedia.

Next Merikay Waldvogel showed how Round Robin pattern collectors compiled, listed, shared, and retrieved their patterns and in addition talked about the early newsletters and their impact on quilt pattern collecting.

Connie Chunn prepared a powerpoint presentation that detailed her findings about the people behind Ladies Art Co. of St. Louis, Missouri and showed examples of their numerous catalogs and patterns, sharing how she used the internet to purchase items for research. She also used the traditional methods of research including: genealogy, library reference materials, and other archives.

Waldvogel wrapped up the afternoon with a presentation of her kit quilt database and shared a handout on the data she has compiled to date. Then an audience member thrilled everyone by sharing a Tree of Life Progress 1369 kit quilt in the original brown envelope. By all reports, it was a rare find and very exciting to see in person!

In the Honoree lecture Merikay shared some of the fascinating stories behind her research on the 1933 Chicago World's Fair Contest.

Improvisation is the name of the game when unexpected things happen in life. When a projector bulb blows during a lecture, you punt so Waldvogel called in the troops. Fortunately she had brought large photo blow-ups of a number of pictures she had planned to project as slides and, of course, had some great quilts to share as well. Family members and friends had no idea that they would become a part of the show, but perform they did! Thank you one and all for your part in helping the show to go on!

The Autumn Leaves quilt behind Waldvogel in the above photo made by Edith Tessman Snyder won third place in the Philadelphia region of the Sears Contest and was one of only 30 final round quilts shown at the Chicago World's Fair. Merikay invited the quilt maker's daughter Pat Sittler of nearby Silver Lake, Indiana to bring the quilt and share her mother's story.

(Click on the following photos to make larger.)

The Official Induction Ceremony

At the official Induction Luncheon on Friday July 17, TQHF President Joyce Hostetler presented Merikay Waldvogel with her official Honoree medal, a tradition begun by TQHF founder Hazel Carter in 2004 when the Marie Webster House opened as the official headquarters of The Quilters Hall of Fame.

Next Waldvogel receives her Wild Woman doll pin, a tradition begun by Past President Karen Alexander in 2006 for Honorees and for those who have volunteered for at least 10 years.

And third, Merikay Waldvogel is presented with the official Honoree plaque that will hang permanently at The Quilters Hall of Fame in the grand parlor of the Marie Webster House.

In truth, this story could continue but for now we'll end with the simple but heart-felt sentiment seen in Waldvogel's commemorative brick in the restored Marie Webster garden pathway.

Merikay, may you continue to research, write and lecture and add to this illustrious body of of work you have produced in the past 30 years. We're all counting on it!

Comments or questions? Contact the author Karen Alexander by clicking here.

PS: You can read more of my quilt research by clicking here.

More TQHF Information!

2009-08-11T16:14:00.000-07:00

Click here to go to the TQHF website now. Our website contains additional information. Once on the TQHF website, hit the back backbutton at the top of your screen to return to the TQHF blog.

2009 Quilt Challenge Winner!

2009-08-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

"Marie's Roses" by Rose Marie Werner

TQHF is pleased to announce that Rose Marie Werner of Dundas, Minnesota won the Founder's Award for her beautiful rendition of Marie's Roses. Those readers who attended Celebration 2008 will recognize Rosie, as she is known to her friends, as the one who lead a kit quilt workshop and presented a lecture on Ruby McKim last year. Rosie is also a member of the American Quilt Study Group (AQSG).

Click here to see the complete story and more photos.

Merikay Waldvogel 2009 Honoree

2009-05-14T17:06:00.000-07:00

Help us celebrate the induction of Merikay Waldvogel of Knoxville, TN, as our 39th Honoree, July 16-19, this summer! To access the CELEBRATION REGISTRATION FORM, CLICK HERE.

Merikay Waldvogel, one of the key players in the late 20th century quilt history revival, has served on the board of directors of both the American Quilt Study Group and The Alliance for American Quilts (AAQ). She has been a key player in building The Alliance’s online Quilt Index and has also taken a key role in the Quilt Treasures, two of the four programs that are the major contributions of AAQ to American cultural history. Waldvogel is a fellow of the International Quilt Study Center (IQSC) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she has worked with graduate students and has built an important database of quilt kits.

In 1983 Waldvogel began her collaboration with TQHF Honoree Bets Ramsey to co-direct the Quilts of Tennessee project through its mission of documenting the quilts of that state. Together they wrote the book Quilts of Tennessee: Images of Domestic Life Prior to 1930, and put together a traveling exhibit, one of many exhibits Waldvogel has curated over the years.

They later collaborated on the book Southern Quilts: Surviving Relics of the Civil War. In the Southeast, she is known for her writings about Southern women and their quilts in Appalachian Life and Smokies Life magazines. She also lectures frequently to quilt guilds, historical societies, and museums in the area.

In 2003, Rosalind Webster Perry and Waldvogel co-edited the first book of articles about the honorees, The Quilters Hall of Fame.

In addition to serving quilt history organizations, Waldvogel is recognized as an expert on quilts of the twentieth century quilt revival.

Her own book Soft Covers for Hard Times: Quiltmaking and the Great Depression is the key work on mid 20th century quilts and quiltmaking.

Her collaboration with 2001 Honoree Barbara Brackman on Patchwork Souvenirs of the 1933 World’s Fair was a major contribution to quilt research.

Left: examining a quilt made from a kit.

Waldvogel has labored over the creation of a Kit Quilt data base for a number of years, collecting images and manufacturing dates as well as other pertinent data.

Waldvogel's Uncoverings
articles for AQSG on the WPA Milwaukee Handicraft Project (1984), on Southern Linsey Quilts (1987), the Anne Orr Studio of Nashville (1990), Round Robin Pattern Collecting (1994), and the early history of Mountain Mist patterns (1995) were all groundbreaking research.

Waldvogel has written for Quilters Newsletter Magazine, McCall’s Quilting Vintage Quilts, American Patchwork and Quilting, and Quilting Today/Traditional Quiltworks.

Her latest book Childhood Treasures: Doll Quilts By and For Children highlights Lincoln, Nebraska quiltmaker Mary Ghormley’s extensive doll quilt collection.

Come join us in Marion to induct Merikay Waldvogel into The Quilters Hall of Fame!

Merikay Waldvogel is a graduate of Monmouth College in Monmouth, IL and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She was raised in St. Louis, Missouri, but now resides in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Comments or questions? Contact the author Karen Alexander by clicking here.

For additional information about The Quilters Hall of Fame's Celebration, July 16-19, 2009, send a postcard or letter to CELEBRATION 2009, P.O. Box 681, Marion, IN, 46952 or click here to Email us.

PS: You can read more of my quilt research by clicking here.

Welcome!

2009-05-03T10:18:00.000-07:00

The Quilters Hall of Fame is located in the restored historic Marie Webster House in Marion, Indiana, just northeast of Indianapolis.

We are celebrating Marie Webster's 150th birthday as well as the 30th anniversary of the founding of The Quilters Hall of Fame in 2009. Come visit us in 2009 and help us celebrate!

We hope you'll use this portal to keep up with current events, annual Celebration plans, contests, exhibits and one of a kind opportunities at TQHF.

2009 CELEBRATION REGISTRATION FORM NOW AVAILABLE! CLICK HERE.

The National Register of Historic Places is featuring Marie Webster in May. CLICK HERE to go to their website and see the article they wrote.

Thank you, National Register of Historic Places, for your coverage of Marie Webster and The Quilters Hall of Fame!

Baltimore Applique Society Donates Quilts for TQHF Auction!

The Baltimore Applique Society voted in 2008 to make some 30-50 one-block small finished quilts for our 2009 July 17 auction to raise funds for The Quilters Hall of Fame. They have used Marie Webster’s patterns from Rosalind Webster Perry's books A Joy Forever and Marie Webster’s Garden of Quilts and are stunning!

A big THANK YOU from The Quilters Hall of Fame to the Baltimore Applique Society for their on-going support of TQHF and the Marie Webster House over these many years!

Click here to visit the BAS website. Then click on the TQHF Auction link in the top left corner to see photos and to bid. Browse the BAS website while you are there and learn more about the wonderful work they are doing with applique quilts and their history.

~~~

Karen B. Alexander
The Quilters Hall of Fame
Public Relations
Past President
926 South Washington Street
P.O. Box 681
Marion, IN 46953
click here to Email us.

Baltimore Applique Society Supports TQHF

2009-04-28T14:54:00.000-07:00

Two "Wayside Rose" quilts made by members of BAS in 2000.

The Baltimore Applique Society has provided great support for TQHF in the past. They made and donated 2 quilts in Marie’s "Wayside Roses" pattern in 2000. (See one block of "Wayside Roses" above.) One quilt was donated as an opportunity quilt and raised over $5,000 for TQHF. The other became a part of the TQHF permanent collection and is often displayed in “Marie’s Studio” in the Webster House.

In 2007 and 2008, BAS donated $1,000 to help with our expenses. BAS members also had quilts on exhibit at TQHF from March-July 2008. We are excited and very grateful to the BAS members for their past support and for undertaking this latest project for us.

Special thanks to Marylou McDonald for initiating the latest BAS one-block quilt fund-raiser project on behalf of TQHF. Be sure to browse the BAS website to see some of the work of their members. Also visit the Maryland Historical Society here, the home of many outstanding Baltimore Applique quilts.

I hope many of you will be attendance at the auction in Marion, Indiana come July and bid. If you have ever seen the quality of applique work that BAS members produce, you will know why! You will want to own one of these Triple Anniversary mementos!

PS: You can read more of my quilt research by clicking here.

Honoree Bets Ramsey in the News

2009-04-25T18:08:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Bets Ramsey our 2005 TQHF Honoree!

Tennessee Governor’s Arts Award Recipients Announced

Awards were presented to eight recipients on April 14, 2009, at an invitation-only reception in Nashville for Tennessee’s highest honor in the arts. These eight were selected because they exemplify the state’s finest cultural traditions. Established in 1971, the Governor’s Arts Awards was presented by Governor Phil Bredesen and First Lady Andrea Conte in a special ceremony produced by the Tennessee Arts Commission.

Recipients were selected from 56 nominees to receive awards in three different categories: The Folklife Heritage Award, the Arts Leadership Award and the Distinguished Artist Award. The Distinguished Artist Award recognizes artists of exceptional talent and creativity in any discipline, who over the course of a career, have contributed to the arts and have helped guide and influence directions, trends, and aesthetic practices on a state or national level.

The three outstanding Tennessee artists presented the Distinguished Artist Award were: John Baeder of Nashville, one of America’s most admired realist painters; Cherry Jones, born and raised Paris, Tennessee, one of the foremost theater actresses in the United States who currently portrays the first female president on the Fox television series 24; and Bets Ramsey of Nashville, who has a long distinguished career in the quilt world in many roles as a curator, educator, historian, writer, project director, organization founder, and award-winning fiber artist.

Comments or questions? Contact the author Karen Alexander by clicking here.

Click here to read more about Bets Ramsey.

PS: You can read more of my quilt research by clicking here.

Windham Fabrics Launches Marie Webster-Inspired Line

2009-04-13T11:09:00.000-07:00

Windham Fabrics Celebrates Marie Webster

Click here to see a sneak-preview! Run, don't walk, to your nearest Quilt Shop and ask them to order the Marie Webster/TQHF line!

The Quilters Hall of Fame is excited to announce the launch of a Marie Webster inspired line of fabric by Windham Fabrics. With the launch of their Marie Webster inspired line, Windham Fabrics is honoring an early 20th century quilt designer known for her elegance and simplicity.

Over eighty years ago the public was electrified by the new design concepts and colors in Marie's appliqué quilts, which were inspired by nature and reflected Marie's belief that beauty should be combined with practicality. It was The Ladies Home Journal that introduced Marie's quilt designs into the mainstream of the world of home-decorative arts in 1911. The pastel coloration and unique rendering of repeat motifs lend an inviting overall sense of unity to her quilts.

Marie’s thirty-year career of designing, writing, lecturing, judging quilt contests and conducting a thriving cottage industry was a remarkable undertaking for a woman of 52 years of age. She was a pioneer in numerous ways of many quilt-related entrepreneurs that would emerge in the late 20th century. Marie lived in Marion, Indiana until 1942 when she retired from her quilt pattern business. She spent her last years with her son's family in Princeton, New Jersey, where she died on August 29, 1956.

The majority of Marie's original floral patterns were done in solid colors but in this 150th anniversary salute to Marie Webster, Windham Fabrics has ventured into a collection of small prints inspired by Marie’s overall quilt designs, in addition to the four solid colors offered.

Be sure to ask your local quilt shop to order the Marie Webster line from Windham Fabrics. Then make something to celebrate Marie’s 150th birthday and send us a photo.

With the opening of The Quilters Hall of Fame in 2004 in Marion, Indiana, in the restored Webster house, people can now visit Marie's studio where her quilts were designed and the first book dedicated solely to quilt history was written.

Please help us celebrate this remarkable woman’s life by asking your quilt guild or women’s group to throw a 150th birthday in her honor! You can see the details of the contest by clicking Marie Webster Birthday Party Blog.

~~

Comments or questions? Contact the author Karen Alexander by clicking here.

PS: You can read more of my quilt research by clicking here.

New Series of Honoree Articles

2009-04-04T07:47:00.000-07:00

New Series of Honoree Articles on TQS!

In January The Quilt Show (Alex Anderson/Ricky Tims-TQS) invited TQHF to do aa series of articles about the Honorees of The Quilters Hall of Fame. They call it their Quilt Pioneers Series.

Click here, then look in the right hand corner of the page that opens for the box that says "select a category". Click on that. A menu will open and give you a list. Select "Quilting Pioneers" from the menu to see all the articles about the Honorees.

To date Florence Peto (Jan), Ruth Finley (Feb) and Dr. William R. Dunton (March) have been covered. We are very grateful for this opportunity to share the stories of our Honorees with a broader public and hope you will visit their website to check them out.

Alex and Ricky also started filming a series of interviews of those whom they select as Quilt Legends. Their first two choices (Jinny Avery and Jinny Beyer) also happen to be HONOREES of TQHF! Ricky and Alex go right into the homes of both Jinny Avery and Jinny Beyer and film them on the spot. What a privilege to see these two Honorees in their own environment.

The Avery interview is included when you purchase Series One from The Quilt Show and the Jinny Beyer interview is included in their Series Three. These interviews were not made by TQHF nor are they sold by TQHF. However, we wanted to make quilters and quilt historians aware of the existence of these interviews.

Another wonderful source of video interviews of both Jinny Avery and Jinny Beyer are the interviews conducted by the The Alliance for American Quilts Quilt Treasures project, one of many wonderful projects of The Alliance for American Quilts. Click on the highlighted Quilt Treasures link to explore more information about both Avery and Beyer as well as The Alliance's other Quilt Treasures.

Seven other Honorees are also featured in The Alliance's Quilt Treasures project: Cuesta Benberry; Joyce Gross; Jean Ray Laury;Bonnie Leman; Yvonne Porcella; Bets Ramsey and Mary Schafer. Do watch all of them!

~~~

Comments or questions? Contact the author Karen Alexander by clicking here.

Cruise for A Cause Fare Reduction!

2009-04-04T07:23:00.000-07:00

On March 31, Princess Cruise Line announced REDUCED FARES on many cruises, including the one planned for this summer in the British Isles that will benefit THE QUILTERS HALL OF FAME.

Join Marianne Fons, Pam Holland, Kathy Kansier, Sandi Lush and Yvonne Porcella on the QUILT CRUISE FOR A CAUSE ~ This tour will benefit THE QUILTERS HALL OF FAME, arts and scholarship OR disaster relief, the choice will be yours. 15 Days: British Isles Quilt Cruise with optional tour to the Festival of Quilts for only $2,188.

12 Day Cruise only, begins at $1,698.

Now, for an incredible price, one can spend 15 days exploring the British Isles with almost all meals included. Begin your stay with 3 days at Europe's finest quilt extravaganza, the Festival of quilts in Birmingham. Then, take our luxury coach south to Southampton and our ship, the Crown Princess. From here we will spend the next 12 days visiting London, Guernsey, Cobb (Cork), Dublin, Liverpool, Belfast, Glasgow, Inverness/Lochness, Edinburgh and Paris/LaHavre. One does not have to be a quilter to enjoy this cruise! There are 100s of activities onboard the Crown Princess to delight any interest.

Dates: August 21-September 5, 2009. For the cruise only, the embarkation date is August 24. For more information and complete itinerary with inclusions list, click here.

Writer's Challenge

2009-03-13T16:52:00.000-07:00

Call for Fictional Stories as Fundraiser for TQHF and Salute Women's History Month at the same time!

Calling all writers! Quilt historian Kim Wulfert, creator of Women On Quilts and New Pathways Into Quilt History, is sponsoring an invitation to women to write a creative story about growing up as a female in the US between 1902 and 1942. One of the purposes of the challenge is to help raise funds for The Quilters Hall of Fame’s July 2009 induction of Merikay Waldvogel. The story must take place between 1902 and 1942 because those are the years that Marie Webster lived in Marion, Indiana, in the historic house that has now become the headquarters of The Quilters Hall of Fame, the very house where Marie designed her quilts, wrote the first book on quilt history and eventually conducted her business, Practical Patchwork .

Click here for the story behind the Writer's Challenge To go directly to the rules of the Challenge, ckick here. A panel of three independent jurors, all published writers and needle workers in quilting and other creative arts, will select all the final stories which will be bound into an eBook, including photos and drawings that you might want to include with your story. Check it out!

Karen Alexander
The Quilters Hall of Fame
Public Relations
click here to Email me!

PS: You can read more of my quilt research by clicking here.

TQHF Triple Anniversary Quilt Challenge!

2009-01-11T15:22:00.000-08:00

Check out the Birthday Plans link in the right side-bar to learn more about the TQHF/Marie Webster Birthday Parties that we hope to see popping up all over the country -- maybe even the world? -- soon! Or you can just click here Birthday Party Plans.

We have created a Quilt Challenge for our 2009 Triple Anniversary and given it the title "They Left Their Mark: Celebrating the Honorees of The Quilters Hall of Fame." This is a very special contest for the maker of the winning quilt (i.e. the quilt that best reflects the theme of this Challenge) will have the honor of having her/his quilt accessioned into the TQHF collection, as well as receive a $500 Founder's Purchase Award. This is a rare opportunity! Usually only quilts associated with an Honoree are added to the collection. We hope you will enter a quilt! The contest does not require a full-size bed quilt. You can find a downloadable pdf file hereby clicking on the link Quilt Challenge-Celebration 2009.

If you have any questions, click here to Email me!. We'll do our best to answer your questions.

Keep those needles flying!

Karen Alexander
click here to Email me!

~~~

Karen B. Alexander
The Quilters Hall of Fame
Public Relations
Past President
926 South Washington Street
P.O. Box 681
Marion, IN 46953