Arizona Regional Quilt Study Day

Quilting as to War by Joanna Dermenjian

According to the Canadian Red Cross, during the Second World War over 52,000,000 supplies and comforts were shipped from Canada for the war effort. Most of these items were sewn or knit voluntarily by women. Of these items, over 400,000 have been recorded as quilts. While most items were required to be made according to strict patterns, the quilts were not, and instead were inspired by women’s creativity, resourcefulness, and the availability of materials. 

Quilts by Young Hands: Looking at a Young Girl’s First Full-Sized Quilt by Lenna DeMarco

Young girls in the nineteenth century began doing needle work almost as soon as they could walk. Samplers and doll quilts were among their first stitching efforts. But little girls very quickly mastered a variety of needle skills and soon began the process of making a full-size quilt. In this lecture we will examine those early efforts, identifying certain elements indicative of a girl's work and look at some beautiful and amazing quilts made by girls between the ages of 7 and 16.

Janneken Smucker, who has numerous publications, is a professor and historian specializing in digital history, public history, and material culture at West Chester University. The Study Day consisted of two lectures. In the first lecture, A New Deal for Quilts Janneken explored the ways federal programs drew on quilts and quiltmaking as part of government relief and as a public relations effort. The second lecture, What Makes an Amish Quilt? invited live participation from attendees where they chimed in about whether a presented quilt was Amish or not, and why. Learn more about Smucker at www.janneken.org 

Author, quilt maker, collector, curator, and quilt historian - Leah Zieber joined us from Temecula, California. Her reproduction and antique quilts have been exhibited across the country and published through American Quilt Study Group, Martingale Publishers and various quilt magazines. With a collection of antique quilts that spans over 200 years, Leah shares her knowledge of American Quilt History through exhibits, lectures, sewing workshops, and quilt history retreats both nationally and abroad. 

In her morning lecture, Fading Fast: A Comparative Look Across Two Early Textiles, Leah led the group in examining and comparing two quilts from the Adeline H. Hannah family of New York, 1843. 

The afternoon session,  Wake Up! Textiles That Got Out Of Bed, Leah led a fun-filled afternoon playing with a diverse collection of sewing related textiles, including quilted items, that were never intended for the bed! 

Participants were also invited to buy tickets for a raffle quilt. Proceeds were donated to the American Quilt Study Group.

Allison Rainboth, an active American Quilt Study Group member and AQS Certified Appraiser of Quilts and Quilted Textiles presented 2 lectures.

In her discussion of Is "T" for Temperance?, she provided participants with an overview of the Temperance movement. She made the case that although several quilt blocks including the T block, Temperance Tree, Drunkard's Path, and Goblet have often been linked to temperance, the evidence for the link is contradictory. 

In the second presentation, After the War (Quilts from 1870 - 1920) she described the changes in fabrics, colors, and patterns that influenced quilt makers. She shared many examples including Prince's Feather, Log Cabin, and crazy quilts.

During the break, a drawing was held to award a membership to the American Quilt Study Group to one of the attendees. If the attendee was already a member, their membership was extended for one year. 

Xenia Cord presented KITCHEN RAGS TO QUILT MAGS, where she described early pattern collecting and sharing. Independent entrepreneurs created an outpouring of quilt pattern publications and Round Robin groups hunted, collected and shared previously published quilt  patterns, designs, and pictures from early 20th century sources.  Their activities laid the foundation for our current studies and interests, but because the results appeared mostly as ephemeral print materials, we have largely ignored their impact. 

Julie Silber presented KEEPING THEM IN STITCHES: AMERICA’S FUNNIEST QUILTS: Women have always expressed their whole selves in quilts: their love, losses, accomplishments, joys, and sorrows … and their humor! Participants smiled and laughed as they enjoyed some very funny 19th and 20th century quilts.

Tara Miller presented GRAPHIC QUILTS OF THE 20TH CENTURY:  Many of the quilts from this era have a surprisingly modern aesthetic! Tara put these quilts in context: historically, socially, artistically, leading to a lively discussion with the participants.

During the mid-program break, one of the attendees won an annual membership to the American Quilt Study Group..

In this lecture, Teresa Duryea Wong reviewed the history of a tumultuous period in Native American culture that, beginng in 1880, saw Native lands taken away, bison herds decimated, forced relocations, and the educational system changed dramatically. She discussed how Indigenous Americans spent the next few decades learning to adapt and how women integrated quilting into their cultures. 

Florence McConnell discussed German quilts made between 1830-1930 by immigrants who settled in SE Pennsylvation. She showed, through examples from her collection, how these immigrants  developed a unique style of quilts, with patterns based on their cultural heritage blended with the influences of quilters who were already in the area. 

During the mid-program break, one of the attendees won a copy of Hopi Quilts. This book, and the other raffle prizes, were mailed to the winners.

Mary Kerr, who has authored 8 books, including Southern Quilts: Celebrating Traditions, History, and Designs, which was the topic of her lecture. The South has a rich quilting history, steeped in tradition and passed down through the generations. In order to write Southern Quilts, Mary worked with 13 quilt historians who shared quilts from 17 Southern institutions and more than 50 private collectors. In this lecture, In her lecture, Mary shared some of the glorious designs, colors and patterns that are unique to the South.

During the mid-program break, one of the attendees won a signed copy of Southern Quilts. This book, and the other raffle prizes, were mailed to the winners.

Scholars estimate that more than 400 album quilts were made in and around Baltimore from about 1842 to 1860.  They are among the most elaborate and labor-intensive bedcovers ever made, but were produced largely by middle-class women. Debby Cooney and Ronda H. McAllen highlighted many of the best of these Baltimore Album Quilts and analyzed the factors that led to their creation and continued acclaim. Based on unique blocks, approximately 15 of these quilts have been attributed to Jewish quilters.

Several attendees won prizes in the raffle drawing. The prizes were mailed to the winners.

The program for this virtual meeting was a two part lecture about New England Quilts by Lynne Zacket Bassett who is an independent scholar specializing in historic costume and textiles. Among her projects are award-winning exhibitions and catalogues. For this study day Ms. Bassett  presented a 2 part lecture. The first part covered Quilts of the Colonial Period to 1800. The second part was about the 19th Century Antebellum period up to circa 1860. 

Several attendees won prizes in the raffle drawing. The prizes were mailed to the winners.

This was another virtual study day. Guest speaker Cathy Glover presented a lecture about "Poly and Ester." She reviewed the development of polyester fibers and the  marketing that was employed to sell it. She ended the presentation with a show and tell of polyester quilts from her own collection. 

Donna Wisnoski presented what little information is known about what has been called  "big stitch quilting" and the use of the term "depression stitch. 

Several attendees won prizes in the raffle drawing. The prizes were mailed to the winners.

Seventy-two quilt enthusiasts signed up for this virtual study day. Merikay Waldvogel presented "The 1933 Sears Quilt Contest - The Latest Update." Her slide show included many of the quilts that were entered in the show, newspaper clippings about the show, and photographs of participants.  Merikay left her audience hoping that one of them would find the winning quilt which was presented to Eleanor Roosevelt and then disappeared. 

Sue Reich shared some deeply moving personal history of how military life has affected her and why she became an avid researcher of WW II quilts. She presented a well thought out slide show and explained that several types of WW II quilts were made. She also discussed quilts that were not "war" quilts but rather quilts made during those years. 

During the break between speakers, Lenna DeMarco surprised the audience by pulling names for a raffle drawing of several items including books the speakers authored and several sets of vintage blocks..

Dr. Terry Tickhill Terrell presented "Flower Power - How Chintz Caused the Industrial Revolution." She described how the desire for chintz in the 18th and 19th centuries give birth to the Industrial Revolution and, by 1860, made the British the providers of half the world’s printed textiles: Chintz became “the” status symbol of an age. 

Lynn Evans Miller presented her "Journey of a Quilt Collector." She shared the story of how deeply she was influenced by the late Arizona quilt icon, Laurene Sinema of the Quilted Apple, Lynn shared pictures of numerous quilts from her collection.