NEW Signature Quilt Database is online now at The Quilt Index & Quilt and Antique Sewing Machine links you'll want to check out

I hope your thanksgiving was a blessed and joyful one with family, friends and quilts to keep you feeling good. The end of this fabulous year is nearly here. I have some opportunities coming to you in 2010 if you want to intensify the good in your life and live it to the fullest.

I've placed some links you might want to check out for your quilting pleasure below the fabulous news of the Signature Quilt database now online at The Quilt Index! WE thank you so much!

As you may have heard, the Quilt Index recently launched its expanded website, with more quilts, a new look, and new zoom and comparison tools.

One of the most compelling components of the expansion is the Signature Quilt Project (SQP). In all, 61 signature quilts were uploaded to the Index, surpassing our goal. In addition, QI staff identified more than 2,000 signature quilts that had already been added to the Index by contributing institutions.

They were categorized into themes for easy navigation-

The Beginnings of Signature Quilts: The 1840s Signature Quilts: Friendship and Family Signature Quilts and Westward Expansion The Golden Age of Signature Quilts, 1876-1910 Redwork Signature Quilts Community, Club, and Church: Public Signature Quilts Contemporary Signature Quilts Love to Wini: Signature Quilts for Healing and Comfort

You can find the Signature Quilt Project at http://www.quiltindex.org/signaturequiltproject.php. Here, you?ll find an essay, ?Researching Signature Quilts,? by Amanda Sikarskie, Marsha MacDowell, Karen Alexander and Nancy Hornback, a bibliography of recommended reading on signature quilts, and eight curated galleries that group the SQP public submission quilts thematically:

We have also created a special search page for signature quilts at http://www.quiltindex.org/signaturesearch.php. You can quickly browse all of the SQP public submission quilts by following the links.

We invite you to try using the Quilt Index?s new zoom tool with the signature quilts. A good one to try (because of the large file size of the original image) is the Jamestown First Baptist Church Quilt, contributed by Jane Evans Leonard, http://www.quiltindex.org/basicdisplaynew.php?kid=4-15-5C.

An interview with Merikay Waldvogel on Collector's Weekly, http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/the-history-of-american-quiltmaking-an-interview-with-merikay-waldvogel-part-one/

I'm also including a link to our quilts page in case you haven't seen it:http://www.collectorsweekly.com/folk-art/quilts

Here's a clue to the last link I'll send today.

- September 25th, 2009 at 6:12 pm Lisa Said:
"I just listened to episode 2 and I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed it. I have never heard an interview quite like this on any quilting podcast. I loved hearing about quilting from a psychologist’s perspective. Quilting really does have healing powers!
Keep up the good work!"

This podcast interview was done by Marceli Botticelli, a mother, wife and an architect in Boston, who also loves quilt making and antique Singer sewing machines and their history. She requested an interview with me in the summer and was a joy. her lovely accent may fool you a bit. She is from Brazil originally but has lived all over. i was honored to be her first interview for this new blog.

http://wholelottasinger.blip.tv/posts?view=archive&nsfw=dc has episode 1 & 2 in blip TV or go to her blog http://wholelottasinger.wordpress.com/

That's all for now. Wish you each a pieceful week. I have some yummy DVD and Book reviews for you coming up and the other stuff I mentioned at the top. Love you all! Kim



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Quilts and quilted items sewn in Nigeria to benefit orphans & women

Hi All,

As we move into the gift-giving season, I wanted to let you know about a non-profit organization that could fill allot of your quilting gift needs and help women suffering HIV/Aids. "Women of Hope is a dynamic sewing program that provides income for women and orphans infescted with HIV/AID. We believe in equipping women with skills so they can support their families." Your purchase will support them.

If you want to go straight there, here's the website- www.womenofhopecreations.com and blog
http://womenofhopecreations.blogspot.com

I receive a snailmail newsletter from the Mashiah Foundation in Jos, Nigeria and this one came with a full color brocheur of quilts and quilted items made in Nigeria. The items include David and Sarah Dolls dressed in typical Nigerian attire, fabric (prairiepoint)trivets, table runners, oven mitts, aprons, gift bags, yoyo bags (purses), notecards, cards with fabric on them, and of course pieced quilts for bed and walls.

Remember that next Wednesday, 11/11/09 my guest on Women On Quilts' tele-interview is Andi Reynold's, Executive Editor of America Quilter's Society. To get the phone number and details go to http://womenonquilts.blogspot.com



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Celebrate- It's National Quilting Day! Hug Your Quilt today, March 20

In honor of both Quilting Day and Women's History month I am reprinting an awesome post Julie Silber posted on the Quilt History List this week (with her permission).

Julie is answering a question posed by Catherine Litwinow about a 19th century quilt made by abolitionists, as evidenced by a single inked patch of a slave in chains in a huge silk quilt. Beneath the kneeling male figure holding his chained hands up as if begging to be released, is the phrase "Deliver me from the oppression of man."

The quilt is pictured on pages 70 & 71 in a book co-authored by Julie Silber, Pat Ferrero and Elaine Hedges, "Hearts and Hands, Women, Quilts and American Society," which was published in 1987. It remains  one the THE best books on women's history in America in the 19th and early 20th century. The rest of this blog is written by Julie--

Elaine Hedges, Pat Ferrero and I used Deborah Coates' quilt as part of the COVER design of our book, "Hearts and Hands," as well as within the pages...

I must tell you about first seeing the quilt.

When Pat and I first saw the quilt (about 1987, at Jonathan and Gail Holstein's home in Cazenovia, N.Y.), it was in two pieces, having years before been cut directly down the middle.

Each of the two "new" edges (on each half) had then been bound, years before, probably whenever the quilt was cut.

The inked piece (a small triangle) had been right in the center of the full quilt -- and so it was cut in half!  The tiny inked image of the bound slave (and the words) -- now on two halves -- had been almost entirely covered over by the new bindings. 

It was Pat ("Eagle Eye") Ferrero who first noticed the mere wisps of ink on the two halves of the split triangle.  The owner of the quilt (a descendant) gave us permission, right on the spot, to carefully remove a few stitches holding the binding in place. No one had ever noticed those little marks before...

It was then that the family saw evidence, for the first time, that their ancestor, the quilt maker, Deborah Coates, had indeed been firmly committed to the abolitionist cause.

Her husband was a well known activist, fully dedicated to the cause of Abolition.  His name appears frequently in a "public"
way -- in newspaper articles on the abolitionist cause, and frequently in the minutes of abolitionist meetings. These "documents" remain, and are part of the official "historical record."

But his wife ... how was anyone to know where she "stood"?

Until that amazing moment in 1987, when a few snips of a scissors revealed what she had added in ink, the family had not known, with any certainty, where Deborah's heart was.  What a moment!

The family then took the ball and ran ... and soon discovered another fact previously unknown to them:  The Coates' home in Cazenovia had been a stop on the Underground Railroad!

A lesson about how fragile and elusive women's history (in
textiles) can be -- and how respect, careful observation, and an understanding of historical context can benefit and enrich us all.

Julie Silber
The Quilt Complex
quiltcomplex@hughes.net

(The book, Hearts and Hands is now long out-of-print but we have a few "new" copies at Quilt Complex that we bought from the publisher. Now signed).

***Julie will be my featured guest interview on Women On Quilts, June 15th interview. Join us!***

3 Special Announcements (2 with Deadlines) in Salute to Women's History Month & National Craft Month

1. Join me this Monday night for my tele-interview and group discussion with Lynne Z. Bassett, editor of the newest quilt documentation book "Massachusetts Quilts, Our Common Wealth." It's free and fun and it starts at 5 PM Pacific time, 8 PM Eastern. For all the info and links click here

2. I am sponsoring a creative writing challenge and fundraiser The Quilters Hall of Fame, to help with this year's induction ceremonies of Merikay Waldvogel, and in salute to National Craft Month and Women's History month. A call for fictional stories and the chance to be in an eBook I will publish, go here for details and see some fun photos from my ephemera collection.

3. Quilter Harriet Powers is inducted in Georgia's Women's Hall of Fame!

"A novelist, a conservationist and a former slave whose works now adorn the Smithsonian Institution and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts will be the inductees this year into the Georgia Women of Achievement Hall of Fame.

Conservationist Jane Hurt Yarn, novelist Caroline Pafford Miller and quilter Harriet Powers, all deceased, will be inducted in a ceremony Thursday at Wesleyan College in Macon.

Quilter Harriet Powers, 1837-1910

Born a slave near Athens, Powers became a renowned folk artist long after her death.

Using a Singer sewing machine she purchased in 1881, Powers exhibited the first of what became known as her "story quilts" at the 1886 Clarke County Cotton Fair. The quilt was made from 299 separate pieces of fabric and it depicts scenes from the Bible and spirituals. It was a remarkable achievement, especially considering that Powers could not read.

She sold that work, which is now in the Smithsonian's Museum of American History, for $5. The buyer, Jennie Smith of Athens, entered it at the 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta. The faculty wives at Atlanta University saw it and commissioned a second quilt.

The second quilt illustrates 15 Bible stories and events such as a cold snap which struck Athens in February of 1895. It is now on display at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

Powers' work has been celebrated over the years. An off-Broadway play, "Quilting in the Sun," recounts her struggles and accomplishments, there are many articles about her and her two celebrated works, and there is a move to honor her with a postage stamp."`Written by Chuck Mobley for the Savannah Morning News and for more information: To learn more about the Georgia Women of Achievement, and about the other inductees this year and the ceremony

Historians Quilt Challenge for 2009

Have you heard about the quilt challenge that honors the women in the Quilters Hall of Fame? The challenge is a fundraiser for their Marion museum/home, which is another great reason to enter this challenge, but the topic is what drew me in "They made Their Mark." There are so many wonderful women to chose from! Photographs and a brief biography of each honoree are here. 

This challenge certainly does not leave out art or contemporary quilters; Yvonne Porcella, Nancy Crow, Jinny Beyer, Karey Bresenhan, Michael James, Jean Ray Laury, and Donna Wilder are among the inductees.

To participate, select one of the Honorees of The Quilters Hall of Fame who has influenced you in some special way and interpret this influence in a new work. The quilts will hang in Marion, Indiana, July 16 thru July 19, 2009.

The one quilt that best exemplifies the theme of this Challenge will receive the $500 Founder's Purchase Award and will become a part of the permanent TQHF education collection. This ­a very rare opportunity for someone other than an Honoree to get a quilt in the collection.

Marie Webster's granddaughter, Rosalind Webster Perry, authored two books with patterns about Marie's quilts ,and she reprinted Marie's 1915 book "Quilts and the Women Who Made Them", which was the first book published about quilts. Photos of her and and quilts from her collection and that time period are here. Rosalind and I are in the same quilt guild here in CA, as is the woman who made the patterns for the books, quilt teacher Marti Frolli. Our Guild, Coastal Quilters,  supports TQHF and Rosalind presented a brief but informative power point about it's history to us at the Christmas 2008 meeting.

The two patterns books in which Rosalind wrote about the history of Marie Webster and her Practical Patchwork company are Webster's Garden of Quilts (with a forward by Cuesta Benberry) and A Joy Forever: Marie Webster's Quilt Patterns.

Conditions of Entry in brief: must be made by the person entering the challenge; must be no larger than 160" total of all four sides; shall consist of three layers of textiles stitched together; photo and narrative must accompany the entry; Intent to Enter Form and fee is to be received by June 1, 2009.

Visit their website at www.quiltershalloffame.net to download the PDF file that contains the complete form. To receive the 2009 Challenge Entry Form by mail or the 2009 Celebration Registration form, write to TQHF, P.O. Box 681, Marion, IN, 46952, or CALL 765-664-9333  or E-MAIL them at quiltershalloffame@sbcglobal.net.

The minute I heard about this challenge 2 quilt ideas with their corresponding woman jumped into my mind. I drew each one long hand and made notes. I added to them since then and now know which one I will make. If I get to two, cool, but one would be an accomplishment for me. It's just hard to find time to sew. You can enter two quilts for their $25 entrance fee.

So, will you join me in this entering this challenge? If you get your quilt finished, send a photo to me in July and I will post them on my blog or website for an online show of my reader's quilts, after the opening of the exhibit in Marion.

Hazel Carter founded TQHF in 1979. Read more about her and this adventure in our interview. Did you know that Merikay Waldvogal is the inductee this year? I am thrilled. She is very deserving.

The Charm Quilt Returns

Michele Foster who runs the Quilt Gallery, an online quilter's blog directory and more, is holding a charm quilt contest this month. Michele lives in Ottawa Canada. She, along with her quilting freinds and family, want to make charm quilts for the charity Victoria's Quilt Canada using fabric squares from all over the world. Let's help her!

She requests 6 5" charm squares (meaning they are 6 different 100% cotton fabrics) be sent to in a regular mailing envelope. Your name will be entered into a drawing for receiving a set of 36 charm blocks back!

Click on her icon for shipping info and more details. If the icon above isn't showing click here for the webpage
This is another historical quilt style coming back to us in the 21st century. Hurry as this ends Dec. 31.

I'm going to cut my charms now. Thanks Michele- this is a great idea. It's easy and fast for us at a busy time of year.

Piece,
Kim

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Abundance of Quilts for the Eyes on this Thanksgiving

The Internet honestly I never would have thought I would say this, but it is a blessing. I am about to share with you links to incredible quilt articles, full of love, care, photos and inspiration and mindful thoughts for you to ponder and enjoy over the Thanksgiving break. (I know some of you are saying A break- what's that?)  I could say that too, but I won't. I am going to take a break, consciously setting my work and demands aside for a couple of days. If it feels really good, maybe three days!

I am headed to San Diego to view three quilt exhibits. The main event however is a phenom of avant garde art quilts at Visions. Visions is a juried exhibit. Something like 564 quilted works of art were entered and 41 were chosen. The museum in Oceanside, CA, is tiny, and this limits the number that can be shown. It's a lovely setting and shows the quilts off well. And let's face it, getting your quilt accepted is even more of a coo with odds like that.

Riding on Thermals
by Rose Hughes
Exhibited at PIQF 2008

To learn more about becoming a quilt artist, meet Rose Hughes, maker of this velvet and silk quilt, December 3, on Women On Quilts You can see more of her quilts on this page too. 

So - Take your time, pour a glass of whatever you love to sip, put on some soothing music, light a scented candle, and begin to embrace the variety below.  I recently discovered a musical group or orchestra really called State of Grace which I love to listen to as I work. Few words, mostly heavenly music. Very inspiring. It's published by Windham.  Don't confuse it with their State of Grace 2, it's not as soothing IMHO.  While I'm sharing, have you discovered the exquisite scented candle made by W&M Co.? Wow, scented meets it's match. I bought mine at Home Goods in the Silicon Valley, but it's a chain of stores.

http://www.selvedge.org/default.aspx  1924 video about the  wool manufacturing process step by step in Australia

http://www.pintangle.com/journal/2008/11/21/another-2-diamond-blocks-done.html  crazy quilt embroidery stitching
and http://www.pintangle.com/journal/2008/11/23/how-to-transfer-embroidery-patterns-to-fabric.html  hot to transfer embroidery patterns to fabric

http://lucyquilting.blogspot.com/   "Quilting with the Past"about making reproduction quilts mostly

http://www.gwenmagee.com/portfolio.html  Gwendolyn Magee, Art quilter, some are statements on slavery, intense & speak volumes

http://www.needlenthread.com/2008/11/art-of-embroiderer-museum-exhibit.html  antique embroidery on clothing at Kent Museum

http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/category/interviews  scroll down and down through the posts to see the photos mostly, but they grab you to also read text. Warning- no quilts, yet.

http://greenquilts.blogspot.com/2008/11/new-use-forpaintstix-rubbing-plates.html

Marshall county dump quilts  http://pennysanford.typepad.com/penny_sanford_porcelains_/2008/04/finally-the-sto.html

Judy's frugal link http://www.womenfolk.com/frugal_quilting/
quilt_business.htm 

Selvage jacket Calendar Pages
http://calenderpages.blogspot.com/  and http://calenderpages.blogspot.com/2008_10_01_archive.html and http://calenderpages.blogspot.com/2008/11/jacket-finished.html

http://charmsofdays.com/ Lots of feedsack photos intermingled

http://www.sacredthreadsquilts.com./default.htm be sure to click on the Gallery tab to see previous winning quilts

End with http://farmgirlfollies.wordpress.com/2008/11/12/be-generous-of-spirit/

http://needlework.craftgossip.com and
Oh Well, La La http://denisefelton.blogspot.com/ 

http://lynnewsnyder.blogspot.com/2008/11/lunch-at-quiltlers.html  the Provo quilter  country charm

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/389492_caps26.html  inspiring story about teen girl helping homeless, quilts mentioned just once

http://www.uwhealth.org/gored/goredforwomenandquilting/13919  go red

http://scrapsandthreadtales.blogspot.com/  scroll down for location pictures on this woman's travel

I have enjoyed our journey together this year. Thank you for being with me on it. Each of you are a gift to me. Together we hold the thread that forms the circle of quilters spirits around the world.

Piece to you and those you quilt with,

Kim

Introducing Women On Quilts: Interviews, Teleclasses, Webcasts

I have been working 24/7 and now I've lost my voice! Oh my gosh- I have just never been so a buzz with new ideas and projects that I can't wait to complete so I can get on to the next. I have been dropping hints about the imminent launch of my new project. After a critical week like this one has been for people around the world, I think it’s time for some good news.

Introducing (trumpets roll please) a teaching, learning, and sharing opportunity for creative women everywhere- Women On Quilts: Interviews, Teleclasses, Webcasts! From the comfort of your home, by telephone or using the internet, meet fabulous women who make their living or live their joy in the quilt world. Learn how they did what they do to pursue their goals and find succesful inside and out. My hope is you will feel a spark from these conversations and classes that will enable you to accomplish your dream too.

During this demise of our country’s economic fabric, I can't help but think about women living during the Great Depression and making quilts for covers and mattresses. I have to believe we will figure a way to avoid another Depression. Every day brings new information, new stock market numbers and experts discussing how we can save our money. Although I couldn't have known this when Women On Quilts was just a buzz in my head early this summer, what I am bringing to you certainly seems to be an antidote during this crisis and the ensuing months of the recession. Just think, from your home or office you can meet women working in the wide world of quilt businesses, designing, writing, leading & planning, teaching, quilt making, and so much more. I will teach how-to classes in research, quilt history and to spark your creativity & overcome challenges in your life, work & art such as

 building confidence
 fearless speaking in front of groups
 using perfectionism to your benefit
 using healthy attitudes & beliefs in your work and art
 releasing blocks, fears, and negative thinking
 finding approaches to living your life pursuing creativity ***


I so appreciate all of you that subscribe to my newsletter, read this blog, post comments and send me emails. You made WOQ happen. To keep up with my next interviews with well known and lesser known quilters, including the first women I haven't announced yet, opt-in to WOQ VIPs now so that you will automatically get the class and interview announcements. As a thank you, you will receive my E-article "Sparking Your Creativity." Yes, you want to subscribe to both QS and WOQ as they are completely different and WOQ VIP's get privileges non-subscribers and feed subscribers do not.

Look for QS newsletter on Monday when I will talk about my quilt making during this week of economic crisis and you'll get a glimpse into some of my thinking about the mind/body benefits of being creative. I will pull from my background in psychology for some of the classes I offer through WOQ.

***An interview Judy did with me reveals more about WOQ's purpose and goals on Womenfolk:The Art of Quilting.

Green Quilts

If you read these topic labels for an article "Environmental Politics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, New Mexico, Philadelphia (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Alabama, Missouri, Google Inc." would you think it was about quilts?

Here is a terrific take on recycled cloth, which starts by introducing the Gee's Bend quilt exhibit opening at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. From Recycled Scraps To Museum-Quality Quilts, by Sandy Bauers for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Ok, that's not really new news to quilters, but how about this?
"...clothing Swap-O-Rama-Ramas started by New Mexico's Wendy Tremayne because she "wanted to find a remedy for consumerism."

"The idea is for women to bring in old clothes, experience 'total abundance' when the stuff is piled together, then start taking things to nearby sewing machines and design experts to learn how to alter them to fit or refashion them into other clothing."

Have you ever been to such a swap or heard of them? I read articles about people remaking old or out-of-fashion cloths into trendy clothes. It's chic. And there is an upsurge in sewing one's clothes at home. No doubt Project Runway has contributed to the surge in fashion designing at home and in schools with such a degree.

I wonder if this particular swap came from this trend or from the green generation who thankfully are taking our trash seriously too. Either way, its a fun and exciting expression in the wide world of fabric lovers.

A Google search is full of info. Wendy began the swaps in 2005.Please comment below if you have personal experience with the Swap-O-Rama Ramas!

Piece,

Kim

Quilt Historians in the News

On August 21, Kimberly-Clark sponsored a reception for notable Tennessean Bets Ramsey at the Knoxville Museum of Art. The event included a preview of an online portrait of Ramsey, a nationally recognized educator, curator, writer, organizer, historian and award-winning quilter. The portrait was produced as a part of Quilt Treasures, a joint project of the AAQ and Michigan State University.

The multi-media portrait of Ramsey includes a mini-documentary, extensive biographical information and over forty interview clips on various topics. The project will debut publicly on the Alliance’s website in mid September. To view the project visit Center for the Quilt.

There's much to be learned from old quilts, but they can't speak for themselves," says Amy Milne, executive director of the Alliance for American Quilts. "Our website projects save not just the images of quilts, from the humble to the magnificent, but allow us to save and share the stories of how and why they were made. All the funds raised in Knoxville, with Kimberly-Clark's help, will enable us to preserve these stories online for all those who value these treasures."

Also sponsored by Kimberly-Clark on August 21, was the first ever Quilt Train event in Knoxville. Board members of the AAQ from all parts of the US and a large contingent of quilt and train enthusiasts from the Knoxville area enjoyed a rolling wine and cheese party on the Three Rivers Rambler excursion train owned and operated by Gulf & Ohio Railways Inc. Vintage quilts from the collection of Knoxville resident and esteemed quilt historian Merikay Waldvogel were hung and draped around the train. Also exhibited on the Quilt Train were small quilts from the AAQ contest, My Quilts/Our History, for which quilters around the country and abroad made quilts celebrating their personal quilt histories. (For more information about the contest and the upcoming auction, go to the Alliance website,Center for the Quilt

The Quilt Train evening continued with a dinner at Calhoun’s by the River restaurant to honor nationally-recognized quilt historian, curator and author Merikay Waldvogel, who recently ended her term on the AAQ board after many years of dedicated service. Waldvogel and Ramsey were co-directors of Tennessee Quilt Survey, a major effort to document the state's quilts which produced a traveling exhibit and publications. The documented Tennessee quilts, along with thousands of quilts from other state and museum collections, are preserved permanently on the Quilt Index, a rapidly-expanding online repository of historical and contemporary quilts, a joint project of the Alliance and Michigan State University.

Kathy Metelica, Market Manager for Kimberly-Clark’s southern region honored Merikay Waldvogel and Bets Ramsey for the important contribution both have made to the preservation of Tennessee’s quilt history, and added “Kimberly-Clark would like to congratulate The Alliance for American Quilts for 15 years of preserving the rich history of American quilting. We are proud to sponsor these events.”

The information above is from a press release from The Quilt Alliance, which is the Center for the Quilt and the Quilt Index. Contact for more information is Amy E. Milne, the Executive Director of The Alliance for American Quilts, (828) 251-7073, amy.milne@quiltalliance.org, www.centerforthequilt.org.

Related to the women honored by the Alliance is another great quilt org.The Quilter's Hall of Fame. Both Bets Ramsey (in 2004)and Merikay Wadvogal(2009)are inductees of The Quilters Hall of Fame. Merikay's will be official next July, her induction was made public this past July. The Quilter's Hall of Fame inductee this July, 2008, was Helen Kelley, writer, quilter, teacher, machine quilting pattern expert, and so much more. She has written a column for QN forever. Sadly, she passed away this Monday, Sept. 1. The Quilter's Hall of Fame offers detailed biography's of each of their inductees and this book is a worthwhile investment for any one interested in our quilting history, past and present.

Rescue Animals

I know, I know, this isn't about quilts, but what quilter doesn't have a pet or want a pet or love another's pet?? So pitch in, this fundraiser is just asking you to click.

The Animal Rescue Site is having trouble getting enough people to click on it daily to meet their quota of getting free food donated every day to abused and neglected animals. It takes less than a minute (How about 20 seconds) to go to their site and click on the purple box 'fund food for animals' for free. This doesn't cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate food to abandoned/neglected animals in exchange for advertising.Here's the web site! Pass it along to people you know. http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/

I checked this out at Snopes.com, and it's true. Check it for yourself: http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/charity/animalrescue.aspfrom the site below, you can also click to give at five other websites, including breast cancer. This is pretty simple. Please tell ten friends to tell ten today! - - quiltersspirit.blogspot.com Jan. 18, 2008 post.

Suffrage quilts

Chris posted this question after viewing the Lindbergh redwork quilt (See Nov. 2007 for photos)

Have you done any posts or articles about suffrage quilts? WCTU and drunkard's path suffrage quilt? Have you done any posts or articles about suffrage quilts? WCTU and drunkard's path suffrage quilt?

I have casually looked into the use of quilts in women's rights and Temperance movements. WTCU, Women's Christian Temperance Movement, began in the 1870s during the Reconstruction period, after the suffrage movement was well under way. And there was a suffrage movement for the equal rights of African Americans, which culminated in the 15th amendment ratified in 1870, which stated that a man could not be prevented from voting because of their race, color or previous condition of servitude. The feminists were disappointed their rights were not included in this amendment.

Quilts did not seem to play a role within the women's suffrage organization, as in fundraising or raising awareness, however Susan B. Anthony chose to make her first speech at a quilting bee! The suffrage movement began in the 1840's which is somewhat before women were quick to turn their quilt making into fundraisers. In the middle to end of the century more quilts were made to reflect political and social causes and to raise funds, especially for the CW. The women's right to vote came around 1920 and I am not aware of any historical quilt made public that reflects this. I hope someone will post of they know of such quilts!

It's an interesting state of affairs, that women would not turn more to their needle and thread for their own fight. Perhaps it was the very fact that sewing was considered a women's job or role in the 19th century anyway, that made her turn away from engaging in that role to stand on a new ground as a equal and viable citizen.

Signature quilts were made for the WTCU from the beginning to serve as endorsements for the cause. Patchwork quilts were made in the shape of T's, drinking goblets, and the curved drunkard's path block seen in a variety of formations. The White Ribbon was the logo for lack of a better word for WTCU, and so it too was made into a pieced block. Fundraising quilts and "Chapter" quilts were made and signed by regional chapters of the national WTCU starting in the 19th century. I have a very large, approx. 20"x 20" WTCU commemorative handkerchief depicting a map of the US (in orange ink on a white ground) marking all the places Frances E. Willard, the most important leader of the org., spoke for the cause. Around the edges are line drawings of her home and buildings where she spent time.

For more information about a Temperance quilt made near the end of prohibition, see AQSG's journals "Uncoverings 2003" for a paper by Sarah Rose Dangelas, The Cultural significance of the Block Island Woman's Christian Temperance Union Quilt of 1931.

Thank you for your question. Please feel free to post any information you have about this.

Piece, Kim