quiltersmuse.com Blog

Someone from the Cleveland, Ohio area wrote a brief note to me on October 3, 2009 to ask if the block shown here might have been slave-made, or made by an African-American. Let me make some general comments about this quilt block.

This old quilt block, from an unidentified maker, has an unusual pattern. This was not found in either Brackman’s or Khin’s standard reference books on appliqué designs.

Additional references that are helpful in identifying published quilt block names are listed in our website file about Pattern Identification.

This block looks like a good example of a 19th century quilt with brown fabrics that have disintegrated due to the iron content of the dye. Iron and cloth do not go well together, but it was not a lesson easily or quickly learned during that century.

The largest motifs appear to be in the shape of Oak leaves. The center circle in yellow and the blue “cross” within the circle could be symbolic, but do not have to be. Not all designs carry symbolism, and if we do not know the quilter’s intent, then it is dangerous to read too much into an interpretation. My next step is to investigate similar symbols in several books that I own to see if the center is known to carry any particular symbolism.

As you can see, three diamond shapes were added, between the “leaves.” These may have represented flower petals as if often the case of abstract-looking designs of this kind that are pieced and then appliquéd.

From a photo, it is difficult to tell, but this block seems to have a lot of quilting on it. If that is the case, one would think of a “lady of leisure” as having made this, as stitches do not add to a quilt’s warmth and only serve as surface decoration (and to hold the quilt together).

It is dangerous to take guesses as to whether or not a quilt was made by a slave or an African-American based solely on visual clues. Scholars have been embarrassed, in the past, by their quick leaps to judgment. Anyone could have made this quilt block!

So many times, quilt historians have exclaimed: “If only the quilt could talk! The stories it would tell!”

Of course, quilts were not always given a certain name. It is not until the late 19th century (1800s), when more quilt patterns were published, that many quilt block designs acquired names, perhaps some assigned by publishers.

We enjoy hearing from readers of our website.

If anyone has further information about this block, I’d love to hear from you. Write to: pat@quiltersmuse.com

Thanks to the reader who sent in this question.

P.S. I did look at one of my books about Symbols. The equilateral cross is an ancient symbol used to form the basis for the architecture of Greek churches. The group of four directions of an equilateral cross can depict the four seasons or the four winds. The shape is the symbol of the Red Cross.

A circle can represent eternity – as it has no beginning and no end. For any symbol, its meaning is known only to the person who creates it.

As people who enjoy art, we can try to interpret a meaning, but it is pure conjecture. To make this quilt-related, please see my many (Underground Railroad and Quilts) files … about quilt blocks and their interpreted meanings as described in the book, Hidden in Plain View and in other books.

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

Within the last 20 years, I have run across a number of people who have tried to formulate a list of characteristics of African-American quilts. In one instant, a (white) woman with a quilt shop, instituted classes to teach others how to make an African-American quilt. The quilt would be brightly colored and asymmetrical. She’d made a large quilt that hung on the shop’s wall to use as an example. Just for the record, more recently, I ran across a speaker who attempted to describe the qualities of African-American quilts as if they are homogeneous.

For some time now, folklorists, scholars, and dreamers have been trying to define and describe exactly what an African-American quilt is, and what meaning(s) the quilt had, for its maker. The trouble with that kind of study is that not all African-American quilts are created equal, any more than are English quilts, or Amish quilts, or Dutch quilts. Women, who have made the majority of old quilts, have enjoyed being just a little different than their neighbor. For pieced quilts, this may be the reason so many thousands of different quilt block configurations exist.

More theories are in place than fleas on a dog. Most of them are not backed up by fact. Rather, they are just hunches, opinions, or broad, unsubstantiated conclusions.

“Myth and Methodology: Shelly Zegart Unpicks African-American Quilt Scholarship,” is an article that was first published in Selvedge, an international textile magazine, (London England: Issue 21, Jan/Feb 2008). The author provides an historical account of the names and thoughts of various people who have studied this subject and published their train of thought. This file is free to read/ and to download, on Shelly’s website.

Without further adieu, I will leave you to access this important file, one worth your time.

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

This week, I received the following note from a reader:

I’ve recently acquired a quilt I hope you can help me to date. Every other block is an Aunt Jemima pancake flour sack. The alternating blocks are of a solid color with a wreath design sewn it. Some of the designs are a bit lopsided. The stitches are small and neat and are done in red thread. The quilt came from an estate sale in East Texas. I’ve done some research and gather that sack material has a long history going up to the 1950s. This quilt is unusual enough that I am thinking of donating it to a museum in San Antonio that I believe still maintains a collection of Folk Art needlework. I’d be happy to provide a picture, if you are interested.

Of course we were interested in seeing a photo.

The feedsack quilt, in question.

My response:

I have never seen this design before. It is curious that there are so many identical flour sack pieces. The person who made this must have collected the sacks for a long time, or had a large family to use that amount of flour!

The “Aunt Jemima” image was rooted in minstrel shows, first appearing in 1875. She is, of course, yet another manifestation of a caricature that depicts someone who is African-American. Some people might interpret these quilt images as “benign,” but others would be angry in seeing this and call it an example of stereotyping and bigotry. There is no way to know what was in the mind of the original quiltmaker, nor if she was Black, herself. No matter how anyone views it, you are right, it is a piece of American folk art and one well-worth preserving. A museum placement seems appropriate. This is a very special item.

I would suggest that you donate it to the Jim Crow Museum on the campus of Ferris State University. Dr. David Pilgrim, professor of Sociology, has collected more than 5,000 artifacts related to Black Memorabilia, Culture, and Discrimination.

You can hear a talk by Dr. Pilgrim on YouTube.

The evolution of the Aunt Jemima image and use in selling various products is a fascinating story. A full account can be found in the following book:

If anyone has direct information about this feedsack cloth, please write to me at: pat@quiltersmuse.com
Thanks.

Additional links of interest:

Mammy Quilts and Black Memorabilia

Collectible Feedsack Cloth: The Past Revisited

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

After watching the dire news, night after night, about how the U.S. economy is tanking, I woke up this morning, determined to do something to make a difference. As a result, I have not only marked down the price of our e-book about a most inspiring but little known figure in the quilt world of the 1930s, but we are also offering FREE SHIPPING to U.S. addresses.

Why? You would have to know more about Mrs. Ellen Emeline Hardy Webster to fully understand the answer to that question. She brought light to so many lives through her quilt lectures, bird talks, women’s club activities, and by being, overall, a decent and hopeful woman who loved literature, people, and life itself. Her life’s emphasis was on Education, that is, sharing what she knew with as many other people as she could, sometimes, for very little or no pay. She and I have a LOT in common. I really identified with her life and some of the directions it took her, and what was most valuable to her.

So, at tremendous savings to the potential buyer, our website is making a special, if not limited-time offer for this CD. For details, and to pay with a Paypal button, please see our home page by clicking on the link listed under our names.

Mrs. Webster lived through the Great Depression and she knew what it was to “make do” and to “go without.” She took in (family) boarders, and sometimes provided “paid” lectures that did not even cover the gas money it took to get to the lecture hall.

Like Mrs. Webster, I have shared tons of “free” information. I have done this on my website and in the (free) lectures I have provided. This e-book is truly a labor of love, and deserves to be read. It is the product of eight long months of intense research, 12-14 hrs. per day including field trips; networking; interlibrary loan requests; purchases of research materials, via the Internet and elsewhere; and input from individual historians, quilt historians, and family members, as well as a number of museums.

Don’t let the opportunity get away to familiarize yourself with this great 1930s quilt historian and her work. Her name was Ellen Emeline Hardy Webster (1867-1950). Now you can learn all about her life in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, her family, her work, her education, her affiliations, her quilt “charts,” and life in New Hampshire, during her lifetime. She was particularly instrumental in the spread of information about Luminous Moss in NH, and the book covers that interest, as well.

Thanks for listening!

Patricia and James Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications

Just the words, “trolley car,” conjures a different time and a very different way of life. For my paternal grandfather, driving a trolley car put food on the table for the nine hungry mouths. Not unlike many Manchester, New Hampshire residents of the time, he was a descendant of Irish immigrants. His wife was Irish, too: a McSweeney. She was known to report that she was not “shanty Irish,” but “lace curtain Irish.” That statement seems to have been very important to her, but I digress. Here is a photo of John A. Grace, (1879-1936), on the left, with his trolley car and an unknown person. The trolley says “Union Station” on the front.

Recently, I was perusing eBay ads and came across the most delightful antique quilt that has 5 blocks down and 4 blocks across, all a repeat of a trolley car block. Here is a photo of the whole quilt that measures 87″ x 80″ and features sashings, sashing blocks, and borders that are a little larger.

The backing features Paisley fabric. To read an article that I originally wrote for Fabric Trends magazine, please visit “Paisley, A Brief History” on our website.

The number of the eBay auction is 360036902187. Clicking on this link will bring you to the ebay page.The beginning bid is $9,200.00 and the dealer, “gurly 46″ will accept payments. The following statement is what she says about the quilt:

This charming quilt measures 87” x 80” and has about 6-8 stitches per inch. The condition is excellent and it is made of late nineteenth century, printed fabrics in red and white, blue and white, buff and white, and black and white, and features an outstanding red and white paisley backing.

The trolley has captured the imagination of Americans all across the country. The hustle and bustle, the loud bell, the excitement of its arrival down the track, and its slow speed, have successfully rivaled the train and bus in popularity love, and folk appeal.

One felt like a king surveying his kingdom through the big glass windows as the trolley car moved along the track towards its next stop. In paintings, weathervanes, and now in a quilt, the trolley became the loving subject of folk artists, and has won the heart of a nation.

Many thanks to “gurly46″ for allowing me to feature this special quilt for your enjoyment.

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications – a site that is getting a “face lift” at the moment, with updates, added photos, and corrections of broken links, etc. I have just finished files up to and including all files that begin with the letter “r.” Enjoy!