quiltersmuse.com Blog

Press Release from Eastern States Exposition

“Woolgathering Through the Millennia” – 3:00 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, 2009

Elizabeth Wayland Barber – CA

Spinning and weaving are older than metalworking or even pottery, but it took millennia to develop usable woolly sheep. In this colorfully illustrated talk, Dr Elizabeth Barber traces the early history of the fiber crafts, showing how the place of sheep, wool, and patterned woolen textiles changed repeatedly as innovations in technology and changes in the sheep themselves took place.

Dr. Elizabeth Barber is the author of many popular books on the history of textiles, including Women’s Work: the First 20,000 Years.

“Cotswolds Through the Ages” – 3:00 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009

Rob Harvey Long, UK

Home of The Big E From the start of my career I had a great interest in Oriental Carpets and rugs. I studied them in great detail. I was keen to know everything there was to know about them and particularly the wool used, and my interest in wool really stems from my early study of these beautiful hand made items.

Since joining The Cotswold Sheep Society, and reading about the fleeces being called “The Golden Fleece,” I have been wondering how this came about. My search has led me to some fascinating discoveries which I will be sharing with you.

I will also be talking about the Medieval wool trade in The Cotswolds and the Italian connection, and finally discussing the Cotswold Sheep Society in the 21st century and what the future may hold for us.

We look forward to seeing you!

The Big E runs Sept. 18 – Oct. 4, 2009. Both of the talks described above will be presented in the Moses Auditorium.

This public announcement is brought to you by Quilter’s Muse Publications.

Imagine yourself in 1944. Your loved one is in Italy, in the military, called to duty in World War II. You know that he is thinking of you, while you are worrying about him. How can he express his love for you at a time when there is no Internet, and few other means of available and affordable communication, except for mail grams? Why, he sends you textile “souvenirs.” In this brief article, we will look at four such items bestowed upon Louise Traunstein by (the late) Russ Traunstein, who served in the Air Force.

1944 Pillow Souvenir from Italy

The first piece is a pillow cover, complete with a lavender back with part of the right hand side left open so that stuffing could be slipped in. The “writing” and most of the motif work is rendered in rayon thread and a continuous, machine-made chain stitch. We see two facing (abstract) birds in the center, and a star composed of simulated filling knots and an orange circular center filled with orange knots. Light blue rayon threads look like today’s meander quilting. (There is nothing new under the sun).

The writing at the top says in English, “Souvenir … Italy,” while “1944″ appears, almost illegibly, at the bottom. Within the center is a number, perhaps “15.” If anyone knows the significance of that number, I would love to know!

Lace that appears to have been made by machine and which has a sheen to it, as if it, too, is rayon, features a simulated hemstitch effect, closest to the pillow top. The background may be cotton velveteen. It has a low nap and is soft to the touch.

Two Italian souvenir, ochre color, hankies in rayon, with chain stitching in variegated, rayon thread, and differing lace edge treatments

These two small hankies, (design area approximately 4″ square) have writing that I cannot discern. Rayon not a practical fiber for a hankie because the fibers are not absorbent. Clearly, these were made only to be “souvenirs.”

This bright pillow cover is amazingly cheerful with its bright orange flowers, again rendered in chain stitch; and their yellow “stems.” The words “Souvenir” and “Italia” are worked with variegated, rayon, chain stitch, by machine. The wide lace is romantic, dreamy, and enchanting … and also made by machine. On the back, the lace extends beyond the seam, sewn with white thread, in machine stitches, about 1/4″ to jet over the green acrylic background.

This is a very pretty piece, as are the others. Sixty-five years after it was acquired, it is showing a few stains, perhaps from storage in a wooden drawer, without a barrier of protection from wood acids.

Aluminum foil could be used to prevent damage of this kind.

Nonetheless, these pieces are remembrances of a time of uncertainty. They represent a period of wistful longing for home and hearth, as well as the love felt by military men for those left at home, those they knew were wishing and praying for their safe return.

I would like to thank my friend, Louise Traunstein, for sharing these pieces with us. The good news is that Russ came home from the war, and they lived many years together as man and wife, until his death in 1997. A poet, he published a volume of his poems that is currently out of print.

Mrs. Traunstein is heavily involved with writing the newsletter for the Groton Historical Society and has made significant historical contributions to her “adopted” town. A former teacher for more than 30 years, she is always willing to share information! Thanks, Louise!

All photographs by James Cummings

Letter to the Editor:

Hi Pat,

The photos of the souvenirs came out lovely and yes they were stored in wooden drawers. Amazing what you don’t know about environmental effects on materials, if not an expert.

The 15 represents the 15th Air Force. I don’t know what this means in regards to the total Air Force.

He served in the 99th Bomb Group … the 346th Bombardment Squadron.

Jim might know how the 15th fits into the total. I believe the 15th started its journey in Africa and then worked its way up toward Germany.

Russ was based in Foggia and in Florence, Italy. Served about a year and a few months longer.

Thanks for the acknowledgment.

Take care,

Louise

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications – where there are many more articles about “Sweetheart” and “Mother” pillows, from World War II

A recent magazine article that I wrote featured a C.C.C. Mother pillow, owned by a retired professor who lent it to us for the purpose of photography. You ask, “What is the C.C.C.?” The Civilian Conservation Corps was an organization for young men during the Great Depression. They accomplished all kinds of feats such as planting trees, pruning and maintaining tree plantations, building bridges, roads, and buildings, and doing much more.

This was a “make work” type of program under the FDR administration, designed to provide employment. Men had to meet certain qualifications and be of good moral character to join. They were paid, but most of their allotment was sent home, leaving them with a small amount for personal spending in the camp store.

In the state of New Hampshire, there were quite a few C.C.C. camps. I was thrilled to visit the museum associated with one of them at what is now called Bear Brook State Park. My association with the park goes back to when I was three years old. In the family album, there are photos of my brother and I, and my sister and I, on the public beach there. Later, I served as an assistant cook at summer 4-H camp, when I was in high school, and another year, I was a Camp Counselor. In high school, I camped with my parents in another area of the park, and when I was very small, I climbed the Fire Tower at the Park, with my Dad.

I recently learned that the main public pond at Bear Brook was excavated by C.C.C. members with picks and axes. If one swims in the water in a bathing suit with a white lining, that lining will turn red. This can be attributed to the underlying tree roots at the bottom of the man-made, spring fed pond. They leach tannic acid, a harmless ingredient (to humans) also found in tea.

The beautiful bathhouse there was built with granite stones, quarried in nearby Hooksett, and set together by the C.C.C.

Lately, learning more about the C.C.C. has been of great interest to me. When I received more photos of “Mother” pillows, etc. from an Interpretive Specialist for the National Parks Service, I was even more intrigued. You can see photos and descriptions of those textile on our website.

Whenever I mention the initials “C.C.C.” to anyone my age, no one knows what I mean. I have to explain. This was a Depression Era, stop-gap measure, to counteract the effects of poverty.

Yesterday, in speaking to an international conference, President Bush stated that if something is not done about the economy, we could go into a Depression greater than the Great Depression. That is an upsetting thought, and I think that most of us feel at the mercy of those who have the majority of wealth in America. We want those individuals to figure out a problem that “the little guy” did not cause.

Sometimes, we have to look back before we can look ahead. History is so important, and learning from the past is doubly so, because if no meaningful connections are made, then we have not gained anything. We will just keep repeating wrong decisions that cost lives, money, and quality of existence, again and again.

The C.C.C. tells a great story of America. We always rise to the cause and do what needs to be done, in good times and bad. With the right attitudes and some elbow grease, we will get through the current economic crisis. The young men of the C.C.C. may not be recognized today, in a society who has forgotten the hardship lessons of America’s past, in the wake of prosperity. The work of these young, unmarried men was vital to feeding their families of origin, at the time. The organization lasted from the early 1930s to 1942, and many of the men went off to serve in World War II, having been given confidence and self-discipline by their experiences in the Civilian Conservation Corps, a para-militaristic organization. When we look to the early twentieth century, we see many who sacrificed, again and again. We could all take a lesson.

With best wishes,

Patricia Cummings

Old aprons today catch our fancy. They speak of bygone times when it was a hardship to do laundry and when good dresses were kept clean for best. Of course, in those days, women did wear dresses, not pantsuits, jeans, or a blouses and slacks. The amount of time and effort put into making a pretty apron is sometimes mind boggling. For me, the whole subject of aprons will require more study. Last summer, I washed and pressed 80 old aprons, so I guess you could say that I’ve seen them up close and personal. Here is one of them.

Notice the triadic color combination of red, yellow, and blue in the cheerful-looking apron seen above. Unlike old quilts that sometimes have tags on them, more often than not, former owners of aprons are not identified. Look at the fancy edge lace, the gathered waist, and the long ties.

I know of one person who asked for her grandmother’s aprons and then cut out the good spots to make a quilt. That is certainly one way to remember grandma.

Since they are used less today, aprons from the past take on more significance, pointing to a time of more domesticity when supper was not at a fast food chain or other eatery, but homemade and served hot on the kitchen table. I love old aprons whether they are appliquéd, have pockets, are smocked, are over the shoulder kinds, or are the old fancy and delicate pinafores. To me, they are important “pieces of the past.”

Patricia Cummings

There is no textile more “shrouded” in mystery than the Turin Shroud, a 14′ x 4′ piece of linen believed to have been used to wrap the body of Christ, after the crucifixion. The woven cloth has been subjected to scientific tests as sindonologists (those who study the shroud) have sought to prove validity of the claim, or to disprove it, once and for all.

A book in my library is called, The Rape of the Turin Shroud by William Meacham (Lulu, 2005). The author is an archeaologist at the University of Hong Kong who claims that scientific investigations have all but ruined the Christian relic.

On Easter Saturday, the British Broadcasting Company will present a program that discusses recent findings and how the textile has been recently photographed in “high definition” for the first time. This sounds like a fascinating presentation. One can only hope that those of us “across the pond” will be able to view the show sometime.

For more information, see an article by Rossella Lorenzi, Discovery News: http://tinyurl.com/3yeuk3 and, for a brief book review, visit: http://www.quiltersmuse.com/more_book_reviews.htm

If you “google” the “Discovery Channel” and key in the search words, “Turin Shroud,” you will be able to view video clips from a professor who has studied this topic extensively and hear about some of his astounding discoveries.

Patricia Cummings