Quilt History Snippets - April 2025
Kathy Moore
What: Review of Uncoverings 1994, Volume 15 of the Research Papers of the American Quilt Study Group, edited by Virginia Gunn
Topic: “Aesthetics and Ethnicity: Scotch-Irish Quilts in West Virginia”
Author: Fawn Valentine
While participating in the West Virginia Heritage Quilt Search in 1992 the author noticed a “particular aesthetic or ‘look’” to some of the quilts brought to documentation events and estimated to have been made on or before 1940. The “prominent features” she noticed included 1) “blocks pieced in a repeating pattern but varied by changing figures/ground relationships and, at times, obscured by the use of same-value colors and adjacent print fabrics, 2) lack of contrasting borders, and 3) unified allover quilting pattern, typically the fans design, rows of concentric arcs.” She realized that these quilts embodied “an aesthetic reflecting Scotch-Irish social history—the perennial condition of living on the periphery of mainstream society both geographically and philosophically.” [p. 7]
Valentine provides a representative summary of the history of Scottish, Irish, and British history from about the seventeenth century and the immigration patterns of these groups to specific regions of the United States to help understand how she came to her conclusions. Her discussion includes cultural, religious, political, and ethnic influences on the cultural and aesthetic choices specific to the mix of groups involved. Using the standard material culture methodologies described by E. McClung Flemming and Jules David Prown, there are good descriptions of her analytical methods and charts to bolster her conclusions, although she notes that much of her conclusions are, of necessity, speculative in nature. Valentine notes, “To translate subjective impressions into quantified theory, I worked with both the visual information provided by the color slides of quilts and from the data recorded on documentation forms…”. She created a “set of visual characteristics” to help clarify what she thought she was seeing. [p. 20] Her report is a cogent explanation of her conclusions and how she reached them.
This is a well-researched and thoughtful report, extensively referenced with 46 endnotes. Given that many immigrants helped settle the Appalachian wilderness in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it might be interesting to see an expanded analysis of regional quilt aesthetics that include the work of Appalachian quilters as researched and described by Jeannette Lasansky and, possibly, others.
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What: Review of Uncoverings 1994, Volume 15 of the Research Papers of the American Quilt Study Group, edited by Virginia Gunn Topic: “Weaving Cloth and Marketing Nostalgia Clinch Valley Blanket Mills, 1890-1950” Author: Kathleen Curtis Wilson While it is not about quilting, this article provides revealing background information on industrialized production of woven coverlets during the first half of the twentieth century. In particular, the use of clever marketing techniques and the influence of those techniques on the buying public. Interestingly enough, there is an unintended parallel, to some degree, to the later development of the fallacious but widespread belief system regarding quilts and the underground railroad which was established by the book Hidden in Plain View (HIPV). It makes for some very interesting reading. Wilson begins her report noting that the company, the Clinch Valley Blanket Mills, “served as model of clever marketing, crafts revival, and quality workmanship” and that its “story reveals an interesting aspect of the Arts and Crafts Revival in Southern Appalachia.” Notably, the owners, “the Goodwin family capitalized on the demand for colonial style textiles to successfully sell products in distinctly different markets, influencing the public’s attitude toward Appalachian weaving for over sixty years.” [p. 169] Wilson takes time to explain and describe economic and cultural conditions in the region during the time this company was functioning. It took place in an “extremely remote and rural” area of the American Southern Highlands. Communities were very small, oftentimes with fewer than 2,500 people. Education was minimal and good paying jobs were not commonly available. Hand quilting, spinning, dyeing, and weaving of most domestic textiles including woven coverlets were done at home. As Wilson notes, “Coverlet weaving was an art expression that took considerable time and talent to accomplish and Appalachian women never stopped weaving for their families, as did women in other parts of the country.” [p. 170; Wilson cites her sources of information and research funding with this statement.] By way of explaining why this weaving activity among Appalachian women was not commonly known and reported upon, Wilson posits that because weaving was not a social activity, editors of popular magazines and journals were not interested in publishing articles about coverlet weaving. [p. 171] Helpfully, Wilson also discusses the development of the Arts and Crafts movement in Appalachia. She drops names like “social reformers and surveyors…John C. and Edith Dame Campbell and Allen Eaton” who “worked for the Russell Sage Foundation, founded in 1909 and instrumental in supporting the development of an indigenous Arts and Crafts movement in Appalachia” which defined the mountain crafts revival and developed sales markets beyond the local level.” [p. 171] Wilson asserts that it was this activity that “generated interest in and sales of ‘Colonial Reproduction’ coverlets, products which became the foundation of the Clinch Valley Blanket Mills and the communities that supported and relied upon the mills for economic and social support for approximately sixty years. What follows is a fascinating tale of how the blanket mill became a remarkable success story using textile production expertise as well as perceptive and intuitive marketing prowess within a family which included father and four sons as well as sisters and wives. They did it all in a hands-on, hard-work manner working alongside their neighbors, friends, and employees during an international economic depression and world war. In the process they provided work for people who had very little else to rely upon. They supported their local communities in ways outsiders could not or would not. There is also note taken of fact that there was significant deception involved in their marketing, or as Wilson says, “…the mill’s marketing distracted the buying public.” [p. 194] Wilson explains and describes how this came about noting, “while marketing colonial-style coverlets was based on nostalgia, much of [what was marketed as hand] weaving had become factory production.” [p. 197] Where I believe Wilson’s thesis intersects with our more recent HIPV controversy is her statement that, “The Goodwin family members successfully sold their products in distinctly different markets and influenced the attitude many ‘outlanders’ still have toward Virginia mountain weavers. Their innate marketing skill was masterful and, at times, deceptive; but successful marketing, then and now, is based on perception.” So it was with codes in the quilts, a myth we are still trying to debunk. There are good black and white images to illustrate woven coverlet patterns and a generous endnotes section at the end of this report. I recommend it to everyone even if you have only a glancing interest in woven coverlets. Best wishes and safe travels. See y’all in Maine at Seminar.
What: Review of Uncoverings 1994, Volume 15 of the Research Papers of the American Quilt Study Group, edited by Virginia Gunn Topic: “Kit Quilts in Perspective” Author: Anne Copeland and Beverly Dunivent Copeland and Dunivent, from the outset, declare their intent to dispel the “negative images” imposed upon the role of kit quilts in the history of American quiltmaking. Indeed, they declare, “Documented examples illustrate that kit quilts have never lost their appeal to quiltmakers and quilt viewers.” Furthermore, they claim that “kits seem to have played a more instrumental role in the entire quilt revival and the continued interest in quiltmaking than has been previously recognized.” [p. 141] And, they suggest the evidence suggests that kits “have been in existence since the turn of the century.” [p. 142] Their source for this declaration is Quilters Hall of Fame inductee, Cuesta Benberry. Given that information they then note that in the 1920s and 1930s the characteristics of kit quilts that most of us are familiar with became standardized. There follows descriptions of the range of styles, materials, and markings commonly found in manufactured kits. These included stamped fabrics representing the various parts and pieces, die-cut parts and pieces, embroidered kits, and trapunto-style whole-cloth kits. [p. 142-144] Some commentators are quoted declaring the “uncreative aspects of quilt kits.” [p. 145-147] Among these were contemporary art historians Penny McMorris and Michael Kile, and New York quilt dealers Thomas K. Woodard and Blanche Greenstein. The involvement of Dorothymae and Harold Groves, “prominent” Kansas City, MO, dealers” and publishers of quilt patterns and quilt show organizers, is briefly mentioned. [p. 147] The Groves’s involvement over many years of our contemporary quilt revival deserves more research and reporting. It was significant, particularly in the geographic and culturally broad middle America. One aspect of the popularity of kit quilts I’d not thought about is that the production of the kits “represented twentieth-century technology during a time in our culture when the assembly line was popular and there was little prejudice against repetitiveness.” Furthermore, some kit quilt patterns were described and published in commercial print materials like the book Great American Quilts and popular magazines. [p. 148] Designers and sources of quilt patterns and materials are listed and described in detail along with dates, locations, and their company histories. There are names you will recognize and some you may not have known about. Also, there is discussion about how kit quilts served as a training ground for beginner quilters. This would have been a previously unacknowledged, but significant contribution to the continuation of the quilt-making activities among American women across all classes into and through the twentieth century. It seems possible that quilt kits contributed significantly to the democratization of quilt-making in America in an era when nineteenth century practices were fading or being lost to modern women for whom homemaking was no longer the primary focus of their daily lives, especially during and after WWII in mid-century. This is a thought-provoking and resource rich article that should be on all reference lists for quilt historians. I hope you enjoy reading it and learning as much from it as I did.
What: Review of Uncoverings 1994, Volume 15 of the Research Papers of the American Quilt Study Group, edited by Virginia Gunn Topic: “A Literary Patchwork Crazy Quilt: Toni Morrison’s Beloved” Author: Sunny Falling-rain This month’s review covers an unusual approach to quilt history combined with a unique approach to literature review. The author, Sunny Falling-rain, according to the results of a quick internet search, is/was a quiltmaker and designer. At the time of its writing, she held a B.A. in English from the University of California at Davis and was serving as Head of Interlibrary Loan at the UC-Davis Carlson Health Sciences Library. She also a decade of experience as a public school teacher. It is Ms. Falling-rain’s perspective that Morrison “gave the novel the qualities and the power of the quilt to warm and to comfort and to remind us of our roots—to form connections to others and to the past.” [p. 111] Very early in her narrative and looking for the structure of the story, Falling-rain refers to Beloved as “a literary patchwork crazy quilt” and she declares that “Every component of the crazy quilt has a counterpart in the novel.” [p. 112] During the rest of this article the terms “crazy quilts” and “crazy patchwork quilts” are used interchangeably. The basic story of Beloved comes from real events in which an escaped slave woman gruesomely killed her toddler daughter to prevent her from being taken into slavery in 1855. In the novel, the ghost of the deceased child reveals herself to the books main character, Sethe, and calls herself Beloved. The rest of the story includes Sethe’s other children and other colorful characters with colorful names. Craziness becomes a word used throughout the novel to describe insanity as well as the physical characteristics of a crazy quilt. It gets complicated! The novel’s narrative is described in enough detail to understand the plot and its relationship to both patchwork and crazy quilts. The various elements of crazy quilts are discussed in their relationship to the novel’s theme including several sources for the use of the term “crazy quilt.” Foundation piecing, color, imagery and embroidery of animals and flowers, the variety of fabrics used, and stitches used are all discussed and described in all their relationships to each other. Ultimately the author, Falling-rain, finds a conclusion that includes the fragmentation of lives—and remembering and reframing of them—as the same as is the role of the crazy patchwork quilt in the lives of the quiltmakers and the study of quilt history. Ultimately, Falling-rain notes “The novel as quilt enables the author to lay to rest an otherwise unspeakable story about an incident and a period of American history that does not rest well.” [p. 137] Amen to that.