The Jailhouse

[philozarton]

Well, I'm getting all of the information together regarding a "Jailhouse Quilting Bee". All who want to join just raise your hand. Here is some history on Quilting that I'm sure you'll enjoy.
Phreezing Philo of the Nord

America's Quilting History
Quilting: Gathering Around the Frame
~ women quilting together and the quilt frames they used ~
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Colonial Women
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Friendship Quilts
Abolitionist Quilts
Civil War Quilts
Pioneer Quilts
Crazy Quilts
Charm Quilts
Tobacco Premiums
Redwork Embroidery
Pieced Quilts
Hand Quilting
Bereavement Quilts
Depression Era Quilts
Mid 20th Century
Amish Quilts
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Quilting History



FEATURING
Quilting History

The most romantic view of a quilting bee is that of the quilting party. Old books and stories tell of neighbors all being invited to a quilting. The women would quilt all day, perhaps taking turns around the frame while others cooked up the grand meal that would be served to the menfolk that evening. Then it was a time for singing, dancing and courting among the young people. The song "Aunt Dinah's Quilting Party" tells of a couple strolling home after such a party. Although such gatherings did occur it is hard to get the facts beyond the idealized image. Fiction written in the mid nineteenth century puts such parties as early as 1800 but it is more likely they began to occur later in the century.

Many a quilting or quilting bee included only women helping a friend or neighbor finish a quilt. Such a feminine gathering would be a great way for women to get together to socialize. Women could share family news, exchange recipes, give child-rearing tips and all in all support each other. It has been said that next to church going quilting bees were the primary contact for women. But even this view has been romanticized a bit.

The hitch in the commonly held view of a quilting bee is that some women were far more skilled quilters than others. It didn't matter so much if an everyday quilt was being quilted but if a woman had made a truly special top she would want to be sure it was quilted with quality work. Because of this some quilting bees were a bit exclusive. In these cases being skilled at quilting would be a social asset. At the most seven women plus the hostess could comfortably sit around the quilting frame. Why not invite the best? Some women even prided in completely quilting their own quilts, not trusting any hands but their own.

Other times the goal of a quilting bee was mainly social and beginners were welcomed along with the experienced. A fun example of this was when young women would gather to help a bride-to-be finish her quilts before she married. What joyous social events these would have been.

In isolated regions gathering women in the area together helped overcome the loneliness that so many pioneer women experienced. Often these women often didn't have a big house with a parlor for quilting. A southwestern woman reminisces, "One day a week, when the neighbors came to quilt, my brother would take the bed in Mama's room down to the kitchen and put up the frame for that day. It was quite a job but he never minded. There were no more than four women working because there was no room for more."*

So when we imagine women quilting together we can visualize many different settings. In my family's experience my husband's grandmother always had a quilt frame up in the parlor and sometimes others came to quilt but she did a great deal of quilting on her own as well. My great grandmother was quite sociable and my mother remembers her quilt frame as being a center of the community where women often gathered to quilt.

Of course the most essential piece of equipment for hand quilting was the quilting frame. These frames were another example of ingenuity on the part of our ancestors for one type of frame did not fit all situations.

A typical quilting frame consisted of four sturdy lengths of wood. Two strips long enough to hold at least the width of a quilt would have heavy cloth attached along the length. The ends of the quilt would be basted or pinned to this cloth. The other two pieces of wood would hold the first two apart so that the ends of the quilt could be rolled tightly leaving a nice firm area for the quilters to do their stitching. When one section was completed the quilt could be rolled presenting a new section to be quilted.

Frequently four chairs, often ladder-back chairs, were used to prop the frame up to a comfortable level for the quilters. Some frames were even built with a stand on each end so that chairs would not be required. Quilting frames were handmade until sometime in the first part of the 20th century when mail order companies began to sell quilt frames commercially. Even then the sturdy home made frames were preferred.

In houses large enough to have a parlor or even a spare bedroom a frame could be left up over time as the women of the house completed a quilt. In some homes the quilting frame was left up permanently. A room that could be warmed by a fireplace in winter was ideal. A home with a fine frame and plenty of room to set it up often became a center for neighborly quilting.

Such a setting wasn't possible for everyone. Many homes were too small. Not all of our ancestors could afford a big house and westward settlers usually started out living in a log house or even a dug out. This didn't deter women from their love of quilting. Although one or two women could manage to quilt on a frame propped between furniture in a crowded room there was another innovative solution. Quilt frames were rigged up so that the frame could be dropped down from the ceiling while quilting was in progress than lifted again to get it out of the way. Some such arrangements dropped over a bed so that a woman could work on the quilt during the day then leave it on the frame to be raised above the bed during the night.

Quilting frames could easily be moved from place to place. A screened porch was a pleasant spot for quilting in the warm weather. One delightful story found in "The Quilters, Women and Domestic Art an Oral History" relates how a young woman's father set up her frame under a nice arbor of brush. She spent several weeks quilting outdoors under that arbor. A young man finally got up the nerve to go over to see what she was working on. Sure enough, it wasn't long before he married her.

~ the role of Black Americans in the history of quilting ~
Quilt History Articles
History Facts vs Myths
Quilting Book Reviews
Quilt History Links
Tips for Students


Visit our "Quilted
History Bookstore"

Colonial Women
Whole Cloth Quilts
Chintz Appliqué
Album Quilts
Friendship Quilts
Abolitionist Quilts
Civil War Quilts
Pioneer Quilts
Crazy Quilts
Charm Quilts
Tobacco Premiums
Redwork Embroidery
Pieced Quilts
Hand Quilting
Bereavement Quilts
Depression Era Quilts
Mid 20th Century
Amish Quilts
Black American Quilts
Native American Quilts

Return to America's
Quilting History



FEATURING
African Qmerican Quilts
The history of African American women in quilting is almost as old as the history of America. Black slave women were needed for spinning, weaving, sewing and quilting on plantations and in other wealthy households. Although the quilt fabrics and patterns used were those of upper class whites, some black women became highly skilled in creating these quilts. Little time was left in the day for these slave women to do their own sewing. We know they must have made simple scrap quilts or other bed coverings for their families, but little is known about what they were like.

After the Civil War, many African American women went to work in households as domestics while others helped out on small farms. It was still a difficult life of working from dawn to dusk. Quilts were made for everyday use out of necessity. Scraps, discarded clothing, and feed sacks, were the materials used. In making "string quilts'" strips of various fabrics were sewn together. The result was then cut into blocks and made into a quilt. Sadly we have few examples of quilts made by African Americans during this period because of the heavy wear they received.

During the 1920s more and more African Americans began to move into the northern cities. One contributing factor was the boll weevil infestation that destroyed many farms in the south. Also industrialization created new opportunities for employment in the north. Most women found they had little time to quilt after a long day at their factory jobs. Later when they retired some re-discovered quilting. The city brought new opportunities for quilting through church and senior centers. Magazine patterns were also more available in the city. Over the years more and more African American women have had the opportunity to enjoy quilting for pleasure rather than necessity.

Some intriguing theories have been proposed that link African American women's quilting to their African roots. Strip construction, large-scale designs, strong contrasting colors and variations from symmetrical patterns all appear to reflect textile patterns found in parts of Africa. In studying the roots of African American quilting the difficulty lies in the fact that few documented quilts exist today

Story quilts, such as two examples of biblical story quilts made by Harriet Powers, leads us to wonder if many other such quilts were made by African American women. As Harriet Powers was born a slave in 1837, we might assume this art dates back some time. We do know this technique of creating a story with appliqué has been handed down through the generations and these folk quilts are still made by African American women today.

Quilt historians have found that, for the most part, black women made their quilts in the same styles that were popular with the general population during any given period. As quilters draw from a common history one cannot look at a quilt and easily identify the cultural background of the artist. There has always been a great deal overlapping in quilting styles among different communities and cultures.

To add to the confusion, economic status usually dictated the kinds of quilts made by women regardless of their cultural heritage. Poorer women have always had to make do with scraps and discarded clothing. White and black women alike found "string" quilting to be an efficient way to use this fabric.

Still it's hard to imagine that heritage hasn't had an impact on African American quilting. Surely their common experiences affected the taste of African American quilters in the past, and there is no doubt that black women today are making striking quilts that reflect African culture. Some of these quilts are based on the textiles found in Africa; others are made with traditional fabrics imported from Africa.

Overall we find that African American quilters today are eclectic in their approach, their quilts range from work with a strong African influence to those based on traditional quilting.

Friendship Quilts: Precious Remembrance
~ autographed quilts connecting dear friends ~

We've all signed autograph albums and their modern counterpart the school year book. But in the first half of the 1800s autograph albums reached a height of popularity unknown today. By 1820 many a parlor table was graced by an album where guests would sign their names along with inspirational phrases. By the 1830s magazines including the popular "Godey's Lady's Book" printed messages and poems to be written in autograph albums. If a person wasn't satisfied with their own handwriting they used a metal stencil or signature stamp.

By 1840 new indelible inks were available that did not damage cloth. It was only natural that women would then take the autograph album a step further and create autographed quilts. The inscriptions on the early quilts frequently included poetry and dedications while quilts made after the Civil War usually included only names and perhaps the city where the person lived. Embroidery was sometime used; early on tiny cross-stitching was in vogue but by the end of the nineteenth century the chain stitch was more common. Sometimes a single person with beautiful handwriting would inscribe all the signatures.

There are two distinct kinds of autograph quilts. Single pattern quilts are often referred to as "friendship quilts" while the more formal quilts made of different blocks are called "sampler album quilts". Although both carried on the same tradition of signed remembrances, they were quite different. Sampler album quilts were made up of several unique intricately pieced or appliquéd blocks. A friendship quilt usually consisted of a simple block that could be quickly made from fabric scraps.

Often signatures were written with indelible ink but they were sometimes embroidered. Occasionally a single person with beautiful handwriting would inscribe all the signatures.

Imagine living in a time when families were large and women worked hard all day. Much of what we buy without a thought today had to be produced at home. Social time with family and neighbors was a highlight in a woman's life. What could be more fun than gathering together to quilt? The top would already have been pieced and the layers put together on a frame. Everything would be ready for the women to add their fine stitching.

Occasionally the quilt would be a special one with signatures of friends and family. These friendship quilts served as a precious memory not only to women who stayed in one place all their life but also for those who moved on to hardships on westward lands. Frequently friends and relatives had only occasional letters to connect with each other. Many a lonely woman living out on an isolated homestead cherished her friendship quilt. It reminded her of the time when she lived among family and friends. In addition illness and war took a dear ones away forever. A name on a quilt became a precious remembrance of them.

We tend to visualize a woman making and signing her block to be later sewn together into a friendship quilt. Although this was a common practice there were other ways a friendship quilt could be created. Sometimes a single person collected bits of fabric from others making a block from each contribution then signing the block with that person's name. Many quilts included only names of women but others included the names of children and men as well.

These quilts were made with readily available fabrics or scraps of old clothing. The making of these quilts was in the reach of almost any women no matter her financial circumstances.

Friendship quilts took time collecting fabric or blocks from each person, piecing them and then quilting the layers. Individual blocks on a quilt may have been made over several years and sometimes they were not finished into a quilt until years later. No matter how they were made they all had the same purpose, to record memories of cherished friends and family members.


Quilts to Soften the Final Leave Taking
~ burial and mourning quilts, a history of comfort for grieving families ~

Before modern medicine death was all too familiar. Childbirth was dangerous and it was a rare mother who didn't lose one or more children. Husbands were lost through war or accident. There was little that could be done in the face of many diseases. We tend to hope that families were able to cope with these losses better than we do today. After all families of the past would have been so much more familiar with death. But old letters and diaries tell that the pain of grief is timeless.

Quilts could offer some small comfort in these times of grief. One elderly woman remembers her mother getting some precious blue silk out of her own hope chest when a neighbor's baby died. "Mama and three other women set up the frame and quilted all day. First they quilted the lining for the casket, and then they made a tiny little quilt out of the blue to cover the baby." 1 If there was no wood for a coffin as occurred at times when pioneers were traveling west, the deceased might have been wrapped in a quilt replacing to replace the coffin.

Quilts have also been used in the laying out of the deceased for viewing. Other times quilts were used to drape the coffin during the funeral service. The quilt used might have been a lovely family quilt or a special quilt owned by the church. In all these situations quilts served to convey a sense of comfort and when family quilts were used a sense of connection to the deceased's beloved family.

In the nineteenth-century Baltimore women made beautifully appliquéd album quilts. Some were made in memory of soldiers who died in the Mexican-American war. Diane Schweier Krail writes of a deathwatch quilt made by the women in a Baltimore area family. This elaborate album quilt was made over several months during the family patriarch's final illness. The author tells us this quilt displays many symbols of mourning, "Floral symbolism on the quilt includes laurel for eternity, acorns for immortality, and roses for the frailty of life..." 2

During the Victorian Era a deceased child may have been photographed so that family would have a picture to help them remember their lost little one. Such a picture might show the child in bed as if asleep under a beloved quilt. In many of these pictures the child is holding flowers or a favorite toy. Looking at the picture parents could imagine the child was simply sleeping, perhaps overseen by loving angels.

Another way quilts provided comfort for the grieving was through memorial quilts made to remember the deceased. Many such quilts contained bits of clothing that had belonged to the lost loved one. Sometimes the quilt was made in the form of a friendship quilt with inscriptions by friends and family. The very act of working on such a quilt would have been a healing activity for bereaved women. The finished quilt became a comforting memory.

Quilts made in the face of grief are not only a practice of the past. Numerous quilts were made in the wake of the tragedy of September 11, 2001 demonstrating that quilting in the face of death is still a comfort to many.

That's enough information for this morning, for the afternoon session, I will give you much more, and we may have a test for my third and final post of the day