Episode 449: Why You Should Be Adding Quilt Labels to Every Quilt
Listen to the show in the player at the end of this post.
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Why You Should Be Adding Quilt Labels to Every Quilt
Alison Gamm, the designer of Quilts & More, shares this story: "When I first started quilting, my grandmother told me several times to ALWAYS label my quilts. We are fortunate to have some beautiful quilts in our family that date back to the mid-1800s. The whole reason we know that the quilts date back this far, is because the quiltmaker stitched her name and the date into the quilts. While we can't be sure how long our quilts will be around, it's a good idea to label them so that people who come after you can get to know you a little bit better."
Quilting Changes Everything with Alison
Alison shares a few stories of quilters making a difference in their communities. The first story comes from Post Bulletin out of Minnesota. Members of the Fairway Ridge Cooperative's Sew What group are making Minnesota-shaped pillows to give to patients staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Rochester. For many patients this time of year, holidays are filled with doctor visits, treatments, and procedures. This group of over 15 volunteers is making sure that these individuals are comforted during the holiday season. In addition to giving out the pillows, the group also helped serve dinner to the residents at the House.
The second story comes from WHOtv, and takes place in Gilbert, Iowa. The 3 Sisters Non-Profit sews ponchos to give to infants, individuals who are wheelchair-bound, and cancer patients. So far, the sisters have donated over 1,000 items since they started on this mission 3 years ago. They have donated to 24 states and 6 different countries. In addition to making ponchos to donate, they also sell ponchos in order to raise money to pay for the materials. You can find out more about the 3 Sisters and how to donate here.
My Cherished Quilt
Jody Sanders, the editor of American Patchwork & Quilting, shares the story of her most cherish quilt, which was made by her great Aunt Gertrude Vial for her parents wedding in 1962. You'll love listening in to this heartwarming story.
We will be featuring more My Most Cherished quilts as a regular column on the last page of each issue of American Patchwork & Quilting and would love for you to share your most cherished quilt on Instagram and tag it with #mycherishedquilt.
Collector's Corner with Jody
Jody shares information about vintage needle books. Most were made with paper and featured colorful graphics. They typically folded and in the center were a variety of needles and sometimes a needle threader. As a collector, there are certain genres to look for:
- Grocery stores (Alpha Beta, Hinky Dinky, Safeway, Vons, SuperValu, Kroger, Red Owl, and Piggly Wiggly are a few examples).
- Some were political, such as a Herbert Hoover/Charles Curtis needle book supporting GOP candidates in 1928.
- During the 1950s, travel theme was popular showcasing railway, ships, airplanes, motorcycles, and rocket ships.
- Advertising their products were insurance companies, diaries, coffee, paint, Kellogg's cereals, Virginia Slims cigarettes, and Lipton tea.
- Some have women with other groups of women sewing together (Sewing Susan, Happy Home, Lovely Lady, and Sew & Stitch are examples).
Getting Sewcial with Jess
On today's show, Jess Zeigler of Threaded Quilting Studio chats with Brittany Lloyd of Lo & Behold Stitchery. Brittany is a modern quilter and pattern designer from Raleigh, North Carolina. When her grandmother Lois passed in 2013, Brittany inherited Lois' vintage sewing machine. On this show, she talks about how that started her on a quilting journey and how she's honoring Lois' memory through her own quilts. (First Gift and Model Farm are the first patterns in a series based on Lois' quilts.)
