World Wide Quilting Page
Question of the Week
Question for the week of June 19, 2000:
Our question this week comes from Bryan
Is it important to document your quilt? What needs to be
documented?
Patti :
PLEASE document your quilt with name and year, at least. I have quilts from my grandmothers and great grandmothers, but don't know when they were done, and after I'm gone, will anyone know who did them? I have even gotten confused myself as to whose is which. It really adds to the piece and ends disputes.
Susan :
I think it is very important. Even if you do something that you don't think will hold up through the years. We always have ladies bringing in old quilts that they've found at yard sales or shop hopping. We rarely have information the makers of these beautiful pieces of the past. At least put name, date, and your location. If I do a quilt from a swap I include the name of all the swappers (if available) and why that swap appealed to me...Yes, the labels can get a little wordy. Just my thoughts.
barbara higgason :
It's very important to document a quilt. A quilter is an artist and we all know painters/writers, etc. sign their work. Why not you. Dates, times and places leave a little bit of ourselves behind for other to ponder on. So sign/document away!!
Patricia in W NY :
May I offer a different viewpoint? I do sometimes quilt or embroider the name of the recipient and the special occasion (if any) for which the quilt was made.
But I do NOT sign or date my quilts, much less provide any other peripheral information, for the simple reason that I think the quilt itself -already- carries every message that I care about conveying. Without my having to write one single word, it already says "Here is something you can put on your bed or across your lap to keep you warm and give you something pleasant to look at", as well as "Somebody, at some point in time, someone probably not unlike yourself, had the whimsy to dream this quilt up and the fortitude to sit down and stitch it all together like you see here." ;-)
Yeah, sure, like everyone else I look at antique quilts and wonder about who made them and why and in what circumstances... but to me, it is perfectly -appropriate- that we should wonder (rather than know) about those things. To me, a quilt shouldn't be meant as a footnote to its maker's autobiography, nor a Cliff's Notes for some hypothetical trivia-fixated future historian. A quilt is a thing complete in and of itself, and I send it out into the world for people to enjoy on -its own- terms.
Who cares if anyone remembers ME. As long as someone likes looking at the quilt or wrapping it across their knees on a cold night, then I figure the quilt is doing its job just fine on its own. You know what I mean? ;-)
Eve :
I like to do scrap quilts.
I take a picture of the quilt, put numbers on the picture and write about the fabrics and tell about them. Like who's dress, shirt, or what was special, like where it was worn. I include pictures of family (iron on transfers on some of the scraps. Family loves them. Then I send an 8 x 10 with printed on my computer with the gift of the quilt. I especially like the old English one piece method. It looks like stained glass when I am through.
anthony :
Documentation is very important. Probably most important to future quilt historians will be: ame of quilter, City & State, and year completed. Of course, the more information you can ad, the more complete the historical record.As an aside, I ask all my students to sign their work on the front. Yes, the front. Realize that you are creating a work of art and Picaso never hid his signature on the back. MAny, many, antique quilts have the maker's name embroidered or appliqueed onto the front.
Of course, since embroidery is all but a dead art, I suggest using a permanent marker (they come in all colors), placing name, city, and year in a moderately inconspicious place. Some peopel will digitize and use their fancy machines to do the signature.
quiltmaker@bigfot.com
Charlene :
Sure it is important to document your quilt. Somewhere down the line it may still be in your family but they won't know anything about it. So put your name, who it was made for and what occasion you made it for, the type of material, batting and if you gave the quilt a name. As much information as you want. When you see quilts in museums they sometimes have a history for the quilt. All to often the old quilts no one knows who made them a why.
Liz Bakk :
The name of the quilt
the date it was made
who it was made for, if made for someone other than you
Donna Lederer :
Your name, the date it is made, the filling (ie: cotton, wool, polyester), and the story if there is one, and its name, again if there is one.
sandy :
Very important, it is a record of not only the quilt, but the quilter. I always put to whom the quilt was made, if it was made for a special occasion my name, city, state, date. I also take a picture of all of my quilts to keep in my own album for future reference
sewfmm@aol.com :
Its very important. A quilt is a part of history. It will be around long after the maker isn't. The maker(s) names should be listed, the date, who if anyone it was made for and for what occasion. Quilts are a reflection of our society--even if they are reproduction era quilts.
Christine :
I agree completely that documenting is a good idea. I am curious if most people actually stitch onto the back of the quilt or applique a separate label on the quilt back after it is put together?
WoodenSpools :
In addition to the many suggestions for documentation, as a vintage sewing machine collector, I would want to know what (if any) machine was used during the construction.
Ann K :
I am always curious to know about quilts I view, so I always document my quilts. I attach a label with the name of the quilt, my name, city, state, date completed, method(s) used, recipient's name, occasion for the quilt, and some commentary about why I chose the fabrics, the pattern, or what inspired the design. I also write washing instructions (because none of my recipients quilt). I believe quilts tell stories, and I record the story of my quilt on the label so the recipient knows what I am trying to convey with my gift. On many of my baby quilts, I write: "Babies are made with love and so are quilts. This quilt was made especially for (NAME) with love and happiness. I wish you an abundance of both in your life ahead." If you have the ability to express yourself in writing, do so on your label. But if you're not able to, or not comfortable doing so, at LEAST record your name and date and the recipient's name.
Mary Sanchez :
Absolutely! If you're giving it away, it's a reminder of who it was given to and from whom, as well as the method(s) used. If you're keeping it in the family, it's a permanent record of the year, the maker, the method(s). We owe it to our heritage, both personal and public, to document these things so that, years and years from now, someone will look at it and know what it was that we did at this time in history, and that quiltmaking is an art form that will never die out as long as people need a warm hug or a snuggle from a loving ancestor.
Elena :
I think I would document a quilt that is supposed to be a heirloom. If I think there is a chance the quilt might outlive me, yes. But if the quilt is going to be given to a baby or small child and you know it won't last, then why bother? I always do a date & name (hand-sewn onto the back) no matter what, but I will be more inclined to spend the effort to stitch my name, date, location, pattern, and anything else that may be appropriate.
Sandra Klouda :
Yes. I enter block name, quilt name if there is one, any inspiration about why or for whom quilt was made, year, and whatever I feel is important regarding its creation - such as who may have helped make or quilt it.
Linda B :
Yes, I just attended a quilt show that featured a "bed turning". Very old quilts put on display and they are turned one by one and each one is explained. One quilt was indeed dated and signed with other information. It was dated 1854, and whom it was given to and why. It sure made one feel united in history. I was very moved by this piece of history.
Ami :
I think quilts should be documented with at least the name of the maker and the date of completion. I ususally sew a label on mine with this info plus some other documentation. I like to put some design on the label to tie in to the front of the quilt. You never know what will happen to your quilt in the future and it will become part of history so it is good to document.
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