Quilts Part 9

[Ill.u.s.tration: QUILTS ON A LINE]

[Ill.u.s.tration: GRAPES AND VINES]

In addition to the pleasures and social diversions which that annual rural festival--the county fair--affords, it is an educational force that is not sufficiently appreciated by those who live beyond the reach of its spell. At best, country life contains long stretches of monotony, and any interest with which it can be relieved is a most welcome addition to the lives of the women in rural communities. At the fair women are touched to new thoughts on common themes. They come to meet each other and talk over the latest kinks in jelly making, the progress of their children, and similar details of their family affairs. They come to get standards of living and to gather ideas of home decoration and entertainment for the long evenings when intercourse, even with the neighbours, becomes infrequent.

There is not the least doubt concerning the beneficial influence of the local annual fair on the life of the adjacent neighbourhood. At such a fair the presence of a varied and well-arranged display of needlework, which has been produced by the womenfolk, is of the greatest a.s.sistance in making the community one in which it is worth while to live. Not only does it serve as a stimulus to those who look forward to the fair and put into their art the very best of their ability in order that they may surpa.s.s their compet.i.tor next door, but it also serves as an inspiration to those who are denied the faculty of creating original designs, yet nevertheless take keen pleasure in the production of beautiful needlework. It is to this latter cla.s.s that an exhibition of quilts is of real value, because it provides them with new patterns that can be applied to the quilts which must be made. With fresh ideas for their inspiration, work which would otherwise be tedious becomes a real pleasure.

For the women of the farm the exhibit of domestic arts and products occupies the preeminent place at the county fair. In this exhibit the display of patchwork is sure to arouse the liveliest enthusiasm. A visitor at a fair in a western state very neatly describes this appreciation shown to quilts: "We used to hear a great deal about the sad and lonely fate of the western farmer's wife, but there was little evidence of loneliness in the appearance of these women who surrounded the quilts and fancywork in the Domestic Arts Building."

In connection with the display of needlework at rural fairs, it is interesting to note how ancient is this custom. In the "Social History of Ancient Ireland" is the following description of an Irish fair held during the fourth century--long before the advent of St. Patrick and Christianity: "The people of Leinster every three years during the first week of August held the 'Fair of Carman.' Great ceremony and formality attended this event, the King of Leinster and his court officiating. Music formed a prominent part of the amus.e.m.e.nt. One day was set apart for recitation of poems and romantic tales, another for horse and chariot racing. In another part of the Fair people indulged in uproarious fun, crowded around showmen, jugglers, clowns with painted faces or hideously grotesqued masks. Prizes publicly presented by King or dignitary were given to winners of various contests.

Needlework was represented by 'the slope of the embroidering women,'

where women actually did their work in the presence of spectators."

A very important factor in the recent revival of interest in quilts has been the springing up of impromptu exhibits as "benefits" for worthy causes, the raising of funds for which is a matter of popular interest. Does a church need a new roof, a hospital some more furnishings, or a college a new building? And have all the usual methods of raising money become hackneyed and uninspiring to those interested in furthering the project? To those confronted with such a money-raising problem the quilt exhibition offers a most welcome solution. For not only does such an exhibition offer a new form of entertainment, but it also has sources of interesting material from which to draw that are far richer than commonly supposed.

Not so very long ago "The Country Contributor" undertook the task of giving a quilt show, and her description of it is distinctly worth while:

"My ideas were a bit vague. I had a mental picture of some beautiful quilts I knew of hung against a wall somewhere for people to come and look at and wonder over. So we announced the quilt show and then went on our way rejoicing. A good-natured school board allowed us to have the auditorium at the high school building for the display and the quilt agitation began.

[Ill.u.s.tration: AS GOLDEN b.u.t.tERFLIES AND PANSIES

Are so often playmates of little ones in the garden, and beloved by them, they were chosen for the motifs of this child's quilt]

"A day or two before the show, which was to be on a Sat.u.r.day, it began to dawn upon me that I might be buried under an avalanche of quilts.

The old ones were terribly large. They were made to cover a fat feather bed or two and to hang down to hide the trundle bed underneath, and, though the interlining of cotton was very thin and even, still the weight of a quilt made by one's grandmother is considerable.

"We betook ourselves to the school building at an early hour on Sat.u.r.day morning and the fun began. We were to receive entries until one o'clock, when the exhibition was to begin.

"In looking back now at this little event, I wonder we could have been so benighted as to imagine we could do it in a day! After about an hour, during which the quilts came in by the dozen, I sent in a general alarm to friends and kindred for help. We engaged a carpenter, strung up wires and ropes, and by some magic of desperation we got those quilts on display, 118 of them, by one o'clock.

"One lovely feature of this quilt show was the reverence with which men brought to us the quilts their mothers made. Plain farmers, busy workers, retired business men, came to us, their faces softened to tenderness, handed us, with mingled pride and devotion, their big bundle containing a contribution to the display, saying in softened accents, 'My mother made it.' And each and every quilt brought thus was worthy of a price on its real merit--not for its hallowed a.s.sociation alone.

"Time and s.p.a.ce would fail if I should try to tell about the quilts that came in at our call for an exhibition. There were so many prize quilts (fully two thirds of the quilts entered deserved prizes) that it is difficult to say what finally decided the blue ribbon. However, the quilt which finally carried it away was fairly typical of those of the early part of the nineteenth century. A rose pattern was applied in coloured calicoes on each alternate block. The geometrical calculation, the miraculous neatness of this work, can scarcely be exaggerated. But this is not the wonder of the thing. The real wonder is the quilting. This consisted in copying the design, petal for petal, leaf for leaf, in needlework upon every alternate block of white muslin. How these workers accomplished the raised designs on plain white muslin is the mystery. How raised flowers, leaves, plumes, baskets, bunches of fruit, even animal and bird shapes, could be shown in bas-relief on these quilt blocks without hopelessly 'puckering'

the material, none of us can imagine."

No other inspiration that can equal our fairs has been offered to the quilters of our day. Public recognition of good work and the premiums which accompany this recognition augment the desire to excel in the art of quilt making. The keen compet.i.tion engendered results in the most exact and painstaking work possible being put upon quilts that are entered for the "blue ribbon." The materials, designs, and colours chosen for these quilts are given the most careful consideration, and the st.i.tchery is as nearly perfect as it is possible to make it.

Some of the finest old quilts that have been preserved are repeatedly exhibited at county and state fairs, and have more than held their own with those made in recent years. One shown at an exhibition of quilts and coverlets, held in a city in southern Indiana in 1914, had been awarded the first premium at thirty-seven different fairs. This renowned and venerable quilt had been made more than seventy-five years before. Its design is the familiar one known as the "Rose of Sharon"; both the needlework on the design and the quilting are exquisite, the st.i.tches being all but invisible.

A striking instance of the influence of fairs upon quilt making is shown in the number of beautiful quilts that have been made expressly for display in exhibitions at state fairs in the Middle West. One such collection, worthy of special notice, consists of seven quilts: three of elaborate designs in patchwork and four made up of infinitesimal pieces. Every st.i.tch, both on the handsome tops and in the perfect quilting, was wrought with careful patience by an old-time quilt maker. The aggregate amount of st.i.tching upon these seven quilts seems enough to const.i.tute the work of a lifetime. The material in these quilts, except one which is of silk, is fine white muslin and the reliable coloured calicoes of fifty years ago.

This extraordinary and beautiful collection is now being carefully preserved by an appreciative daughter, who tells how it was possible for her mother to accomplish this great task of needlework. The maker was the wife of a busy and prosperous farmer of northern Indiana. As on all farms in that region during the pioneer days, the home was the centre of manufacture of those various articles necessary to the welfare and comfort of the family. This indulgent farmer, realizing that his wife's quilt making was work of a higher plane than routine housekeeping, employed two stout daughters of a less fortunate neighbour to relieve her of the heavier household duties. Such work that required her direct supervision, as jelly making and fruit canning, was done in the evenings. This allowed the ambitious little woman ample time to pursue her art during the bright clear hours of daylight.

Belonging to the collections of individuals are many old quilts which possess more than ordinary interest, not so much on account of their beauty or unusual patterns, but because of their connection with some notable personage or historic event. The number of quilts which are never used, but which are most carefully treasured by their owners on account of some sentimental or historic a.s.sociation, is far greater than generally supposed. While most of the old quilts so jealously hidden in closet and linen chest have no extraordinary beauty, yet from time to time there comes into notice one which possesses--in addition to its interesting connection with the past--an exquisite and mellow beauty which only tasteful design enhanced by age can give.

Quite often beautiful quilts are found in old trunks and bureaus, which have gathered dust for untold years in attics and storerooms.

Opportunities to ransack old garrets are greatly appreciated by collectors, as the uncertainty of what may be found gives zest to their search. It was of such old treasure trove that the hangings were found to make what Harriet Beecher Stowe in her novel, "The Minister's Wooing," calls "the garret boudoir." This was a cozy little enclosure made by hanging up old quilts, blankets, and coverlets so as to close off one corner of the garret. Her description of an old quilt used in this connection is especially interesting. It "was a bed quilt pieced in tiny blocks, none of them bigger than a sixpence, containing, as Mrs. Katy said, pieces of the gowns of all her grandmothers, aunts, cousins, and female relatives for years back; and mated to it was one of the blankets which had served Mrs. Scudder's uncle in his bivouac at Valley Forge."

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE "SNOWFLAKE" QUILT DESIGN

Brings to one's imagination the sharp-pointed, glistening snowflakes against a background of blue sky.

The quilting in fine st.i.tches simulates the applied pattern, and the border suggests drifts of snow as one sees them after a winter's storm]

To view the real impromptu exhibitions of quilts--for which, by the way, no admission fee is charged--one should drive along any country road on a bright sunny day in early spring. It is at this time that the household bedding is given its annual airing, and consequently long lines hung with quilts are frequent and interesting sights. During this periodical airing there becomes apparent a seemingly close alliance between patchwork and nature, as upon the soft green background of new leaves the beauty of the quilts is thrown into greater prominence. All the colours of the rainbow can be seen in the many varieties of design, for there is not a line that does not bear a startling "Lone Star of Texas," "Rising Sun," or some equally attractive pattern. Gentle breezes stir the quilts so that their designs and colours gain in beauty as they slowly wave to and fro.

When the apple, cherry, and peach trees put on their new spring dresses of delicate blossoms and stand in graceful groups in the background, then the picture becomes even more charming.

This periodical airing spreads from neighbour to neighbour, and as one sunny day follows another all the clothes lines become weighted with burdens of brightest hues. Of course, there is no rivalry between owners, or no unworthy desire to show off, yet, have you ever seen a line full of quilts hung wrong side out? It has been suggested that at an exhibition is the logical place to see quilts bloom. Yet, while it is a rare chance to see quilts of all kinds and in all states of preservation, yet it is much like ma.s.sing our wild Sweet Williams, Spring Beauties, and Violets in a crowded greenhouse. They bravely do their best, but you can fairly see them gasping for the fresh, free air of their woodland homes. A quilt hung on a clothes line in the dooryard and idly flapping in the wind receives twice the appreciation given one which is sedately folded across a wire with many others in a crowded, jealous row.

CHAPTER VIII

THE QUILT'S PLACE IN AMERICAN HOMES

The dominant characteristics of quilt making are companionship and concentrated interest. Both of these qualities, or--better yet--virtues, must be in evidence in order to bring a quilt to successful completion. The sociable, gossipy "quilting bee," where the quilt is put together and quilted, has planted in every community in which it is an inst.i.tution the seeds of numberless lifelong friendships. These friendships are being made over the quilting frames to-day just as they were in the pioneer times when a "quilting" was almost the only social diversion. Content with life, fixity of purpose, development of individuality, all are brought forth in every woman who plans and pieces a quilt. The reward of her work lies, not only in the pleasure of doing, but also in the joy of possession--which can be pa.s.sed on even to future generations, for a well-made quilt is a lasting treasure.

All this is quite apart from the strictly useful functions which quilts perform so creditably in every home, for quilts are useful as well as artistic. In summer nights they are the ideal emergency covering for the cool hour before dawn, or after a rapid drop in temperature, caused by a pa.s.sing thunderstorm. But in the long chill nights of winter, when the snow sifts in through the partly raised window and all mankind snuggles deeper into the bed clothes, then all quilts may be truly said to do their duty. And right well they do it, too, as all those who love to linger within their cozy shelter on frosty December mornings will testify.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE DOGWOOD QUILT

Offers another choice in flower designs. The full-grown blossoms on the green background remind us of the beauty of trees and flowers in early spring]

As a promoter of good-will and neighbourly interest during the times when our new country was being settled, and woman's social intercourse was very limited, the "quilting bee" holds a worthy place close beside the meeting-house. The feeling of cooperation so noticeable in all men and growing communities, and which is really essential for their success, is aptly described in the old "Annals of Tennessee,"

published by Dr. J. G. M. Ramsey in 1853 ("Dedicated to the surviving pioneers of Tennessee"):

"To say of one he has no neighbours was sufficient, in those times of mutual wants and mutual benefactions, to make the churl infamous and execrable. A failure to ask a neighbour to a raising, clearing, a chopping frolic, or his family to a quilting, was considered a high indignity; such an one, too, as required to be explained or atoned for at the next muster or county court. Each settler was not only willing but desirous to contribute his share to the general comfort and public improvement, and felt aggrieved and insulted if the opportunity to do so were withheld. 'It is a poor dog that is not worth whistling for,'

replied the indignant neighbour who was allowed to remain at home, at his own work, while a house raising was going on in the neighbourhood.

'What injury have I done that I am slighted so?'"

Quilts occupied a preeminent place in the rural social scheme, and the quilting bees were one of the few social diversions afforded outside of the church. Much drudgery was lightened by the joyful antic.i.p.ation of a neighbourhood quilting bee. The preparations for such an important event were often quite elaborate. As a form of entertainment quilting bees have stood the test of time, and from colonial days down to the present have furnished much pleasure in country communities.

In a quaint little book published in 1872 by Mrs. P. G. Gibbons, under the t.i.tle, "Pennsylvania Dutch," is a detailed description of a country quilting that Mrs. Gibbons attended. The exact date of this social affair is not given, but judging from other closely related incidents mentioned by the writer, it must have taken place about 1840, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The account reads as follows:

"Aunt Sally had her quilt up in her landlord's east room, for her own was too small. However, at about eleven she called us over to dinner, for people who have breakfasted at five or six have an appet.i.te at eleven.

"We found on the table beefsteaks, boiled pork, sweet potatoes, 'Kohl-slaw,' pickled cuc.u.mbers and red beets, apple b.u.t.ter and preserved peaches, pumpkin and apple pie, sponge cake and coffee.

After dinner came our next neighbours, 'the maids,' Susy and Katy Groff, who live in single blessedness and great neatness. They wore pretty, clear-starched Mennonist caps, very plain. Katy is a sweet-looking woman and, although she is more than sixty years old, her forehead is almost unwrinkled, and her fine hair is still brown.

It was late when the farmer's wife came--three o'clock; for she had been to Lancaster. She wore hoops and was of the 'world's people.'

These women all spoke 'Dutch,' for the maids, whose ancestors came here probably one hundred and fifty years ago, do not speak English with fluency yet.

"The first subject of conversation was the fall house-cleaning; and I heard mention of 'die carpett hinaus an der fence' and 'die fenshter und die porch,' and the exclamation, 'My goodness, es was schlimm.' I quilted faster than Katy Groff, who showed me her hands, and said, 'You have not been corn husking, as I have.'

"So we quilted and rolled, talked and laughed, got one quilt done, and put in another. The work was not fine; we laid it out by chalking around a small plate. Aunt Sally's desire was rather to get her quilting finished upon this great occasion than for us to put in a quant.i.ty of fine needlework. About five o'clock we were called to supper. I need not tell you all the particulars of this plentiful meal; but the stewed chicken was tender and we had coffee again.

"Polly M's husband now came over the creek in the boat, to take her home, and he warned her against the evening dampness. The rest of us quilted a while by candles, and got the second quilt done at about seven. At this quilting there was little gossip, and less scandal. I displayed my new alpaca and my dyed merino and the Philadelphia bonnet which exposes the back of my head to the wintry blast. Polly, for her part, preferred a black silk sunbonnet; and so we parted, with mutual invitations to visit."