Please join us on June 11th at 2 pm Eastern for a very special free Textile Talk. We’ll be talking about the re-launch of our QSOS project, and sharing more information about how you can help! Read on to learn a little more about the project re-launch, and why we believe so much in the importance of this project.
What is QSOS?
QSOS stands for Quilters’ Save Our Stories. Those four words say it all: it’s a project by and for quilters, dedicated to preserving and saving the history, practices, traditions, and stories of our quiltmaking community.
QSOS is an oral history project in which one quiltmaker is interviewed about their quiltmaking life—how they came to quilting, how they practice it, what they love (and what challenges them), and what quilting means to their life and the broader world. These interviews are available online and are archived with our partners at the Library of Congress’s American Folklife Center and the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History at the University of Kentucky. The project is free and open to anyone who wants to participate.
Frances McDonald Boyd, 2004
QSOS launched in 1999. Since then, we’ve collected more than 1,200 oral histories. A few years ago, we paused active interviewing to reflect and retool the project to make it more user-friendly, enhance digital accessibility, and streamline the interview process for the digital age.
Now, we’re bringing QSOS back, and we invite you to join us for a new era of this important project.
What’s new?
- A simpler, more accessible interview process
We’ve updated the QSOS project for the digital age. Instead of mailing paper transcripts and cassette tapes back and forth and transcribing each interview manually, interviews can now be recorded digitally, and submitted online. - Updated interview questions and guidance
The interview topics and question bank have been revised to reflect the current quilting world. New interview guidance helps interviewers and participants explore what quiltmaking looks like today, including the tools people use, the issues they care about, and how quilting fits into their lives in the 21st century. - A new way to listen and browse
QSOS interviews are now easier to search and use: each new interview will have an interview index that makes the interview easier to navigate. The new system makes it simpler, whether you’re doing research in quilt history, looking for a new teacher to visit your guild, or just listening to an interview with a friend. - Improved support and resources
We’ve refreshed the training materials for interviewers, interviewees, and quilt groups. The updated guides are clearer and more practical, making it easier to participate—whether you’re recording a story, helping someone else do it, or organizing a guild project.
Why does QSOS matter?
We believe that the QSOS project:
Empowers quilters to tell their stories
QSOS is for every quilter. You don’t have to be a quilt show winner or a hand-quilting virtuoso. We welcome interviews from new quilters, occasional quilters, people who quilt for a living, retired quilters, guild members, and solo quilters. No two quilters are the same, and everyone’s story deserves to be heard and celebrated.
Supports research
Quiltmaking is the most widely practiced traditional art in America. These interviews are valuable for quilt historians, but they also touch on topics such as grief, creativity, economics, women in the workforce, parenting, aging, and community life. The interviews are first-hand accounts of lived experience in the 21st century.
Commemorates and remembers
QSOS interviews help us remember the voices of quiltmakers who are no longer with us, and they celebrate events like quilt shows, major projects, local guilds, and more. They offer a snapshot in time.
Encourages community collaboration
The project is a meaningful undertaking for groups and guilds, encouraging members to learn more about their friends, neighbors, and colleagues.
Expands public understanding
These interviews make the invisible visible. They show the world how meaningful the practice of quiltmaking can be—and just how much thought, care, creativity, and labor go into a single quilt.
How can I get involved?
Volunteer as an interviewer or host a community documentation day.
Help record interviews with quiltmakers in your community. You don’t need special experience—we offer online training, as well as written instructions. Additional training videos and materials are coming soon. Sign our interest form for more information about getting started and upcoming training days.
Share your quilt story
Tell your story in a QSOS interview. Ask a friend or family member to interview you, or get in touch – we may be able to pair you with an interviewer.
Donate to support the project
Your support powers this project. Donations help us cover technical costs, print and distribute training materials, and pay for the staff time required to coordinate, edit, and upload interviews. Contribute to the Quilt Alliance today or become a member to support our work.
Explore our interviews
More than 1,200 interviews are online now, and about half include audio as well as text transcripts. Dive into the stories of decades of quiltmakers and share the project with your community.