In an unforeseen and shocking move, quilters everywhere today say they are giving up buying fabric. Textile hoarders from coast to coast in the United States and in every country queried confirm that they are done buying and stashing fabric. Seama Ripper, of Paducah, Kentucky told QA reporters “I’ve just reached that point where I have “enough” fabric. I’ve been buying prints, solids and every pattern imaginable for close to 40 years now and I think it’s time to stop the consumption and start using it up.” Pat Quarters of Sisters, Oregon tells a similar story, “I love fabric, but I’ve really developed the discipline now to go into a quilt shop and “just look.” I have plans to finish every UFO in my studio, and then do a major clean up. I’m also looking into giving up chocolate.” Quilt and fabric shops everywhere reacted to the announcement with a collective snort as they restocked the fat quarter bins and bolt shelves. “Bless their hearts,” said Sydney, Australia shop owner, Ida Liketoseethat. Online retailer “Cutsy” CFO Freeda Eshop reports spraying coffee all over her screen upon reading the news report. “A trigger warning would have been appreciated–it’s really hard to get coffee out of keyboards. Hysterical though!” Happy April 1st, friends!! (Pick me up a spool of thread when you go by the shop today!) And consider spending another $30 today to become a Quilt Alliance member! We’d be honored to have you on the team and you will receive all kinds of amazing incentives AND support the work to Document, Preserve and Share the rich history of quilts and their makers. Win/Win and that’s no…
This week the Quilt Alliance lost one of its original supporters, who helped envision, lead, and sustain the organization and its projects. Alan Jabbour, former Quilt Alliance board member (2001-07) and president (2006-07), died on January 13, 2017. A renowned folklorist, old-time fiddle player, and collector of old fiddle tunes, Alan was the founding director of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. He was also a mentor and friend to many, including those of us who were lucky enough to serve on the board of the Quilt Alliance with him. In 1992, Shelly Zegart and Eunice Ray of the Kentucky Quilt Project went to the American Folklife Center to pitch their idea for a database compiling all of the data from the many state quilt documentation projects—the largest grassroots movement to document an aspect of the decorative arts—along with related quilt media. “Alan loved the idea of the Index and was on board from moment one,” recalls Shelly. “His encouragement, support, and uplift made all the difference.” Soon after, Zegart and Ray joined forces with Karey Bresenhan and Nancy Puentes O’Bryant to establish the Quilt Alliance. Alan hosted the Quilt Alliance’s initial advisory council meeting in 1995 at the Library of Congress. He served as an essential early booster of our mission, and his invaluable connections and leadership served both the Quilt Alliance and the Quilt Index—a partner project of the Quilt Alliance, Michigan State University Museum and MSU’s MATRIX: the Center for Digital Humanities and Social Sciences—as we developed the organization and this signature project from a nascent idea to what they are today. As Shelly notes, “having the imprimatur of the American Folklife Center made a huge difference in the validation of the Quilt Index and the Alliance.” In addition to serving as a guiding force during the Quilt Alliance’s formative years, Alan impacted many of us personally, through his kind words, encouragement, and musical talent. QA executive director Amy Milne reflects, “Personally, I found Alan to be a warm and supportive colleague whose mentorship meant a lot to me. His devotion to family was unmistakable.” Former board member and Quilt Alliance president Le Rowell fondly recalls her close collaboration with Alan, as well as the “pleasure of his fiddling and folk music presentations, his gift of storytelling and his calm, gentle presence.” I benefitted from his encouragement as I worked toward finishing my book; he believed in me, and that helped me believe in myself. As a folklorist, Alan helped us situate quilts in the world of folk culture. It was hard not to when he’d break out his fiddle. At one board reception in Asheville with Amy’s young children in attendance, he played while they danced, reminding us how we pass on our love of culture and history to each new generation. At Quilters Take Manhattan in 2012, we enjoyed the most delightful entertainment at the annual “After Dark” cocktail party following the main event at FIT. Alan brought both his fiddle and his encyclopedic knowledge of traditional tunes. He played, while our guests danced. Before each song, he would recount its origins, and how he learned it. Denyse Schmidt, who recalls her love of old-time music in her QSOS interview, was a particularly vivacious participant in the makeshift dance floor in Victoria Findlay Wolfe’s loft apartment. Our thoughts are with Karen Jabbour, Alan’s wife of over 55 years, and their extended family. We join the many individuals whose lives Alan touched, sharing in the grief of having lost such an inspirational and devoted friend and colleague. To learn more about Alan: Stephen Winick, “Alan Jabbour 1942-2017,” Folklife Today. Ken Perlman (Alan’s musical partner), remembering Alan. Alan Jabbour’s website Posted by Janneken Smucker President of the Board of Directors, Quilt Alliance jsmucker@wcupa.edu…
Since 1993, the Quilt Alliance has been committed to documenting, preserving, and sharing the stories of quilts and quiltmakers. We care about keeping quiltmaking alive, but also celebrating its history. We shared this passion with Quilters Newsletter Magazine, the grandmother of all quilt magazines, in print since Bonnie Leman began the publication as a black and white newsletter produced out of her home in 1969. We at the Quilt Alliance were saddened to hear that F+W, the magazine’s parent company, announced that the magazine would cease publication. I admittedly don’t read all the quilt magazines. But QNM was one I paid attention to in large part because it cared about quilt history. It regularly published features that celebrated quilt heritage, quilt documentation projects, museum exhibitions, and summaries of quilt scholarship. The magazine, like the Quilt Alliance, perceived the stories of the quilts and quiltmakers of the past as integral to quiltmaking’s future. I was lucky enough to publish a few times in QNM, and always felt honored that a popular publication with large and faithful readership would feature articles by a historian like me. And that’s part of QNM’s legacy. QNM is part of our shared quilt history which the Quilt Alliance aims to preserve. The magazine was instrumental in the late twentieth-century quilt revival, not just through its publication, but through its outreach into the burgeoning world of quilt enthusiasts and its leadership in the quilt industry. For example, QNM sent a touring Quiltmobile around the country in 1976, exhibiting quilts and teaching quilting, which no doubt helped fuel the quiltmaking excitement surrounding the American Bicentennial (we here at the Quilt Alliance are inspired by this… we’ve had our eye out for a camper to drive around the country recording quilt stories). These stories are worth saving, but we can’t do it alone. In 2002, Quilt Treasures—a partner project of the Quilt Alliance, Michigan State University Museum, and Matrix, the Center for Digital Humanities and Social Sciences at MSU—interviewed Bonnie Leman. Our partners created a mini-documentary and web portrait, but the technology supporting this presentation is out of date. watch an excerpt of Bonnie recalling the origins of Quilters Newsletter from her Quilt Treasures portrait.[space height=”10″]
[space height=”10″] Like Quilt Treasures, our oral history project Quilters’ S.O.S. – Save Our Stories (QSOS) is now in need of conversion to a new platform, so we can continue to fulfill our mission of not only documenting, but also preserving and sharing quilt stories. Please join us as a member today or make a donation. Consider it a subscription to our mission, one that requires fuel and tending to document and sustain our community for years to come. We hope you can help. Posted by Janneken Smucker President of the Board of Directors, Quilt Alliance…
