Go Tell It at the Quilt Show! interviews recorded at the 10th biennial Sacred Threads Exhibition in Herndon, Virginia, are now being posted to the Quilt Alliance’s YouTube channel. The Go Tell It! project was created to capture the stories of quilts where quiltmakers and quilt lovers gather. Exhibition curators, museum staff, quilt show and guild program chairs from all over the United States are recording these 3-minute videos to document quilts being shared in their communities.
The videos often reveal personal stories about the people, events, places, or ideas that inspired the featured quilt. Sacred Threads artist Christina Blais shared the story of her quilt in a Go Tell It! video recorded by QA staff member Emma Parker. “Lachrymose” mourns the loss of friend and fellow quiltmaker, Karen Loprete. Karen was a member of the Quilt Alliance and made quilts for three of our annual contests (shared below). Christina also recorded a Go Tell It! interview at the 2015 Sacred Threads exhibition–watch it here.
Have you made quilts inspired or influenced by a fellow artist? Has the work of another quiltmaker touched you or taught you in a unique way? We encourage you to record your story. Preserve this memory for yourself, for the friends and family of your inspiration, and for the sake of history. The Go Tell It! project was designed to be a public project and do-it-yourself instructions are available on the Quilt Alliance website.
“Love Nest” by Karen Loprete, 2006 for the Put a Roof Over Our Head Contest. “I am an artist who chooses to express my passion for color, shape, texture and design through quiltmaking. I exercise my passion for the many moods of color and pattern with the diversity of texture that fiber has to offer. Making art is how I cope. My escape. My salvation.”
“I’m Still Growing” by Karen Loprete, 2008, for the My Quilts/Our History contest. “After being struck with multiple sclerosis, I grew more tired with every passing year, and less and less likely to hold a position in the workforce, let alone get around anywhere much. What has remained with me is my creative energy. I hope that this quilt reflects how my creative energy has been growing and celebrating! I’m thankful every day that I have my many-colored fabrics and notions waiting for me to speak through them.”
“Alliances of Pattern and Passion” by Karen Loprete, 2011, for the Alliances: People, Patterns, Passion contest. I am an artist who chooses to express my passions for the many moods of color and texture through quiltmaking. Making art is how I cope. My escape. My salvation.
Sharing your quilt story is as easy as:
Pick a spot and set up your quilt
- You are important, and so is your quilt! Be sure we can see it fully and clearly by hanging it on neutral background, without a lot of activity going on behind it. The teller should stand in front of the quilt to talk.
- Film your video in a bright spot with good lighting so that the quilt is visible. Near a window, outdoors, or in a room with bright light during the day is best.
- Try to capture the best sound you can. We want to be able to hear the story of your quilt loud and clear! Film a test video first to see how it looks and sounds to you.
- Important: if you’re using a phone to film your video, rotate your phone so it’s horizontal (landscape), not vertical.
Start filming
- If you’re filming yourself, set your camera (or phone) on something sturdy so the video doesn’t shake and bounce. Better yet, get a friend to help!
- Start your video with: “My name is ________ and I’m telling my quilt story in [City, State] on [date of recording]”. Don’t leave this line out! It’s how we’ll know it’s part of the Go Tell It! project.
- Then, start talking! You can share anything that you feel is important about the quilt: how you made it, why you made it, who gave it to you, why it’s a meaningful quilt for you… the sky’s the limit! Well, three minutes is the limit, so you’ll want to keep an eye on the video timer.
Share your video
- Share your video here. You’ll be able to upload your video and enter information about the “teller” and details about the quilt. On this page your will also find a downloadable cue card to help your teller start their video, and a link to the online release form for the project. Once you upload your video, Quilt Alliance staff will do some simple edits, adding Go Tell It! and Quilt Alliance graphics to the video, and then upload it to the Quilt Alliance YouTube Channel. You will be notified once the video is live and then you can embed the video on your own website, blog or share it via social media.
[H2]FAQS[/H2]
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[accordion_toggle title=”What do I talk about? Can I have a friend ask me questions?”]You can talk about anything you want! Whatever you think is important about the quilt–what makes it special to you, why you like it, why you don’t, what makes it unusual… the sky’s the limit, really! If you made the quilt, you might talk about inspiration, technique, or special meaning. If you inherited or purchased the quilt, you could tell us why you love it or the story of how it came to you.We just ask that if you’re recording a Go Tell It video, your voice is the only voice we hear. If you want to write a few notes, or practice beforehand, go for it! [/accordion_toggle]
[accordion_toggle title=”Do I need a special camera or microphone or lights?”]No! If you’re in a well-lit, quiet room and the video is easy to see and hear, you can use any video camera you’d like. If you do have access to a video camera, or lighting, that’s even better. You’ll want to make sure to position your lights so that there aren’t too many shadows on the quilt. If you’re an organization considering purchasing entry-level video equipment, send us an email and we’ll tell you what we use.[/accordion_toggle]
[accordion_toggle title=”I have a lot of quilts I’d like to share. Can I make more than one video? Or can I share more than one quilt in a video?”]You can submit as many Go Tell It! videos as you’d like! We do ask that each video follow the Go Tell It! formula: one person and one quilt per video. If you’d like to share more quilts, feel free to make more videos–just submit one per quilt. [/accordion_toggle]
[accordion_toggle title=”How much does it cost to participate?”] Go Tell It! is a project of the non-profit Quilt Alliance, and it’s free for anyone to submit a video or watch the videos we’ve collected. If you would like to have a QA staff member visit your community to record Go Tell It! videos of members of your group, schedule a Quilt Story Road Show program. If you’d like to support the project or believe that documenting, preserving, and sharing the stories of quilts is important, you can make a donation to the Quilt Alliance in any amount or become an Alliance member. [/accordion_toggle]
[accordion_toggle title=”Can I add a close-up image of my quilt to my video?”] If you have video editing skills and time to spare, feel free to add some still photographs of details of your quilt. We don’t recommend trying to zoom in on the quilt during the video–in general, it’s best to focus on the person talking, and try not to move the camera around. If you’d like to add a still image to your video before uploading and feel comfortable editing video, go for it! [/accordion_toggle]
[accordion_toggle title=”Can I do the video outside?”] Yes! As long as you feel like your voice will be easily heard in the video (ie. not too many wind/traffic/nature noises) and the background isn’t too distracting, you can film your video anywhere you’d like. Getting outside sometimes provides the best, most even light for making a video. [/accordion_toggle]
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