Eleanor Roosevelt 1935 Thank You Letter for a Quilt

Eleanor Roosevelt

Circa 1950

Author's Collection

Thought you all might like to see my latest vintage quilt ephemera find - it is a thank you note signed by Eleanor Roosevelt and written on official White House Stationary, dated February 9, 1935 while FDR was president.

It's a thank you note to a Mrs. Jules Joseph Fischer, Mrs. McGrath, and "the rest of the ladies" for a quilt they made and sent to her.

February 9, 1935

Author's Collection

Transcription:

"THE WHITE HOUSE

WASHINGTON

February 9, 1935

My dear Mrs. Fischer:

I was very much delighted to receive from Mrs. McGrath the quilt which you and all the other women so generously made for me. It is very lovely, and I greatly appreciate the work and thought which you have all put into it.

With many thanks and all good wishes, I am

Very sincerely yours, Eleanor Roosevelt"


Now if a person could only find the quilt this note was intended for.... it's not at the FDR Presidential Library and Museum - already checked.

The most helpful lead is the envelope that came with this letter, it was addressed to Mrs. Jules Joseph Fischer, who lived in Mountain View, California in 1935. I have Ancestry.com and I am running down leads that way, but if anyone recognizes Mrs. Fischer as one of their ancestors, please contact me at quiltingbee73@yahoo.com.

This just goes to show those of us who love quilt paper items there is still neat antique and vintage quilt ephemera out there waiting to find their way to us.

Quilt Research -- Uncovering Buried Treasure

Eagle Motif Embroidered on 1931 Quilt

(No Affliation to Either of the Ladies Mentioned Below)

I was iced in for a spell and once I finished my chores I got on the computer and did some "looking around" on the topics that interest me in quilt history. I found a couple of interesting people I want to know more about, both are 1930s quiltmakers from opposite sides of the United States.

Mrs. Mary J. Lockard

New Port Richey, Florida

West Pasco County

Wife of Warren Lockard

**She earned her living as a professional quilter in the 1930s -- all hand work - no machine.

and

Mary Ellen Herbert

Burley, Washington (state of)

Kitsap County

Wife of Otto Herbert

Mother of Frank Herbert

Grandma of Frank Herbert (author of Dune)

Great Grandma of Brian Herbert

**She entered her quilts in many many county fairs and eventually they (must be the fair board) had to tell her she could not enter her quilts anymore to compete (only to show) because her quilts always won.

I have Ancestry.com and I have "done that thing."

FYI for those of you who do quilt research - Ancestry.com is one of the most helpful tools out there, but it is a paid service. Start with Rootsweb.com first (it is free) and then decide (with a free trial) if Ancestry.com is for you.

Why am I looking for these two talented ladies? It has something to do with locating the whereabouts of two eagle quilts.

Anyone surfing the net that finds this site through Google -- if you have any information and/or photos of either of these ladies I would appreciate it if you would contact me.

quiltingbee73@yahoo.com

wildemuthsew@gmail.com

Linda Carlson's Baby Geniuses Eaglet 2000s

Baby Geniuses Eaglet
Linda Carlson Quiltmaker/Designer
Decade 2000s

I was familar with Linda Carlson's work long before I contacted her about this project. I love the antique, vintage, and new large four block quilts. I also have all the books (with patterns) that she has created on the subject. She is the authority - the go-to girl - for information about these traditional types of quilt.

Linda's four-block books published with the American Quilter's Society are: Roots, Feathers & Blooms: Four-Block Quilts, Their History & Patterns, Four-Blocks Continued ..., and The Best of Four-Blocks and More!.

Besides being a quilt lecturer, author, and designer, Linda is an educater, a schoolteacher, by profession in her non-quilting life. So it was a given that she would combine her quilting and teaching lives and design three lines of fabric with young people in mind. Working with Benartex, Inc. since 2006 - Linda's fabric line includes "Grammie & Mimi's Baby Geniuses!", "Grammie & Mimi's Baby Geniuses Grow Up!", and "Grammie & Mimi's Baby Geniuses Speak Up!"

Linda choose the 2000s decade and what a decade that was - so much change.

When I looked at Linda's piece she calls "Baby Geniuses Eaglet" with it's rich and spicy colors - I think of hope.

In Linda's own words, "Baby Genius Eaglet": approximately 15 1/2 inches square, 4-block background with hand applique', reverse applique', hand quilted with metallic thread, and hand embellished with sparkling stars and French Knots. All fabrics are from my fabric lines with Benartex, Inc. since 2006 including "Grammie & Mimi's Baby Geniuses!", "Grammie & Mimi's Baby Geniuses Grow Up!", and "Grammie & Mimi's Baby Geniuses Speak Up!" The eagle pattern is my re-interpretaion of "Liberty" by Dinah Jefferies."

If you want to learn more about Linda's work:

Linda Carlson
Author, Workshop Leader, Baby Geniuses Fabric Designer
www.lindacarlsonquilts.com
http://babygeniusesfabric.blogspot.com
Become a fan on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Linda-Carlson-Quilts/110305422368689

Finishing Orphan Quilt Tops: A Virginia Snow Studios Pattern

New Years Day brought an email from Jan Jaqua who found my research on Virginia Snow Studios of Elgin, Illinois on my http://www.illinoisquilthistory.com/ web site and contacted me. about a same pattern grouping of finished 1930s Virginia Snow Studios quilt squares.

Here is the original pattern as it appeared in a 1933 Virginia Snow Studios catalog:

242 Unnamed Flower - Virginia Snow Studios - Elgin,, Illinois

Here is Jan's story in her own words:

"This project came about after I told a good friend of mine that I like to find vintage quilts tops on Ebay and finish them. Handquilting is the part of the project I enjoy most. She replied that there was a metal container in her mother's attic that had been there for many years and came by way of HER mother's home - so this is third generation (Grandma to daughter to granddaughter). She said, "I'll have to go up there and see what's in the container-maybe something of interest.' The next day or two she brought these blocks, two other quilt tops, and some assorted bow-tie and dresden plate blocks.

I thought the blocks were so well done and offered to put them together for her into a quilt."

Jan Jaqua

Here is a picture of this new quilt being made from old blocks with modern Moda marble sashing called Chambray:
Beautiful isn't it - a new quilt is born from utilizing vintage quilt squares and modern fabric!

Side Note:

I admire people who do this - find an abandoned quilt top and finish it for the creator and a new quilt is born - I call this a two generation quilt.

There is a rule of thumb here that some who enjoy doing this share with me -- they finish quilt tops created 1930 and forward, they do a reproduction quilt of a top when the original was created before 1930s. The cut off date seems to be 1930 because of the fragile nature of some of the pre-1930s fabrics -- did you know thread can actually cut fabric and that beautiful 1880s quilt top you are finishing might actually be damaged by quilting it? I didn't until someone shared this with me and I'm passing it along to you.

In the end though -- as with all things in this world -- it is your decision whether you finish a quilt top or not, but you are usually safe to finish the ones that were created after 1930. So if this is your thing -- you like to save orphan tops -- then I say -- bravo!

Remember as you are scouring your favorite fabric store, antique malls, flea markets, or auctions in 2011 looking for things to add to your quilt stash that fills up the spare bedroom, "No guilt, but lots of quilts."

Don Beld's 1880s Eagle Miniature Quilt

1880s Eagle Quilt
Don Beld
Quilt Artist, Designer, and Author
Bernice Foster
Machine Embroidery

Don Beld choose the 1880s and created this beautiful work of art for my decade by decade project. Notice the Indigo and pink used in this piece, the 8-pointed star, and the way he finished the binding in a traditional straight edge "rounded corner" -- all popular in quilts from this time period. The hand-pieced, hand-quilted workmanship in this reproduction piece is wonderful.

Bernice Foster - Machine Embroidery Eagle

Many of you know Don and are familar with his work, but let's revisit Don's quilt biography:

A quilt artist and historian, Don Beld is the founder and guiding force behind the Home of the Brave Quilt Project which delivers replica Civil War soldiers quilts to the families of the Fallen Heroes from Iraq and Afghanistan which is an on-going project.

In 2010 Don was featured in one of the chapters in a book written by Joe Cunningham entitled Men and the Art of Quiltmaking. Mr. Beld and his co-author Pam Weeks have co-authored a book of their own entitled Quilts for Union Soldiers which will be available for purchase in late 2011.

Don is available for lectures and workshops by contacting donbeld@pacbell. An exhibit of his Civil War soldiers quilts will be featured at the International Quilt Study Center in Nebraska in 2012 and 2014.

Merry Christmas from Illinois and Summer Spread Defined

Besides quilting, I like to cook - hate to do dishes (even with a dishwasher), but I love to cook. So every year at Christmas in my regular and online Christmas cards, I send a Recipe Newsletter, instead of a Newsie Newsletter.

Before I share my recipe, here is an idea I'd like to share that is not exactly quilt related, but it is one that I have been doing for about the last ten years - maybe you'll like it to.

I started a file on my computer with our family recipes. I divided them up in sections in the file -- just like they do in the regular cookbook and then when anyone in our family or friend circle gets married (or graduates from HS - if there is an interest in cooking). I copy it off and put it in a three ring binder with those subject dividers (remember them from high school - English, Math, etc. etc. ) only I write in the different food groups.

I buy the three ring binders with the paper insert ability on the front and I make up a sheet which reflects the person(s) receiving the cookbook - insert that in the front. It is all recipes that are tried and true. This is an easy and very USEFUL gift for kids heading off to college, getting married, or starting their life away from home for the first time.

Now my online Christmas card to you....

Christmas 2010

Fresh Apple Cake Preheat oven: 350 Grease: 9 x 13 cake pan

In a large bowl combine:

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Add:

2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 ¼ cups canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
3 medium Granny Smith Apples – peeled, cored, and chopped (3 cups)

Spoon Stir batter only until it is moist (batter will be thick) – Do not use a mixer.

Spread batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean.

Special Note: If you do decide to substitute another kind of apple make sure you use another type of baking apple.

Centennial Eagle Summer Spread 1870-1910

Parks Wildemuth Collection

Summer Spread Defined: A summer spread has the look of a quilt and/or a quilt top, but is not a quilt for a very simple reason - it is not quilted. Like the piece above it is usually a single layer with the edges finished (quilt top has unfinished edges - summer spread's are finished). Summer spreads are usually applique.

What did they use summer spreads for?

When I was a sophomore in HS we (my grandpa and I) visited my Aunt Frances in North Carolina on an airplane --it was my grandpa's first airplane ride and I was to help him get through the airport at O'Hare. On that trip we visited my aunt's mother on her farm - little did I know back then that there would be a farm in my future. It must have been foreshadowing of what was to come because I fell in love with this big two story farmhouse next to a creek filled with antiques. It was the kind of place an author would live in and that lady could cook to - you have not lived until you had a slice of one of her pies.

My cousin and I were wandering about the place and went upstairs because she wanted to show me her grandmother's quilts. In one bedroom there was a four postered bed stacked with quilts laid flat and all were covered with a "summer spread." Aunt's mom used one her of her summer spreads to protect her stash of quilts from the sun and dust.

BUT...I believe the more common use for them was as a bedspread during the summer.

Merry Christmas everyone and all the best with all your projects.

Terry Clothier Thompson’s “A New Nation”

“A New Nation”
Decade: 1770s
Terry Clothier Thompson 2010

I know you have seen her books, patterns, attended a class/lecture, or maybe attended/hosted one of her quilt history FabriCamps....her name is Terry Clothier Thompson and she is a designer, quilt artist, and historian from Kansas.

Terry agreed to participate in my eagle motif project and was the first one to tackle the 18th century – her decade was the 1770s. If you have seen or own her book Made in America 1776-1830: Quilts of the Daughters of Liberty you will know that this time period of American history is one of her favorites.

Her inspiration for this wallhanging was an image of the Daughter of Liberty. She added the design of a baby eagle to represent a brand new nation. Next, Terry appliquéd her Daughter of Liberty and baby eagle on a reproduction (fabric) of what could have been a design of an early American textile printer after the Revolutionary War.

I love the detail the embroidery brings to the piece.

Terry calls her eagle motif wallhanging… “A New Nation.”

I call this beautiful piece…a work of art!

Visit Terry at her Web Site and go to her FabriCamp Heading and see if that is something that would work for your quilt history group, quilt guild, or your sit and sew group. It looks like fun!

Contact

Terry Clothier Thompson
425 Pasadena Drive
Lawrence, KS 66049
Phone & Fax# (785) 865-2587
Web Site: http://www.terrythompson.com/
Email: terrythompson@sunflower.com