Last Thursday was my quilt history class and we were mostly focussed on Marie Webster. I thought I would type up my notes here in case others are interested and so I can keep a record of what I learned! Sorry if I am not 100 percent accurate but this is what I got out of our talk. Her patterns were published in color (in a pretty much all black and white magazine) and I think were the first ones seen in color in print. She wrote a book in 1915 "Quilts: Their Stories and How to Make Them" which is now out of print. I love that she saw that quilts were more than bedcoverings and warmth, they had stories that were important enough to tell. I hope to one day find a copy of this book and see what all she had to say. Her most popular patterns were published between 1914 and 1918 through the Practical Patchwork Company. I believe this was part of the Colonial Revival with the softer colors and big florals.
Her granddaughter Rosalyn Perry republished some of her work in "A Joy Forever" and in 1921 Marie Webster was honored in the Quilter's Hall of Fame.
We then had a guest speaker Opal who was an amazing lady! She brought lots of her family's quilts and some clothing she made to share with us. She attended a mission school in Greenskin, KY as a child and they used the quilts her mother made. My favorite one that she showed us was a strippy quilt with strips of aqua and lots of various leftover fabrics in the alternating strips. It had a nice impact on me (I drew it out on my paper) and she could tell us which piece of fabric came from what which was fun! We all told her she needs to record her history and the quilt history on video for her family. I hope they find time to do it in case someone down the line is interested in it. I only wish my ancestors had recorded more information about their lives and the stuff in them. I think that is why I keep track of all this stuff--hoping one day someone will be interested as I am. So if you are a descendent of mine reading this after I am long gone I applaud you--it is my dream that someone down the line cares!
So why do you blog?
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