Why I Love the AAQ
Barbara Brackman
AAQ advertisement, November 2008 Issue of Quilters Newsletter
The Alliance is asking quilt enthusiasts from inside and outside of the quilt world to tell us what they love about our projects and our mission to document, preserve and share the rich history of quilts and quiltmakers. We'd like to thank acclaimed author and quilt historian (and quiltmaker) Barbara Brackman for sharing her faves with us.
You can find out more about Barbara and her work at her website: www.barbarabrackman.com.
Barbara's picks:
From the Quilt Index
From Quilters' S.O.S. - Save Our Stories
From Quilt Treasures
On the Quilt Index:
For a researcher who once sketched quilt patterns on index cards the Alliance's Quilt Index is a dream come true. Thousands of quilts at my fingertips! I use it to figure out pattern variations, how old a design is, and entertain myself when I need a quilt show fix. I forward the links to readers of my digital newsletters. It's great for research and communication. I applaud the Alliance on a very ambitious project well done.
My FAVORITE quilt in the Quilt Index is one I helped make: The Sun Sets on Sunbonnet Sue. Years ago my sewing group, the Seamsters Union, decided to rid the world of Sunbonnet Sue.
See the results by clicking here
http://www.quiltindex.org/fulldisplay.php?pbd=MichiganMSUMuseum-a0a0a2-a
Kitty Clark Cole donated it to the Michigan State University Museum.
I'm enthralled with medallion quilts right now and I love this one from South Carolina (at left) about 1850 that is in the collection of the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum because it is so simple. My friend Roseanne Smith used many of my reproduction fabrics to make something similar in borders and miters (at right).
http://www.quiltindex.org/fulldisplay.php?pbd=DARMuseum-a0a0w3-a
I make a lot of string quilts and log cabins to play with color and fabric (see my little log cabin called Blue Town in a Red State (at right)—so I am always on the lookout for an inspiration. (See Blue Town Red State.jpg) This string quilt/ housetop log cabin (at left) by Texan Gazzie Hill was recorded by the Texas Quilt Search. I love the way she used white.
http://www.quiltindex.org/fulldisplay.php?pbd=TexasWinedale-a0a0r2-a
On Quilters' S.O.S.- Save Our Stories:
These interviews are going to be invaluable to future historians. Right now I read them for fun—to catch a glimpse of someone's personality. I'd recommend some interviews with people whose quilts and comments give you an idea of who they really are—people who have distinctive personalities that really come through the computer screen.
On Quilt Treasures:
The great thing about the Quilt Treasures feature is that I know most of these people so it's like talking to them. The value is that we'll always have these recordings. Since Cuesta Benberry passed away a year ago it really is a treasure to have a recording of her. I can still hear her voice in my head but if I want to actually hear it I can go to Cuesta's Quilt Treasures interview.