Why I Love the AAQ

Tess Harper

AAQ advertisement, , February/March 2009 Issue of Quilters Newsletter

The Alliance for American Quilts 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 would like to thank actress and quilt collector (and AAQ Advisory Council member) Tess Harper for sharing her favorites with us.

You can find out more about Tess and her work at the Internet Movie Database website: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002128/
Message from Tess:
"I grew up in Arkansas around quilts and quiltmakers and I still treasure the traditional quilts I've kept from those years. I've collected others as well since then, especially folk art style quilts. I love living with quilts around me and sharing my collection.

Because of my acting work, I travel frequently, but the Alliance for American Quilts is an accessible, invaluable resource for quilt information everywhere I go. I can study vintage quilts in the Quilt Index that are similar to those in my personal collection, and learn more about these old patterns. I'm excited about all the ways the Index is expanding: more and more state documentation projects are being preserved on the site, as well as entire museum collections, and I look forward to the day when individual collectors like myself can document our quilts in this public space.

I've been a supporter of the AAQ for several years now, and I'm impressed by how many different ways they come up with for quilt-lovers to interact with their awesome website. Such as the special Memory Quilt, a virtual online quilt launched in 2006 where people can buy a square and pay tribute to a quilter or quilt-lover they cherish. I bought one of the first squares in honor of my grandmother and my aunt, who loved to quilt.

Visit my Memory Quilt square "http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/projects/memory/1-4.php

No matter where I am or what I'm doing, quilts mean home to me. And the Alliance for American Quilts is my online home for learning more about quilts."

Tess's picks:
From the Quilt Index
From Quilters' S.O.S. - Save Our Stories

On the Quilt Index:

Shrine to the Prairie Chicken

Top By/ Quilted By:Cannon, Betsy
Date:2004
Location Made: Colorado (CO) United States
Project Name:RMQM Permanent Collection
Contributor: Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum
Layout Format: Nontraditional or art
Fabrics: Cotton, Polyester, Other, Solid/plain, Other
Construction:Machine Applique, Other embellishment technique
Quilting Techniques: Machine quilting
Purpose or Function: Art or personal expression, Artwork/wall hanging
Inscription: Betsy Cannon
http://www.quiltindex.org/basicdisplay.php?pbd=RockyMountainQuiltMuseum-a0a1d0-a

Grandmother's Flower Garden

Top By/ Quilted By: Brown, Fanny
Date:c. 1930
Location Made:Black Rock, Arkansas (AR)
Project Name: MIchigan Quilt Project
Contributor: Michigan State University Museum
Layout Format: Block pattern
Fabrics: Cotton
Colors:Orange
Construction:Machine Piecing
Quilting Techniques: Hand quilting
http://www.quiltindex.org/basicdisplay.php?pbd=MichiganMSUMuseum-a0c0z0a

Drunkard's Path-detail, Robbing Peter to Pay Paul

Top By/ Quilted By: Pence, Laura Bell Arnold; Arnold, Cinthia
Date: Texas Memorial Museum dated quilt to ca. 1885
Location Made: Demotte, Indiana (IN) United States
Project Name: Winedale Quilt Collection
Contributor: Winedale, University of Texas at Austin
Layout Format: Block pattern
Fabrics: Cotton, Broadcloth, Conversation Prints, Print, tiny gold anchors on indigo blue ground
ColorsBlue or Navy, White
Construction:Hand Piecing
Quilting Techniques: Hand quilting
http://www.quiltindex.org/basicdisplay.php?pbd=TexasWinedale-a0a0j9 b

Hands All Around -detail-

Date: c. 1900
Location Made: Tennessee (TN) USA
Project Name: Quilts of Tennessee
Contributor: Tennessee State Library and Archives
Layout Format: Block pattern
Fabrics: Cotton, Dotted, Striped, Checked, Print, Solid/plain, Multiple Scrap
Colors:Red, Blue or Navy, Black, White, Brown
Construction:Hand Piecing
Quilting Techniques: Hand quilting

On Quilters' S.O.S. - Save Our Stories:
(Ok, so AAQ board and staff recommend this one!)

Q.S.O.S. interview with Arkansas nonagenarian Pauline Laughlin