Jean Van Bockel
Photos
Title
Jean Van Bockel
Identifier
ID83801-DAR001
Interviewee
Jean Van Bockel
Interviewer
Liz Jones
Interview Date
11/18/07
Interview sponsor
Carolyn Mazloomi
Location
Rathdrum, Idaho
Transcriber
Carolyn Kolzow
Transcription
Note: Jean Van Brockel entered her quilt in the 116th Continental Congress, 2007 American Heritage Committee's fiber arts - quilt contest. The contest theme was, "A Heritage Remembered." Jean placed 1st with this quilt, and also received the Evelyn Cole Peters Award in Fiber Arts.
Liz Jones (LJ): My name is Liz Jones and today's date is November 18, 2007, at 4 p.m. I am conducting and interview with Jean Van Bockel, my sister, in my home in Rathdrum, Idaho for the Quilters' [S.O.S.] - Save Our Stories Project. We are doing this through the American Heritage Committee of the Idaho State [Society.] Daughters of the American Revolution. Jean is a quilter and is a member of the Lt. George Farragut chapter NSDAR [National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.] Jean, when did you first learn to sew?
Jean Van Bockel (JV): Well, I started when I was twelve years old. I joined a 4-H group and that was the beginning of sewing and I loved it, and then started making clothing for myself. Our parents gave us a clothing allowance, and that was the best way to make the clothing allowance go a long way. And then I started making -- in fact my sister always joked that we sewed everything but our underwear. And that was probably about it. I remember that one year I made a two-piece swimming suit. [laughing.] It didn't stretch or work too well, but that was the beginning of my sewing career.
LJ: When did you make your first quilt?
JV: My first quilt was when I was going to college, so I was probably about 19 or 20. This was back in 1972 or so. So, quilting really had not had its resurgence at this time, but I remember this quilt so well because it had 99 squares, and it took me an hour to punch through and quilt each square. So, it has 99 hours of hand quilting in it, [laughing.] but it doesn't look like it does. I had to order my polyester batting, 2-inch polyester batting, from Sears and a white polyester sheet for the backing. So, it was quite a project, and that was my first experience with making a quilt. But then--
LJ: Who did you make it for?
JV: Oh, I made it for my boyfriend at that time which turned out to be my husband. So that it probably the best thing about this quilt is that I still have it 33 years later and my husband too. So, that was kind of a neat thing other than now it is kind of an ugly quilt because it has been drug through three kids and a lot of action, but I still have it.
LJ: Okay. When do you really think you really started quilting per se?
JV: I really don't count that as quilt making until I was probably about 34, and I joined a quilt group with my other sister, Kathy; and it was just a wonderful group that really got everyone, all the members up and quilting. They taught us how to hand quilt and had lots of classes and quilt shows where you had to show what you made. It was probably about 1986 that I started seriously making quilts.
LJ: Do you remember any of your instructors or anybody in particular that you learned from?
JV: Oh, they were just mainly quilt members, and we didn't have any big-name quilters come into our group at that time. I know that since then they have but--just mainly little quilting friends that showed us a lot.
LJ: What is your first quilt memory?
JV: I was spending the night with a girlfriend and her grandmother had made her a Sunbonnet Sue quilt. I remember that we spent a long time going over it and looking at each Sunbonnet Sue and how she matched the bonnets and embroidered little flowers on them and the dresses. We looked through to see which was our favorite. And it was all hand quilted. It was a beautiful little quilt. I think that was probably my first real memory of a quilt.
LJ: Are there any other quiltmakers among your family or friends?
JV: Yes, both my sisters quilt and one of my grandmothers did.
LJ: What do you find pleasing about quilting?
JV: I like the creativity. Doing something that has never been, an original piece, I really enjoy. I love probably every aspect of quilting. From the beginning picking out all the fabrics, the piecing, love to appliqué, so the whole entire quilt making process, I really enjoy.
LJ: So, there is probably not any aspect that you don't enjoy?
JV: No, even the binding. The binding--probably that was something I worried about when I first began quilt making because you've got this quilt and now are you going to ruin it putting the binding on, but right down to the binding, I just enjoy every bit of quilt making now.
LJ: What are your favorite techniques and the materials?
JV: I use mostly cottons. I like hand dyed cottons and batiks, and probably hand appliqué is my favorite technique that I like doing. I have been doing a lot of art quilts lately and have gotten into the collage where you just have the raw edge which I thought that I would never ever do [laughs.] after hand appliqué. I really have been enjoying that lately too. You can use masses and masses of fabric to get depth, and it has been very enjoyable, something you can't get that depth with appliqué.
LJ: Have advances in technology influenced your work?
JV: Oh, I am sure it has. There have been so many things that have come out. Right after I began quilting the rotary cutter and the mat which really helped us get away from templates. Oh, I don't do a lot of fusing, but I think just more things being accepted like machine quilting-- sewing machines, the fabric everything has been improved over the years to make it easier.
LJ: Describe your studio or the point that you create.
JV: I have a bedroom that I've converted into a studio which has one side that has enclosed cupboards to keep my fabric. I have just a regular drafting table which is real handy because I can pump it up higher when I am cutting or lower it when I am sitting at it. It is not a very big room, but it has a high ceiling so I have a huge design board on it that is probably 8 x 8 feet so I can put anything up there. I take advantage of being able to stick it up on the wall and come back and look at the design. I think that is very helpful in a sewing room.
LJ: You have inspiration on your design wall and bulletin board.
JV: Oh, yes, I have all sorts of things up and around. I have a bulletin board with just clippings and fabrics and things that are inspirations.
LJ: How many hours a week do you quilt?
JV: Oh, I probably do a little bit of quilting every day in some sort of way. Hand appliqué or a little bit of machine quilting, piecing. I always have something going, but I--as hours, not until a deadline comes up do, I really get going and can spend like all day in my sewing room if I have to make a deadline. I am a deadline kind of person. I don't even get it done until the day.
LJ: What would your typical day be?
JV: Oh, it would be--a typical day would probably be sewing two or three hours maybe, or I could go sometimes a week without any quilting, but even when I am on vacation, I have some hand work I am taking with me.
LJ: You always take your dogs for a walk in the morning.
JV: Yes, I live out in the woods. We have two dogs so that I have to get my morning walk in. I have kind of a pretty stress-free lifestyle. I can do what I want to do. I have a good husband who supports me completely.
LJ: How does quilt making impact your family?
JV: It probably doesn't impact them like it did when they were younger when I would drag my hand appliqué to their soccer or their basketball games. They always thought that was a little strange. Now they are grown, and I think that they are kind of proud of old mom and what she has done with her quilting. My husband has always been very supportive of what I have done and then when I won my first little money on a quilt, $500 [laughing.] he became real supportive. [laughing.] Yes, so I think that they have all been real proud of me.
LJ: What did your son used to say about your artwork in your house?
JV: Oh, awhile back when they were probably in high school, one of them came home, I think that it was probably Miles, my son, and said, 'Why can't we be like any other family and have pictures on the walls instead of quilts?' [laughs.] So, I guess we did stand out even back then. [laughs.]
LJ: I remember one of my favorite quilts of Miles' was the Volkswagen bus.
JV: Oh, the Volkswagen bus. He loved the Volkswagen bus. It was just a little wall quilt, but I didn't make that. Sister Kathy made that one. That was one of his best little birthday gifts or Christmas gifts. We still have that.
LJ: What art or quilt groups do you belong to?
JV: Well, I belong to four groups. The first one is North Idaho Quilters which is a quilting guild of about, oh--180 to 200 members and we meet every other month. And then they have an activity meeting on the months that we don't meet on a Saturday that you can come in and do whatever you are sewing on or community work. And, we have a wonderful quilt show every two years. About 350 quilts, amazing. We have a very talented quilt group. And then--
LJ: Two years ago, you were the featured artist.
JV: Yes, I was the featured artist. I was invited to be the featured artist in 2005 it was, and that was very enjoyable, very nice. Then the second group that I belong to is the Out to Lunch Bunch. It's a group of, well we were 12, but we are down to 11. We have been meeting for 15 years. It was one of the quilt stores I worked at. We started--after it closed, we didn't want to give up our friendship, so we've been meeting once a month there. We have done all kinds of projects. Oh, Round Robins, we have made blocks for one another, we have made baby quilts when we have become grandmas, weddings, just all sorts of quilts. But our latest one we made as a fundraiser. We have one gal in our group; her niece is a teacher in Chad, Africa. So, we made her a quilt because they needed to raise money for a well. And just this spring it was raffled off, and it made over $2,000 and the well as already been put in for the school. So that was real rewarding thing to do. My third group is the Soup Kitchen. We call ourselves the Soup Kitchen because we meet on a Thursday or Friday night, and we have soup, bread, and wine. It is a real traditional group. There are only five of us. We get a quilt top together and then we hand quilt it. And sometimes we get drinking wine, and we don't get to the quilting or very little. So, it takes us a very long time to get a quilt done. And I am talking about just a lap quilt too. And then with this quilt we give it to--it just seems to kind of come up when it is done, it seems to have a calling. The first quilt was right after 911, and we decided that we would send it to someone that helped in Gander in Newfoundland because so many overseas planes had to go down in that little community. So, we sent it off to, I don't know, if it was their City Hall, and asked them if they would give it to some family that cared for one of--some of the people there. They couldn't decide, and they ended up putting it in the Fire House Museum, and this was the first quilt that we made, and so it wasn't the best. [laughs.] So, now it is sitting there in their museum, and we all had a good laugh at that. We have made quilts for a refugee in Hungry, and we sent them as much as we could in duffle bags with one of the nephews to take, so that they could do some quilting. And they were sitting there; I guess they didn't have much to do, so we sent fabrics, and cutting utensils and books so that they could quilt in Hungry. And then we are working on right now, "Redwork" that is going to Romania with Lou. She is going to go over there this spring, and it's going to be a hostess gift.
LJ: Well, when you sent the ones to Hungry, weren't they just very impressed?
JV: Hungry was the best, actually the best thank you note that any of us have ever received in our lives. These people couldn't understand why we would send--well, we sent four finished hand quilted quilts to them, why we would just send off quilts to people that we didn't even know. They had all done handwork, and they knew how long it had taken us, probably a lot longer for us. [laughs.] So, they were extremely appreciative, and I think that they really enjoyed the quilting supplies too.
LJ: And so, you sent a picture of your group.
JV: We sent a picture of our group. Lou's nephew said that they spent so much time looking at us and everything behind--the bookcase, and looking where we were and spent a long time discussing us which we thought was kind of interesting.
Oh, and then I have [both laughing.] one other group that I belong to here. It is a quilt art group. Five more members. We also meet once a month. This group we divide up so that we teach one class. Well, we end of teaching a couple of classes a year, and it is to just teach our group a new technique. Then we also have been making Journal Quilts. Journal Quilts are just little quilts that are like the size of a piece of paper 8 ½ x 11 [inches.]. We have a can that we have printed all these different ideas, so that we draw each month what the next one is going to be. For instance, this one coming up is water, so you can represent it in any way that you want to, but you have to have some kind of water theme. Just kind of on the edge trying of different ideas.
LJ: Oh, neat. Tell me about an amusing experience that has occurred in your quilt, quilting.
JV: Oh, well this happened probably a good fifteen, no twelve years ago. We were traveling back east with the kids kind of just to give them an idea of how big the U.S. [United States.] is. This is from Idaho, and we were in Rochester, Minnesota and stopped at a little store and while I was waiting in line there was this woman behind me, and she had come in and dropped off some appliqué patterns. And so, I said, ‘Oh, so you are a quilter.' I asked if there are any quilt stores, so as we worked up in line and we were talking, and there was a lady at the cash register who was also giving me directions to a quilt store in the area that I was hopefully was going to. I paid for my item, went outside [clears throat.] Excuse me. And the woman followed me completely outside, and she told me about--she was hoping that this quilt that her mother had, she was going to inherit, hopefully before mom passed away. And she invited me to their quilt meeting the next day if I was still in town. And she said that it was at the home of a friend. Beautiful house, out in the garden, I would really enjoy. They would enjoy meeting me. And in the meantime, my husband is standing by me rolling his eyes saying, 'What is this?' [laughs.] So, I thanked her, told her, 'No, we are moving on.' But, when I got back to the car with my husband I said, 'You know, that really is what a quiltmaker is. It is someone you meet just like that, and you are already a really close friend, and I think that is what quilt making is all about.'
LJ: [agrees.] Have you ever worked in a quilt shop?
JV: Yes, I have. I've worked in two quilt shops in Coeur d'Alene and really enjoyed it. At the same time, I worked, I taught beginning quilting or quilt basics or Entrapment 101 we used to call it because it's a very addicting hobby, and taught appliqué classes too.
LJ: So those were the two shops you worked in Coeur d'Alene. Didn't you work in Spokane?
JV: Yes, I worked for a while for Debbie Mumm designing quilts, and designed quilted crafts or her for a while which was fun, real fun.
LJ: The next question is do you teach quilting and you--
JV: We have kind of answered that.
LJ: You have answered that. Oh, have you traveled outside your hometown to teach?
JV: Yes, I have. I have taught at some retreats and have taught also in my old quilt group back in Washington State which was fun because I can remember all the girls. [laughs.] Probably the best time was--I got to teach on Debbie Mumm's 20th anniversary cruise up to Alaska. And that was just probably the best group of girls too that I got to teach. And, my husband came along, and he thought that was a good benefit. [laughs.] He really enjoyed that.
LJ: [laughs.] He probably thought that it was paying off.
JV: [laughs at the same time.] Yes, that is right. He thought that it was really paying off now big time.
LJ: Have your quilts ever been published?
JV: Yes, I have written three books. The first book is "Quilts from Larkspur Farm" that I did with my best friend Pam Mostek. The second book is “Meadowbrook Quilts” which are quilts that are inspired by the North Idaho region and then my third book "Polka-Dot Kids' Quilts."
LJ: And Larkspur Farms your oldest daughter even got married up there.
JV: Yes, that was over in Mt. Vernon, [Washington.] the Gardens. It was Pam's daughter's--It's her mother-in-law, and so it was all kept in the family, and so that same year my daughter was getting married, and so we thought that was the perfect place for her wedding and it turned out gorgeous.
LJ: And she did get a beautiful quilt for her--
JV: She did, I also made her a quilt. [laughs.]
LJ: Which was in the book wasn't it?
JV: No, it wasn't.
LJ: Have you ever won an award?
JV: Yes, I have. My very first one was--In the Beginning [fabric company.] had a contest for a fabric, their new fabric line coming out. It was a 1st place $500, and I was working at the Forest Service [U.S. Forest Service.] in the nursery [U.S.D.A. Forest Service Nursery at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.] at the time, and all I could--think of working at that job was that I am going to win that first place. And that I made--oh, I called it, "The Chair." It was like an upholstery looking chair with pictures and things in the background. You could only use their fabric line and solid colors. So, it was 30 inches by thirty inches. I sent it off, of course again it was like the last day, and it was like $30 to send it Express [Federal Express.], and my husband came back saying, 'It had better do something.' [laughs.] And I won first place and got the $500. From then on, I was hooked.
LJ: Do you collect or sell quilts?
JV: I collect the ones that I make. [laughs.] And. I do have three old quilts, but I don't sell quilts. I sold one, and that was the quilt that took 2nd place at the Association of Pacific Northwest Quilts back in 2000, 'Tied Up." It was three boats on the beach, and after I got it back, there was a letter that was from a man interested in buying it. Usually after I finish making a quilt, I am tired of it, ready to move on. 'Sure, I will sell it.' [laughs.] So, I ended up selling it, and then that's my husband's favorite quilt. So, it is also the only quilt that I have remade,
So, I still have one that looks kind of like it.
LJ: New and improved. [both laugh.]
JV: I always learn a little something with each project.
LJ: What do you think makes a great quilt?
JV: Oh. I think the first thing--like at a quilt show and you see that quilt from a distance, it's the color and the design, and then as you keep coming come closer and closer more and more things come out at you, till you get up close and you see the technique and see how well it's done. I think it has to be stunning to begin with, but then it has to carry all the way through technique. The more you look at it the more details that come out, I think it makes it a spectacular quilt.
LJ: [agrees.] What makes a quilt appropriate for a museum or special collection?
JV: I think any quilt that tells a story should be hanging in a museum, and that is wide open. I think that people throughout the ages have really poured their hearts out and their creativity into these quilts. And if it tells anything about them, it is very appropriate for a museum.
LJ: Does it have to be a beautifully sewn quilt?
JV: I think, yes, the sky is the limit. Just any--I know if I'd lived back in those days, I would be saving every little scrap, and I think it puts even more meaning into antique quilts, that was your only little bit of spark of creativity that you had time for.
LJ: What makes a great quiltmaker?
JV: I think that any quilter that shares her techniques and that is not to say that there's wonderful quilters out there that don't teach, but oh, I think we remember the quilters that have brought us along in our quilting. To get out there and teach and show what you know. It is such a sharing, a very sharing hobby or--
LJ: Community.
JV: Yes, I think that a quiltmaker that's out there helping other quilters.
LJ: What artists have influenced you?
JV: Probably the first was Caryl Byer Fallert. I think she was a favorite for lots of us, because she just did amazing things with colors, with curves and I remember seeing her first work in the magazines and just going, 'Ah never ever,' but we have had her come out and speak to our group, the North Idaho quilters. She has moved on to doing just beautiful things, and I really admire her.
LJ: Did you ever take a class from her when she was out?
JV: No, I wasn't able to take a class. Another quilt artist would be Ruth McDowell, and I took a three-day workshop over in Kalispell, Montana with her. Her technique is piecing so that it almost looks like an appliqué. She can piece absolutely anything even a circle into a quilt. I never got the circle down but did lots of little pieces. Made lots of fish quilts from her technique. I really enjoyed the underwater look with all the little slices of fabric.
LJ: And I have a Flashlight Fish where friends think--they will come to my house and think it is a picture on the wall. They have to go up and feel that it is fabric. [both laugh.] That was hand died and batiks fabrics and lots of little pieces. It gives a lot of depth when you put in those little pieces and shade it.
JV: Another quilt artist would be Susan Carlson [tape recorder turned off with volume being increased when it comes back on.] She does just magnificent collage quilts, and so I have worked from her books, and I really like her work. It is amazing. Let's see.
LJ: So, what collage have you done from her? From what book? Was that the loons? No?
JV: No, the loons were from Joan Colvin. I took a class from her, and she is another very good teacher. I have done a couple of more. And then Pam Mostek, my good friend. She invited a few of us to take a class free class from her as she was testing a new class, and it also was collage, and that's where I made my dragon quilt, Born in the Year of the Dragon.
LJ: Which was neat because you have different fabrics and--
JV: Yes, I really like doing collage, just because you can use hundreds of different fabrics, get a lot of depth in the piece and it's been a big step for me to do that raw edge, but it has also been freeing and fun.
LJ: Any other artists?
JV: [pause.] Oh, just my friend Pam, you know Pam Mosteck, who I admire. I met her at-- actually she hired me to work for Debbie Mumm when I worked for Mumm's the Word, [based in Spokane, Washington.] so I think she has done a lot to help my career in quilting.
LJ: And she gives you a hard time about having animals on your quilt. [laughing.]
JV: Yes, she says, 'No, critters on the quilt.' And I think I get a critter on almost on every one of my quilts. [laughs.] Yes, she has been a real inspiration. She always calls me up and says, 'Jean, get going!'
LJ: I know some of your quilts that you have made for your daughters--
JV: Oh, yes. I love Kaffe Fassett's fabrics, and my girls just loved his books, so for my oldest daughter for her wedding I did one of his quilts out of there. Collected his fabrics and just love the colors. They are inspiring.
LJ: How do you feel about machine quilting versus hand quilting?
JV: Well, I think that there is a place for both of them. I like to hand quilt, but there's a lot of things that I would never get done if I didn't machine quilt. I think that machine quilting takes a tremendous lot of talent because you ad lib a lot of times just moving along 90 miles an hour trying to make some interesting designs. But I think that there is something with the hand quilting that is very meditative, and I enjoy doing that. So, I think that there is a place in the world for both of them.
LI: What about long arm quilting?
JV: I think that long arm has been one of the new technologies that really has a lot of people that have just been just top makers become quilters. I think it's wonderful. I don't ever machine quilt anything bigger than a twin quilt on my own machine. It's just too hard to move it through, and I think having a long arm quilter out there, I've really depended on them especially when I was doing my books. It's just wonderful to fall back on some talented ladies.
LJ: Well, tell me about the quilt that you brought today.
JV: Today I brought "My Heritage" which I made for the DAR contest [National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.] that they have once a year, and this year the theme was a 'Heritage Remembered." And so, I just went from there. I like patriotic quilts, and I wanted to do one that had our heritage in it. So, I started in the middle of the quilt and designed a mariner's compass, and I wanted it to mean "A Nation on Course." And then around the mariner's compass I machine quilted Daughters of the American Revolution. Out from there I have four eagles, and then in each corner of the eagles, I machine quilted the names of four of our patriots. I have their olive branches with thirteen leaves on the outer border, and of course it is all done in red, white, and blue very patriotic. I wanted it to look like an antique quilt which I think that it kind of does, but if I really wanted it to look authentic, I should have hand quilted it; but then I'd still be still quilting on it as we sit here today. [laughs.] There are just some things that I had to move on, so it has been machine quilted.
LJ: Great. What special meaning does this quilt have for you?
JV: Well, I think it's a--surprisingly enough it went all the way to National there and won first place in the quilting, and then it took first place in the fibers [Fiber Arts category.] And then it went on to win the Evelyn Cole Peter’s Award which is the top award for the whole, I believe it was the Fiber [Arts.] category; and so, I was just amazed. It was quite an honor. So, this quilt now, I just have one of them and I have three children; and I am going to have to decide.
LJ: You can give it to your sister. [laughs.]
JV: I can give it to Liz because she is a DAR member here and got me going in DAR, or I can give it to one of my girls if they ever join. I can hold that over them. [laughs.]
LJ: What do you think that someone viewing your quilts might conclude about you?
JV: I think they would think I am a very traditional quilter which probably in the last five years, I've been doing more wall quilts and art quilts. So, I think-- [both talking at the same time.]
JV: Postcard quilts, journal quilts so this is real traditional for me, but I must admit that for me it was very fun to go back and just do a traditional quilt.
LJ: We kind of talked about your plans for the quilt. You are going to give it to me. [both laugh.] In what ways do your quilts reflect your community or region?
JV: Yes, the region definitely influences me. My second book, "Meadowbrook Quilts" is all about being inspired in North Idaho. So, many of my quilts have rocks, and fish, and trees. So, they are kind of outdoorsy quilts, so the region has affected me, and of course with this DAR quilt, something about the country also reflects my ideas.
LJ: In what ways do you think your quilts have special meaning for women's history in America?
JV: I think that any period of time you're quilting, your thoughts and your ideas become a capsule in time, and hopefully they will be preserved some of them, not all of them. [laughs.] a few of them passed down along to kind of show where we were are that time. I think it is kind of [pauses.] a segment in time what you are working on.
LJ: I always think when your kids look through your work, and they can remember what was going on.
JV: Exactly.
LJ: How do you think quilts can be used?
JV: Well, in the recent years quilts have jumped from the bed to the wall we have really noticed, and I think that they can be used for art and also just appreciated for their comfort--there is nothing like a hand quilted quilt on your bed. So, I think that we make a lot of quilts for the women's shelter and also little baby quilts for the newborns at the hospital. So, comfort, art, and I don't think that there is any more loving gift that you can give.
LJ: I agree. Do you have a quilt on your bed?
JV: Actually, I don't. We have these two dogs which I said we walk through the woods every day. [laughs.] So, lots of muddy paws so I have a duvet cover that I can wash frequently, but the guest rooms have a quilt on them; but I keep the door shut.
LJ: What do you think is the biggest challenge confronting quiltmakers today?
JV: Well, I think that we are at a really good spot with quilting today because I think that there is just so much to offer--anyone that wants to get into the hobby. With the quilt art there's fast easy projects, and then there's is the traditional that takes time and you can really take pride in your work. So, I think at this time quilting is really growing. The fabrics are really gorgeous, the sewing machines are incredible, the tools make it easier every day, so I have a lot of hope that quilting will go on for a long time. I am sure that it will.
LJ: The biggest thing is probably cost, if anything.
JV: Cost. I think back then when I first started quilting, I picked up a lot of fabric from the thrift stores, and that was probably my big jump. I made some ugly colored quilts, but that is really kind of how I got started, and I did a lot of sewing for my children, so I had lots of scraps left over. I think still one of my favorite quilts to make is a baby quilt because it's their first possession, and they remember it the rest of their lives. My kids remember their first three blankets, and it's just the colors, it is the comfort, it's their first possession, so it is probably my favorite quilt to make.
LJ: Well Jean, is there anything that you want to add to this interview?
JV: I think that I have said it all and more.
LJ: Okay, I would like to thank Jean Van Bockel for allowing me to interview her today as part of the Quilters' S.O.S. - Save Our Stories project. Our interview concluded at 4:47 [p.m.] on November 18, 2007.
[recording concludes.]
Liz Jones (LJ): My name is Liz Jones and today's date is November 18, 2007, at 4 p.m. I am conducting and interview with Jean Van Bockel, my sister, in my home in Rathdrum, Idaho for the Quilters' [S.O.S.] - Save Our Stories Project. We are doing this through the American Heritage Committee of the Idaho State [Society.] Daughters of the American Revolution. Jean is a quilter and is a member of the Lt. George Farragut chapter NSDAR [National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.] Jean, when did you first learn to sew?
Jean Van Bockel (JV): Well, I started when I was twelve years old. I joined a 4-H group and that was the beginning of sewing and I loved it, and then started making clothing for myself. Our parents gave us a clothing allowance, and that was the best way to make the clothing allowance go a long way. And then I started making -- in fact my sister always joked that we sewed everything but our underwear. And that was probably about it. I remember that one year I made a two-piece swimming suit. [laughing.] It didn't stretch or work too well, but that was the beginning of my sewing career.
LJ: When did you make your first quilt?
JV: My first quilt was when I was going to college, so I was probably about 19 or 20. This was back in 1972 or so. So, quilting really had not had its resurgence at this time, but I remember this quilt so well because it had 99 squares, and it took me an hour to punch through and quilt each square. So, it has 99 hours of hand quilting in it, [laughing.] but it doesn't look like it does. I had to order my polyester batting, 2-inch polyester batting, from Sears and a white polyester sheet for the backing. So, it was quite a project, and that was my first experience with making a quilt. But then--
LJ: Who did you make it for?
JV: Oh, I made it for my boyfriend at that time which turned out to be my husband. So that it probably the best thing about this quilt is that I still have it 33 years later and my husband too. So, that was kind of a neat thing other than now it is kind of an ugly quilt because it has been drug through three kids and a lot of action, but I still have it.
LJ: Okay. When do you really think you really started quilting per se?
JV: I really don't count that as quilt making until I was probably about 34, and I joined a quilt group with my other sister, Kathy; and it was just a wonderful group that really got everyone, all the members up and quilting. They taught us how to hand quilt and had lots of classes and quilt shows where you had to show what you made. It was probably about 1986 that I started seriously making quilts.
LJ: Do you remember any of your instructors or anybody in particular that you learned from?
JV: Oh, they were just mainly quilt members, and we didn't have any big-name quilters come into our group at that time. I know that since then they have but--just mainly little quilting friends that showed us a lot.
LJ: What is your first quilt memory?
JV: I was spending the night with a girlfriend and her grandmother had made her a Sunbonnet Sue quilt. I remember that we spent a long time going over it and looking at each Sunbonnet Sue and how she matched the bonnets and embroidered little flowers on them and the dresses. We looked through to see which was our favorite. And it was all hand quilted. It was a beautiful little quilt. I think that was probably my first real memory of a quilt.
LJ: Are there any other quiltmakers among your family or friends?
JV: Yes, both my sisters quilt and one of my grandmothers did.
LJ: What do you find pleasing about quilting?
JV: I like the creativity. Doing something that has never been, an original piece, I really enjoy. I love probably every aspect of quilting. From the beginning picking out all the fabrics, the piecing, love to appliqué, so the whole entire quilt making process, I really enjoy.
LJ: So, there is probably not any aspect that you don't enjoy?
JV: No, even the binding. The binding--probably that was something I worried about when I first began quilt making because you've got this quilt and now are you going to ruin it putting the binding on, but right down to the binding, I just enjoy every bit of quilt making now.
LJ: What are your favorite techniques and the materials?
JV: I use mostly cottons. I like hand dyed cottons and batiks, and probably hand appliqué is my favorite technique that I like doing. I have been doing a lot of art quilts lately and have gotten into the collage where you just have the raw edge which I thought that I would never ever do [laughs.] after hand appliqué. I really have been enjoying that lately too. You can use masses and masses of fabric to get depth, and it has been very enjoyable, something you can't get that depth with appliqué.
LJ: Have advances in technology influenced your work?
JV: Oh, I am sure it has. There have been so many things that have come out. Right after I began quilting the rotary cutter and the mat which really helped us get away from templates. Oh, I don't do a lot of fusing, but I think just more things being accepted like machine quilting-- sewing machines, the fabric everything has been improved over the years to make it easier.
LJ: Describe your studio or the point that you create.
JV: I have a bedroom that I've converted into a studio which has one side that has enclosed cupboards to keep my fabric. I have just a regular drafting table which is real handy because I can pump it up higher when I am cutting or lower it when I am sitting at it. It is not a very big room, but it has a high ceiling so I have a huge design board on it that is probably 8 x 8 feet so I can put anything up there. I take advantage of being able to stick it up on the wall and come back and look at the design. I think that is very helpful in a sewing room.
LJ: You have inspiration on your design wall and bulletin board.
JV: Oh, yes, I have all sorts of things up and around. I have a bulletin board with just clippings and fabrics and things that are inspirations.
LJ: How many hours a week do you quilt?
JV: Oh, I probably do a little bit of quilting every day in some sort of way. Hand appliqué or a little bit of machine quilting, piecing. I always have something going, but I--as hours, not until a deadline comes up do, I really get going and can spend like all day in my sewing room if I have to make a deadline. I am a deadline kind of person. I don't even get it done until the day.
LJ: What would your typical day be?
JV: Oh, it would be--a typical day would probably be sewing two or three hours maybe, or I could go sometimes a week without any quilting, but even when I am on vacation, I have some hand work I am taking with me.
LJ: You always take your dogs for a walk in the morning.
JV: Yes, I live out in the woods. We have two dogs so that I have to get my morning walk in. I have kind of a pretty stress-free lifestyle. I can do what I want to do. I have a good husband who supports me completely.
LJ: How does quilt making impact your family?
JV: It probably doesn't impact them like it did when they were younger when I would drag my hand appliqué to their soccer or their basketball games. They always thought that was a little strange. Now they are grown, and I think that they are kind of proud of old mom and what she has done with her quilting. My husband has always been very supportive of what I have done and then when I won my first little money on a quilt, $500 [laughing.] he became real supportive. [laughing.] Yes, so I think that they have all been real proud of me.
LJ: What did your son used to say about your artwork in your house?
JV: Oh, awhile back when they were probably in high school, one of them came home, I think that it was probably Miles, my son, and said, 'Why can't we be like any other family and have pictures on the walls instead of quilts?' [laughs.] So, I guess we did stand out even back then. [laughs.]
LJ: I remember one of my favorite quilts of Miles' was the Volkswagen bus.
JV: Oh, the Volkswagen bus. He loved the Volkswagen bus. It was just a little wall quilt, but I didn't make that. Sister Kathy made that one. That was one of his best little birthday gifts or Christmas gifts. We still have that.
LJ: What art or quilt groups do you belong to?
JV: Well, I belong to four groups. The first one is North Idaho Quilters which is a quilting guild of about, oh--180 to 200 members and we meet every other month. And then they have an activity meeting on the months that we don't meet on a Saturday that you can come in and do whatever you are sewing on or community work. And, we have a wonderful quilt show every two years. About 350 quilts, amazing. We have a very talented quilt group. And then--
LJ: Two years ago, you were the featured artist.
JV: Yes, I was the featured artist. I was invited to be the featured artist in 2005 it was, and that was very enjoyable, very nice. Then the second group that I belong to is the Out to Lunch Bunch. It's a group of, well we were 12, but we are down to 11. We have been meeting for 15 years. It was one of the quilt stores I worked at. We started--after it closed, we didn't want to give up our friendship, so we've been meeting once a month there. We have done all kinds of projects. Oh, Round Robins, we have made blocks for one another, we have made baby quilts when we have become grandmas, weddings, just all sorts of quilts. But our latest one we made as a fundraiser. We have one gal in our group; her niece is a teacher in Chad, Africa. So, we made her a quilt because they needed to raise money for a well. And just this spring it was raffled off, and it made over $2,000 and the well as already been put in for the school. So that was real rewarding thing to do. My third group is the Soup Kitchen. We call ourselves the Soup Kitchen because we meet on a Thursday or Friday night, and we have soup, bread, and wine. It is a real traditional group. There are only five of us. We get a quilt top together and then we hand quilt it. And sometimes we get drinking wine, and we don't get to the quilting or very little. So, it takes us a very long time to get a quilt done. And I am talking about just a lap quilt too. And then with this quilt we give it to--it just seems to kind of come up when it is done, it seems to have a calling. The first quilt was right after 911, and we decided that we would send it to someone that helped in Gander in Newfoundland because so many overseas planes had to go down in that little community. So, we sent it off to, I don't know, if it was their City Hall, and asked them if they would give it to some family that cared for one of--some of the people there. They couldn't decide, and they ended up putting it in the Fire House Museum, and this was the first quilt that we made, and so it wasn't the best. [laughs.] So, now it is sitting there in their museum, and we all had a good laugh at that. We have made quilts for a refugee in Hungry, and we sent them as much as we could in duffle bags with one of the nephews to take, so that they could do some quilting. And they were sitting there; I guess they didn't have much to do, so we sent fabrics, and cutting utensils and books so that they could quilt in Hungry. And then we are working on right now, "Redwork" that is going to Romania with Lou. She is going to go over there this spring, and it's going to be a hostess gift.
LJ: Well, when you sent the ones to Hungry, weren't they just very impressed?
JV: Hungry was the best, actually the best thank you note that any of us have ever received in our lives. These people couldn't understand why we would send--well, we sent four finished hand quilted quilts to them, why we would just send off quilts to people that we didn't even know. They had all done handwork, and they knew how long it had taken us, probably a lot longer for us. [laughs.] So, they were extremely appreciative, and I think that they really enjoyed the quilting supplies too.
LJ: And so, you sent a picture of your group.
JV: We sent a picture of our group. Lou's nephew said that they spent so much time looking at us and everything behind--the bookcase, and looking where we were and spent a long time discussing us which we thought was kind of interesting.
Oh, and then I have [both laughing.] one other group that I belong to here. It is a quilt art group. Five more members. We also meet once a month. This group we divide up so that we teach one class. Well, we end of teaching a couple of classes a year, and it is to just teach our group a new technique. Then we also have been making Journal Quilts. Journal Quilts are just little quilts that are like the size of a piece of paper 8 ½ x 11 [inches.]. We have a can that we have printed all these different ideas, so that we draw each month what the next one is going to be. For instance, this one coming up is water, so you can represent it in any way that you want to, but you have to have some kind of water theme. Just kind of on the edge trying of different ideas.
LJ: Oh, neat. Tell me about an amusing experience that has occurred in your quilt, quilting.
JV: Oh, well this happened probably a good fifteen, no twelve years ago. We were traveling back east with the kids kind of just to give them an idea of how big the U.S. [United States.] is. This is from Idaho, and we were in Rochester, Minnesota and stopped at a little store and while I was waiting in line there was this woman behind me, and she had come in and dropped off some appliqué patterns. And so, I said, ‘Oh, so you are a quilter.' I asked if there are any quilt stores, so as we worked up in line and we were talking, and there was a lady at the cash register who was also giving me directions to a quilt store in the area that I was hopefully was going to. I paid for my item, went outside [clears throat.] Excuse me. And the woman followed me completely outside, and she told me about--she was hoping that this quilt that her mother had, she was going to inherit, hopefully before mom passed away. And she invited me to their quilt meeting the next day if I was still in town. And she said that it was at the home of a friend. Beautiful house, out in the garden, I would really enjoy. They would enjoy meeting me. And in the meantime, my husband is standing by me rolling his eyes saying, 'What is this?' [laughs.] So, I thanked her, told her, 'No, we are moving on.' But, when I got back to the car with my husband I said, 'You know, that really is what a quiltmaker is. It is someone you meet just like that, and you are already a really close friend, and I think that is what quilt making is all about.'
LJ: [agrees.] Have you ever worked in a quilt shop?
JV: Yes, I have. I've worked in two quilt shops in Coeur d'Alene and really enjoyed it. At the same time, I worked, I taught beginning quilting or quilt basics or Entrapment 101 we used to call it because it's a very addicting hobby, and taught appliqué classes too.
LJ: So those were the two shops you worked in Coeur d'Alene. Didn't you work in Spokane?
JV: Yes, I worked for a while for Debbie Mumm designing quilts, and designed quilted crafts or her for a while which was fun, real fun.
LJ: The next question is do you teach quilting and you--
JV: We have kind of answered that.
LJ: You have answered that. Oh, have you traveled outside your hometown to teach?
JV: Yes, I have. I have taught at some retreats and have taught also in my old quilt group back in Washington State which was fun because I can remember all the girls. [laughs.] Probably the best time was--I got to teach on Debbie Mumm's 20th anniversary cruise up to Alaska. And that was just probably the best group of girls too that I got to teach. And, my husband came along, and he thought that was a good benefit. [laughs.] He really enjoyed that.
LJ: [laughs.] He probably thought that it was paying off.
JV: [laughs at the same time.] Yes, that is right. He thought that it was really paying off now big time.
LJ: Have your quilts ever been published?
JV: Yes, I have written three books. The first book is "Quilts from Larkspur Farm" that I did with my best friend Pam Mostek. The second book is “Meadowbrook Quilts” which are quilts that are inspired by the North Idaho region and then my third book "Polka-Dot Kids' Quilts."
LJ: And Larkspur Farms your oldest daughter even got married up there.
JV: Yes, that was over in Mt. Vernon, [Washington.] the Gardens. It was Pam's daughter's--It's her mother-in-law, and so it was all kept in the family, and so that same year my daughter was getting married, and so we thought that was the perfect place for her wedding and it turned out gorgeous.
LJ: And she did get a beautiful quilt for her--
JV: She did, I also made her a quilt. [laughs.]
LJ: Which was in the book wasn't it?
JV: No, it wasn't.
LJ: Have you ever won an award?
JV: Yes, I have. My very first one was--In the Beginning [fabric company.] had a contest for a fabric, their new fabric line coming out. It was a 1st place $500, and I was working at the Forest Service [U.S. Forest Service.] in the nursery [U.S.D.A. Forest Service Nursery at Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.] at the time, and all I could--think of working at that job was that I am going to win that first place. And that I made--oh, I called it, "The Chair." It was like an upholstery looking chair with pictures and things in the background. You could only use their fabric line and solid colors. So, it was 30 inches by thirty inches. I sent it off, of course again it was like the last day, and it was like $30 to send it Express [Federal Express.], and my husband came back saying, 'It had better do something.' [laughs.] And I won first place and got the $500. From then on, I was hooked.
LJ: Do you collect or sell quilts?
JV: I collect the ones that I make. [laughs.] And. I do have three old quilts, but I don't sell quilts. I sold one, and that was the quilt that took 2nd place at the Association of Pacific Northwest Quilts back in 2000, 'Tied Up." It was three boats on the beach, and after I got it back, there was a letter that was from a man interested in buying it. Usually after I finish making a quilt, I am tired of it, ready to move on. 'Sure, I will sell it.' [laughs.] So, I ended up selling it, and then that's my husband's favorite quilt. So, it is also the only quilt that I have remade,
So, I still have one that looks kind of like it.
LJ: New and improved. [both laugh.]
JV: I always learn a little something with each project.
LJ: What do you think makes a great quilt?
JV: Oh. I think the first thing--like at a quilt show and you see that quilt from a distance, it's the color and the design, and then as you keep coming come closer and closer more and more things come out at you, till you get up close and you see the technique and see how well it's done. I think it has to be stunning to begin with, but then it has to carry all the way through technique. The more you look at it the more details that come out, I think it makes it a spectacular quilt.
LJ: [agrees.] What makes a quilt appropriate for a museum or special collection?
JV: I think any quilt that tells a story should be hanging in a museum, and that is wide open. I think that people throughout the ages have really poured their hearts out and their creativity into these quilts. And if it tells anything about them, it is very appropriate for a museum.
LJ: Does it have to be a beautifully sewn quilt?
JV: I think, yes, the sky is the limit. Just any--I know if I'd lived back in those days, I would be saving every little scrap, and I think it puts even more meaning into antique quilts, that was your only little bit of spark of creativity that you had time for.
LJ: What makes a great quiltmaker?
JV: I think that any quilter that shares her techniques and that is not to say that there's wonderful quilters out there that don't teach, but oh, I think we remember the quilters that have brought us along in our quilting. To get out there and teach and show what you know. It is such a sharing, a very sharing hobby or--
LJ: Community.
JV: Yes, I think that a quiltmaker that's out there helping other quilters.
LJ: What artists have influenced you?
JV: Probably the first was Caryl Byer Fallert. I think she was a favorite for lots of us, because she just did amazing things with colors, with curves and I remember seeing her first work in the magazines and just going, 'Ah never ever,' but we have had her come out and speak to our group, the North Idaho quilters. She has moved on to doing just beautiful things, and I really admire her.
LJ: Did you ever take a class from her when she was out?
JV: No, I wasn't able to take a class. Another quilt artist would be Ruth McDowell, and I took a three-day workshop over in Kalispell, Montana with her. Her technique is piecing so that it almost looks like an appliqué. She can piece absolutely anything even a circle into a quilt. I never got the circle down but did lots of little pieces. Made lots of fish quilts from her technique. I really enjoyed the underwater look with all the little slices of fabric.
LJ: And I have a Flashlight Fish where friends think--they will come to my house and think it is a picture on the wall. They have to go up and feel that it is fabric. [both laugh.] That was hand died and batiks fabrics and lots of little pieces. It gives a lot of depth when you put in those little pieces and shade it.
JV: Another quilt artist would be Susan Carlson [tape recorder turned off with volume being increased when it comes back on.] She does just magnificent collage quilts, and so I have worked from her books, and I really like her work. It is amazing. Let's see.
LJ: So, what collage have you done from her? From what book? Was that the loons? No?
JV: No, the loons were from Joan Colvin. I took a class from her, and she is another very good teacher. I have done a couple of more. And then Pam Mostek, my good friend. She invited a few of us to take a class free class from her as she was testing a new class, and it also was collage, and that's where I made my dragon quilt, Born in the Year of the Dragon.
LJ: Which was neat because you have different fabrics and--
JV: Yes, I really like doing collage, just because you can use hundreds of different fabrics, get a lot of depth in the piece and it's been a big step for me to do that raw edge, but it has also been freeing and fun.
LJ: Any other artists?
JV: [pause.] Oh, just my friend Pam, you know Pam Mosteck, who I admire. I met her at-- actually she hired me to work for Debbie Mumm when I worked for Mumm's the Word, [based in Spokane, Washington.] so I think she has done a lot to help my career in quilting.
LJ: And she gives you a hard time about having animals on your quilt. [laughing.]
JV: Yes, she says, 'No, critters on the quilt.' And I think I get a critter on almost on every one of my quilts. [laughs.] Yes, she has been a real inspiration. She always calls me up and says, 'Jean, get going!'
LJ: I know some of your quilts that you have made for your daughters--
JV: Oh, yes. I love Kaffe Fassett's fabrics, and my girls just loved his books, so for my oldest daughter for her wedding I did one of his quilts out of there. Collected his fabrics and just love the colors. They are inspiring.
LJ: How do you feel about machine quilting versus hand quilting?
JV: Well, I think that there is a place for both of them. I like to hand quilt, but there's a lot of things that I would never get done if I didn't machine quilt. I think that machine quilting takes a tremendous lot of talent because you ad lib a lot of times just moving along 90 miles an hour trying to make some interesting designs. But I think that there is something with the hand quilting that is very meditative, and I enjoy doing that. So, I think that there is a place in the world for both of them.
LI: What about long arm quilting?
JV: I think that long arm has been one of the new technologies that really has a lot of people that have just been just top makers become quilters. I think it's wonderful. I don't ever machine quilt anything bigger than a twin quilt on my own machine. It's just too hard to move it through, and I think having a long arm quilter out there, I've really depended on them especially when I was doing my books. It's just wonderful to fall back on some talented ladies.
LJ: Well, tell me about the quilt that you brought today.
JV: Today I brought "My Heritage" which I made for the DAR contest [National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.] that they have once a year, and this year the theme was a 'Heritage Remembered." And so, I just went from there. I like patriotic quilts, and I wanted to do one that had our heritage in it. So, I started in the middle of the quilt and designed a mariner's compass, and I wanted it to mean "A Nation on Course." And then around the mariner's compass I machine quilted Daughters of the American Revolution. Out from there I have four eagles, and then in each corner of the eagles, I machine quilted the names of four of our patriots. I have their olive branches with thirteen leaves on the outer border, and of course it is all done in red, white, and blue very patriotic. I wanted it to look like an antique quilt which I think that it kind of does, but if I really wanted it to look authentic, I should have hand quilted it; but then I'd still be still quilting on it as we sit here today. [laughs.] There are just some things that I had to move on, so it has been machine quilted.
LJ: Great. What special meaning does this quilt have for you?
JV: Well, I think it's a--surprisingly enough it went all the way to National there and won first place in the quilting, and then it took first place in the fibers [Fiber Arts category.] And then it went on to win the Evelyn Cole Peter’s Award which is the top award for the whole, I believe it was the Fiber [Arts.] category; and so, I was just amazed. It was quite an honor. So, this quilt now, I just have one of them and I have three children; and I am going to have to decide.
LJ: You can give it to your sister. [laughs.]
JV: I can give it to Liz because she is a DAR member here and got me going in DAR, or I can give it to one of my girls if they ever join. I can hold that over them. [laughs.]
LJ: What do you think that someone viewing your quilts might conclude about you?
JV: I think they would think I am a very traditional quilter which probably in the last five years, I've been doing more wall quilts and art quilts. So, I think-- [both talking at the same time.]
JV: Postcard quilts, journal quilts so this is real traditional for me, but I must admit that for me it was very fun to go back and just do a traditional quilt.
LJ: We kind of talked about your plans for the quilt. You are going to give it to me. [both laugh.] In what ways do your quilts reflect your community or region?
JV: Yes, the region definitely influences me. My second book, "Meadowbrook Quilts" is all about being inspired in North Idaho. So, many of my quilts have rocks, and fish, and trees. So, they are kind of outdoorsy quilts, so the region has affected me, and of course with this DAR quilt, something about the country also reflects my ideas.
LJ: In what ways do you think your quilts have special meaning for women's history in America?
JV: I think that any period of time you're quilting, your thoughts and your ideas become a capsule in time, and hopefully they will be preserved some of them, not all of them. [laughs.] a few of them passed down along to kind of show where we were are that time. I think it is kind of [pauses.] a segment in time what you are working on.
LJ: I always think when your kids look through your work, and they can remember what was going on.
JV: Exactly.
LJ: How do you think quilts can be used?
JV: Well, in the recent years quilts have jumped from the bed to the wall we have really noticed, and I think that they can be used for art and also just appreciated for their comfort--there is nothing like a hand quilted quilt on your bed. So, I think that we make a lot of quilts for the women's shelter and also little baby quilts for the newborns at the hospital. So, comfort, art, and I don't think that there is any more loving gift that you can give.
LJ: I agree. Do you have a quilt on your bed?
JV: Actually, I don't. We have these two dogs which I said we walk through the woods every day. [laughs.] So, lots of muddy paws so I have a duvet cover that I can wash frequently, but the guest rooms have a quilt on them; but I keep the door shut.
LJ: What do you think is the biggest challenge confronting quiltmakers today?
JV: Well, I think that we are at a really good spot with quilting today because I think that there is just so much to offer--anyone that wants to get into the hobby. With the quilt art there's fast easy projects, and then there's is the traditional that takes time and you can really take pride in your work. So, I think at this time quilting is really growing. The fabrics are really gorgeous, the sewing machines are incredible, the tools make it easier every day, so I have a lot of hope that quilting will go on for a long time. I am sure that it will.
LJ: The biggest thing is probably cost, if anything.
JV: Cost. I think back then when I first started quilting, I picked up a lot of fabric from the thrift stores, and that was probably my big jump. I made some ugly colored quilts, but that is really kind of how I got started, and I did a lot of sewing for my children, so I had lots of scraps left over. I think still one of my favorite quilts to make is a baby quilt because it's their first possession, and they remember it the rest of their lives. My kids remember their first three blankets, and it's just the colors, it is the comfort, it's their first possession, so it is probably my favorite quilt to make.
LJ: Well Jean, is there anything that you want to add to this interview?
JV: I think that I have said it all and more.
LJ: Okay, I would like to thank Jean Van Bockel for allowing me to interview her today as part of the Quilters' S.O.S. - Save Our Stories project. Our interview concluded at 4:47 [p.m.] on November 18, 2007.
[recording concludes.]
Citation
“Jean Van Bockel,” Quilters' S.O.S. -- Save Our Stories, accessed May 3, 2024, https://qsos.quiltalliance.org/items/show/1712.