Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Subject:Quilts
Quilting
Textiles
Women
Books
Needlework
Families
Crafts & decorating
Textile artists
Decorative arts
Spirituality

Description:Le Rowell interviews Judy Dales, a renowned quilter at a quilt convention. She discusses how she got involved in quilting from a young age and the first quilt she owned. She talks about the challenges she faces in quilting, from doing challenging designs to writing a book about quilting and publishing it. She discusses the personal and emotional aspects of quilting through an anecdote about the quilt she created after the death of her mother. Dales talks about her involvement in the White House Collection of American Crafts, created by the Clinton administration. She discusses various aspects of quilting, including what makes a great quilt, whether quilting is an art or a craft, and the future of quilting. [show more]

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Subject:Quilts
Quilting
Textiles
Textile artists
Artists
Arts & crafts
Art--Commissioning
Quilts--Design
Fabrics
Fabric arts
Creativity
Male quiltmakers
Quilting today
Craft and art
Decorative arts
Crafts & decorating

Description:Rebecca Salinger interviews Judy Mathieson, an award-winning quilter and teacher, about her life and career in quilting. Mathieson discusses her signature traditional quilt design, the "mariner's compass" design. She talks about how she creates her quilts and what inspires her, particularly the textiles she works with and the other traditional designs she uses in her quilts. Mathieson also discusses the quilting industry, including her feelings on male quiltmakers, how quilting impacts the lives of women, and the expressive qualities of quilt making. As a licensed quilt judge, Mathieson talks about what she looks for when judging a quilt, as well as the qualities of a great quilter and quilt. Mathieson discusses her future in quilting with the interviewer, her plans for future quilts, and any advice she has for quilters. [show more]

Subject:Quiltmakers
Patchwork quilts
Sewing
Quilting
Quilting shops
Sewing machines
Quilting--Patterns
Quilting--Periodicals

Description:Judy Murrah was the director of education for the International Quilt Festival. She talks about how she learned to sew as a child, and how she taught herself how to quilt as a young adult. She became known for her books on wearables (quilted fashion pieces). Murrah talks about how her family supports her work, but she does not like when deadlines take her away from her family. She describes her relationship with Karey Bresenhan who got her into teaching and the quilting culture. [show more]

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Subject:Quilts
Quiltmaking
Quiltmakers--United States
Virginia Quilt Museum
Quilts--United States
Wool quilts
Arts and crafts
Sewing

Description:Judy Stryker talks about the materials of her chosen quilt, the maker of the quilt, and how it came into her possession. She talks about first learning about quilting and when she started to quilt. Stryker talks about the guilds she is a member of and her involvement with the Virginia Quilt Museum. She talks about what she thinks makes a quilt great and what she thinks makes a quiltmaker great. Stryker talks about the first quilt she ever made and what has become of it now. [show more]

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Subject:Quilts
Quilting
Textiles
Textile artists
Decorative arts
Crafts & decorating
Women
Women’s voices
Artists
Creativity
Fabrics
Fabric arts
Families
Communities
Gifts

Description:JoAnn Pospisil interviews Julie John Upshaw, an art quilt creator and winner of the best quilt award at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas. Upshaw discusses her background as a painter and how it influences the quilts she creates. She talks about her unorthodox methods of creating quilts, preferring to honor creativity over accuracy or tradition. She discusses the role of quilts in her family, community, and personal life. [show more]

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Subject:Artists
Arts and crafts.
Decorative arts
Quilting.
Quilts--Design.
Quilts.
Textile artists
Textiles
Families.

Description:June Underwood talks about her quilt, "Crow's Line," which is part of her series involving crows and dragons. She talks about the techniques she used to create the quilt, the types of cloth and thread, and the technique of dyeing with bleach or other chemicals. She talks about some of the poetry that inspired the quilts and her desire to convey a narrative through her quilt series. She talks about how she began quilting, her lack of background in sewing, and her early memories of quilts, which were mostly negative. She talks about her favorite aspects of quilting, where she quilts, and what happens to her quilts when they are finished. Underwood discusses the regional influences on her quilting and art. She talks about how she has been influenced by both the quilting community and the art community in Portland. She talks about her influences from the traditional art world. She talks about how to preserve quilts and the art of quilt-making for the future. [show more]

Subject:Quilting--Patterns
Quilts--Design.
Textile designers
Quilters
Quilting.
Quiltmakers
Quiltmaking
Quiltmaking process
Quiltmaking purpose
Quilts
Art quilts

Description:Kaffe Fassett designs fabrics used for quilting. He describes a quilt he chose to bring for the interview because, unlike the vast majority of his quilts, he sewed it himself. He is known for designing quilt patterns and fabric; his quilts are usually sewn by Liza Prior Lucy, for demonstration or publication purposes. In 1995, Liza Lucy encouraged Fassett to start designing quilts and fabrics based on his noted knitting designs. The first textile artist to have an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Fassett feels personally rewarded by how the art quilt world has embraced his fabrics and quilt designs. Fassett does multiple crafts, although knitting is still a major part of his life. He designed his first striped fabric by first knitting a sample, which was then handwoven in India. The production of these fabrics by handweavers has had a beneficial economic impact for their villages. He paints his designs on fabric, which is then produced into yardage that can be cut up and re-assembled in patchwork. He generally designs one or two fabric collections a year. [show more]

Type:Oral History

Description:Karen Alexander is a quilter, but works mainly as a quilt historian. She focuses on researching unknown quilts, and quilters’ genealogy. Her mother-in-law taught her how to quilt in 1980, however she has a long history of quilters in her family. Alexander’s main passion is the preservation and documentation of quilts and their creators. In the future she hopes to further quilt research to include “American Quilts” that were sent overseas during times of crisis, such as war or natural disasters. [show more]

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History

Type:Oral History