John F. Flynn

John F. Flynn

QSOS-007

audio

Oral History

John F. Flynn

Marietta Womack

10/22/99

Sandra Anne Frazier

Houston, TX

Karen Musgrave

Marietta Womack (MW): First of all, John, can you tell us something about the pieces that you've brought?

John Flynn (JF): Well, first, the reason that I sort of fell in love with quilting is that I think the hand quilting process is so soothing. So this is my favorite piece. It's just whole cloth quilt, you know, none of the annoying piecing part before you get to the good part. Developed as a stippling sampler, experimenting with the textures that you could develop with background quilting. I just really did enjoy the hand quilting process. I started quilting, mainly to help my wife, Brooke, with her quilting in the form of developing a quilt frame for her. And sort of in the process of developing and testing quilt frames, I found out how relaxing the hand quilting process was. And for several years, I just quilted on Brooke's quilts. She would piece the tops and I would quilt the quilts. Eventually she couldn't keep up with the piecing and I started doing the piecework. But the hand quilting is really the part of it that I love. So I do like to spend some time on a whole cloth project where the whole quilt is developed by the texture that the batting and the quilt stitching gives.

MW: Would you like to describe the other one?

JF: Oh, my other quilt is pretty special to me because it's the first class that I ever taught, and I never expected myself to be a teacher. My background is in civil engineering and I engineered this way to strip piece a double wedding ring. And it was that I developed what I considered clever technique that prompted me to volunteer to teach at the old retreat back in 1989. And surprisingly I enjoyed teaching. I really do like that. I'm not a public speaking type of person and I always was sort of shy and didn't think that teaching would be my thing. But it's so wonderful to be there, when the light finally comes on in the students' eyes. And the room brightens up and they catch the technique. And so the double wedding ring is special to me since that was my very first class, and I teach a number of classes now, but still the double wedding ring is my favorite one. And another favorite part of the double wedding ring is that it has such a nice quilting space in it and affords my other addiction and that's hand quilting. You get that nice place to create that texture.

MW: So you use this quilt in a class situation. Is that primarily why you made the quilt or do you?

JF: Well, you know, initially it was just making it for a wall hanging to have around the house during the holidays so the red and green, Christmas wedding. But it really has turned out to be one of my favorite quilts. A lot of things about it, I really like the quilting that I've done in it and the color combination as far as my quilts is probably my most imitated quilt. Students really pick up on, 'Oh, it's sort of the way the contemporary colors work,' and you get this secondary floral kind of an appearance. I really do have a lot of students that imitate this quilt. It's probably the sincerest form of flattery

MW: So we know your history about quilting, but was there any history in your family prior to your involvement with your wife's quilting?

JF: Not really. At my grandmother's house there was a Victorian era crazy quilt that us grandkids always used to fight over who got to have it on the bed. And that was like our early recollection, or my early recollection of quilting was always going to Grandma's and fighting over this crazy quilt. And of course they finally decided that whoever happened to be sick when we were there over the holidays would get to have the quilt. So then we always had to do a lot of sniffling and coughing when we got to grandma's house to try and get the quilt. My mother, I have three sisters, and my mother sewed all of their clothes, so there was a lot of sewing going on but not quilting. My mother made one quilt that I eventually pieced. I was like nine years old and in Cub Scouts. At Cub Scouts the den mother had this old Singer sewing machine that had been converted to a scroll saw. And we always would do our little birdhouse projects on this Singer. And of course eight or nine little Cub Scouts fighting over who gets to use it all the time, you didn't get much of a chance at it. And so I convinced my mother that I was pretty good with the Singer and she let me piece her quilt. So my mother made one quilt, but I actually pieced it when I was in Cub Scouts. And then she gave it to my sister and I never could figure that out exactly. But my mother was way too busy to make quilts. It is sort of a luxury to be able to, we think of it as utilitarian, but it's really a luxury to be able to afford the time to make quilts. I try to convince people and they say they don't have the patience for quilting. It actually will give you the patience that you need to get through life if you take it on.

MW: How have you seen quilting affecting peoples' lives?

JF: Oh, well, you can take my example of how I was in a pretty high stress position as a construction company owner. And one of the more interesting things that happened to me was that Brooke and I had actually for our own health, joined a local heart club at the local hospital. We would go in and get our cholesterol checked and they would do our lifestyles and tell you your true age. And it was interesting to me that five years after I gave up the construction company and took on quilt making and quilt frame manufacturing; I was two years younger than I was when I quit. [laughter.] So I gained seven years of my life just by taking on the quilting and relieving the stress. I've seen it open a lot of doors for different people. I certainly never would have had the opportunity to travel around the world teaching, and I know every quilter doesn't get that opportunity and I'm glad I got in in time to get that. I just think it's a wonderful community. I spent twenty-five years in public contracting and was on speaking terms with my competitors, but you come to quilt market in Houston and it's like a family reunion here, you know? Everybody's helping everybody and I know the other quilt frame manufacturers as well as I know any of my family members. And we're all in head to head competition for the dollars, but it's just not the way it is in other businesses. I really like that part.

MW: What is it about quilting; do you think that promotes that?

JF: It's hard to explain. I always, you know, think of hand quilting when I think of quilting anyway and then there's a lot of people that get a lot of pleasure from machine quilting. And I sort of broke down and changed my business to orient more towards machine quilting. I can remember back when I still owned my construction company and I was quilting for about ten years while I was still building bridges. And I would come home in the evening and I could feel my blood pressure go down when I picked up my needle. And in tense situations about all I have to do is slip a thimble on my finger. There's just something that is so relaxing and soothing about it. You know, it's a tactile kind of an art and I think people are a lot touchy-feely quilters. And I think it's just good for you. Can't explain it.

MW: You've talked about the direction we're going in in machine quilting. What other new things do you see coming along in quilting?

JF: Oh, gosh, well, I mean the improvements in just the peripheral stuff, the thread, every time you come to market there's more different varieties of thread than you can test over the year and the improvements in batting. Just through competition I think the sewing machine industry is driven by quilters now and what quilters want. And they're always trying to improve their machine with the intention of pleasing quilters. And of course we're getting into a lot of areas that are not exactly my favorite part of the whole thing, but the thread painting, embroidery, really high-tech things. I'm sort of into the low-end- hand quilting. But you see, I mean, people are always working on thimbles and I doubt if anybody's tried to improve needles for the last hundred years. And now all of a sudden there's a big competition in hand needles. I'm always admonishing my guild members who search around at big discount stores for bargain fabric that they should have been quilting back in the late 70's when there was no quilt shop around and they would know better than to do that because a quilt shop is really such a wonderful place; always the right atmosphere. And it's worth the money for me. I go to quilt shops whenever I get the opportunity. But I think it's interesting that all of the fabric industries and sewing machine industries are all sort of driven by this big quilt market now. And it's not just in the United States, it's worldwide. Still sell more sewing machines in Europe or home sewing clothing oriented, but quilting's catching up there. Pretty soon it's just going to be straight quilters. That can't be anything but good for us who are addicted to it.

MW: Do you find you have any special problems going into a quilt store?

JF: Not any more. Initially, especially when there wasn't a quilt store and it was a general fabric store and a large chain, a man looks a little bit out of place and clerks don't quite know how to handle that situation. There's no reason that men shouldn't be expert quilters. I've sort of come by it legitimately. My grandfathers on two sides of my family were tailors and so the needle and thread was no stranger to me. I've done half a dozen different kinds of crafts, woodworking, hand tied fishing flies, all of these things that require the intricate hand-eye coordination that's really the relaxing part of it that allows your brain to kind of rest. Quilting is the only one that you can really do in a family setting. It's such a nice family activity. My son was twelve when I started quilting and there was quite a bit of resistance at that time. Just, you know, because you don't want to go around and tell people your dad quilts. But he's really pretty proud of it now that I am known worldwide and travel and do this. He enjoys quilts and soon as I finish one there's a big argument between my son and my daughter who's going to get it when I die. I don't know, they're just waiting around; I hope they keep me around so I can make a lot more quilts for them.

MW: So how do you resolve that problem? Who is going to get them?

JF: Oh, I'm hoping to wear them out before I die. [laughter.]

MW: Wonderful. That's wonderful. What do you think makes a great quilt?

JF: Oh, I don't know. You know, there's quilts that just strike me as great, you know. There's obviously the wonderful works of art, some of the things like John Shannon is doing it or just very painterly and wonderful. But sometimes the oddest thing will just strike me. An old feed sack scrap quilt that the pieces were pieced and you can tell the love and care that went into the quilt. You know some quilts just; they just scream that, that somebody put a very careful hand to it. And I think that's probably what we all love about quilts. There's art to be appreciated, but the real thing about quilts for me is something that you can see that somebody really cared about it to make it.

MW: What do you think makes a quilt appropriate for a museum?

JF: I think probably what I'm looking for in museum quilts is something that really reflects the time that they were made in, like a Victorian crazy quilt for example. It should be just really well done in that time period. The Victorian crazy quilt is an obvious one, Amish quilts that reflect the lifestyle and really tell a story about that. There are a few of that real painterly type art quilts that I think deserve to be in a different kind of a museum, no the quilt as I see quilts museum. I guess if I were setting out to make a quilt that I thought would be in a museum, I would number one, you'd have to pick the current fabric trend and then, you know, something that reflects the current. I expect there'll be one or two millennium quilts that'll qualify as museum-quality pieces in a while. That's just he way I feel about quilts. Some people think that my idea of quilts is an old-fashioned idea, too traditional or something.

MW: How do you think we should best encourage young people?

JF: Oh, just let them do it hands-on. I've done several classes with young kids and they're really receptive to it. Especially boys and I think they're not allowed to opportunity, you know, 'This is my four thousand dollar sewing machine, don't touch it' stand up to a kid who wants to use it. That's a reflection on the sewing machine, not on the kid. And I encourage my children to just experiment with the fabric. You can't turn kids loose with rotary cutters, but you know they really will be creative if they're allowed to do so. It's sort of a shame the way the school system has gone. More of us have to get out and volunteer at the school system to teach kids sewing. They're just not the demand that will justify having the home ec. [economics.] teacher that teaches kids to put quilts together. So somehow you have to create the demand by going there and helping the kids that really want to do it. My daughter went through high school and applied three years in a row to be in a sewing class and there was never enough children to fill the sewing class. So she learned sewing at home and could have by the end of high school taught the sewing class. I don't know. If quilters want to do something worthwhile they can go out and volunteer at a school. You don't have to do much just show them the machine and how it runs and the kids'll create quilts, magical.

MW: In what way do you think your quilts reflect your community?

JF: Some of my quilts have a western influence in that, you know, in Montana one of the quilt communities that's often overlooked is the Native American community and the star quilts and the whole give away atmosphere. In my feathered sun quilts I've certainly made an attempt to bring the Native American kind of influence back into quilting. Buffalo robe style quilts. I think the way the world's shrinking, you know, it's hard to maintain your identity as a Montana quilter as opposed to a Vermont quilter as opposed to a Florida quilter because I travel to all of the quilt shows and you go to a quilt shop in Vermont and they have the horse fabric and the cowboy fabric just like we have in Montana.

[announcement over the loudspeaker.] So you know that's, I mean, Houston is a wonderful thing. And the International Quilt Market is a wonderful thing. But I don't think anymore you can look at a quilt and say that's an Ohio Amish quilt and that's a California quilt. Because we all gather here and the shop owners all come here and it's totally influenced by this international market now. Which, you know, it's kind of a wonderful thing. I think there's still a little bit, but it's a lot more subtle than it used to be. You can regionalize...[inaudible]

MW: You mentioned something that a lot of people might not know about and that's the giveaways. Could you explain that a little more?

JF: Oh sure I'm not a tremendous authority on giveaways although I live in Montana and there are seven reservations with nine of the Indian nations and it's a tradition that goes back long before the west was settled. In honor of the occasion of your being presented with an award, you would give away a variety of gifts. Mostly in the olden days they were in the form of a painted buffalo robe or a painted elk robe or something like this. And I think it was probably the influence of the missionaries and the missionaries wives that arrived in the west just about the time that buffalo were pretty much eliminated from the plains and taught these plains Indian women to make quilts that resulted in the quilt giveaways. If you study a Sioux star quilt you would see that the imagery of that eight-pointed star is much the same as the imagery that they painted on the buffalo robes. The piecing technique is a little different than the painting technique. And the whole idea of the giveaway is so foreign to us it's hard to understand that there was a time when on the Ft. Peck Indian Reservation which is where I got a lot of information for my feathered sun book that there was a time that the Indian Agents had made it illegal to quilt on the Ft. Peck Indian reservation because this tradition of these women that were just living in poverty spending all their resources to get cloth to make quilts so they could give them away. It did not fit with the program that the government was trying to promote for them to become self-sufficient and so they just said that there would be no more quilting. The women organized secret quilting societies and they would go out into the country and quilt on the sly and then when they had their giveaways they would give away. There's a museum exhibit; they travel in the country, called "To Honor and Comfort." If you can get to see it it's really wonderful. You talk about young people getting into quilting. The tradition for these Native American high schools have their basketball tournaments is for each player on the team to give someone on the opposing team that they respect a quilt. So during the halftime of the basketball tournaments there's always quilts laid out on the floor and then they go and hang them on the opposing player or coach that they most respect. It's really quite a--

MW: Sounds like we get emulated. You mentioned your books, how did you get into publishing?

JF: The double wedding ring was of course my first book and I really did enjoy the teaching of the double wedding ring. But it's hard in a six hour class to dispense all the information that people want and so I got bigger and bigger handouts and pretty soon it was book size and I tried to peddle it around to some people. I have two sisters in the advertising business and we finally gave up on trying to get someone to publish my book and just published it ourselves. So that was my first book and then I did a book on the trapunto and stippling technique. Two books since then, one on the Feathered Sun which is about the Native American quilts and one on braided borders that's since gone out of print, but another technique unique to myself.

MW: Can you tell us more about that technique? At least your development.

JF: The root of it was, you know, we talked about whether I had quilters in my family and I really didn't. My grandmother did a lot of braided rugs, so we had all these wool braided rugs. I really wanted a quilt that reminded me of these braided rugs. It was a strip piecing technique to make a braided border actually. And then of course the border developed into whole quilts after that. But I was looking for a piecing technique that would look like these braided wool rugs. The mathematics was what puts most of my students off. We do measure our strips to the thirty-second of an inch. A lot of quilters especially early on weren't up to the task. So I get accused of beating up on a lot of quilters. Of course it doesn't do any good to measure your strips up to a thirty-second of an inch if you're not going to sew a perfect quarter of an inch seam. So I am quite the task master about that.

MW: What has happened to the quilts that you've made and those of your family?

JF: Well, I'm hoarding my quilts. Actually, I travel with as many as I can carry when I go to different guilds around. And I used to be able to carry all my quilts. Unfortunately I can't anymore. I've gone to making half-size reproductions of some of my full-size quilts just so that I can get more into my suitcase. So far none of them have disintegrated and I do have the one Victorian crazy quilt that of course the silks have gone brittle in. I really have a long running argument with my three sisters about whether this should go into the local museum. They really want it and I would like to relieve myself of the responsibility of taking care of this quilt that has chunks fall off every time I open it up. So I think in that case it would be a good idea for us.

MW: What do you think is the best way for quilters to learn the art?

JF: Oh, just jump right in. I have a lot of students that I really have to encourage that you have to get in and get your feet wet and don't concern yourself about whether all your corners are going to match. And don't concern about whether you've picked the perfect fabric. There's always the next quilt. Get on with it and find the part that you enjoy the most. And some people just like putting the fabrics together. Myself, I can hardly wait to get the top done so I can start quilting. I guess the whole art of quilting is so diverse, if you can't find something in there that you really can't wait to do, then there's something wrong with you. I see too many people that are so hesitant and don't want to pick out their fabric and don't want to cut their fabric because they're afraid they'll make a mistake. Well you got to get in there and just make a mistake. I don't say rush through the process, but I'd say quit hesitating. Pick out the fabric by instinct. Close your eyes and pick it out. Do something.

MW: How do you think we should preserve quilts for the future?

JF: I'm not one that is for preserving quilts. I'm for using quilts. I have all of my quilts. I don't discriminate. This one doesn't get used. This one gets used. I put them on the bed; I have guests come to my house, whatever quilt they want on their bed they get on their bed. That's what they're for in my opinion. I don't make any quilts that aren't intended to use. If they're small size like this, you throw them over your lap and sit and watch television. The antique quilts that I get most involved with are the ones that were loved and used and put together with a loving hand and somebody enjoyed the use of them. I really think you want to see a quilt in its pristine condition, take a picture of it right after it's done and keep the picture.

MW: What is your next quilt going to be?

JF: Oh, gosh. Sometimes the business gets me down a little bit, Marietta, and I have to do a quilt for a book that I don't want to do. I'm currently working on three charity auction quilts that are going to go through the year, so I expect that I'll be working on those quite a bit. The quilt that I want to do is sort of a pictorial quilt of my father and his construction crew. And it's a real departure for me since I don't do appliqué and you know this is a quilt that is going to require some planning. I don't think I'll get right to it. like I say, there's along with earning your living in the quilt business there come some requirements that we don't all look forward to and one of those is, I think, over this year I'll have made five charity auction quilts and that doesn't leave me a lot of time for other things with my traveling and all the shows and make quilt frames.

MW: So how are you preparing yourself for this appliqué departure?

JF: Oh, I do a little appliqué on each quilt, you know. I can get through a small piece. And I try to network when I'm at quilt teaching venues with appliqué teachers and see if they'll give me a little hint now and then. I can't explain the fact that I am so uncomfortable with appliqué. It seems like needle in hand just like quilting but it's something that I'm not able to concentrate. I don't know if it's something I'm doing wrong or what. But I'm working on this because I really want to do the quilt and I'll be able to handle it somewhere along the line.

MW: We're getting near the end and what burning legacy would you like to leave to the quilt world?

JF: Oh, God. [laughter.] I don't know. I don't think I could ever consider myself as the person who broke the gender barrier in quilting, but I'm hoping that I'm making it a lot more comfortable for men to quilt. I just don't think that--the reaction I get is softening. Used to be pretty dramatic when I would visit with men about quilting. It's such a relaxing activity and there's a lot of men that need the relaxation. I kind of like to think that I made the math a little less scary for some people and brought a little engineering into quilting. I think I revolutionized the quilt frame. Something that, you know, people have been quilting on frames for four hundred years without the benefit of an engineer. Engineers have designed quilt frames and quilters have designed quilt frames, but never a quilting engineer. And there's some subtleties that people were missing. But I think the main thing probably; my vision for myself would be make men more comfortable around quilting and quilters. Quilters are really nice people and men should hang out more.

MW: Well thank you, John. This is John Flynn's interview and we're concluding at 10:50 in the morning.

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<title>Touchstone quilts</title>
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<partial_transcript>This is October 22nd, 1999, in Houston, TX, the time is approximately 10:05, and I'm interviewing John Flynn today. First of all, John, can you tell us some-, something about the pieces that you've brought?</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Flynn's primary reason for taking up quilting is that he finds that "the hand quilting process is so soothing." Hence his favorite quilt, which is one of the touchstone quilts, is "a whole cloth quilt" with "none of the annoying piecing part before you get to the good part." This quilt's original purpose was to be a "stippling sampler." It was a way of "experimenting with the textures that you could develop with background quilting....." Flynn's interest in quilting developed from his attempts to build a quilt frame for his wife. It was while testing the frames himself that Flynn discovered how relaxing quilting is. From there, he progressed to quilting his wife's quilt-tops. He eventually took up piecing, as well, when his wife was no longer able to handle the volume of piecing. Flynn used his second touchstone quilt, a Double Wedding Ring, while teaching his first class at a quilt guild. Flynn, who is a civil engineer, says he "engineered this way to, to, uh, strip piece a double wedding ring." Feeling that this was a "clever technique," he volunteered to teach it, even though he was rather shy and, in general, not at all interested in teaching at that point in his life. Nevertheless, he found that there are aspects of teaching he enjoys. He now teaches a number of classes, but has a special affection for the Double Wedding Ring class. The quilt was not, however, developed as a teaching tool, but as a holiday wall hanging. (Its colors are red and green.) Flynn likes his quilting on this quilt and notes that the color choice he made for this quilt is much copied by his students.</synopsis>
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<partial_transcript>So we know your history about quilting, but was there any history in your family prior to your involvement wotj your wife's quilting?</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Flynn's primary childhood memory of quilting is of a very old crazy quilt where his grandmother lived. It was popular with the grandchildren, who would argue about who got to sleep under it. The adults eventually decided that the quilt would go to whomever happened to be ill during a visit, which, according to Flynn, led to an uptick in symptoms during visits. The only quilting Flynn remembered his mother doing was making one quilt, but there was considerable sewing in his house as he was growing up. His mother made clothing for his three sisters. Flynn, however, did the piecing of the one quilt his mother made. Flynn was at that point roughly nine years old. He had experience from Cub Scouts of using a scroll saw, which was actually an adapted sewing machine, and, on the basis of that, convinced his mother that he knew how to use a sewing machine. Despite his work on the quilt, his mother passed it on to his sister, not to him. For the most part, however, Flynn's mother was juggling too many other things to quilt. Flynn notes that, while quiltmaking is seen as practical, "it's really a luxury to be, afford the time to, to make quilts." Flynn adds that sometimes people tell him that they are not sufficiently patient to make quilts, but, in reality, quilting is a good way to learn "the patience that you need to get through life, if you, if you take it on...."</synopsis>
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<title>Affect of quilting on people's lives</title>
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<partial_transcript>How have you seen quilting affecting people's lives?</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Flynn gives himself as an example of how quilting can change people's lives. He used to own a construction company, which he calls "a pretty high-stress, position." He and his wife used to belong to a "heart club." One of the services the club offered was to calculate an individual member's "true age," based on lifestyle. The "true age" that the heart club gave him five years after he transitioned from running the construction company to making quilts and quilt frames, came in at two years younger than the age they calculated for him at the time he made the transition. To his mind, he "gained seven years in [his] life" through "taking on the quilting and relieving the stress." He thinks that quilting creates various opportunities for people. He, for instance, was able, because of his teaching, to travel internationally. He really appreciates the quilting community. He is much closer to his quilt frame making competitors than he was to his construction company competitors. When asked what aspects of quilting, in his opinion, support that closeness, Flynn says that, for him, quilting is bound up with hand quilting, which, as he says in a previous segment, he finds very relaxing. He adds that many people find machine quilting to be pleasurable. There was roughly a ten-year overlap between the time that Flynn started quilting and the time he retired from the construction business. He feels that during that time period lifting a needle lowered his blood pressure. He adds, "in tense situations, about all I have to do is slip a thimble on my finger...." He concludes, "I think it's just, it's, it's good for you. [Pause] Can't explain it." </synopsis>
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<point>
<time>666</time>
<title>New things coming along in quilting</title>
<title_alt/>
<partial_transcript>[?] talked about the direction that we're going in in machine quilting. What other new things do you see coming along in quilting?</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Flynn thinks that even "the peripheral stuff," such as thread and batting, is getting better. He believes that, as of the time of the interview, "the sewing machine industry is driven by quilters now and, and what quilters want...." The result is that sewing machines have more capabilities, some of them in areas of quilting in which Flynn is not personally interested. Flynn tells members of his guild who look for bargains at "big discount stores," about the late seventies, when there was no such thing as a quilt shop. He himself feels, "a quilt shop is just such a wonderful place, and it's, you know, always the right atmosphere...." From his point of view it makes sense to spend extra money in a quilt shop. Flynn thinks that the interest in quilting as of the time of the interview is fueling and shaping the fabric and sewing machine economic sectors, not only in the States, but in the rest of the world. Europe places a bit more emphasis on sewing clothes at home, but Flynn expects the market there to shift to a greater emphasis on quilting, as well. Overall, he expects those changes in the relevant markets to be good for quilters.</synopsis>
<synopsis_alt/>
<keywords>quilt shop; Techniques; Technology in quiltmaking; Fabric industry; Sewing machine industry; Notions; Home sewing machine</keywords>
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<point>
<time>840</time>
<title>Any special problems going into a quilt store / What makes a great quilt</title>
<title_alt/>
<partial_transcript>Did, do you find you have any special problems, going into a quilt store?</partial_transcript>
<partial_transcript_alt/>
<synopsis>As of the time of the interview, Flynn does not have any particular problems going into a quilt store, but says that in the past, when there was no choice other than to go to "a general fabric, fabric store and, and, uh, large chains, uh, uh, a man looks, a little bit out of place there, clerks don't quite know how to handle that, situation...." That said, he thinks that men can be very good quilters. He notes that, since both grandfathers were tailors, sewing came "legitimately" to him. Flynn also tried a number of other hand crafts "that require the intricate hand-eye coordination that is really the relaxing part of it...." Of all those crafts, he finds quilting to be the best match with a "family setting." Flynn acknowledges that his son, who was twelve at the time he began quilting, was initially embarrassed that his father quilted. Once Flynn became well-known in the quilting community and started to engage in quilting-related travel, his son started to feel proud of him. When Flynn completes a quilt, his son and daughter squabble over who will inherit it. When asked who will, in fact, inherit his quilts, Flynn says, "I'm hoping to wear them out before I die." When asked what makes a quilt great, Flynn says, that some quilts "just strike [him] as great." Some quilts are "wonderful works of art." He gives some of the work of John Shannon [probably quilter Jonathan Shannon] as an example. On the other hand, he says, "sometimes the oddest thing will just strike me...." As an example, he gives, "an old feed sack scrap quilt," for which "the love and care that went into" it were evident. To his mind, the care that goes into making many quilts is apparent and he thinks that is the real reason why many people care so much about quilts. </synopsis>
<synopsis_alt/>
<keywords>Gender in quiltmaking; Hobbies; Family; Jonathan Shannon; Crafts</keywords>
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<point>
<time>1077</time>
<title>What makes a quilt appropriate for museum / What quilters can do to encourage young people</title>
<title_alt/>
<partial_transcript>What do you think makes a quilt appropriate for a museum?</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>To Flynn's mind, the most appropriate quilt for a museum is a particularly well-made one that "really reflects the time" of making. For instance, he thinks that a crazy quilt would be appropriate to represent the Victorian era. A small number of art quilts would be appropriate for "a different kind of a museum," rather than a quilt museum. HIs approach, if he were deliberately constructing a quilt with a mind to its being in a museum, would be "to pick the current fabric trend and then, you know, something that reflects the current...." He notes, however, that there are people who think the way her understands quilts is "old-fashioned." Flynn thinks that the best way to encourage young people to quilt is to provide them with the opportunity to do it. He himself has taught several classes for children and describes children as "really receptive to it." This is especially true for boys. He gives his own children the opportunity "to just experiment with the fabric...." He thinks that it is important for quilters to volunteer in schools to teach sewing to children, since there is not enough interest in sewing to generate sewing class sizes large enough to justify scheduling a sewing class. His own daughter signed up for sewing classes for each of three years of high school, but was never able to take one, because not enough other students signed up. He hopes that if volunteers teach children to sew, that that might create the demand for sewing classes, and he expects that it would take minimal effort on the part of the volunteers, because once the children have been shown how a sewing machine works, they will start creating quilts on their own.</synopsis>
<synopsis_alt/>
<keywords>Crazy quilts; Teaching quiltmaking; Sewing; Museums; Amish quilts; Family; Children</keywords>
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<point>
<time>1331</time>
<title>How quilts reflect community</title>
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<partial_transcript>In what way do you think your quilts reflect your community?</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Flynn acknowledges a "Western influence" on some of his quilts, He says that the "Native American quilt community" in Montana is not given much attention. "Star quilts and the whole giveaway atmosphere" are characteristic of that quilting community. He describes his "feathered sun quilts" as an effort to re-incorporate "Native American, kind of, uh, uh, influence back into quilting." That said, the effect of people from different areas attending the same quilt shows means that regional styles are hard to distinguish from one another. Flynn says that "Houston" is "wonderful" and concedes, with rather less enthusiasm, that the blending of styles is also "wonderful," but the regional aspect of style is "a lot more subtle than it used to be." ["Houston" here probably stands in for International Quilt Festival (Houston, TX), which Flynn is attending at the time of the interview] When the interviewer prompts Flynn on the subject of giveaways, he focuses again on Native American quilting and Native American traditions. Flynn describes giveaways as "in honor of the occasion of your presenting, your being presented with an award, you would give away a, a variety of gifts." According to Flynn, in the past, the gifts would typically be either buffalo or elk painted robes. The buffalo became extinct more or less simultaneously with the arrival in the Plains areas of missionaries and their wives. Native American women learned to quilt from those newcomers and applied their new skills to creating an eight-pointed star which greatly resembles the stars that had been painted on buffalo robes. Quilts were distributed at giveaways. In Flynn's understanding, it was at one point against the law to quilt on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, to discourage a tradition by which very poor women would sink their limited resources into cloth for quilts to be distributed to others. In response, women formed "secret quilting societies" and found ways to keep quilting and to keep giving quilts away. A variation of the giveaway tradition is practiced at basketball tournaments for Native American high schools, whereby "each player on the team to give someone on the opposing team that they respect a quilt." </synopsis>
<synopsis_alt/>
<keywords>Native Americans; Star quilts; Feathered Sun (quilt pattern); International Quilt Market/Houston (Houston, TX); Quilt history; Fort Peck Indian Reservation (MT); Sioux</keywords>
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<point>
<time>1711</time>
<title>How got into publishing</title>
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<partial_transcript>You mentioned your books. How did you get in to publishing?</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Flynn's first book developed out of his class on Double Wedding Ring quilts. Since students wanted to know more about the pattern than was feasible to cover during six hours of class, he started to put together increasingly voluminous hand-outs. When his hand-out packet grew to be as large as a book, he tried to find a publisher for it. He was not successful, so eventually he and two of his sisters self-published it under the title of "Double Wedding Ring." As of the time of the interview, Flynn had published additional books on "trapunto and stippling" [presumably "John Flynn’s Step-by-Step Trapunto and Stippling"], Native American quilts ["Feathered Sun"], and braided borders [presumably "John Flynn's Braided Border Step-by-Step Workbook"]. When the interviewer asks Flynn to talk about braided borders, he explains that while there were no quilters in his family, he did have a grandmother who braided wool rugs and he wanted to develop a way to piece a border that would be reminiscent of those rugs. The method he uses requires very precise measurement (to the 1/32 inch), as well as exact quarter inch seams. He is a stickler for the measurements and the math involved, but loses many students, who are not comfortable with those aspects of the technique and he has acquired the reputation of being hard on students.</synopsis>
<synopsis_alt/>
<keywords>Double Wedding Ring (quilt pattern); Quilt books; Double Wedding Ring (book by John Flynn); Feathered Sun (book by John Flynn); Teaching quiltmaking; John Flynn’s Step-by-Step Trapunto and Stippling (book by John Flynn); John Flynn's Braided Border Step-by-Step Workbook (book by John Flynn); Techniques; Braided Borders</keywords>
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<point>
<time>1868</time>
<title>What has happened with quilts he and family have made / Best way for quilters to learn to quilt</title>
<title_alt/>
<partial_transcript>What has happened to the quilts that you've made and those of your family?</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Flynn says he is "hoarding [his] quilts." When he visits guilds in different places, he takes "as many as [he] can carry" and has even made smaller versions of some large quilts, so as to maximize the number he can carry. The quilts he owns are mostly in good shape, with the exception of a Victorian crazy quilt which has in it some silk fabric, which is no longer in good shape. He would like give the responsibility of caring for it over to a museum, but his sisters want to hang onto the quilt. Flynn feels that the best way for quilters to learn to quilt is to "just jump right in." In his experience, many of his students are really hesitant to start. He advises them not to worry too much about whether they can make their corners or choose colors perfectly. He thinks that quilters should figure out which aspect of quilting they most enjoy and thinks that there are enough different quilting skills and techniques that everyone should be able to find one for which they feel an affinity. He finds that many new quilters are reluctant to take the initial steps in making a quilt, "because they're afraid they're make a mistake." He adds, "Well, you've got to just get in there and make mistakes." He suggests a way to get started: "Pick out the fabric by instinct. Close your eyes and pick it out. Do something.", </synopsis>
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<keywords>Crazy quilts</keywords>
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<point>
<time>2048</time>
<title>Preservation of quilts for future / What next quilt will be</title>
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<partial_transcript>How do you think we should preserve quilts for the future?</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Flynn thinks that quilts should be used, rather than preserved. He has a large quilt on his bed, gives guests their choice of bed quilts, and treats smaller quilts as lap quilts. In regards to antique quilts with which he has some sort of unspecified connection, he says the ones where that connection is strongest "are the ones that were loved and used and, you know, put together with a loving hand and, and somebody enjoyed the use of them...." He recommends taking photographs of quilts when they are new, rather than preserving the quilt itself. Flynn has several projects or potential projects on hand. He is committed to making a quilt for a book, but not looking forward to it. He has three quilts to be auctioned for charity in process. He would like to do a quilt depicting his father and his father's construction team, even though it will require applique, which he mostly does not do, and the quilt will need to be planned out. He does not expect to get to that quilt particularly promptly, given other obligations related to his business and to making quilts for charity. When asked how he intends to prepare himself to do applique, he says that he does small amounts of applique on all his quilts already and hopes to pick up tips while networking with applique teachers. Nevertheless, he admits to some discomfort with the technique and an inability to focus on it for more than a brief period of time. Making this quilt, however, is important to him and he expects that at some point he will be prepared to do it.</synopsis>
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<keywords>Quilt preservation; Antique quilts; applique; Techniques; Quilt Purpose - Fundraising; Family</keywords>
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<rights>All rights to the Quilters' S.O.S. -- Save Our Stories (QSOS) oral history project, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred from the Quilt Alliance to the University of Kentucky Libraries. Please contact the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History regarding rights pertaining to individual interviews.</rights>
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