Virginia Angers Kuglar
Photos
Title
Virginia Angers Kuglar
Identifier
AL35758-DAR001
Interviewee
Virginia Angers Kuglar
Interviewer
Michele Kinney
Interview Date
12/21/2007
Interview sponsor
Anita Grossman Solomon
Location
Cullman, Alabama
Transcriber
Michele Kinney
Transcription
Michele Kinney (MK): We are here today, December 21 at Virginia Kuglar's house. Thank you for participating in this project.
Virginia Anders Kuglar (VAK): You're welcome.
MK: Tell me about the quilt you brought today, its origins, age, and special meaning.
VAK: The quilt I brought today is one that I did in my first quilting class. I'm very please with it. I think the teacher did an outstanding job of having the blocks of different designs in the way we put this quilt together. It's just special to me because it's the first one I made by myself.
MK: How do you use this quilt and what are your plans for this quilt?
VAK: Now I have this quilt on the back of my sofa. And, I will keep this quilt and pass it on to my grandsons.
MK: Tell me about your interest in quiltmaking. When did you start quiltmaking and who taught you?
VAK: My interest in quiltmaking began when I was just a small child and my mother quilted and at that time there were friends in the community that got together and quilted. And, I can remember that the children would always play under the quilt frames, or the quilt, because the quilt then hung from the ceiling. And, as they would roll the quilt and roll the quilt, then when it got down so far to completion, they would run the kids out from under there and we would have to go play someplace else. That was my first memories of quiltmaking.
MK: How many hours a week do you quilt?
VAK: I don't do quilting every week. It's more like something special that I do when I quilt. And, I usually have a quilt in mind and a design. But right now, I don't have one that I am working on now. I have one that I have been--I will put it away and will get it out soon to start again.
MK: Are there other quiltmakers among your family and friends? Please tell me about them.
VAK: There are no more quiltmakers that I know of in my family. However, I do have friends that quilt and belong to quilting guilds here in town. And, they make some very beautiful quilts. But, I am not a member of the guild, but I do share their designs when they show them to me.
MK: How does quiltmaking impact your family?
VAK: That's what I have on all my beds, is quilts that my mom made and I have several that she made that I cut out. And, a funny I will never forget is that I had wanted a frog quilt and I cut out the frogs and she told me, ‘Honey don't ever do the cutting anymore, let mom do it.' [laughs.]
MK: So, she had standards that she wanted you to-- [laughs.]
VAK: Yes. [laughs.]
MK: How you ever used quilts to get through a difficult time?
VAK: Yes. My school house quilt that she did for me. After she died, I put that as the cover in my guest bedroom for quite a while. And, that was just a very comforting feeling to know that she had made that quilt and that she made it just because I had requested a school house quilt since I was a teacher.
MK: What do you find pleasing about quiltmaking? [background noise. Tape stopped.]
What do you find pleasing about quiltmaking?
VAK: The designs, the different patterns that you use and then you put those together, it is always amazing to me how pretty quilts look after you put all those different squares together with even the same designs or different designs using different colors.
MK: In the same regard on the opposite end, what aspects of quiltmaking do you not enjoy?
VAK: I don't enjoy cutting out. [laughs.]
MK: Why not?
VAK: It's just so tedious. I don't know, I just want to get it cut out quickly and get started. I'm not the patient type to cut things out.
MK: What do you think makes a great quilt?
VAK: For me personally, probably the quilt that you make yourself and you are pleased with it. It's something that you can pass on to your child or children. I think that if it looks good and your corners are neat and your colors blend, to me that would be a great quilt.
MK: What makes a quilt artistically powerful?
VAK: The colors, I think, and like I said the different patterns and how you put them together with different colors and they look totally different with the same designs. And, a great quilter is one that can accomplish all of these and put the quilt together and then quilt it so that it is beautiful to look at.
MK: How do great quiltmakers learn the art of quilting, especially how to design a pattern or choose fabrics and colors?
VAK: A great quiltmaker probably would be one that would have the designs and patterns and choose the colors and fabrics that would blend in together. But the learning of the quilt art, the learning of art of quilting would be one that I would think that probably would do the quilting all the time, a dedicated quilter.
MK: How do you feel about machine quilting verses hand quilting? What about long-arm quilting?
VAK: For me personally, machine quilting is fine. But, I still think that hand quilting is really what I would consider a real quiltmaker because of the time devoted to the quilting. And also, the smallest stitches that would be one of those things also that I think that would make a great quilter is one that could make the hand quilting throughout the whole quilt.
MK: Why is quiltmaking important to you?
VAK: To preserve the art of quilting and it is very comforting. It's a good past time too, if you have nothing else to do.
MK: In what ways do your quilts reflect your community or region?
VAK: My quilts that I do, I'm not sure that you could say that they reflect my region or area because some of the patterns I use are used everywhere, all over the states, or the world for that fact. So, I don't do quilts that just reflect totally my community or region.
MK: How do you think quilts can be used?
VAK: A lot of different ways. In the homes - table clothes, covers, you can use them for picnics, warmth, comforting, football games, and they are good for football games to make you warm. They can be used in a lot of different ways, as wall art also.
MK: How do you think quilts can be preserved for the future?
VAK: One of the things is to be sure that you use good quality cotton material. Make sure you store them in the proper ways that they are not folded. They need to be rolled. They need to be in acid free boxes. So that is one of the ways that we can preserve them. Also, we can continue to make good quality quilts.
MK: What has happened to the quilts that you have made or those of friends and family?
VAK: The quilts that I have made either I have or have given to my son and his family. I still some of my mother's quilts. I don't use them. I keep them on the bed. But, as far as full size quilts she made, I just keep them for bed covers.
MK: Thank you for meeting with me today and for taking part in this project. People like you are so important to oral history projects and for preserving oral history stories of people who don't normally, their stories are not told. So, thank you.
Virginia Anders Kuglar (VAK): You're welcome.
MK: Tell me about the quilt you brought today, its origins, age, and special meaning.
VAK: The quilt I brought today is one that I did in my first quilting class. I'm very please with it. I think the teacher did an outstanding job of having the blocks of different designs in the way we put this quilt together. It's just special to me because it's the first one I made by myself.
MK: How do you use this quilt and what are your plans for this quilt?
VAK: Now I have this quilt on the back of my sofa. And, I will keep this quilt and pass it on to my grandsons.
MK: Tell me about your interest in quiltmaking. When did you start quiltmaking and who taught you?
VAK: My interest in quiltmaking began when I was just a small child and my mother quilted and at that time there were friends in the community that got together and quilted. And, I can remember that the children would always play under the quilt frames, or the quilt, because the quilt then hung from the ceiling. And, as they would roll the quilt and roll the quilt, then when it got down so far to completion, they would run the kids out from under there and we would have to go play someplace else. That was my first memories of quiltmaking.
MK: How many hours a week do you quilt?
VAK: I don't do quilting every week. It's more like something special that I do when I quilt. And, I usually have a quilt in mind and a design. But right now, I don't have one that I am working on now. I have one that I have been--I will put it away and will get it out soon to start again.
MK: Are there other quiltmakers among your family and friends? Please tell me about them.
VAK: There are no more quiltmakers that I know of in my family. However, I do have friends that quilt and belong to quilting guilds here in town. And, they make some very beautiful quilts. But, I am not a member of the guild, but I do share their designs when they show them to me.
MK: How does quiltmaking impact your family?
VAK: That's what I have on all my beds, is quilts that my mom made and I have several that she made that I cut out. And, a funny I will never forget is that I had wanted a frog quilt and I cut out the frogs and she told me, ‘Honey don't ever do the cutting anymore, let mom do it.' [laughs.]
MK: So, she had standards that she wanted you to-- [laughs.]
VAK: Yes. [laughs.]
MK: How you ever used quilts to get through a difficult time?
VAK: Yes. My school house quilt that she did for me. After she died, I put that as the cover in my guest bedroom for quite a while. And, that was just a very comforting feeling to know that she had made that quilt and that she made it just because I had requested a school house quilt since I was a teacher.
MK: What do you find pleasing about quiltmaking? [background noise. Tape stopped.]
What do you find pleasing about quiltmaking?
VAK: The designs, the different patterns that you use and then you put those together, it is always amazing to me how pretty quilts look after you put all those different squares together with even the same designs or different designs using different colors.
MK: In the same regard on the opposite end, what aspects of quiltmaking do you not enjoy?
VAK: I don't enjoy cutting out. [laughs.]
MK: Why not?
VAK: It's just so tedious. I don't know, I just want to get it cut out quickly and get started. I'm not the patient type to cut things out.
MK: What do you think makes a great quilt?
VAK: For me personally, probably the quilt that you make yourself and you are pleased with it. It's something that you can pass on to your child or children. I think that if it looks good and your corners are neat and your colors blend, to me that would be a great quilt.
MK: What makes a quilt artistically powerful?
VAK: The colors, I think, and like I said the different patterns and how you put them together with different colors and they look totally different with the same designs. And, a great quilter is one that can accomplish all of these and put the quilt together and then quilt it so that it is beautiful to look at.
MK: How do great quiltmakers learn the art of quilting, especially how to design a pattern or choose fabrics and colors?
VAK: A great quiltmaker probably would be one that would have the designs and patterns and choose the colors and fabrics that would blend in together. But the learning of the quilt art, the learning of art of quilting would be one that I would think that probably would do the quilting all the time, a dedicated quilter.
MK: How do you feel about machine quilting verses hand quilting? What about long-arm quilting?
VAK: For me personally, machine quilting is fine. But, I still think that hand quilting is really what I would consider a real quiltmaker because of the time devoted to the quilting. And also, the smallest stitches that would be one of those things also that I think that would make a great quilter is one that could make the hand quilting throughout the whole quilt.
MK: Why is quiltmaking important to you?
VAK: To preserve the art of quilting and it is very comforting. It's a good past time too, if you have nothing else to do.
MK: In what ways do your quilts reflect your community or region?
VAK: My quilts that I do, I'm not sure that you could say that they reflect my region or area because some of the patterns I use are used everywhere, all over the states, or the world for that fact. So, I don't do quilts that just reflect totally my community or region.
MK: How do you think quilts can be used?
VAK: A lot of different ways. In the homes - table clothes, covers, you can use them for picnics, warmth, comforting, football games, and they are good for football games to make you warm. They can be used in a lot of different ways, as wall art also.
MK: How do you think quilts can be preserved for the future?
VAK: One of the things is to be sure that you use good quality cotton material. Make sure you store them in the proper ways that they are not folded. They need to be rolled. They need to be in acid free boxes. So that is one of the ways that we can preserve them. Also, we can continue to make good quality quilts.
MK: What has happened to the quilts that you have made or those of friends and family?
VAK: The quilts that I have made either I have or have given to my son and his family. I still some of my mother's quilts. I don't use them. I keep them on the bed. But, as far as full size quilts she made, I just keep them for bed covers.
MK: Thank you for meeting with me today and for taking part in this project. People like you are so important to oral history projects and for preserving oral history stories of people who don't normally, their stories are not told. So, thank you.
Citation
“Virginia Angers Kuglar,” Quilters' S.O.S. -- Save Our Stories, accessed April 20, 2024, https://qsos.quiltalliance.org/items/show/1394.