Maxine Groves

Maxine Groves

OH43212-001

audio

Oral History

Maxine Groves

Karen Musgrave

6/18/2008

Janet White & Friends

Columbus, Ohio

Kim Greene

**This transcript was created by QSOS volunteers and was reviewed and, in some cases, edited by the interviewee. It may not exactly match the audio recording. For citations and interview quotations, please refer to the audio-recorded interview.**

Karen Musgrave (KM): This is Karen Musgrave and I am doing a Quilters' S.O.S. - Save Our Stories interview with Maxine Groves. Today's date is June 18, 2008. It is 3:16 in the afternoon, and we are in Columbus, Ohio at the National Quilting Association's Quilt Show. Maxine, thank you so much for allowing me to interview you. Please tell me about the quilt that you brought today.

Maxine Groves (MG): It has my name for it, it is called "Autumn Night" and the fabric is the thing. The leaf pattern and the starry background, the dark background, I just thought those two fabrics should go together. It is very modern compared to what I usually do. I'm more interested in traditional patterns or interpretations of traditional patterns, but this was fun to make. I noticed that men notice it. At Malabar Farm Festival, northeastern Ohio, it was hanging and more men would stop to look at it than women.

KM: Why do you think that is?

MG: I don't know. I think probably it is so bold, the statement that it makes. That I enjoyed making it. It was quick compared to some patterns. Of course hand quilted. All of my quilts are hand quilted. I don't have any machine quilted. I take that back, I do have two old ones that were just given to me before the 1900's that are machine quilted. This is one of my latest efforts, 2006, and I really enjoyed doing it.

KM: When did you start making quilts?

MG: I learned quilting when I was a child. My mother quilted and her mother lived with us and I learned from them. Then quite a long time, growing up, went to college, getting married I didn't quilt. The oldest quilt that we have is a doll quilt of Donna's that I made, do I dare say in the fifties [laughs.] for her doll crib. [laughs.] Then in the mid-seventies, 1970's, I got interested. I lived in Xenia, Ohio at the time and my mother had died and she was a farm woman, made her own dresses and I had two bags of her dresses that I brought home with me rather than see it go to the dump, and they sat around for a long time and finally I decided to do something with them. I made two quilts, two Wedding Rings. One for Donna and one for my son and that got me started again. After my husband died I did more of it, and then when we moved to Adams County, I really got into it. [laughs.] It just kind of grew and grew so that it really is a large part of my life.

KM: How many hours a week do you spend working on quilts?

MG: It varies. In the winter time a lot more than summer. I used to quilt with the stand up frame, but I don't do that anymore. I had the big frames I would quilt eight, ten, not continuous, nine, but anymore it is not that much, four or five or six. The summer varies, but in the fall it will be more.

KM: What do you do in the summer?

MG: [laughs.] Just came back from a nature workshop on writing. Birding, birding is a big part. Reading, genealogy. Just enjoying. I am piecing a Charm quilt right now and it goes very slowly. A Charm quilt has no two pieces of fabric alike and I have maybe two hundred pieces together and it will be done maybe in the winter.

KM: Do you machine piece or hand piece?

MG: It depends. If it has a lot of curves and set in points I do hand piecing. Used to do a lot more hand piecing than I do now, but anything that lends itself to machine I do it by machine. Strip piecing, you name it. Foundation piecing, it goes faster and it doesn't show. I like the hand quilting to show.

KM: How do you use this quilt?

MG: Got so many of them I don't use them very much. I alternate them on my bed. Donna, my daughter, takes them home and she uses them, but mostly they just decorate the shelves or the balcony. I have a big balcony where you can hang about four and that makes a nice change. I then have one that hangs in the living room so just move them around and enjoy.

KM: What do you find most pleasing about quiltmaking?

MG: The tranquility, the serenity that it gives you, the peace you find. That is the biggest point. It is the calming effect of, more so of quilting rather than the piecing, very, very satisfying. You sit there and quilt and think about all sorts of other things. But also the composition, the colors, the fabric, the pattern, you just find that you are progressing more and more. I have found that with our quilters too, we have a number of new quilters, three to five years, and it is amazing, amazing how they have developed in their use of color and what it does. A lot of us realize that we are artists even though we didn't think so before.

KM: You do define yourself as an artist.

MG: Oh yes I do. [laughs.] I didn't use to, I defined myself as a quilter but that has changed.

KM: Why did it change?

MG: Because of the depths and the threads and the development that you saw that you were making. The one thing I regret about it is that you, if you are going to do anything in depth you have to specialize and I specialized in traditional patterns, Patchwork, appliqué, all of those other things are out there and I do very little of them but I would love to be able to do all of them. [laughs.]

KM: Is there any aspects of quiltmaking that you don't enjoy?

MG: Probably the cutting out. But even with that, with rotary cutting especially with straight pieces or strip piecing you just tear it and go. That is the least desirable aspect to me. One more even than that is washing the material and pressing it, getting it ready. [laughs.]

KM: Do you do that all at once or do you do it as it comes in?

MG: I try to do it as it comes in, but sometimes I go to the shelf and find one that has that new stiff feel and what I'm working with are old pieces or fabric that has been washed, so you have to go do your thing.

KM: Describe the place where you create. Do you have a studio?

MG: Yes. I call it my playroom. [laughs.] It is upstairs; it crosses the end of the house. It has two double windows in the back over the woods and I'm in the trees then on the second floor and can see the birds come by, and bird watching. On either end there are shelves all the way across that for fabrics and so on. Of course, they are filled up and it runs out on the floor. I have two machines, three machines at the moment. Two Featherweights, one that belongs to my daughter, I keep one with black thread and one with light thread. [laughs.] That is one thing I don't like is filling bobbins, redoing the needle and I have an old Sears that I use if I've got really heavy material. I love the Featherweight because the stitch and it sits on an ironing board. There is room for it on one end and I iron on the other and I can work without moving, just turn from one to the other. I have a big table behind me for cutting out, another table over in that corner for quilts and accessories and that sort of thing. The beauty of it is when I leave it I can just close the door. A lot of women have to clean up, clear out, but it is always there waiting for me just like I left it, which isn't good sometimes, it gets kind of stacked up.

KM: Are you a messy creator?

MG: Yes. When I first started out I was very neat. I would work with something and put it back in its place, but not anymore. I have to shuffle and push and find sometimes until I straighten it up again.

KM: What does your family think of your quiltmaking?

MG: My daughter [Donna Sue Groves.] thinks it is great and she is my family. She is always bringing me fabric or patterns or suggestions. I'm hoping one day that she will spend more time doing it.

KM: That is very nice. Tell us about some of your quilt adventures.

MG: Festivals are probably the best. The people you meet, the questions they ask, the stories they tell you. Also, talking to a group of women, a group of quilters especially. I remember one in eastern Kentucky where the women had some of their things on display and you went around and talked to them about their quilts and their story, the stories behind the quilters are the things I like best of all. I can't think of any really great adventures that I have had of quilting per say, other than the people and the quilts and the stories. Our involvement in the Graveyard quilt has been probably one of the best stories related with quilts. We knew about the Graveyard quilt and knew there was, there are two copies of it. One top and one quilted version. The quilt top is in Ashland Museum. The quilted one is in Frankfort. They wanted us to come to a workshop and speak and we told them we would come if we could see the quilt, because it was stored away. Since that time, they brought it out, they put it on display once and now they have a grant from Kentucky to restore, not to restore it, but to stabilize it and they have also painted a version of it on the flood wall in downtown Ashland, and it is beautiful and that is probably most satisfying. We have also had Linda Lipsett who wrote the story of the Graveyard quilt. She has been to Adams County a couple of times and to get to know her, all of that research she spent from Pennsylvania to Ohio to Kentucky was quite rewarding. That is probably the best quilt story.

KM: Share a little bit more of it.

MG: [laughs.] Well.

KM: How did you find, how did you become involved?

MG: We read a book [Linda Otta Lipsett, "The Elizabeth Roseberry Mitchell's Graveyard Quilt: An American Pioneer Saga."] and knew about it and Donna of course researched Linda on the Internet and found out that she was native of Dayton, Ohio and came back to visit her mother and grandmother, and she did shows. She was available in the summer in the Ohio area. She came back to visit her mother. Out of that, Donna got her to come to Adams County to do her show and then Monroe County, a second show another year, and they were hoping to get her to Ashland, but her mother was in poor health so she didn't get to come to that this year. Really remarkable woman and even more remarkable husband. He makes display frames for her, helped her with all that packing and moving and so on. Just a delight. [laughs.]

KM: Tell me about your Bob Evans Show.

MG: That is another one that just kind of grew. They were interested in starting their quilt trail in Gallia County and since they knew I was a quilter and part of it, they wanted to know the possibilities of a show and invited, well they asked to come over and see my work, and they came on one day but it was snowing like mad. [laughs.] They planned to come and spend some time, but they came and looked and went. [laughs.] Then said we would like to do a show and it opened the first of May 2008 and runs through December and in the old farmhouse and very well done and it shows a lifetime of my work. They had done some shows before so it was set up, in the kitchen part of it you see a life size person of Bob Evans and his wife and behind them is my Pickle Dish quilt that just catches your eye. Then-- the upstairs showcases open closets hangings, window sills, just a lovely, lovely exhibit and I never thought that in my time that I would have that kind of exhibit. I have had one in Ashland that had nineteen quilts that were hanging in the lobby of a hotel. Nice show, but nothing compared to this.

KM: How many quilts do you have at the Bob Evans Show?

MG: Probably forty-five and some wall hangings, foundation piecing, also crocheting and knitting pieces. Crocheted bedspread, two whole cloth white quilts, a lot of Patchwork.

KM: Is Patchwork your favorite?

MG: Yes, Patchwork is my favorite.

KM: Is there a particular pattern that you like the most?

MG: I like the old traditional patterns. I can do different things with them, interpretation, but I like the old ones. I like Drunkard Path. I have done at least five quilts, different versions of Drunkard Path itself, the sampler that had twenty squares all different using those same two pieces. After that I would say Nine Patch, there is so much you can do with a Nine Patch that are not just squares but are square. Those are probably my two favorite patterns. I should say Snail's Trail because that is what is on our barn [laughs.] but we do have one beautiful old Snails Trail quilt that is four squares for the entire quilt and is made out of mourning prints, little tiny gray and white prints, turn of the century and of course it is fabulous. Just a little fourth of a square the Snail's Trail is on our barn. That is probably my favorite quilts pattern.

KM: How many old quilts do you have?

MG: Probably fifty or so. Donna traveled quite a bit in Ohio and the Appalachian section. She brought me quite a number just the tops. One of my favorites is Cornucopia or Bride's Bouquet. The little squares are that are red are just as bright today as they were. I was able to match the reds with a border. What else? A number of them are already quilted. One that has great big trumpets, morning glories in orange and it was done in Alabama and it is a signature quilt, a family quilt. One that she found in the attic in Xenia, Ohio called. We called it the Borden quilt, probably the oldest quilt I have. It is just a one patch, and it wasn't quilted and we decided to go ahead and quilt it

KM: How old is it?

MG: I would say it goes back to at least the 1880's, 1890's.

KM: Have you ever used quilts to get through a difficult time in your life?

MG: The quilting itself, and a lot of times when you are worried about something or we had any deaths in the family and they have been used for comfort. I collect quilt stories and a number of them have been used in making quilts from some clothing that is left or even for the coffin, the liner for the coffin. Quilting has helped them through those kinds of times. As I said, it has gotten me through many a worrisome time.

KM: What do you think makes a great quilt?

MG: Great for who? For me or for the beholder?

KM: We can do both.

MG: For me the greatest quilt I've got is the one I made from my mother's dresses. For other people, pattern and color has a lot to do with it, the Pickle Dish that I mentioned is really an eye popper. Some are just kind of tranquil and blend in, but others just really catch your eye. I've got a Burgoyne Surrounded in blue and white, traditional. First of all I made one that is modern, several colors and a black background and I liked it, but it wasn't what I wanted, it is contemporary.

KM: Do you have a large stash?

MG: Yes. [laughs.] On those shelves I have a lot of fabric on them; I have fabric that has been given to me, sixties, a woman who was a seamstress in Charleston, West Virginia. A friend in Lucasville, Ohio she never left home. She was born there and she died in the same house. She had a marvelous stash that she had from her mother and her grandmother and I inherited that. I have another person in Jackson, Ohio - Barbara, who is much more into the art sides and really spectacular fabrics. I have a lot of feed sacks. I've made two or three quilts using feed sacks. One Irish Chain, the same lady I was telling you about, Lucy, had given me a top. I was going to quilt it for her and I did and then she gave it to me finally. I liked the pattern so well that I made one out of feed sacks. I had enough of the yardage of the total feed sacks to make it really great quilt. So I have two of those. The other I think is a Pinwheel. The other one went for a lottery prize at the Appalachian Studies Association in Dayton. It went to Kentucky so it had a good home. I hate to let them go, but it had a good home. [laughs.]

KM: How many do you let go?

MG: Several. I have also done some on commission. A good friend, I've done two for him. Those aren't too bad to let go because you know you are making them to let them go. Not too many of the ones that I have made myself. Gave one recently to our good friend in Ashland, she admired it so. She was the one that did the show in Ashland, all the work. It was small, not very big; probably sixty by sixty inches.The squares were completed using old quilt parts. It was fun to make, I didn't mind too much since she had been so nice. Most of them go up on the shelf. [laughs.]

KM: What are your plans for your quilts?

MG: That is a big, big puzzle. We don't have any place in Adams County to take them. Ohio University used to have a collection of fabrics, but they don't have anything. We are hoping some day to find some place for them to go as a group rather than being broken up. What do you do? After dying and after I'm gone there is no one who? We don't have relatives to give them to so what do you do? [laughs.]

KM: Tough. Whose quilts are you drawn to and why?

MG: I like Nancy Crow's early work. I've not too enamored of her later things. The quilts of Gee's Bend, oh I love those. What is her name, black woman who started the international?

KM: Carolyn Mazloomi.

MG: Carolyn Mazloomi, who she pictorial quilts. They are fantastic. She has one of the Billie Holiday with that white orchid in her hair, I just love that one. I admire that kind of work, but it is not something I would do myself.

KM: That is okay.

MG: I like the Amish quilts, the old Amish quilts are the best, but the new ones that they do for the English don't have the pizzazz that the old ones do. I have an Amish friend, Susan Hochstetler who made me a wall hanging. It is a large size wall hanging of the mountains in the background and the sunset and the horse and rider in the front with cactus on either side and a coyote down in the foreground. She put it together and I quilted it and I like that. Can't think of any other quilters per say. Those are the ones that I admire most particularly Mazloomi. She is a self taught quilter that amazes me. She tells the funniest story about batting. She came from a family of teachers who didn't quilt and when she got ready to quilt she went to the drug store and got medical cotton roll. She said she went back so often and got more rolls and more rolls, and the druggist finally said to her, 'You really should go to the doctor.' [laughs.]

KM: That is a good story. What kind of batting do you use?

MG: Depends on what you want, if you want it fluffy you use high loft, I use mostly traditional and if it is really a special quilt, cotton. It has a feel that you don't get with the synthetic. Just depends on what the use is going to be.

KM: What do you think about machine quilting?

MG: It is alright.

KM: What do you think about long arm?

MG: Oh, we have a lady in our quilting group that is an artist with it. Years ago I went down to a friend's shop who had the long arm quilt and you just went across and across the same pattern, but Carol does free hand. She can follow the design. She can create designs and just does beautiful work. It has its place, there is not a thing wrong with it. It is just not my cup of tea.

KM: Where do you see quiltmaking going?

MG: I think it is growing and growing, it is getting bigger and bigger. Young women are getting interested in it. It is a million dollar industry right now. It has grown so much and the new techniques, all of the different kinds of quilting, that appeals to a lot of women, like Stack and Whack, [registered technique by Bethany Reynolds.] slash and dash. All of those sorts of things and there are millions out there to try out. I keep going back to the old patterns and the old more conservative ways of creating. I love the foundation piecing and I still do a good bit of that. Animals, you can get an effect that you can't get any other way, although I have one tea towel that Donna brought me that is a butler and a maid and he has his nose up in the air and she has on little high heeled shoes, best piece of appliqué I have ever seen on a tea towel.

KM: In what way do you think your quilts reflect your community and region?

MG: The patterns. They reflect particularly the thirties, the patterns of the thirties. Those are the ones that mother used, those are the ones you see mainly in southern Ohio, northern Kentucky or throughout Kentucky really. They are the old tried and true. Although the Dairy Barn, Athens has been very innovative in contemporary quilts, art quilts with Quilt National. They are the old tried and true. I think my quilts and the quilts of those around me reflect our background. In traditional quilts, we use patterns that came to us in magazines, newspapers, from our neighbors. That is completely different from Gee's Bend for example. They have some of those traditional patterns and you may see a touch of them. You also see complete innovation which has nothing to do with artistic training, but they come out wonderful. My quilts are just a reflection of where I live and my background.

KM: Tell me about your quilt group.

MG: Quilt group. [laughs.] It started because I went to another quilt group and I wasn't pleased and satisfied [laughs.]. It was a project of the month, block of the month, who could entertain, serve the best food or go out at the end of the business meeting. So, we had a chance to move into our community building, which is free to anybody who lives in the township. It has nice big tables, a kitchen area, restrooms, and we decided to start our own low organization. We don't take notes. We don't keep minutes. We do sign in and if you want to do something and there is interest in it, next time or two we will show them how to do a certain technique. Every time someone brings show and tell. That is always a big part of it. Maybe something they got at a garage sale. They bring their children and they are running around. One little boy, his grandmother was making a racecar quilt. He had a hand in that quilt and would stand there when she was showing it and tell you, 'I chose this and I like this, and this is car so and so.' The membership comes and goes. We may have ten, fifteen, twenty, not the same ones every time. They bring in new people and that's the beauty. We have one woman that came from a mental health group workshop. I had about ten, including two men, that were mostly non-quilters. She sewed but she didn't quilt. Her problem is depression and since that workshop she has been coming to the group. She has made at least four quilts and is not hesitant now about asking if she needs help with something. So that to me, to see those women who come and learn and progress and enjoy, and enjoy each others' company is important.

KM: What do you think is the biggest challenge confronting quilters today?

MG: Time. Demands, particularly if you have a family, children, small children. The distractions, TV, computer games and so on. The Internet can draw you away from it, but I think the biggest thing is time to enjoy it, which I do. That is what I like the best of all. I can go out and sit on my porch with a quilt on my lap and listen to the birds and enjoy the sunshine, maybe a deer comes by and even a fox. Those are the things that are important to me. I think we have lost a lot of that in our society. The time, time to enjoy.

KM: We have almost talked forty-five minutes, believe it or not. Is there anything that, I always like to give people an opportunity to share anything. Is there anything you want to share that we haven't touched up?

MG: I can't think of anything other than I would recommend it to anyone who wants to slow down, enjoy, learn, create, and that is about it.

KM: I want to thank you for coming, spending some time with me and doing this interview. We are going to conclude our interview at 3:57.

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<partial_transcript>This is Karen Musgrave and I'm doing a Quilter's S.O.S. - Save Our Stories interview with Maxine Groves. Today's date is June 18th, 2008. It is, 3:16 in the afternoon, and we are in Columbus, OH, at the National Quilting Association's Quilt Show. So, Maxine, thank you so much for allowing me to interview you, and please tell me about the quilt that you brought today.</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>The quilt is made out of one fabric patterned with stars and another fabric patterned with leaves. Groves used those fabrics, because she thought they would work well with each other. This quilt was an unusual project for Groves, who, for the most part, prefers "traditional patterns of, or interpretations of traditional patterns...." Nevertheless, she enjoyed making this quilt. Based on people's reactions to it when it was on display at the Malabar Farm Festival [probably Ohio Heritage Days at Malabar Farm State Park, Lucas, OH], Groves thinks that men are more likely to look at this quilt than women. Groves is not sure exactly why, but suspects that quite possibly it is because "it's so bold, the statement that it makes." The quilt was relatively fast to make, compared to some other patterns. It is hand-stitched, as all her quilts are, with the exception of two very old quilts that she received as gifts.</synopsis>
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<partial_transcript>Um, when did you start making quilts?</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Groves' mother and her maternal grandmother both quilted and they taught her to quilt. Groves put quilting aside during some of her childhood, her college years, and the early part of her marriage. She made a doll quilt for her daughter, Donna Sue Groves, in roughly the 1950s and then put quilting aside again until the mid-1970s. After Groves' mother died, Groves took her homemade dresses home and eventually started using them in quilts. She made a Wedding Ring quilt for both of her children. From that point on, she continued quilting regularly. The rate at which she quilted increased when she was widowed and then again when she moved from one county to another. As of the time of the interview, quilting was significant in her life. In the past she used "stand-up frames," but no longer does so. The amount of time she spends quilting fluctuates, but tends to be greater in winter than in summer. When asked what she does in summer, Groves talks about a recent "nature workshop on, uh, writing," reading, observing wild birds, and genealogy. As of the time of the interview, Groves is working on a charm quilt, in which all the pieces are made from different fabrics. As of the time of the interview, she has two hundred pieces for it. She thinks she might complete it during the winter.</synopsis>
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<partial_transcript>So do you machine piece or hand piece?</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Groves prefers to machine piece, if she can. If, however, the piecing is difficult in certain ways, she hand pieces instead. Of machine piecing, she says that it "Goes faster. And it doesn't show." She prefers, in contrast, for her "hand quilting to show." When asked how she uses this quilt, Groves says that, as of the time of the interview, she owns such a large number of quilts that she does not get much use out of any one of them. She rotates the quilt on her bed. At any one time, she displays roughly four quilts on her balcony and one in her living room. Some of her quilts go to her daughter. Groves enjoys quilting in large part, due to "the tranquility, the serenity that it gives you" and "the calming effect." In addition, she likes, "the composition, the, um, um, colors, the pat-, the fabric, the pattern...." As well, she likes the way she has grown and developed as a quilter. She reports that she and others have developed identities as artists, which they had not previously had.</synopsis>
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<partial_transcript>So you do define yourself as an artist.</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>Groves now sees herself as an artist, whereas, in the past, she saw herself as a quilter. When asked why that change happened, Groves says, "Because of the depths and the breadths and the de-, development that you saw, you were making." She feels, however, that she paid a price for her level of expertise, as, in her opinion "depth" requires specialization. Her area of specialization is traditional patterns. As a result, she has done much less with techniques like applique and patchwork than she would have liked to. The aspects of quiltmaking that Groves likes least include cutting out, although she admits that rotary cutters make that much easier, and preparing the fabric for use by washing and ironing it. She says that she tries to do that work at the time she acquires the fabric, but sometimes fails to do so.</synopsis>
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<time>536</time>
<title>Studio</title>
<title_alt/>
<partial_transcript>Describe the place that you create. Do you have a studio?</partial_transcript>
<partial_transcript_alt/>
<synopsis>Groves' studio, which she refers to as her "playroom," is upstairs and looks out over nearby woods. She has two walls of shelves for her cloth and other supplies. That space is not sufficient, so some of her supplies end up on the floor. As of the time of the interview, Groves has three sewing machines, one of which is actually her daughter's. Two of them, including that of her daughter, Donna Sue Groves, are Featherweights and the third is a Sears model. In the interests of not having to fill the bobbins and rethread the needles constantly, Groves uses only black thread in one of the Featherweights and only light-colored thread in the other. The Sears sewing machine is good for tackling heavy fabric. Groves keeps one Featherweight on her ironing board, where she can move easily from stitching her project to ironing it and back again. She has a table dedicated to cutting out. She describes a separate table as being for "books and accessories and that sort of thing." Groves likes being able to just close the door behind her, rather than having to clean up first, and acknowledges that she is luckier than many women, in that respect. As a beginning quilter, she used to be quite tidy, but she no longer is. She says she has "to shuffle and push and find sometimes, until" she tidies the space.</synopsis>
<synopsis_alt/>
<keywords>Work or Studio space; Home sewing machine; Donna Sue Groves; Singer Featherweight sewing machine</keywords>
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<time>672</time>
<title>What family thinks of her quiltmaking / Some of quilt adventures</title>
<title_alt/>
<partial_transcript>What does your family think of your quiltmaking?</partial_transcript>
<partial_transcript_alt/>
<synopsis>When asked what her family thinks of her quilting, Groves focuses specifically on what her daughter [who is identified in a transcript note as Donna Sue Groves] thinks of it. Specifically, Groves' daughter thinks Groves' quilting is wonderful. Groves hopes that her daughter will eventually do more of her own quilting, but in the meantime, the daughter gives Groves quilt-related items and ideas. Groves enjoys going to festivals and talking to people there. She says, "The stories behind the quilts are the things that I like best of all." Groves discusses the Graveyard Quilt, which actually has two versions, a quilt top owned by the Highlands Museum [presumably the Highland Museum and Discovery Center (Ashland, KY)], and a fully quilted version that is owned by a museum in Frankfort, KY. Groves says that the museum in Ashland "wanted us to come to the workshop and speak, and, told her we'd come, if we could see the quilt..." which at that time was normally in storage. At some point after that event, the museum in Ashland exhibited the quilt top for a while. At the time of the interview, the museum had received a grant to keep the quilt from deteriorating. As well, "a version of it" in mural form is displayed outside in Ashland. Groves and her daughter figured out how to connect with Linda Otto Lipsett, after having read one of her books [identified in the transcript as "Elizabeth Roseberry Mitchell's Graveyard Quilt: An American Pioneer Saga"]. Groves talks at some length about Lipsett's work. Groves and her daughter were able to arrange for Lipsett "to do her show" in Adams County and Monroe County, but, unfortunately, a potential third show in Ashland was derailed by Lipsett's mother's state of health. Groves was impressed both by Lipsett and her husband, who creates her display frames and makes himself useful with the necessary work of moving things around. </synopsis>
<synopsis_alt/>
<keywords>Donna Sue Groves; Graveyard Quilt; Quilt shows/exhibitions; Highlands Museum and Discovery Center (Ashland, KY); Linda Otto Lipsett; Elizabeth Roseberry Mitchell's Graveyard Quilt: An American Pioneer Saga (book by Linda Otto Lipsett)</keywords>
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<point>
<time>951</time>
<title>Bob Evans show</title>
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<partial_transcript>So tell me about your Bob Evans show.</partial_transcript>
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<synopsis>As of the time of the interview, Groves has a show at the Bob Evans Farm, which started in April or May and is scheduled to run until December. That show arose in part because the people associated with the Bob Evans Farm wanted to get a quilt trail going in their local area. The people arranging the show wanted to view Groves' pieces prior to deciding to host it, but due to snow on the arranged day, while they made the trip, they spent relatively little time actually looking at the quilts. The show includes what Groves describes as "a lifetime of work." The exhibit is in the farmhouse and includes a Pickle Dish quilt displayed in the kitchen. Other quilts are displayed upstairs. Groves describes the show as a "lovely, lovely exhibit," the likes of which she had never expected to see for her own work. She compares it favorably to an exhibit in a hotel lobby in Ashland, which displayed nineteen of her quilts. While she was happy with that show, she thinks the Bob Evans show surpasses it. It includes perhaps 45 of Groves' quilts, as well as pieces in other genres of fiber art, such as crocheting and knitting, and some patchwork.</synopsis>
<synopsis_alt/>
<keywords>Bob Evans Farm; Quilt shows/exhibitions; Pickle Dish (quilt pattern); Whole cloth quilts; Patchwork quilts</keywords>
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<point>
<time>1097</time>
<title>Particular patterns that likes / How many old quilts owns</title>
<title_alt/>
<partial_transcript>Do you have a, a particular pattern that you like the most?</partial_transcript>
<partial_transcript_alt/>
<synopsis>Groves prefers "old, traditional patterns," but likes to sometimes engage in "interpretation" of those patterns, rather than using them in completely traditional ways. Among her favorite patterns are Drunkard's Path, Nine Patch (which she appreciates for its versatility), and Snail's Trail. A replica of part of the Snail's Trail pattern is on her barn. Her family also owns an old quilt using a Snail's Trail pattern in mourning prints. Groves estimates that she owns roughly fifty old quilts. Many of them came into her possession as quilt tops, which were brought to her by her daughter, Donna Sue Groves, who spent considerable time taking trips in Appalachian Ohio. One of the old quilts Groves likes best is in a Cornucopia or Bride's Bouquet pattern. She reports that the color red in that quilt is still quite bright and that she added a border to the quilt, which included fabric matching the original red fabric. Another quilt, which had already been quilted, is a signature quilt and depicts "great big, uh, trumpets, morning glories." The quilt top she thinks is oldest came from an Ohio attic and she and her daughter call it the "Borden Quilt." She describes is as a "one patch," and they quilted it themselves. Groves estimates that it was made, at latest, in the 1880s or 1890s.</synopsis>
<synopsis_alt/>
<keywords>Drunkard's Path - quilt pattern; Nine Patch (quilt pattern); Snail’s Trail (block pattern); Antique quilts; Collecting quilts; Donna Sue Groves; Cornucopia (quilt block pattern); Bride’s Bouquet (quilt block pattern); Signature quilts</keywords>
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<time>1283</time>
<title>Using quilts to get through a difficult time / What makes a great quilt / Fabric stash</title>
<title_alt/>
<partial_transcript>Have you, have you ever used quilts to get through a difficult time in your life?</partial_transcript>
<partial_transcript_alt/>
<synopsis>Quilting has helped Groves get through difficult times. Through collecting stories about quilts, Groves is aware of ways in which quilts or quilting have comforted bereaved relatives of people who have died. Speaking about what makes quilts strictly from her own point of view, Groves thinks that the quilt constructed from her mother´s clothing is "the greatest quilt" she owns. She thinks that, from a more general point of view, "pattern and color has a lot to do with it." Groves talks about two Burgoyne Surrounded quilts that she made, one using a traditional blue and white color scheme and one in a more modern color scheme involving black and a few different colors. She felt that the latter looked good, but that she preferred the more traditional version. Groves has a large fabric stash. She inherited three generations worth of family fabric from one friend and a seamstress friend also gave her fabric. Yet another friend, who is primarily an arts quilter, passes fabric on to her. Groves also has a number of feedsacks, some of which she has used in quilting. One such quilt was a lottery prize at the Appalachian Festival (Cincinnati, OH). [The name of the organization is corrected to Appalachian Studies Association (Huntington, WV) in the transcript.] Groves feels that that quilt found a "good home," although she was not entirely happy to relinquish it.</synopsis>
<synopsis_alt/>
<keywords>Fabric stash; Burgoyne Surrounded - quilt pattern; Mourning/Grief; Pickle Dish (quilt pattern); Irish Chain (quilt pattern); Pinwheel (quilt block pattern); Appalachian Festival (Cincinnati, OH); Fabric - Feedsack</keywords>
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<time>1514</time>
<title>How many quilts has let go / Plans for quilts / Whose work is drawn to and why</title>
<title_alt/>
<partial_transcript>How many have you let go?</partial_transcript>
<partial_transcript_alt/>
<synopsis>Groves does sometimes relinquish quilts. When she does a quilt on commission, with the expectation that the quilt will end up in the hands of whoever commissioned it, she finds it easier to give the quilt up. She also gave a quilt, without much reluctance, to a friend who had done the organizational work for Groves' Ashland exhibit and who admired that particular quilt greatly. Groves stores away the majority of her quilts, however. She does not have any long-term plans for them. No organization in her county takes quilt donations. Athens University no longer has the fabric collection that it used to have. [The transcript corrects the university name to Ohio University; presumably Groves is talking about the Athens campus of Ohio University.] Groves would prefer to pass all her quilts along to the same institution. They [presumably she and her daughter] do not have relatives to whom the quilts could go. Groves is drawn to some of Nancy Crow's work, but not the work Crow has done relatively recently. She also likes the Gee's Bend quilts. Groves is drawn, as well, to Carolyn Mazloomi's pictorial quilts, even though Groves herself would never do similar work. Groves specifically mentions a quilt of Mazloomi's depicting Billie Holiday. Groves also likes early Amish work, but is less impressed by the quilts the Amish make for outsiders, which, she says, lack "pizzaz." Groves describes a pictorial wall hanging depicting a desert scene that an Amish friend made for her and which Groves quilted. Returning to the topic of Mazloomi, Groves says she is impressed that Mazloomi taught herself to quilt. Groves repeats a story of Mazloomi's about her early quilting days, when she bought medical cotton roll to use as batting from the drugstore so often that the pharmacist strongly advised her to see a doctor.</synopsis>
<synopsis_alt/>
<keywords>Ohio University; Selling quilts; Nancy Crow; Gee's Bend quilts; Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi; Billie Holiday; Pictorial quilts; Amish quilts</keywords>
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<time>1786</time>
<title>Kind of batting uses / What thinks about machine quilting / Where sees quiltmaking going</title>
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<partial_transcript>Yeah, what kind of batting do you use?</partial_transcript>
<partial_transcript_alt/>
<synopsis>The type of batting Groves uses varies according to what she is doing. She uses high loft for projects that are supposed to be fluffy, "traditional" for most projects, and cotton when "it's really a special quilt." Groves describes machine quilting as "all right." When asks what she thinks about long arms, Maxine describes the free hand long arm quilting that someone in her group does. She says that that quilter "is an artist with it" and describes the versatility of her work. She contrasts the work of that quilter with that of a long arm quilter Groves knew previously who did not vary the quilting pattern in a piece at all. Groves is not personally interested in doing long arm quilting, but says, "It has it's place...." Groves perceives that, as of the time of the interview, quilting as an activity is expanding and that younger participants are getting involved in it. From a financial point of view, "it's a million dollar industry," which is continuing to expand. Many techniques have been developed recently. She however, continues to return to "the old patterns and the, old, uh,, more conservative, uh, uh ways of, uh, of creating." In particular, she likes to use foundation piecing. Groves describes an appliqued tea towel that her daughter, Donna Sue Groves, gave her. </synopsis>
<synopsis_alt/>
<keywords>Machine quilting; Long arm quilters; Sister’s Choice (quilt pattern); Stack and whack quilts; Techniques; Foundation piecing</keywords>
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<time>1953</time>
<title>Ways quilts reflect community and region / Quilt group</title>
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<partial_transcript>In what ways do you think your quilts reflect your, uh, community and region?</partial_transcript>
<partial_transcript_alt/>
<synopsis>Groves thinks that the patterns she and other people in her vicinity use reflect their community and region. They are patterns that her mother worked with and that are in widespread use in Kentucky and in southern Ohio. Those patterns were passed on from neighbor to neighbor or were published in magazines and newspapers. Groves calls these patterns "the old tried and true." Groves notes that the Dairy Barn Art Center (Athens, OH) "has been very inno-, innovate in contemporary quilts, art quilts...." To Groves' mind, however, people who are drawn to making art quilts are generally people with "an art background," whereas traditional quilters do not have such backgrounds. She also contrasts traditional quilts in her context with the Gee's Bend quilts. While the makers of those quilts did, to some extent, also draw upon traditional patterns, they are also innovative in a way that Groves thinks "has nothing to do, with artistic training, but they come out wonderful." Groves' current quilt group began because she was not particularly happy with the one she had been going to previously. It meets in a community building belonging to a township, where they have access to a kitchen, bathrooms, and "nice, big tables." The group is relatively informal, but they share techniques and do Show and Tell. Children are welcome. The membership is fairly fluid. Groves tells a stories about a little boy's comments on his grandmother's presentation of a racecar quilt and about a woman whom she met while presenting a workshop to a mental health group, who has since joined the quilt group and made several quilts. Groves sees both the learning and growth as quilters of the participants and the social aspects of the group as important.</synopsis>
<synopsis_alt/>
<keywords>Dairy Barn Art Center (Athens, OH); Gee's Bend quilts; Quilt National; Traditional quilts; Art quiltmaking; Quilt groups</keywords>
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<time>2237</time>
<title>Biggest challenge for quiltmakers today / Anything else</title>
<title_alt/>
<partial_transcript>So what do you think is the biggest challenge confronting quiltmakers today?</partial_transcript>
<partial_transcript_alt/>
<synopsis>Groves thinks that the biggest challenge facing quiltmakers at the time of the interview is available time, in the context of obligations (especially for those with young children), and "distractions," such as television and Internet. Groves talks about the importance of having "time, the leisure to, uh, enjoy" quilting and describes taking a quilt out to her porch, where she can appreciate sun, breezes, and the sights and sounds of the wildlife around her. When asked if there is anything else she would like to share, Groves says, "I would recommend it to anyone who, um, wants to slow down, enjoy, learn, and create...."</synopsis>
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<keywords>Time management</keywords>
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