Anna Hecox
Photos
Title
Anna Hecox
Identifier
IL62301-DAR001
Interviewee
Anna Hecox
Interviewer
Ruth Cole
Interview Date
2/24/10
Interview sponsor
Moda Fabrics
Location
Payson, Illinois
Transcriber
Anna Hecox
Transcription
Ruth Cole (RC): February 24, 2010, and the time is 1:30 p.m. I am Ruth Cole, Heritage Program Chairman for the Dorothy Quincy National Society Daughters of the American Revolution in Quincy [Illinois.]. I am interviewing Anna Hecox of Rural Payson, [Illinois.], who is also a member of the Dorothy Quincy. I am now starting the interview while looking at Ann's quilt. Do you make quilts Ann?
Anna Hecox (AH): Yes, I probably [pauses for 2 seconds.] seems like anymore that I've got one in the works or thinking about one. I just made one for our church group. They tie them and then they donate them to Cunningham Children's Home. And then I've made a lap quilt and I'd like to have time to make another. I keep busy doing quilts.
RC: Those are worthwhile.
AH: Unhum.
RC: Do you make wearable art?
AH: Yes, I've made sweatshirts with appliquéd things on them and stuff like that, so I wear it.
RC: And your family. Do you sleep under a quilt?
AH: Actually, no. There's a lot of work and money that goes into them. I sleep under blankets, and I use my quilts as bedspreads and wall hangings and something like that. I actually don't sleep under them.
RC: Have you given quilts as gifts?
AH: Yes, I have. I've made four "Cars" quilts and give to each one of my grandsons. I made a "My Little Pony" quilt for my granddaughter, Tiffiny. I've made them and given them away. Of course, this one for Cunningham's and I've made those before.
RC: Are you self-taught?
AH: Pretty much. It's been an ongoing learning process.
RC: A long one.
AH: Yah.
RC: Do you make, have quiltmakers in your family, other than you?
AH: Not right now. My mom [Lillian Wilkinson.] made quilts and stuff, but not that I know of right now.
RC: Do you collect and sell quilts?
AH: I don't sell them, but I've got a collection. [laughs.] I've got the chests to prove it. [laughs.]
RC: Do you have a collection of quilts, quilting and sewing memorabilia?
AH: Yes, I do. [laughs.] I've got all kinds of antiques; the old time Victorian antique sewing baskets, and sewing tables, and all kinds of antique gadgets that I've picked up in the antique shops. I'm a [laughs.] gadget person. So, I have all these different things. It's amazing the things they had.
RC: They were small little things too, that you could collect. Do you have a collection, or do you make designs for the walls?
AH: Yes, I do. I've [laughs.] got quilts hanging on my walls right now. The small ones. And so [laughs.]--
RC: You do have one on the wall, don't you?
AH: Yah.
RC: Roosters. That's very pretty. Do you have a studio or sewing room?
.
AH: Yes, I do. I'll talk about it more later.
RC: Alright. [pauses for 2 seconds.] Tell me about the quilt you've got today.
AH: Well, it's a pictorial quilt. And I basically got the idea from a magazine that I saw in the store. I just kept thinking about it and decided I'd like to make a family quilt, and so about sixteen years ago I got the pictures that I had then together, and I took them to the Business Centre and photocopied them. Then you would take this product called Picture This and paint it on the photocopy and you would lay it on a piece of white muslin and let it dry and then you would wash it off and the photocopy stayed on the muslin. So that's how I did my pictures at the time. Then after that dried, I could cut it into the quilt squares. And of course, they were different sizes cause the pictures were different sizes. So that's kind of the way I set my quilt up to place the pictures in the quilt, and I used first the pictures of my great grandparents, [Johann and Friederike Kraft and Dorothea Kohl.] then my grandparents,[Henry and Mollie Kohl and Bessie Wilkinson Simons.] and my parents, [Forrest and Lillian Wilkinson.] myself and my husband,[Duane Hecox.] our children [Sherri, Theresa, Bryan and Mark.] and the grandchildren [Tiffiny and Mercedes Massey.] we had at the time. I really didn't use any particular pattern. I decided I'd appliqué a picture of the farmhouse where we live in the center and so while I was doing that, my son Mark came along and suggested that I appliqué our dog in the picture, so there's a little black dog at the corner of the house that I put on the quilt. And I just used the fabrics and stuff, basically that I had on hand. I had fabric left from the dresses I'd made my girls and I'd got some fabric in the antique shop. And so that's basically what I used for it. It was just stuff I had on hand.
RC: Really a family quilt.
AH: Unhuh.
RC: What special meaning does this quilt have to your family?
AH: Well, it represents our family tree that I knew at the time. This was before I joined DAR, and I hadn't even done family research and so my grandparents were older when they had my mother and they were already dead when I was born, so I never knew most of the older people that were on the quilt. My dad's mother was still alive. She died when I was 15, so I remember her real well, but the rest of them were gone, so it has special meaning that away.
RC: And your farmhouse in it.
AH: Unhuh
RC: That makes it nice too.
AH: Yes.
RC: How did you choose this quilt to bring to the interview?
AH: I choose it because it represents the one quilt that I've made that fits the Save Our Stories theme I thought. Also, I had a lot of prodding from my fellow DAR members to enter [laughs.] this quilt in S.O.S. stories. [clock strikes.]
RC: Cause it really does tell a story.
AH: Yes.
RC: What do you think someone interviewing, or viewing your quilt might conclude about you?
AH: Well, I hope they think I'm a caring, family orientated person. Otherwise, I really don't know.
RC: And like history.
AH: Unhuh, Oh yes.
RC: How do you use this quilt?
AH: I just use it for special display only, because the type of--the way this is set up with the pictures--it's rather fragile, so it just would be something I wouldn't have out all the time.
RC: You'd get it out and talk with your family about it.
AH: Unhuh
RC: What do you think you'll do with this quilt?
AH: Well, I hope one of my kids wants it someday. I hope they just don't pitch it. [laughs.]
RC: Right, tell me about your interest in quilt making.
AH: Well, I've always been interested in quilt making. I was pretty much exposed to it all my life. All the women in my family always did all these things.
RC: And grew up with hand quilting.
AH: Unhuh, right.
RC: At what age did you start quilting?
AH: I pieced my first quilt when I was twelve years old. It was a four-patch quilt. My mother taught me to use her treadle sewing machine, and I would run it a little faster than what she thought. She was always reminding me to slow down. Of course, as soon as her back [laughs.] was turned, I was taking that thing and going to town. [laughs.]
RC: [laughs.] They were a little tricky too.
AH: Unhuh
RC: How many hours a week do you quilt?
AH: Oh, I probably quilt--[pauses for 3 seconds.] I don't know, five to twenty hours a week. It really depends on how much extra time I've got. In the wintertime, I've got a lot more time than I do in the summertime because of my--I've got more [RC and AH both speak at the same time.] chores.
RC: Right, Right
RC: Did I ask you who you learned your quilting from?
AH: OK, well, I come from a long line of quilters, and needle workers as I said, and I used to watch my mom make clothes and quilts from the time I can remember. She always used fabrics left over from our dresses. At that time, she--[pause 2 seconds.] a lot of material she got from feed sacks because we lived at the farm. So, the neighbor women would sometimes trade feed sacks, so they'd have enough material for a dress. And then she took a newspaper, we lived in Missouri. She took a newspaper called Capper's Weekly. And Cappers Weekly had a pattern--I don't know how often--but I've got them. And they were just black and white. They didn't have colored newspapers. So that's where she would get her ideas for patterns. Then a lot of those patterns I used when I was in math class. Where we used to do drawing with a compass and stuff like that. [RC and AH both speak at the same time.] I used to get really good grades using those patterns [laughs.] for several of my math classes.
RC: Well, that's--that's interesting. What is your first quilt memory?
AH: Oh golly. Well, I remember we used to, mother would just, she'd make quilts that really weren't that special, just throwing anything together and we used to sleep under them. So, I can remember sleeping under quilts and stuff like that from--I had quilts on my crib when I was a baby. [RC and AH both speak at same time.] So, there's always been quilts in my life.
RC: And they were warm.
AH: Unhuh.
RC: Are there other quilters in your family or friends?
AH: I've got friends that are quilters.
RC: Tell us about them?
AH: Well, I belong to a--its actually an embroidery group up here at Payson. I have a Husqvarna embroidery machine and we do software classes, but we also make quilts and show them. And one of the girls in my class from Quincy won best of show at the quilt last year. I-- I've entered quilts in the show, but needless to say, I've never won anything. In family--my cousin, [Mollie Price.] used to make a lot of quilts, but she's gone now, and I think her daughter, Marie, is starting to do some of the quilts. [cat meows.] But anybody else--I don't know of anybody else. My daughter [Sherri.] sews beautifully, so maybe someday when she gets more time, because she's expressed interest that she'd like to--
RC: Well good.
AH: To make one. So maybe before I die, I can help her make one and get her started. [laughs.]
RC: Good. Are there other--how many quilters, quilt making--how did quilt making impact your family?
AH: I don't know. They enjoy looking at my quilts. They enjoy getting them. And I've got a bunch of them pieced that I got to get quilted because they're all waiting to choose which ones they're going to get.
RC: Do you think it's sparked interest in your children in history?
AH: Yes, my kids are very interested in history and in the family, especially once I started doing the genealogy and making that quilt and stuff like that. Oh, yah. At first, they kind of laughed at me [laughs.] and I was looking up all those ancestresses from way back and stuff like that. But now they're really interested, and my little grandson, [Ethan Hecox.] has made use of a lot of the information in school.
RC: Your older boys did too, didn't they?
AH: Yes.
RC: Tell me if you've ever used quilts to get through a difficult time?
AH: Yes, I have. Keeping your hands busy is the main thing and I find quilt making very soothing to the soul, because I'm a creative person. You keep your hands going and your mind.
RC: You have to think about it.
AH: Yah, you have to think about what you're doing, so you get your mind off your problems and the next time you start thinking about them, they don't seem as bad, so yes, I have.
RC: Tell me about an amusing experience you've occurred from your quilt making, or teaching.
AH: Well actually nothing really has happened to me. My mother, like I said, made quilts out of feed sacks and dresses. She had cut her dress out and she had left the back of her dress laying on the dining room table and it was getting late, and she had to run out and do the chores. While she was outside doing the chores, my brother [Fred Wilkinson.] decided to help mom make a quilt out of the back of her dress. He cut the back of her dress in all these little squares and triangles [laughs.] and stuff like that. It taught me, I mean I remembered that so I never left anything out that my kids could get into. She had to go around to all the neighbors. She finally--[pauses for 2 seconds.] she found--
RC: Good.
AH: A feed sack that matched it. But it was quite a chore to do that, but it was a learning lesson for me.
RC: Unhum. To not leave the things undone.
AH: Right.
RC: What do you find pleasing about quilt making?
AH: Oh, it's like I said it's soothing to the soul and it's fun to put the fabrics together and see what blends. The fabrics that we used years ago the prints and the solids. Now they put all kinds of print fabrics together and it really works well. It's beautiful.
RC: Right
AH: So that has changed quite a bit from the old flower gardens and things like that that they used to make.
RC: And they harmonize the different colors.
AH: Yes, they do.
RC: What aspect of quilt making to not enjoy?
AH: Sigh.
RC: Getting stuck with the quilting needles.
AH: Well, yah, [laughs.] I do get stuck, but that is in the actual quilting process. Sometimes it's kind of exasperating getting all your points to match.
RC: And your colors?
AH: Yes, well the colors you can get that pretty well done and stand back and look at it before you actually sew the quilt together and see what goes together and what doesn't. But sometimes you've got so many points that come together at one time, that it gets to be frustrating. I've had to rip and re-sew a few times.
RC: You have to be very exact then.
AH: Yes.
RC: And putting them together.
AH: Yes.
RC: And artistic in the blending of your colors. What aspect of quilt making do you not enjoy? I just asked.
AH: Yah you just asked that.
RC: What art or quilt groups do you belong to?
AH: Actually, I don't belong to any. There's one they're starting up over here in Liberty [Illinois.] that I've thought about joining, but I haven't done it yet.
RC: It's a nice social.
AH: It is. You meet a lot of nice people doing that.
RC: Have advances in technology influenced your work if so, how?
AH: Yes, they have. Yah, my fancy sewing machine for one, and [pauses for 3 seconds.] all the different things that they use now. There are plastic templates they have got and stuff. I can remember when I first started quilting you cut the pattern out of cardboard, and then you sat there with your piece of cardboard and cut around it. You cut one square or triangle at a time. Of course, now you use a rotary cutter and cutting board.
RC: That would be more exacting.
AH: Yes, it is. You lay this big, long ruler that is skid proof on your fabric, and you cut it. And so, you can cut squares and make triangles of those. I will say though that the techniques with the rotary cutter waste a lot more fabric.
RC: Yes, because you can't squeeze that in.
AH: Yes, yah
RC: What are your favorite techniques and materials? Cotton?
AH: Yes, I use cotton, mostly a hundred percent cotton I like. I've used a lot of Thimbleberries fabric and making Thimbleberries quilts and stuff like that.
RC: Is that a brand name?
AH: Unhuh, it's a brand name in fabric.
RC: Made especially for quilting?
AH: Basically yes. Made with Thimbleberries, most anything will go together. And they make it that way, where it just kind of blends in.
RC: Describe your studio or place you create.
AH: Well, I have a--I turned a bedroom into my sewing, quilting, craft room after the boys left home. And I've got my sewing machines up there. I don't have a have a quilt wall, but I've got a flannel, a quilting flannel, and I've got it across two bookcases up there, so then I can just place my fabrics on that and arrange them any way I want them to get the right contrast or whatever I want for a quilt that I'm making.
RC: That would hold your designs together better?
AH: Well, no, it shows your placement better.
RC: Right.
AH: And so, when you sew them together, then you just take it off the flannel, sew it, and pin it back up and sew the next one and sew them together that way, and then you don't accidently sew the wrong pieces together. It works out really well. Then, I've got all my sewing baskets and my sewing paraphernalia, my antique sewing things. I collect dolls, so there's a lot of dolls in there with me.
RC: A pleasant place for you to work.
AH: Yes, I have--I collect quilt books too. I have got lots of quilt books and quilt patterns. [clock strikes.]
RC: Tell me how you balance your time.
AH: Well, I get everything done that I have to do first. I'm a widow, so the chores and all that stuff have to be done first. My house has got to be clean and things like that. I don't let things go to just quilt.
RC: Self-discipline.
AH: Yes, so than I balance my time. I play musical instruments and embroidery--I do hand embroidery and I do a lot of different things from quilting, so I manage to get them all in there and of course I'm of the computer generation now so that comes in handy making quilts too because I can copy and do all that stuff.
RC: So, you relax?
AH: Oh yes,
RC: Doing that?
AH: Unhuh
RC: Do you use a design wall?
AH: Yes, that's the one I was just telling you about.
RC: Alright
AH: It's not actually a wall.
RC: It's your quilt.
AH: Umhum
RC: Material. Does it enhance your creating ability?
AH: It does. You can stand away from it--
RC: And look at it.
AH: And look at it and see what it's going to look like. Sometimes, what I'll do, I have a digital camera and I take a picture of it. And then I blow it up on my computer and print it off.
RC: That would be good.
AH: And that way even seems to give you a better idea of what it's going to look like. And you look at it and you think 'Oh no, I don't like that way with those,' so [laughs.] you go change it and take another picture. It doesn't cost anything; you can erase those digital pictures. [RC and AH both speak at the same time.] It costs for ink and stuff, but it's a good way to do it.
RC: Yes. How do you determine the designs you're going to make?
AH: Sometimes, I might use several different designs in a quilt. Here lately we've been embroidering, we design our own blocks, embroidering in software class, and then we can set it up any way we want. So, for last year's quilt show, I did that. And then I--
RC: Beautiful.
AH: I designed all my colors and stuff in it and so I had it entered in the quilt show. But it was--it was a lot of fun to do.
RC: Yah. What do you think makes a great quilt?
AH: I really don't know. Well, a great quilt would probably be one that uses the right colors, the right combinations, gets all the points even, and has an even mitered corner on each corner. I'm still working on all those things.
RC: Historical quilts, do you think they're great quilts?
AH: Yes; yes, they are. Especially quilts like they used back in the civil war and stuff like that, yah, I enjoy those.
RC: And the name quilts.
AH: Unhuh yah. I have the--I was going to do one when I was a teenager, but my social life got in the way of it.
RC: But it brings back lots of memories.
AH: Yah, mother gave me all the blocks that I'd made and embroidered, and I have yet to set that up. The white has turned kind of--
RC: Yellow.
AH: Yes, I have never set it up yet. And it was all the kids I went to school within the neighborhood, grandparents' names and stuff could go on it.
RC: You'll have to put that on your list to do.
AH: Yes, I will.
RC: What makes an artistically--what quilt is artistically powerful [pauses for 5 seconds.] to you?
AH: I don't know. I enjoy so many different quilts that I really couldn't say. Quilts that tell a story are really nice.
RC: Historical.
AH: Unhuh. Yah.
RC: I believe that would be nice. What makes a quilt for a museum or special collection?
AH: Well, probably age and condition have a lot to do with it. And something that's of historical subject matter.
RC: I've seen appliquéd quilts that are pictures.
AH: Unhuh, and they're nice. But I haven't seen too awful many in the museums that I go in. I saw some, of course, at the DAR hall.
RC: Very old
AH: Yah, really nice. [cat meows.]
RC: I think that was at one time very popular. [pauses for 4 seconds.] What makes a great quiltmaker?
AH: Well, it has got to be somebody that loves working with fabric and design. [pauses for 2 seconds.] And of course, has the time, the energy, and the motivation to do it.
RC: Right, and it takes an artistic ability.
AH: Yes.
RC: How do you feel about machine quilting versus hand quilting?
AH: Well, most of my friends in class have theirs machine quilted. Hardly anybody hand quilts anymore. I do, but it takes a long time--
RC: Right.
AH: And a lot of stuck fingers, and bleeding fingers. And I've got a leather thimble, and now it's got a hole in [laughs.] the end of it, where I've actually gathered the leather up when I was trying--and I've bent a lot of needles. Cause, a lot of times when you've got a lot of points in some of these quilts, it's hard to get the needles through and stuff.
RC: Yes, it takes a lot of patience.
AH: Yes, and the machine quilt making. They're programmed now and they can set them to do maybe over a hundred different designs.
RC: Beautiful things.
AH: Yes, they are. They're just absolutely gorgeous.
RC: What about long armed quilting?
AH: I would like to have one, but unfortunately, I don't have the place to set it up.
RC: And you do your own quilting, and that makes a nice hobby.
AH: Yah, they say you can quilt with your sewing machine, but I haven't really tried it yet. There's going to be some classes coming up on that at John Wood Community College [in Quincy, Illinois], that I'm thinking about maybe taking.
RC: That would be fun and--
AH: Unhuh
RC: Social.
AH: Well, see, the main thing you've got to have a hoop that'll fit under your machine bed, because that's got to be stretched.
RC: Unhuh.
AH: Otherwise, you're going to have [pauses for 2 seconds.] the front of your quilt might look beautiful, but the back side would be all full of puckers.
RC: Right.
AH: So, it's gotta be in some sort of a hoop.
RC: Unhuh.
AH: I'm thing about maybe using my embroidery hoops to do it.
RC: If they're big.
AH: Well, I do have one that's--it's called--it's like maybe 7 inches by 15 inches, something like that. You'd have to keep setting it of course, but you could do a design in it.
RC: Why is quilting important in your life?
AH: [pauses for 3 seconds.] Keeps me off the streets.
RC: [laughs.] With all your other interests.
AH: [laughs.] Yah, I just enjoy doing it. I just have a need to be creative. I can't explain it, but--
RC: It would be artistic creation.
AH: Yes. [pauses for 2 seconds.] I enjoy doing it I really do.
RC: In what ways do quilts reflect your community or region?
AH: Well actually the quilts I make, except for the one we're looking at don't really reflect my community or region. I mostly make just what I like. So, I don't really worry about the community and region.
RC: Umhuh. What do you think about the importance of quilts in American life?
AH: [pauses for 4 seconds.] Well, they've been a part of our culture since [pauses for 2 seconds] people came to America and in kind of reading about history of quilts, some of the early settlers' ideas and some of the native Americans ideas were combined in making quilts. Back then people just couldn't go buy fabric and things like that everywhere. Many times, when clothes got so many holes and stuff and they couldn't wear them anymore, they would rip out the seams of the shirts and dresses and use the fabric that had been in the seams to make itty bitty little [RC and AH both speak at the same time.] quilt squares. There's actually one like that on display at Nauvoo [Illinois.]--
RC: Really?
AH: That's been made out of inseams because they used to French seam the clothes Because they would--
RC: Yes.
AH: My mother did that. There were no raw edges.
RC: Can't see threads and stuff.
AH: Unhuh and so when they French seamed them, there was a seam turned under, so you've got [pauses for 4 seconds.] a good three quarters of an inch there or so--
RC: That would be little pieces.
AH: Unhuh. It would be very tedious to work with.
RC: Did you use old clothing?
AH: No, I've never done that.
RC: A long time ago--
AH: A long time ago they did.
RC: People did.
AH: Yah, [RC and AH both speak at the same time.] and women--[pauses for 2 seconds.] I've got my grandmothers, great grandmothers [Friederike.] spinning wheel and her old barn loom. She used to make fabric. She spun wool and made fabric and stuff like that. They used to have to do that. Make their own fabric and make their quilts. I'm sure their quilts, they were for warmth. They weren't as decorative as they are now, but--
RC: More usable.
AH: Yes.
RC: In what ways do you think quilts have special meaning for women's history in American.
AH: [pauses for 10 seconds.] They have changed a lot with the times just like we women have.
RC: Unhuh
AH: Just like they say, we've come a long way.
RC: Right.
AH: And so, have quilts. They've changed from using just what you could get a hold of into a wide array of fabrics that, [pauses for 4 seconds.] my goodness they've just got everything. They've got every color, design imaginable--
RC: And we didn't used to have that many.
AH: No, we didn't have that many choices [RC and AH both speak at same time.]. And like back during the Civil War and stuff, they made quilts to help the slaves--
RC: Find their routes.
AH: Yah, find their routes and escape into freedom.
RC: So that was American history.
AH: Yes, yes
RC: How do you think quilts can be used?
AH: I think now days most quilts are probably just used for display purposes and--
RC: Bedspreads
AH: Bedspreads, because they cost so much to make. When I was a kid, you could go to like the Missouri Brokerage and buy three yards of cotton for a dollar. And a lot of the backs of Mom's quilts, [pauses for 2 seconds.] she used that for the backs of the quilts and--
RC: Right.
AH: Of course, you had to shrink it--
RC: Unhuh.
AH: First, or you'd be in trouble, because it had a lot of shrinkage to it. The prices now days [pauses for 2 seconds.] the fabric and your supplies, and thread. Thread has went way up in cost.
RC: It has.
AH: And so--
RC: Do you ever use a sheet for the back?
AH: Yes, I have. I have used a sheet.
RC: And--
AH: I think it makes a nice back.
RC: A cotton blanket for the inside?
AH: You can't hardly get those anymore. You mostly have to use batting--
RC: It washes better also?
AH: Yah, Mother used to use really thin blankets and put in her quilts. In fact, I've got some of her quilts that's got blankets in them. They made a nice lightweight quilt. They're very nice quilts. [AH and RC both speak at the same time.]
RC: Washable.
AH: Yah.
RC: What has happened to quilts that you have made or those of friends and family? You have collected all those haven't you, Ann?
AH: Yes, I've collected--[pauses for 2 seconds.] I've got quilts that my grandmother [Mollie.] made, and my mother made, and I've got one that my husband's mother [Gladys Hecox Mccoy.] made. The ones that I have given to the kids have been well used. So, they have enjoyed them.
RC: Do you ever make toys out of old quilts?
AH: No, I haven't. Now days, with all the computer games and stuff like that my grandchildren really aren't interested in toys made out of quilts, or crocheted toys--they're--
RC: They're past that.
AH: Yah. It's the technology generation.
RC: [pauses for 10 seconds.] Did I ask you what is the challenge of quilt making is today?
AH: Well, we just kind of went over that with the cost of your fabric, and your supplies and you need room to do it.
RC: Yes.
AH: It takes room to lay out fabric and [RC and AH both speak at same time.] have a cutting table and all that stuff.
RC: There are some materials that would hold up better. That would be a challenge.
AH: Yes, yes that's true. That's one of the things that I've noticed about some of the cotton fabrics is some of them tend to fray more than others.
RC: And the blends--
AH: Unhuh,
RC: Wouldn't shrink and wash the same as the cottons.
AH: Right and I always washed my fabric first, but when we were in the Thimbleberries Club, our teacher said that's not important any more.
RC: So, they must not shrink--
AH: Evidently, they don't.
RC: [pauses for 12 seconds.] It is now 2:13 p.m. and this concludes my interview. I want to thank you Ann for allowing me to speak with you about your quilt.
AH: Well, I want to thank you Ruth for doing all the work and helping me with this S.O.S. project. I really appreciate it.
Anna Hecox (AH): Yes, I probably [pauses for 2 seconds.] seems like anymore that I've got one in the works or thinking about one. I just made one for our church group. They tie them and then they donate them to Cunningham Children's Home. And then I've made a lap quilt and I'd like to have time to make another. I keep busy doing quilts.
RC: Those are worthwhile.
AH: Unhum.
RC: Do you make wearable art?
AH: Yes, I've made sweatshirts with appliquéd things on them and stuff like that, so I wear it.
RC: And your family. Do you sleep under a quilt?
AH: Actually, no. There's a lot of work and money that goes into them. I sleep under blankets, and I use my quilts as bedspreads and wall hangings and something like that. I actually don't sleep under them.
RC: Have you given quilts as gifts?
AH: Yes, I have. I've made four "Cars" quilts and give to each one of my grandsons. I made a "My Little Pony" quilt for my granddaughter, Tiffiny. I've made them and given them away. Of course, this one for Cunningham's and I've made those before.
RC: Are you self-taught?
AH: Pretty much. It's been an ongoing learning process.
RC: A long one.
AH: Yah.
RC: Do you make, have quiltmakers in your family, other than you?
AH: Not right now. My mom [Lillian Wilkinson.] made quilts and stuff, but not that I know of right now.
RC: Do you collect and sell quilts?
AH: I don't sell them, but I've got a collection. [laughs.] I've got the chests to prove it. [laughs.]
RC: Do you have a collection of quilts, quilting and sewing memorabilia?
AH: Yes, I do. [laughs.] I've got all kinds of antiques; the old time Victorian antique sewing baskets, and sewing tables, and all kinds of antique gadgets that I've picked up in the antique shops. I'm a [laughs.] gadget person. So, I have all these different things. It's amazing the things they had.
RC: They were small little things too, that you could collect. Do you have a collection, or do you make designs for the walls?
AH: Yes, I do. I've [laughs.] got quilts hanging on my walls right now. The small ones. And so [laughs.]--
RC: You do have one on the wall, don't you?
AH: Yah.
RC: Roosters. That's very pretty. Do you have a studio or sewing room?
.
AH: Yes, I do. I'll talk about it more later.
RC: Alright. [pauses for 2 seconds.] Tell me about the quilt you've got today.
AH: Well, it's a pictorial quilt. And I basically got the idea from a magazine that I saw in the store. I just kept thinking about it and decided I'd like to make a family quilt, and so about sixteen years ago I got the pictures that I had then together, and I took them to the Business Centre and photocopied them. Then you would take this product called Picture This and paint it on the photocopy and you would lay it on a piece of white muslin and let it dry and then you would wash it off and the photocopy stayed on the muslin. So that's how I did my pictures at the time. Then after that dried, I could cut it into the quilt squares. And of course, they were different sizes cause the pictures were different sizes. So that's kind of the way I set my quilt up to place the pictures in the quilt, and I used first the pictures of my great grandparents, [Johann and Friederike Kraft and Dorothea Kohl.] then my grandparents,[Henry and Mollie Kohl and Bessie Wilkinson Simons.] and my parents, [Forrest and Lillian Wilkinson.] myself and my husband,[Duane Hecox.] our children [Sherri, Theresa, Bryan and Mark.] and the grandchildren [Tiffiny and Mercedes Massey.] we had at the time. I really didn't use any particular pattern. I decided I'd appliqué a picture of the farmhouse where we live in the center and so while I was doing that, my son Mark came along and suggested that I appliqué our dog in the picture, so there's a little black dog at the corner of the house that I put on the quilt. And I just used the fabrics and stuff, basically that I had on hand. I had fabric left from the dresses I'd made my girls and I'd got some fabric in the antique shop. And so that's basically what I used for it. It was just stuff I had on hand.
RC: Really a family quilt.
AH: Unhuh.
RC: What special meaning does this quilt have to your family?
AH: Well, it represents our family tree that I knew at the time. This was before I joined DAR, and I hadn't even done family research and so my grandparents were older when they had my mother and they were already dead when I was born, so I never knew most of the older people that were on the quilt. My dad's mother was still alive. She died when I was 15, so I remember her real well, but the rest of them were gone, so it has special meaning that away.
RC: And your farmhouse in it.
AH: Unhuh
RC: That makes it nice too.
AH: Yes.
RC: How did you choose this quilt to bring to the interview?
AH: I choose it because it represents the one quilt that I've made that fits the Save Our Stories theme I thought. Also, I had a lot of prodding from my fellow DAR members to enter [laughs.] this quilt in S.O.S. stories. [clock strikes.]
RC: Cause it really does tell a story.
AH: Yes.
RC: What do you think someone interviewing, or viewing your quilt might conclude about you?
AH: Well, I hope they think I'm a caring, family orientated person. Otherwise, I really don't know.
RC: And like history.
AH: Unhuh, Oh yes.
RC: How do you use this quilt?
AH: I just use it for special display only, because the type of--the way this is set up with the pictures--it's rather fragile, so it just would be something I wouldn't have out all the time.
RC: You'd get it out and talk with your family about it.
AH: Unhuh
RC: What do you think you'll do with this quilt?
AH: Well, I hope one of my kids wants it someday. I hope they just don't pitch it. [laughs.]
RC: Right, tell me about your interest in quilt making.
AH: Well, I've always been interested in quilt making. I was pretty much exposed to it all my life. All the women in my family always did all these things.
RC: And grew up with hand quilting.
AH: Unhuh, right.
RC: At what age did you start quilting?
AH: I pieced my first quilt when I was twelve years old. It was a four-patch quilt. My mother taught me to use her treadle sewing machine, and I would run it a little faster than what she thought. She was always reminding me to slow down. Of course, as soon as her back [laughs.] was turned, I was taking that thing and going to town. [laughs.]
RC: [laughs.] They were a little tricky too.
AH: Unhuh
RC: How many hours a week do you quilt?
AH: Oh, I probably quilt--[pauses for 3 seconds.] I don't know, five to twenty hours a week. It really depends on how much extra time I've got. In the wintertime, I've got a lot more time than I do in the summertime because of my--I've got more [RC and AH both speak at the same time.] chores.
RC: Right, Right
RC: Did I ask you who you learned your quilting from?
AH: OK, well, I come from a long line of quilters, and needle workers as I said, and I used to watch my mom make clothes and quilts from the time I can remember. She always used fabrics left over from our dresses. At that time, she--[pause 2 seconds.] a lot of material she got from feed sacks because we lived at the farm. So, the neighbor women would sometimes trade feed sacks, so they'd have enough material for a dress. And then she took a newspaper, we lived in Missouri. She took a newspaper called Capper's Weekly. And Cappers Weekly had a pattern--I don't know how often--but I've got them. And they were just black and white. They didn't have colored newspapers. So that's where she would get her ideas for patterns. Then a lot of those patterns I used when I was in math class. Where we used to do drawing with a compass and stuff like that. [RC and AH both speak at the same time.] I used to get really good grades using those patterns [laughs.] for several of my math classes.
RC: Well, that's--that's interesting. What is your first quilt memory?
AH: Oh golly. Well, I remember we used to, mother would just, she'd make quilts that really weren't that special, just throwing anything together and we used to sleep under them. So, I can remember sleeping under quilts and stuff like that from--I had quilts on my crib when I was a baby. [RC and AH both speak at same time.] So, there's always been quilts in my life.
RC: And they were warm.
AH: Unhuh.
RC: Are there other quilters in your family or friends?
AH: I've got friends that are quilters.
RC: Tell us about them?
AH: Well, I belong to a--its actually an embroidery group up here at Payson. I have a Husqvarna embroidery machine and we do software classes, but we also make quilts and show them. And one of the girls in my class from Quincy won best of show at the quilt last year. I-- I've entered quilts in the show, but needless to say, I've never won anything. In family--my cousin, [Mollie Price.] used to make a lot of quilts, but she's gone now, and I think her daughter, Marie, is starting to do some of the quilts. [cat meows.] But anybody else--I don't know of anybody else. My daughter [Sherri.] sews beautifully, so maybe someday when she gets more time, because she's expressed interest that she'd like to--
RC: Well good.
AH: To make one. So maybe before I die, I can help her make one and get her started. [laughs.]
RC: Good. Are there other--how many quilters, quilt making--how did quilt making impact your family?
AH: I don't know. They enjoy looking at my quilts. They enjoy getting them. And I've got a bunch of them pieced that I got to get quilted because they're all waiting to choose which ones they're going to get.
RC: Do you think it's sparked interest in your children in history?
AH: Yes, my kids are very interested in history and in the family, especially once I started doing the genealogy and making that quilt and stuff like that. Oh, yah. At first, they kind of laughed at me [laughs.] and I was looking up all those ancestresses from way back and stuff like that. But now they're really interested, and my little grandson, [Ethan Hecox.] has made use of a lot of the information in school.
RC: Your older boys did too, didn't they?
AH: Yes.
RC: Tell me if you've ever used quilts to get through a difficult time?
AH: Yes, I have. Keeping your hands busy is the main thing and I find quilt making very soothing to the soul, because I'm a creative person. You keep your hands going and your mind.
RC: You have to think about it.
AH: Yah, you have to think about what you're doing, so you get your mind off your problems and the next time you start thinking about them, they don't seem as bad, so yes, I have.
RC: Tell me about an amusing experience you've occurred from your quilt making, or teaching.
AH: Well actually nothing really has happened to me. My mother, like I said, made quilts out of feed sacks and dresses. She had cut her dress out and she had left the back of her dress laying on the dining room table and it was getting late, and she had to run out and do the chores. While she was outside doing the chores, my brother [Fred Wilkinson.] decided to help mom make a quilt out of the back of her dress. He cut the back of her dress in all these little squares and triangles [laughs.] and stuff like that. It taught me, I mean I remembered that so I never left anything out that my kids could get into. She had to go around to all the neighbors. She finally--[pauses for 2 seconds.] she found--
RC: Good.
AH: A feed sack that matched it. But it was quite a chore to do that, but it was a learning lesson for me.
RC: Unhum. To not leave the things undone.
AH: Right.
RC: What do you find pleasing about quilt making?
AH: Oh, it's like I said it's soothing to the soul and it's fun to put the fabrics together and see what blends. The fabrics that we used years ago the prints and the solids. Now they put all kinds of print fabrics together and it really works well. It's beautiful.
RC: Right
AH: So that has changed quite a bit from the old flower gardens and things like that that they used to make.
RC: And they harmonize the different colors.
AH: Yes, they do.
RC: What aspect of quilt making to not enjoy?
AH: Sigh.
RC: Getting stuck with the quilting needles.
AH: Well, yah, [laughs.] I do get stuck, but that is in the actual quilting process. Sometimes it's kind of exasperating getting all your points to match.
RC: And your colors?
AH: Yes, well the colors you can get that pretty well done and stand back and look at it before you actually sew the quilt together and see what goes together and what doesn't. But sometimes you've got so many points that come together at one time, that it gets to be frustrating. I've had to rip and re-sew a few times.
RC: You have to be very exact then.
AH: Yes.
RC: And putting them together.
AH: Yes.
RC: And artistic in the blending of your colors. What aspect of quilt making do you not enjoy? I just asked.
AH: Yah you just asked that.
RC: What art or quilt groups do you belong to?
AH: Actually, I don't belong to any. There's one they're starting up over here in Liberty [Illinois.] that I've thought about joining, but I haven't done it yet.
RC: It's a nice social.
AH: It is. You meet a lot of nice people doing that.
RC: Have advances in technology influenced your work if so, how?
AH: Yes, they have. Yah, my fancy sewing machine for one, and [pauses for 3 seconds.] all the different things that they use now. There are plastic templates they have got and stuff. I can remember when I first started quilting you cut the pattern out of cardboard, and then you sat there with your piece of cardboard and cut around it. You cut one square or triangle at a time. Of course, now you use a rotary cutter and cutting board.
RC: That would be more exacting.
AH: Yes, it is. You lay this big, long ruler that is skid proof on your fabric, and you cut it. And so, you can cut squares and make triangles of those. I will say though that the techniques with the rotary cutter waste a lot more fabric.
RC: Yes, because you can't squeeze that in.
AH: Yes, yah
RC: What are your favorite techniques and materials? Cotton?
AH: Yes, I use cotton, mostly a hundred percent cotton I like. I've used a lot of Thimbleberries fabric and making Thimbleberries quilts and stuff like that.
RC: Is that a brand name?
AH: Unhuh, it's a brand name in fabric.
RC: Made especially for quilting?
AH: Basically yes. Made with Thimbleberries, most anything will go together. And they make it that way, where it just kind of blends in.
RC: Describe your studio or place you create.
AH: Well, I have a--I turned a bedroom into my sewing, quilting, craft room after the boys left home. And I've got my sewing machines up there. I don't have a have a quilt wall, but I've got a flannel, a quilting flannel, and I've got it across two bookcases up there, so then I can just place my fabrics on that and arrange them any way I want them to get the right contrast or whatever I want for a quilt that I'm making.
RC: That would hold your designs together better?
AH: Well, no, it shows your placement better.
RC: Right.
AH: And so, when you sew them together, then you just take it off the flannel, sew it, and pin it back up and sew the next one and sew them together that way, and then you don't accidently sew the wrong pieces together. It works out really well. Then, I've got all my sewing baskets and my sewing paraphernalia, my antique sewing things. I collect dolls, so there's a lot of dolls in there with me.
RC: A pleasant place for you to work.
AH: Yes, I have--I collect quilt books too. I have got lots of quilt books and quilt patterns. [clock strikes.]
RC: Tell me how you balance your time.
AH: Well, I get everything done that I have to do first. I'm a widow, so the chores and all that stuff have to be done first. My house has got to be clean and things like that. I don't let things go to just quilt.
RC: Self-discipline.
AH: Yes, so than I balance my time. I play musical instruments and embroidery--I do hand embroidery and I do a lot of different things from quilting, so I manage to get them all in there and of course I'm of the computer generation now so that comes in handy making quilts too because I can copy and do all that stuff.
RC: So, you relax?
AH: Oh yes,
RC: Doing that?
AH: Unhuh
RC: Do you use a design wall?
AH: Yes, that's the one I was just telling you about.
RC: Alright
AH: It's not actually a wall.
RC: It's your quilt.
AH: Umhum
RC: Material. Does it enhance your creating ability?
AH: It does. You can stand away from it--
RC: And look at it.
AH: And look at it and see what it's going to look like. Sometimes, what I'll do, I have a digital camera and I take a picture of it. And then I blow it up on my computer and print it off.
RC: That would be good.
AH: And that way even seems to give you a better idea of what it's going to look like. And you look at it and you think 'Oh no, I don't like that way with those,' so [laughs.] you go change it and take another picture. It doesn't cost anything; you can erase those digital pictures. [RC and AH both speak at the same time.] It costs for ink and stuff, but it's a good way to do it.
RC: Yes. How do you determine the designs you're going to make?
AH: Sometimes, I might use several different designs in a quilt. Here lately we've been embroidering, we design our own blocks, embroidering in software class, and then we can set it up any way we want. So, for last year's quilt show, I did that. And then I--
RC: Beautiful.
AH: I designed all my colors and stuff in it and so I had it entered in the quilt show. But it was--it was a lot of fun to do.
RC: Yah. What do you think makes a great quilt?
AH: I really don't know. Well, a great quilt would probably be one that uses the right colors, the right combinations, gets all the points even, and has an even mitered corner on each corner. I'm still working on all those things.
RC: Historical quilts, do you think they're great quilts?
AH: Yes; yes, they are. Especially quilts like they used back in the civil war and stuff like that, yah, I enjoy those.
RC: And the name quilts.
AH: Unhuh yah. I have the--I was going to do one when I was a teenager, but my social life got in the way of it.
RC: But it brings back lots of memories.
AH: Yah, mother gave me all the blocks that I'd made and embroidered, and I have yet to set that up. The white has turned kind of--
RC: Yellow.
AH: Yes, I have never set it up yet. And it was all the kids I went to school within the neighborhood, grandparents' names and stuff could go on it.
RC: You'll have to put that on your list to do.
AH: Yes, I will.
RC: What makes an artistically--what quilt is artistically powerful [pauses for 5 seconds.] to you?
AH: I don't know. I enjoy so many different quilts that I really couldn't say. Quilts that tell a story are really nice.
RC: Historical.
AH: Unhuh. Yah.
RC: I believe that would be nice. What makes a quilt for a museum or special collection?
AH: Well, probably age and condition have a lot to do with it. And something that's of historical subject matter.
RC: I've seen appliquéd quilts that are pictures.
AH: Unhuh, and they're nice. But I haven't seen too awful many in the museums that I go in. I saw some, of course, at the DAR hall.
RC: Very old
AH: Yah, really nice. [cat meows.]
RC: I think that was at one time very popular. [pauses for 4 seconds.] What makes a great quiltmaker?
AH: Well, it has got to be somebody that loves working with fabric and design. [pauses for 2 seconds.] And of course, has the time, the energy, and the motivation to do it.
RC: Right, and it takes an artistic ability.
AH: Yes.
RC: How do you feel about machine quilting versus hand quilting?
AH: Well, most of my friends in class have theirs machine quilted. Hardly anybody hand quilts anymore. I do, but it takes a long time--
RC: Right.
AH: And a lot of stuck fingers, and bleeding fingers. And I've got a leather thimble, and now it's got a hole in [laughs.] the end of it, where I've actually gathered the leather up when I was trying--and I've bent a lot of needles. Cause, a lot of times when you've got a lot of points in some of these quilts, it's hard to get the needles through and stuff.
RC: Yes, it takes a lot of patience.
AH: Yes, and the machine quilt making. They're programmed now and they can set them to do maybe over a hundred different designs.
RC: Beautiful things.
AH: Yes, they are. They're just absolutely gorgeous.
RC: What about long armed quilting?
AH: I would like to have one, but unfortunately, I don't have the place to set it up.
RC: And you do your own quilting, and that makes a nice hobby.
AH: Yah, they say you can quilt with your sewing machine, but I haven't really tried it yet. There's going to be some classes coming up on that at John Wood Community College [in Quincy, Illinois], that I'm thinking about maybe taking.
RC: That would be fun and--
AH: Unhuh
RC: Social.
AH: Well, see, the main thing you've got to have a hoop that'll fit under your machine bed, because that's got to be stretched.
RC: Unhuh.
AH: Otherwise, you're going to have [pauses for 2 seconds.] the front of your quilt might look beautiful, but the back side would be all full of puckers.
RC: Right.
AH: So, it's gotta be in some sort of a hoop.
RC: Unhuh.
AH: I'm thing about maybe using my embroidery hoops to do it.
RC: If they're big.
AH: Well, I do have one that's--it's called--it's like maybe 7 inches by 15 inches, something like that. You'd have to keep setting it of course, but you could do a design in it.
RC: Why is quilting important in your life?
AH: [pauses for 3 seconds.] Keeps me off the streets.
RC: [laughs.] With all your other interests.
AH: [laughs.] Yah, I just enjoy doing it. I just have a need to be creative. I can't explain it, but--
RC: It would be artistic creation.
AH: Yes. [pauses for 2 seconds.] I enjoy doing it I really do.
RC: In what ways do quilts reflect your community or region?
AH: Well actually the quilts I make, except for the one we're looking at don't really reflect my community or region. I mostly make just what I like. So, I don't really worry about the community and region.
RC: Umhuh. What do you think about the importance of quilts in American life?
AH: [pauses for 4 seconds.] Well, they've been a part of our culture since [pauses for 2 seconds] people came to America and in kind of reading about history of quilts, some of the early settlers' ideas and some of the native Americans ideas were combined in making quilts. Back then people just couldn't go buy fabric and things like that everywhere. Many times, when clothes got so many holes and stuff and they couldn't wear them anymore, they would rip out the seams of the shirts and dresses and use the fabric that had been in the seams to make itty bitty little [RC and AH both speak at the same time.] quilt squares. There's actually one like that on display at Nauvoo [Illinois.]--
RC: Really?
AH: That's been made out of inseams because they used to French seam the clothes Because they would--
RC: Yes.
AH: My mother did that. There were no raw edges.
RC: Can't see threads and stuff.
AH: Unhuh and so when they French seamed them, there was a seam turned under, so you've got [pauses for 4 seconds.] a good three quarters of an inch there or so--
RC: That would be little pieces.
AH: Unhuh. It would be very tedious to work with.
RC: Did you use old clothing?
AH: No, I've never done that.
RC: A long time ago--
AH: A long time ago they did.
RC: People did.
AH: Yah, [RC and AH both speak at the same time.] and women--[pauses for 2 seconds.] I've got my grandmothers, great grandmothers [Friederike.] spinning wheel and her old barn loom. She used to make fabric. She spun wool and made fabric and stuff like that. They used to have to do that. Make their own fabric and make their quilts. I'm sure their quilts, they were for warmth. They weren't as decorative as they are now, but--
RC: More usable.
AH: Yes.
RC: In what ways do you think quilts have special meaning for women's history in American.
AH: [pauses for 10 seconds.] They have changed a lot with the times just like we women have.
RC: Unhuh
AH: Just like they say, we've come a long way.
RC: Right.
AH: And so, have quilts. They've changed from using just what you could get a hold of into a wide array of fabrics that, [pauses for 4 seconds.] my goodness they've just got everything. They've got every color, design imaginable--
RC: And we didn't used to have that many.
AH: No, we didn't have that many choices [RC and AH both speak at same time.]. And like back during the Civil War and stuff, they made quilts to help the slaves--
RC: Find their routes.
AH: Yah, find their routes and escape into freedom.
RC: So that was American history.
AH: Yes, yes
RC: How do you think quilts can be used?
AH: I think now days most quilts are probably just used for display purposes and--
RC: Bedspreads
AH: Bedspreads, because they cost so much to make. When I was a kid, you could go to like the Missouri Brokerage and buy three yards of cotton for a dollar. And a lot of the backs of Mom's quilts, [pauses for 2 seconds.] she used that for the backs of the quilts and--
RC: Right.
AH: Of course, you had to shrink it--
RC: Unhuh.
AH: First, or you'd be in trouble, because it had a lot of shrinkage to it. The prices now days [pauses for 2 seconds.] the fabric and your supplies, and thread. Thread has went way up in cost.
RC: It has.
AH: And so--
RC: Do you ever use a sheet for the back?
AH: Yes, I have. I have used a sheet.
RC: And--
AH: I think it makes a nice back.
RC: A cotton blanket for the inside?
AH: You can't hardly get those anymore. You mostly have to use batting--
RC: It washes better also?
AH: Yah, Mother used to use really thin blankets and put in her quilts. In fact, I've got some of her quilts that's got blankets in them. They made a nice lightweight quilt. They're very nice quilts. [AH and RC both speak at the same time.]
RC: Washable.
AH: Yah.
RC: What has happened to quilts that you have made or those of friends and family? You have collected all those haven't you, Ann?
AH: Yes, I've collected--[pauses for 2 seconds.] I've got quilts that my grandmother [Mollie.] made, and my mother made, and I've got one that my husband's mother [Gladys Hecox Mccoy.] made. The ones that I have given to the kids have been well used. So, they have enjoyed them.
RC: Do you ever make toys out of old quilts?
AH: No, I haven't. Now days, with all the computer games and stuff like that my grandchildren really aren't interested in toys made out of quilts, or crocheted toys--they're--
RC: They're past that.
AH: Yah. It's the technology generation.
RC: [pauses for 10 seconds.] Did I ask you what is the challenge of quilt making is today?
AH: Well, we just kind of went over that with the cost of your fabric, and your supplies and you need room to do it.
RC: Yes.
AH: It takes room to lay out fabric and [RC and AH both speak at same time.] have a cutting table and all that stuff.
RC: There are some materials that would hold up better. That would be a challenge.
AH: Yes, yes that's true. That's one of the things that I've noticed about some of the cotton fabrics is some of them tend to fray more than others.
RC: And the blends--
AH: Unhuh,
RC: Wouldn't shrink and wash the same as the cottons.
AH: Right and I always washed my fabric first, but when we were in the Thimbleberries Club, our teacher said that's not important any more.
RC: So, they must not shrink--
AH: Evidently, they don't.
RC: [pauses for 12 seconds.] It is now 2:13 p.m. and this concludes my interview. I want to thank you Ann for allowing me to speak with you about your quilt.
AH: Well, I want to thank you Ruth for doing all the work and helping me with this S.O.S. project. I really appreciate it.
Citation
“Anna Hecox,” Quilters' S.O.S. -- Save Our Stories, accessed July 27, 2024, https://qsos.quiltalliance.org/items/show/2114.