Donna Skvarla--100 Years of American Quilts

Last Tuesday Tom and I attended the Town and Country Quilt Guild meeting in Joplin, MO where we both are members. We were treated to a trunk show of some amazing antique quilts spanning the 1850's through the 1950's. Donna Skvarla, from Norman, Oklahoma, is a certified AQS quilt appraiser and she has a wonderful collection of quilts. We not only were able to view the quilts, but Donna shared interesting facts and anecdotes about the quilts and the evolution of the art through the years.

What a treat. Some of the quilting was simply amazing. If you are looking for an interesting program for your guild, I highly recommend Donna!

Voices From The Quilts

On Saturday Tom and I spent a few hours in Ft. Scott, about 30 miles north of here.  We volunteered for a couple of hours at the Fort Scott National Historic Site during their Voices From The Quilts event.  It's been going on the entire month of March in honor of Women's History Month.  They had some amazing antique quilts on display. I took the following pictures and the descriptions are taken from the handouts available near each quilt.

This quilt belongs to my friend, Elaine. It was made about 1850 by her great-grandmother, Margaret Parks, when she was 25 years old.  She made the quilt in Ohio before her marriage in September 1854.  She and her four sisters each made one of these quilts.  The quilting is breathtaking...about 14 stitches per inch.  Vase designs are quilted in the corners, double line cross hatch on the sides and vine and grape designs surround a large central sunburst.  The quilting is stuffed , or "trapunto" and was done by inserting cotton stuffing between quilting lines through holes in the muslin backing.

I didn't get a handout for the next  quilt so I don't have any information.  I can tell you that the quilting was absolutely astounding!

Also  don't have the information on this one.  The stippling done by hand just takes your breath away!

(Edited on April 1 to add this information from Nancy Swanwick:
"The second set of pictures of the red and green quilt is actually one of mine, too. It was made in the late 1850s or early 1860s by Thressa (Pyle) Montgomery, my maternal grandfather's aunt. It was given to my grandparents when they married in 1915, then it came down the family to me in about 1990. I have happily loaned it to the fort for the first two "Voices From the Quilts". Our family calls it "Antique Poinsettia". ")

The pattern of this quilt is a possible variation of the "Egyptian Tulip" pattern. Quilting fills the white space between flowers and blocks.

Reel quilt designs include a basic concave square center with four arms in an oak or hickory leaf or simple oval shape. Reel quilts were popular for "album quilts" from the 1840's to 1850's.  There is an inscription in ink indicating ownership of this quilt in 1845.  This pattern has also been known as "Hickory Leaf", "Orange Peel" or "Rob Peter to Pay Paul".

This is the edge of a Rose of Sharon quilt pieced during the years 1837-1840.  The cloth was hand-dyed green and red and the spotted print in the green pattern was made by dipping a fork in brown paint.

Quilters weren't afraid to step out of the box even then!

This crazy quilt was purchased at an antique store. Little is known about the history of the quilt, though it is said to have been owned by a Fort Scott woman.  It features items unique to Fort Scott, including campaign ribbons, cigar bands and needlepoint.

We listened to three speakers while we were volunteering as hosts.  Terry Clothier Thompson  spoke and displayed Kansas Prairie Quilts

Then Tim Field presented "The U.S. Sanitary Commission and Their Quilts, the Soldier's Comfort". It was very interesting and you can learn more about this fascinating bit of quilt history here.

The third speaker was Kerin Hatch of Nevada. MO .  After 9/11/01 Kerin started  a project called "Quilted Hugs"  and began providing quilts for wounded soldiers.  Later she became involved  with Quilts of Valor and continues to make quilts for this worthwhile project.  She said she doesn't keep track of the number, but I suspect this caring quilter is responsible for hundreds of quilts.  The photo below shows her with one of her many creations.

It was truly an inspiring day! 

After we left the fort we checked out a vendor's mall and display of over 30 quilts by tremendously talented  Ft. Scott quilter.  I'll share pics of those quilts later this week so check back.