If you are in Cheyenne, you can now pick up my “Quilt Care, Construction and Use Advice” book at the Eclectic Elephant, 112 W. 18th Street. Look for Jan’s booth, righthand side, in front, with vintage quilts.
Jan’s Nature Booth, on the left side, part way down, is carrying my “Cheyenne Birds by the Month” book.
Find it at
the Eclectic Elephant,
112 W. 18th St.,
Cheyenne, Wyoming
A few months ago, Wyoming State Quilt Guild “Patchwords” newsletter editor Virginia Ohr asked if I’d like to be a featured quilter. I said sure. I’ve been a member since the guild started in the late 1990s. As I wrote answers to Virginia’s questions, I realized how much of my quilting story happened in Wyoming–as far back as 1980!
Read it here (scroll to page 7): https://wsqg.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/PWDec20op.pdf.
My “Quilt Care, Construction and Use Advice” book, subtitled “How to Help Your Quilt Live to 100,” is available in full color on Amazon, HERE.
This summer, graphic designer Chris Hoffmeister prepped it for uploading to IngramSpark, a print-on-demand distributor that works with Amazon and other retailers.
I still have a limited number of locally printed black and white edition copies available for $9.95 each plus applicable sales tax (Wyoming only) and the cost of your preferred shipping method (as low as $3-$4 for Media Mail which takes a week). Contact me at bgorges2@gmail.com.
Saturday, September 14, 2019, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.2200 Pioneer Ave., Cheyenne, Wyoming
I will be one of the authors from around the region selling and signing books:
—Quilt Care Construction and Use Advice, How to Help Your Quilt Live to 100 and
—Cheyenne Birds by the Month, 104 Species of Southeastern Wyoming’s Resident and Visiting Birds.
This year the library is partnering with Arts Cheyenne for the Cheyenne Arts Celebration “to celebrate a large and diverse collective of local artists.”
Make a day of it–get your lunch or snack at the Library Cafe! The entire event closes at 4 p.m.
The Wyoming State Quilt Guild’s Quilt Wyoming annual event will be held in Cheyenne, Wyoming, July 11-14, 2019. Besides national teachers Kimberley Einmo and Kris Vierra, there are 19 regional teachers offering classes.
I will be teaching a half-day class Saturday, July 13, 1-4 p.m., at Laramie County Community College. It is described in the brochure as:
#22 Quilt Care, Barb Gorges. Skill Level: All. (Half Day class – p.m.) Get advice for making strong quilts, caring for them (cleaning, use, display and storage) getting appraisals and insurance and safe shipping. Students may bring a quilt to share and we’ll look for “clues in the calico,” to quote Barbara Brackman. The booklet, “Quilt Care, Construction and Use Advice,” by Barb Gorges, is required or can be purchased at class for $10.
General registration for Quilt Wyoming is $30. Half day classes are $20 for WSQG members and $25 for non-members. Find the complete list of classes and information about housing, meals, quilt show, vendors, etc. in the brochure available at http://wsqg.org/quilt-wyoming-2019/.
Registration begins April 15 (registration forms with earlier postmarks are held back until May 1) and a late registration fee of $10 is charged starting May 31.
Dear Quilters, Quilt Owners and Readers,
My book, “Quilt Care, Construction and Use Advice, How to Help Your Quilt Live to 100” was available on Amazon but the printing quality was not good. I have had it professionally redesigned by Chris Hoffmeister, Western Sky Designs, and printed locally by PBR Printers, Cheyenne.
To arrange to purchase a copy, please contact me at bgorges2@gmail.com. The cost is $9.95 plus sales tax and shipping (at whatever rate you prefer).
The book is based on the columns I wrote for the Wyoming State Quilt Guild’s newsletter and posted here. The information has been updated with the assistance of Jeananne Wright, AQS-certified quilt appraiser and antique quilt expert. The 48-page book is illustrated with 32 black and white photos. It’s printed on slick paper and has a full-color paperback cover.
Here is a list of the chapters:
Make – Quiltmakers need to think about quality materials and techniques when constructing a quilt.
Test – How do you test for washability and light-fastness of fabrics for those special quilts?
Use – What’s the best way to make a bed with a quilt?
Display – Keep fading even if not absent; learn stress-free way to hang a quilt.
Air – Sometimes all a quilt needs is a little airing.
Wash – What do you need to know before you wash a quilt?
Dry – Air-dry or machine-dry, it’s all about the balance between abrasion and migration.
Store – Where to find a clean, unlighted place for your quilt to rest.
Appraise – Showing a homemade quilt is worth something could encourage future owners to take better care of it.
Insure – A quilt is an investment, in time and effort, if not money. Protect it.
Ship – There’s much to consider when shipping a quilt to a show or its new owner.
Sign – Find out how to make a label about the quilter and the quilt to sew on the back. The more information, the more important the quilt could become in the future.
Find out more about this and my other book, “Cheyenne Birds by the Month,” at https://yuccaroadpress.com/.
Thanks,
Barb Gorges
The Cheyenne Botanic Gardens is offering a class, “Quilt Care and Share,” Jan. 6, 1 – 3 p.m., in conjunction with the “Garden of Quilts” exhibit.
Artist in residence Barb Gorges will discuss the best ways to care for quilts. She invites participants to bring a quilt to share and find out how to care for it and learn more about its pattern and era.
The $20 class fee includes her book on quilt care. The class will be held at the Gardens, 710 S. Lions Park Dr. To register, please call the Gardens, 307-637-6458.
Here in Cheyenne, “Quilt Care” is available at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens’ Tilted Tulip gift shop for the duration of the “Garden of Quilts” exhibit, now through Jan. 27, 2019.
I’m happy to announce that “Quilt Care, Construction and Use Advice” has now been professionally redesigned by Chris Hoffmeister, Western Sky Design, the designer for “Cheyenne Birds by the Month.” It is so much better than my attempts to use Word.
PBR Printing of Cheyenne, also the printer for “Cheyenne Birds by the Month,” printed it on slick paper and it looks great, even though the photos are in black and white in an effort to make this affordable enough to include with gift quilts.
In January, I’ll take “Quilt Care” off Amazon, except for the eBook, and Chris and I will upload the new, improved version to IngramSpark where it will migrate to Amazon and other outlets. IngramSpark is a distributor for books, including print-on-demand, trusted by bookstores and libraries.
The exhibit has 10 of my flower and flower-bright small quilts, part of my job being the Gardens’ Artist in Residence for December and January. They are upstairs at the Grand Conservatory Tuesday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday, noon – 5 p.m.
Holiday closures: Dec. 24 at noon through Dec. 26, (open again Dec. 27), and Dec. 31 – Jan. 1 (open again Jan. 2).
The “Garden of Quilts” exhibit is part of my job as the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens Artist in Residence for December and January. Kristin Custis and I selected 10 of my flower and flower-bright quilts to display.
Dear Readers,
A reception for the new Cheyenne Botanic Gardens Artist in Residence (me!) exhibit, “Garden of Quilts,” featuring 10 of my flower and flower-bright quilts, will be from 3 – 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 9 at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens, 710 S. Lions Park Drive, Cheyenne, Wyoming. My husband Mark is baking cookies for it.
The exhibit will be up through Jan. 27, 2019. The Gardens are open Tuesday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday, noon – 5 p.m.
My book, “Quilt Care, Construction and Use Advice,” will be available in the gift shop. I’ll be giving a talk Jan. 6, 2019, “Quilt Care and Share,” about taking care of quilts. Participants can bring a quilt to share and learn more about it. Please call the Gardens to register, 307-637-6458.
Immediately before the reception, from 1 – 3 p.m., photographer Pete Arnold and I are having a book signing for “Cheyenne Birds by the Month, 104 Species of Southeastern Wyoming’s Resident and Visiting Birds.” The books are available at the Gardens’ Tilted Tulip gift shop. You can also find the books at the Cheyenne Depot Museum, Wyoming State Museum, Riverbend Nursery and PBR Printing.
Hope to see you,
Barb
Jelly Star (detail) pieced by Barb Gorges, Cheyenne, Wyoming, and quilted by Virginia Ohr, Buffalo, Wyoming. Photo by Barb Gorges.
Recently, I was invited to write 700 words about quilt care for the Wyoming Tribune Eagle (Cheyenne, Wyoming) as part of the publicity for the Cheyenne Heritage Quilters’ quilt show Aug. 16-18, and mention my book on Amazon, “Quilt Care, Construction and Use Advice: How to Help Your Quilt Live to 100.” It was published Aug. 11, 2018. It was also published at Wyoming Network News, https://www.wyomingnetworknews.com/tips-on-quilt-care-in-time-for-heritage-quilters-annual-show-quilt-care-basics-cleaning-use-and-storage.
I used the article as the basis for a talk for the Slater Women last week, a social group that has been meeting for over 70 years in Slater, Wyoming, south of Wheatland.
Think of this article as a synopsis of my book.
Quilt care basics: cleaning, use and storage
By Barb Gorges
Do quilts at the fair and the local quilt show this time of year have you thinking about the quilts at your house? Here’s the most important care advice I can give you.
Cleaning
For art quilts, fragile antiques and other than cotton quilts, consult an expert.
Make repairs to quilts before attempting any cleaning procedures. Test vividly colored fabrics by rubbing them with a damp white cloth to make sure no color comes off when wet. If it does, don’t wash without a “color catcher” laundry product.
Smelly quilts don’t necessarily need washing. Try airing them on a bed by an open window, on the lawn between sheets or in the dryer with a damp, colorfast towel, just on air, no heat.
Washing a quilt contributes to wearing when surfaces rub against each other. But dirt, including body oils from hands and chins, also contributes to wear.
A quilt in good shape with lots of quilting holding the layers together can be washed in a washing machine. If you have a top-loader, stop the machine when the agitation begins and substitute gentle agitation by hand for a few minutes. Forward the machine to the draining, spinning and filling part of the cycle, until you reach the agitation part again and do it yourself again.
If you have a front loader, put it on the hand wash cycle. Be very careful with commercial machines because they may be encrusted with oil or excess soap.
Avoid using laundry aids like bleach and fabric softener. Look for laundry soap without additives, like Orvus, available at quilt shops.
Be careful taking the quilt out of the washer. The wet weight can break quilting stitches and seams.
Spread an old sheet on the floor, preferably on colorfast carpet, and carefully unfold the quilt, squaring it up. In our dry climate it should dry overnight. Then fluff it a little in the dryer on low heat.
Use
Keep the quilt in a clean place—no smoke, grease, pets, food, etc.
When you make the bed, don’t tuck in the quilt. Lift it into place instead of tugging on one end of it. Fold the sheet up over the top edge to protect it from body oils.
Make sure sunbeams don’t shine on the same spot of the quilt every day. Consider closing the shades. Or make sure the quilt is repositioned often so all parts get equal light exposure. Folded quilts on display need refolding often.
Quilts can be displayed on a wall. Avoid nailing or tacking them up. Instead, check the Internet (or my website, www.GorgesQuiltLabels.com) for how to make a quilt hanging sleeve. The tubular sleeve is attached to the back of the top of the quilt. A pole can be inserted and the ends of the pole secured to the wall.
Hanging quilts need to be taken down to rest every few months and rotated with other quilts or displays.
Storage
Quilts should never be in contact with raw wood, such as shelves or cedar chests. Either finish the bare wood or cover it with other fabric. Plastic storage containers marked #2 or #5 are O.K. as long as the quilt is perfectly dry and the container doesn’t get damp. Forget mothballs.
Never fold a quilt perfectly in half. Try to fold it differently each time or roll it up to avoid permanent creases.
Store quilts at “room temperature.” Extreme cold or heat is hard on cotton fibers.
Appraisals, Insurance
Photograph all your quilts. Make and sew on each quilt a fabric label with all the information you know about the quilt printed in permanent ink.
Getting quilts appraised for replacement value and insuring them is good practice, especially if you made the quilts yourself. It may also help future owners—like your kids—cherish them more.
However, the biggest compliment a quiltmaker can receive is that the quilt is loved to pieces.
Gorges Quilt Labels 