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.
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.
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.
Dear Quilters, Quilt Owners and Readers,
I’m happy to announce that three editions of “Quilt Care, Construction and Use Advice, How to Help Your Quilt Live to 100” are now available on Amazon (if these links don’t work in the future, just search my name, “Barb Gorges”:
The eBook edition, $4.95, eBook link, can be downloaded onto any device, phone, tablet, reader or laptop. If you don’t have a Kindle, you’ll see a link right there for a downloadable free app on the same page that says “Read with our free app.”
The B & W edition, $6.95, black & white edition link, is perfect for sending along with the quilt you just made for someone. Be sure to read the chapter on shipping before mailing your gift quilt. This edition has 32 black and white photos.
The full-color edition, $14.95, full-color edition link, has a slightly different title, the addition of the words “Full-color edition.” The 32 photos in color will help you visualize what I’m talking about.
And what am I talking about? 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. And the topics have been realigned into 12 chapters. The first two are of interest to quiltmakers and the other 10 to all quilt owners.
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 the book at https://yuccaroadpress.com/. And consider leaving a comment or review there or on Amazon.
Thanks,
Barb Gorges
A quilt documentation label should include quiltmaker’s name, date, location and occasion for making the quilt. Photo by Barb Gorges.
How to Help Your Quilt Live to 100, Part 16
By Barb Gorges
In the previous 15 columns I have touched on topics relating to quilt construction, care and use that will hopefully help your quilt make it through several generations.
I have one final suggestion for you, a reiteration of my first column: Sign and date your quilt.
Recently, my cousins had to decide what to do with their now deceased parents’ belongings. I made the parents a quilt and so I told my cousins that if there were any quilts they didn’t want, to please send them to me.
I am happy to report that they did keep several quilts, including the one I made, but they shipped two quilts to me.
I was pleased to have quilts that belonged to my aunt and uncle. But neither quilt came with any information. Since neither my aunt nor uncle made quilts, I was left wondering whether one of my ancestors had made them, or my aunt’s. She was related to me by marriage.
One quilt was obviously a Lone Star made by Native Americans and most likely presented to my aunt in the 1950s when she was a public health nurse at the Fort Berthoud reservation in North Dakota.
But the other is a scrap quilt with no name, no date—and it needs repairing. If my aunt’s mother made it, I could save it for my cousins’ kids. But more likely, the day my children deal with my quilt-making legacy, that quilt will end up on the discard pile, or as a dog’s blanket since it is one of those homely scrap quilts only a direct descendant or quilt historian could love.
Even if your quilts aren’t getting passed down through your family, your name on the quilt you made will make it more likely it will be taken care of. The less anonymous the quiltmaker is, the better.
The more information you provide on a label on the back, or embroider somewhere, the better. Include your name, date, location and occasion for making the quilt. It will make it more likely your quilt will be cherished, even 100 years from now.
This is the last of a 16-part series available at http://www.GorgesQuiltLabels.com.
A queen-sized quilt with cotton batting will easily fit a 12 x 12 x 9-inch box if folded like an accordion (or a map), first in one direction and then the other. Photo by Barb Gorges.
How to Help Your Quilt Live to 100, Part 15
By Barb Gorges
In the previous two columns, I discussed appraising a quilt’s value and insuring it. It is especially important to take care of these two items before shipping a major quilt. If the quilt is valued for more than the maximum the shipping company can insure, make up the difference with a temporary insurance policy, especially if the quilt is going to a show.
When shipping to a quilt show, be sure to follow their directions exactly. The major shows have instructions that help them receive and track quilt entries and return them.
If you are shipping a quilt as a gift to someone, don’t surprise them. Double check their address. Find out which carrier they trust the most. Find out if they will be home.
Find out if it would be best to ship the quilt to your recipient’s work place or their home or some other location where they trust someone to receive it. You might pay extra for a signature to be required when the package is delivered. In some locations, packages can be picked up from UPS rather than left on a doorstep.
Once you ship the quilt, send the recipient the online tracking information, though if anything goes wrong, you will still be the only one allowed to make inquiries. If you used a shipping service like The UPS Store, they make the inquiries.
If your quilt is a wall hanging, avoid creases by wrapping it around a swim noodle or cardboard roll. If folding, fold it like an accordion, wide enough to fit the box one way and then accordion fold to fit in the other direction. Pin a copy of the mailing label to the quilt. Place the quilt inside a plastic bag—clear if possible. Place in the box. A new box is safest because it is stronger than a used box. Consider double-boxing to protect the quilt better from punctures.
If there is any space left in the box, consider cutting the box down to make the quilt fit exactly or fill the empty space with Styrofoam chunks (avoid the aggravation of peanuts or at least put them in plastic bags) or closed egg cartons. Use a black marker to cover any printing on the box.
Use plenty of packing tape. Put clear packing tape over the mailing label to protect it.
Avoid writing the word “quilt” anywhere on the box. When filling out the company’s insurance form, refer to your contents as a textile, which is not as exciting to would-be thieves but still describes a quilt.
Don’t wait for your quilt’s new owner to send you a thank you note. Once the tracking information shows that the quilt has been delivered, double check that it was delivered to them—and not their neighbor.
If your quilt is delayed by more than a few days or appears to be lost, contact the shipping company and be prepared to give them a copy of the documentation that shows the value of your quilt. Check http://lostquilt.com for more suggestions.
Two navy blue fabrics reacted differently to ultraviolet light from sunlight and artificial light over the last 20 years while on display only about one month per year. Photo by Barb Gorges.
Quilt Display: How to Help Your Quilt Live to 100, Part 6
By Barb Gorges
*Scroll down to see the first five parts of this series or click on the tab above for general quilt care information.
Spreading your quilts on beds is only one way to display them. Many of us drape quilts over other furniture (avoiding unsealed wood), fold and stack them on open shelves or hang them on the wall.
Quilts on display don’t get the same rough treatment as quilts used for warmth. Instead, light is the biggest problem. If you’ve replaced your windows with energy efficient, low e (low-emissivity) glass, you’ve somewhat reduced the fading problem caused by the ultraviolet wavelength in sunlight.
Artificial lighting also has UV rays. Fluorescent lighting is the worst. Look for products that can filter UV light.
It is inevitable that quilts will fade if they spend any time with enough light to be seen, and that is part of the charm of antique quilts. At least make sure your quilt doesn’t fade unevenly.
A quilt faded along an exposed fold looks worse than a quilt with overall fading. Refold those quilts on display often. Flip the quilt around so the same corner isn’t illuminated by the same sunbeam each day.
One recommendation, from www.museumtextiles.com, is to rotate quilts on display every 6 months. In a bright location, I think you should rotate them even more often. This is the justification you need to make lots of quilts—at least one for each season for each display location!
After light, dirt is the other issue for quilts on display: dust, pollution, household cleaning product fumes, pet hair, wood smoke, tobacco smoke, greasy cooking vapors. You may want to wash a quilt (a future topic) that has been on display for a while before rotating it into storage.
Next time I’ll discuss how to safely hang a quilt.
Gorges Quilt Labels 