Preserving Quilters’ Oral Histories: The Quilters’ S.O.S. – Save Our Stories Project Model Workshop

featuring Susan McKelvey, renown quiltmaker and author

One of the best ways to learn about quilts is from quiltmakers themselves. This workshop highlights the importance of saving quiltmakers’ stories, and introduces an enjoyable and simple way to capture these personal stories and make them part of history. Using the model of the Quilters’ S.O.S. – Save Our Stories (Q.S.O.S.), a project of The Alliance for American Quilts, this workshop will prepare you to go out into the material world to conduct guided recorded interviews with any quiltmaker! As an added bonus, you will witness a demonstration Q.S.O.S. interview with well-known quiltmaker and author Susan McKelvey.

Friday, March 30th 2:30-4:30 p.m. (For more details, http://www.winterthur.org/calendar/quilts_conference.asp#preserving)

Given by:

Demonstration interview: Susan McKelvey: author, quiltmaker, and teacher

Susan McKelvey is an artist, author, teacher, designer and entrepreneur, who “caught the quilting bug” in 1977. Well-known in the quilt world, Susan wrote her first quilt book, Color for Quilters, in 1984 — the book on the subject meant expressly for quiltmakers, and the only book of its kind for many years. Currently, Susan teaches and lectures on color and applique, and is the founder of Wallflower Designs, a company that manufactures and sells quilt tools, and quilt-related books and patterns. Susan received her B.A. in English from Cornell College, and her M.A. in English from the University of Chicago.

Workshop leaders Patricia J. Keller and Janneken Smucker.

Patricia J. Keller is an experienced instructor and student of American quilt history. Pat brings more than twenty years’ experience in designing and conducting recorded oral histories. She helped co-found the Quilters’ S.O.S. – Save Our Stories project for The Alliance for American Quilts in 1999, with Dr. Bernard L. Herman, and has recently completed her Ph.D. dissertation about the history of quilts and quiltmaking in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, at the University of Delaware.

Janneken Smucker’s interest in quilt history sparked with an oral history interview she conducted with her grandmother, a prolific quiltmaker. Since then, she has continued to study Amish quilts and quiltmaking by talking to quiltmakers, who always have the most insight into their own quilts. Janneken is a Ph.D. candidate in American Civilization at the University of Delaware and is currently compiling a long list of individuals to interview as part of her dissertation research.

“What incredible creativity and craftsmanship. The quilts look even better ‘in person’ than they did on the website. I love the roof that is capturing and holding quilter’s ideas.” Laura Jean

“I am overwhelmed. Christine

“Wow! So many different moods…such colores! Sinead

“The exhibition is a wonderful concept that stresses outreach and community.” Peace, Arturo

I also thought I would share the little oddities of my hotel room. No clock. Can’t check time on the tv either because the channels are from all over –India, Russia and of course the US. The first night I was here the World Series was on. It seems so strange. My window opens which is wonderful since there are no “no smoking” rooms and my room smells strongly of cigarettes. More later.

Paka, Karen

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What if The Alliance for American Quilts earned a penny every time you searched the Internet? Now it can!

GoodSearch.com is a new Yahoo-powered search engine, with a unique socialmission–every time you use GoodSearch, money is generated for The Alliance. GoodSearch donates half its revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities selected by its users. The pennies quickly add up. For example, if 1,000 Alliance supporters searched just twice a day, we would receive an estimated $7,300 per year to help fund our program.

What’s great is that you use GoodSearch just as you would any search engine. Again, it’s powered by Yahoo!, so you get proven, high-quality results.

Just go to www.goodsearch.com and be sure to enter The Alliance for American Quilts as the charity you want to support or use this link to have The Alliance preselected for you: http://www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=815851.

The more people who use this site, the more money we’ll earn so please spread the word!

First row from left to right: Dorothy West, Linda Pumphrey, Jan Wass, Karen Musgrave, Merikay Waldvogel, Pat Keller, Keisha Roberts, Marcie Ferris, Janneken Smucker, Pat Crews, Le Rowell and Meg Cox

Second row from left to right: Jane Leonard, Amy Milne (Executive Director), Alan Jabbour, Shelly Zegart, Kate Adams, Marsha MacDowell, Kathie Johnson

Third row from left to right: Justine Richardson, Laura Mandeles (consultant), Auturo Alonzo Sandoval, Barbara Fant, Yvonne Porcella, Bernie Herman

Thank you for your concern this night was the first we managed to sleep a few hours, we have spent the last days running in and out of the shelter. I could hear the hits close by. I live in a area surrounded by chemical plants and refineries and the port so we are the an important target. We are shelled constantly. I do hope it will be over soon. I’ll keep you posted. My studio is on the upper floor so is my computer. I manage to get there sometimes in between the the alarms. keep well klara

We all need to count our blessings and share our concern for Klara. Karen