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.

This exhibit is entitled “Remember the Brides” and it was formally
opened on June 5th with a tea in the museum’s rose garden for about
sixty women. It was combined with a superb flower show in the main
museum and background music which was provided by a local cellist. The
ladies were then introduced to the wedding show. On display are 17
quilts and 20 gowns.

If you are traveling in Iowa- Kalona is 20 miles southeast of Iowa
City, Iowa and the Quilt and Textile Museum is in the Kalona Historical
Village. Admission is $3.00. For more information call the village at
319.656.3232 or Marilyn Woodin at 319.656.2555.