So long U of N...

July 1, 2011

Whew!!!  What a week!!!  I finished my class at 4 PM today and then headed west to Grand Island for the next four days.  It was over 100 today.  People kept complaining about the heat and humidity.  Trust me it was nothing like Indiana humidity---I didn’t think it was humid at all—just hot—plus there is always a breeze blowing which really helps

My class was amazing.  I will never look at fabric the same way again.  There were seven of us in all.  Everyone is in the textile masters or doctorate program except for me!!  I’m proud to say that I held my own.  Everyone was very helpful.  I have a much better understanding and knowledge of how textiles were dyed and printed in the circa 1700 to 1900.  I also learned a bit about conservation and restoration—which was very interesting.  Each student picked out a quilt to research from the backlog of quilts the museum needs to process.  Our research and analysis will be used in the archives of the International Quilt Study Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.  How cool is that!?!?!?!

I was also able to confirm the time period from my great-great-grandmother’s quilt to pre-1850s which aligns with the information we have on the quilt.  My instructor also gave me some hints as to testing the fabric to determine if I can clean it.  I’m looking forward to checking out additional pioneer quilts over the next few weeks---I will test my fabric dating powers.

One thing that really challenged me was to evaluate a quilt on the fabric only—not the construction or other “quilty” features.   My quilt (above) was interesting in that the maker obviously made do with the fabric she had on hand.  Several pieces are pieced together and the fabric doesn’t all match in her blocks.  I also noticed that out of twenty blocks, nineteen were quilted with alternating patterns:  bunches of grapes and a heart motif.  The odd quilt  blockhad a rooster in one corner and hearts in the rest.  There is only one rooster motif---which appears to be complicated.  Did she decide to include the rooster as a teaser as it is called Turkey Track or did she quilt one rooster and decide it was too time consuming? 

One of the gals in our class was just a little older than I am.  She is the extension educator for three rural counties in Central Nebraska.  There are 4000 people in her three counties.  Isn’t that interesting?   Of the 4-H kids in her home county 78% are in 4-H.  She said “the other two counties lag a bit—only about 60% of the kids participate.”  She is a go-getter and probably does a tremendous job for the extension.  She runs a statewide quilting program for 4-H kids and has them making Quilts of Valor and documenting their own quilts that they make.  I feel certain that we will keep in touch—she invited me to stay with her if I end up going her way.

I’m going to spend a few days near Grand Island and finish my paper for my class, sew a bit, visit a few historic locations, do laundry (yuck) and get some R&R in.  Of course, I also picked up a few books to read about Nebraskan pioneer families.

It was fun to be on the University of Nebraska’s campus today and join in the celebration of UofN’s first day of being in the Big Ten Conference.  There was an air of excitement all around.  EVERYTHING is all U of N.  They don’t have any pro-teams and they only have one big school to cheer for and they show their Big Red Pride everyday--there are red shirts--everywhere!!