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Lots of good ideas expressed here. Here's another one: During the Civil War there were numerous quilt guilds that made quilts for soldiers. Each soldier had a quilt to use as a bedroll, a backpack to carry his mess kit, ammo, and other items, and, if he was killed in battle, he was rolled up and buried in it. Guilds made over 250,000 quilts for soldiers. The reason there are so few quilts left from that time is that they were in bad condition and falling apart at the end of the war. Today guilds make quilts for hospitals, nursing homes, overseas aid, fund raising and for wounded soldiers.
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I think the uplifting of quilting from "just women's work" or "something your grandmother does" to being seen as an actual art form partly came from the women's movement of the 60s and 70s. When society became more aware of the value of "women's work" and women themselves began to see the value of their work, they could see that quilting is an artistic outlet just like painting or sculpting. And just like painting or sculpting, there is equal value in traditional patterns and more modern designs. We're all artists and we rock.
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you should also include the hours of math and geometry and color
matching that goes on. maybe include the REAL cost of a quilt-hours cutting,designing, sewing, cost of materials, ironing, matching seams... |
You could do an entire presentation just showing the "evolution" and/or different incarnations of the lowly 9 patch block. I don't know how many people will be in attendance but you could give everyone a cut up D9P block to "play with" to show how quilting is "food for the mind" as well as wonderful creative therapy.
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Congratulations on your degree and in accounting, too! WOW! If I were you I would concentrate on how this art form has evolved from something our grandmothers did not only to express themselves, but also as a way to use every scrap of fabric they could salvage, into a multi-billion dollar a year business with hundreds of inventors dedicated to creating useful tools for quilters, thousands of quilt shop entrepreneurs, who knows how many fabric designers, conflicts over copyright law, etc. Good luck. froggyintexas
Originally Posted by michelehuston
(Post 5201712)
I am in my final quarter of college and will have my degree in accounting in 5 weeks! Yay! My problem lies in the fact that I have been trying to fo an informative speech for a week now and my brain is so fried that I cannot even form correct thoughts! I am doing my speech on quilting and how it is not just something 'your grandmother used to do' but how it has become an art form as well. Can anyone toss a couple ideas, a few sentences that I can use to help demonstrate where I am coming from. Like I said, my brain is mush! Six months ago this would have been easy, but this last quarter has really pushed me beyond limits! I just need a month in my sewing room to get back to normal. Thank you all in advance!!!
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Check out some of the blogs by younger quilters: Leah Day, Generation Q, etc.
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look into the Dear Jane book.....Jane Stickle----her quilt of many 4 1/2" blocks, each different.....all the math this woman had to know to design all those blocks without the help of EQ or even a quilting bee........and it has endured these many years...but little is known of the person who did the work......just think about that...wow!!!!Makes us all humble and introspective.
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My grandmother quilted because of necessity with a large family and very little money, most of her quilts were made from old cloths she could cut the good parts out to use in quilts. I always felt close to her quilts when I would see parts of clothing that belonged to our family. These quilts held the essence of our family. Quilts have evolved like everything else, where we have themes, colors and ideas of our creativity thoughts which is now art.
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Here's a thought...art is everywhere and it won't be denied. Quilters were making essential items for themselves and their families...warm blankets. But where there are people and materials there will be art. They could have thrown the materials together any which way if all they were after was a warm blanket. But our artistic nature will not be denied. So while the physical need for warmth was met, so was the spiritual need for beauty, complexity and individuality.
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Originally Posted by michelehuston
(Post 5201786)
Thank you both so much!!! They are both great, and lorrainne, it is exactly what I was looking for!!! :)
Don't know if this is the kind of thing you're looking for but it worked for me. Congrats on finishing school. Been there. Took me 5 yrs. to become a 2 yr. RN having to begin by taking one class at a time. Thankfully I had a very supportive husb. |
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