Bets Ramsey, 2nd grade, Oak Park, Illinois, 1931.
Image courtesy of Bets Ramsey.

Q: On learning to sew

 

Bets Ramsey, ca. 1943. Chattanooga, Tennesee.
Image courtesy of Bets Ramsey.

Q: On her high school sewing business

 

Bets Ramsey, 1965, Signal Mountain, Tennessee.
Image courtesy of Bets Ramsey

Q: On her early influences

 

The Quilts of Tennessee

Q: On beginning the Tennessee Quilt Survey

 

Bets Ramsey, Chattanooga, 1993.
Photograph by T. Fred Miller, Image courtesy of Bets Ramsey.

Q: On her first quilt

 

"Three Generations of Quilt-Makers," Quilters' Journal, December 1980; a research article by Bets Ramsey.

Q: On becoming a quilt historian

 

Barbara Brackman (seated) and Merikay Waldvogel at the 1982 Southern Quilt Symposium.
Image courtesy of Barbara Brackman.

Q: On beginning the Southern Quilt Symposium

 

The Quilters. The Southern Quilt Symposium, Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Photography by Sally Garoutte, Image courtesy of Bets Ramsey.

Q: On organizing the Southern Quilt Symposium

 

While directing the Southern Quilt Symposium, Ramsey wrote the book, Old & New Quilt Patterns in the Southern Tradition.

Q: On the end of the Southern Quilt Symposium

 

An example of a peacock chenille bedspread.

Q: On one of her favorite shows

 

Bets Ramsey and Susie Atkins with her heirloom quilt, 1975, Lookout Mountain, Georgia.
Photography by T. Fred Miller, Image courtesy of Bets Ramsey.

Q: On the goals of the Tennessee Quilt Survey

 

Learn about the scandal behind the sandwich and the recipe.

Q: About pimento cheese sandwiches

 

The catalog cover for Quilt Close-up: Five Southern Views exhibit at the Hunter Museum.

Q: About the exhibits she has curated

 

Postcard for Stitched From The Heart, Fiber Art by Bets Ramsey" show.

Q: About curating

 

Page 1 of the Quilts of Tennesse Documentation form.

Q: On quilt names and documentation

 

Ramsey co-authored Southern Quilts: Surviving Relics of the Civil War, in 1998 with Merikay Waldvogel.

Q: On stressing the Southern experience

 

Ramsey donated the quilts of Tennesse papers to the Tennessee State Library and Archives.

Q: On Quilts of Tennessee methodology

 

ARose Tree quilt with stuffed quilting from the Tennessee project.

Q: On surprises during documentation

 

A Pieced Rose quilt documented by the Tennessee project.

Q: On a unique Tennessee quilt style: The Pieced Rose pattern

 

A Cross in the Square quilt without borders from the Tennessee Quilt Search.

Q: On traits of Tennessee quilts

 

A Dutch Rose Variation quilt made in east Tennessee.

Q: On the consistency of Tennessee quilt styles and the impact of the Civil War on Tennessee quilts

 

The National Quilt Museum quilts are predominately award winners.

Q: On judging quilts

 

The cover of The Quilts of Tennessee, the first quilt book published by Rutledge Hill Press.

Q: On getting published

 

Opossum Inspires Designs for Quilt-Quilters' Journal, June 1984, reprinted from the Chattanooga Times, June 2, 1983

Q: On writing "The Quilter" column for the Chattanooga Times

 

An example of Ramsey's lettering. You can see a large collection of her postacards, here.

Q: On her background in the arts

 

Ramsey's Japanese Rerun quilt, 1994.

Q: On her love of working with fiber

 

This quilt from the Connectict Quilt Search is the type of Bars quilt that inspired Ramsey.

Q: On making a quilt for the Tennessee governor's mansion

 

Ramsey working on a quilt, 1993.
Photography by T. Fred Miller. Image courtesy of Bets Ramsey.

Q: On tools you use in quilting

 

Ramsey's quilt The Point, 1966.

Q: On identifying herself as an artist

 

Ramsey wrote "Art and Quilts: 1950-1970" for Uncoverings 1993.

Q: On quilts as craft or art

 

Ramsey wrote a research paper for the first volume of Uncoverings: "Design Invention in Country Quilts of Tennessee and Georgia."

Q: On her involvement with AQSG

 

"Recollections of Childhood Recorded in a Tennessee Quilt" was published in Uncoverings 1983

Q: On the early days of AQSG

 

Read more about Benberry and Ramsey and their research inThe Search for Slave-Made Quilts -Quilters' Journal.

Q: On stereotypes and southern quilting

 

Oriental Waters, 1997.
Image courtesy of Bets Ramsey.

Q: On what makes a good quilt

 

Ramsey's quilt, Diverse Opinions, 1988.
Image courtesy of Bets Ramsey.

Q: On her favorite quilt

 

Florence Peto's Nine-Patch Challenge, 1995. Nineteenth century fabric, some fabric identical to that used by Florence Peto in her quilt. Peto gave fabric and directions to Elizabeth Richardson, later acquired by Bets Ramsey.
Image courtesy of Bets Ramsey.

Q: On who has influenced her as an artist and scholar

 

Childhood Memories, a group quilt coordinated by Bets Ramsey at Senior Neighbors, Inc., Chattanooga, Tennessee, 1984.
Photograph by Mike O'Neal. Image courtesy of Bets Ramsey.

Q: On what makes an effective teacher

 

This Whig Rose from the Tennessee Quilt Search features a pieced rose.

Q: On the pieced rose pattern

 

Ramsey also wrote about African-American quiltmakers in "The Land of Cotton: Quiltmaking by African-American Women in Three Southern States" -Uncoverings 1988.

Q: On her article about African American quilts and Mrs. Beatty

 

Oak Park, 1939, 1999. Hankies from childhood penpals and others, photographs of self and family house, memorabilia, vintage fabric.
Image courtesy of Bets Ramsey.

Q: On her Oak Park, 1939 quilt

 

Ramsey Family Quilt, 1973
Image courtesy of Bets Ramsey.

Q: On being a self-taught quilter

 

Ramsey's Quilters Hall of Fame page.

Q: On being inducted into the Quilter's Hall of Fame