Quilter Ruby Horsley Hoie (1926-2017)

 

Ione McIntyre interviewed Ruby in 1995, at her home in Bagley, MN. 

 

0:00:00.0 Ione McIntyre (interviewer, IM): Ruby Hoie on January 2nd, 1995. We'll start with some of the... Your background. When did you first take part in quilt making?

0:00:15.2 Ruby Hoie (RH): I was probably 14 years old.

0:00:19.5 IM: Who taught you to make quilts?

0:00:20.8 RH: My mother did.

0:00:24.1 IM: Anybody else?

0:00:25.9 RH: Well, no, my mom she'd make a quilt and I'd make the same kind of quilt. And she showed me all the techniques and that. And then we even had quilting bees on when we lived in South Dakota, the neighbor ladies would come in and all stitch on a quilt. So we got your quilt together in one day.

[laughter]

0:00:47.6 IM: What did you think about all of these quilters, as people and as quilt makers?

0:00:55.1 RH: There were some that were genuinely interested in quilt making. And when I learned quilts were a necessity, so we used our scrap material from our sewing and then we'd make quilts out of them. And then of course we used them right away. It seemed like it was always in need of a quilt. And then quilts were harder to take care of we tied some of them, but those that were stitched, they weren't stitched so close together because when you washed them, you took them apart. Because the batting would get in bumps and your wool, you would air it out and you need wash your quilt top and back, then you'd have to put them back together again.

[laughter]

0:01:38.8 IM: Wow. How did these people, like your mother and so on. How did they influence you to want to make quilts?

0:01:45.8 RH: Well, I think I've always liked sewing and I enjoyed the... When I done something, I wanted to do something that was worthwhile. I sewed for some dolls and things like that, but I wanted to make something that was lasting. And I like... Especially like the patterns the, like your Lone Star quilts and that, I liked them real well. And I didn't get into applique till later years and that I like, but I felt that you were using up your materials. It seemed like we were always saving all the time. And I think that's ingrained in you when you're young. And so I was always saving. I still have pieces from probably 40 years ago from dresses and stuff. So I intend to use them up one day.

[laughter]

0:02:38.2 IM: What aspect did you do at first.

0:02:42.2 RH: By aspect, what do you mean?

0:02:43.6 IM: What part of the quilting did you do at first? You mentioned that when your mother made a quilt, you made one, too. In other words, you started out and did you do each step or did she...

0:02:44.3 RH: No.

0:02:55.2 IM: Help you with part of it to start with or how did she do this?

0:02:57.6 RH: She did help me at first. She showed me how to be sure to cut. She marked the pieces with a piece of cardboard pattern. And then we cut beyond that a little bit. Or if she cut on it then you used your sewing foot on your machine as a measure for sewing your pieces. So everything got the same and it would fit because cotton doesn't stretch. So you needed to make it fit. But then when you sew by hand, you can make it fit a little better because you can ease it in a little, whereas if you sew it on the machine it's... You gotta be a little more careful. And then she would be doing it, and then she'd cut pieces, I'd cut pieces. And then she'd done the dyeing on the flour sacks, the first quilt we made. And then I just followed her and we'd work at it together. And if there was any problem, I think she would tell me what to do and that, so.

0:03:50.3 IM: Did she make quilts before you made that first quilt together?

0:03:53.4 RH: Oh yeah. She's made quilts. I think she started quilting when she was probably about 15 also.

0:03:58.7 IM: But before you started making quilts, you observed her making quilts.

0:04:02.0 RH: Oh, yes. I remember I used to sit under the quilt frame [laughter] and she'd get after us children, "Get out of there." She said, because the ladies would be busy quilting, and that, and everybody wore dresses in those years. So we'd get to see their pantaloons or something.

[laughter]

0:04:20.9 IM: What pieced or applique patterns did you do when you first quilted?

0:04:24.5 RH: Well, I pieced a Lone Star first. And then I think the... Probably the applique that I made was that chicken quilt was probably my first venture on that. But I just was into the pieced quilts. And I made many different kinds. I was intrigued with the Lone Star.

[laughter]

0:04:46.4 IM: When did you make your first applique? When was that? Do you remember when that was?

0:04:49.9 RH: Probably 20 years ago now. So...

0:04:52.5 IM: About 1974?

0:04:54.1 RH: I suppose, yes.

0:04:57.7 IM: '75, maybe. What quilting patterns did you use first? You were telling me when you showed me the thing about the fans.

0:05:06.7 RH: Oh. Well, the first... Well this was really our only one that we kinda used, was you used the string and you put knots on it. You had your chalk on the one end, and then you had your knots probably. I don't remember just how far apart. And then you used the chalk to mark. You held it. You measured out your quilt and you'd start from the middle on the sides and then the ends, and then you'd work your half circle around then you'd extend it out to the next knot and you'd mark it around again. And we used a chalk light blue is really the best on light colors because blue seems to blend in, if you can't get it quite all dusted off. And it got to be interesting when you got to the center. You didn't know if you'd go this way or that way. Sometimes we'd overlap through the center a little bit.

0:06:02.4 IM: Did these patterns differ from your mother's and grandmother's work of earlier years or?

0:06:09.6 RH: I think my one grandmother, I don't know if she ever quilted a quilt. She tied hers because it was easier for them to take them apart, in those years, that was probably around 1910 or so, around the turn of the century even. But then my mother came up with the quilting, it was the first I had seen when she done it and that was probably in, probably '34 or so, that she would stitch them instead of a... And I don't know where she... If she'd seen it, or if someone else had done it. Probably in their quilting bee that they had, they'd done that, so... But then, still you would have that to take out and then they didn't stitch them tiny, because you needed to take 'em apart. So your stitches were not like they have done these later years. So tiny, and it's really more of a decorative stitch they're using now or I have been now.

0:07:11.4 IM: Did you prefer pieced or applique work and why?

0:07:14.9 RH: I liked the pieced for the reason that I can use up my scraps and I would choose patterns that were larger for the bigger pieces, and then I kept the little pieces, so then I would make up another quilt out of the smaller pieces. So I preferred them although I like applique real well, but there you need larger pieces to use. Not unless you can vary the patterns on your quilt. But when you have to make it all the same, this buying yards of material and cutting it up to make quilts to me is... Well, I'm old fashioned, I guess. [chuckle] I think it's kind of spendthrift or whatever you'd call it. But I did enjoy the old time when we were doing it.

0:08:02.4 IM: Describe how you planned a top, when you started a quilt.

0:08:07.6 RH: Well, I think my tops were pretty much your light and dark colors. It wasn't, they're weren't all the same, 'cause you were using up your scraps. You'd use your light and dark colors and then you'd probably sort them to the greens and blues and coordinate them the best that you could with what you had, that's the way we done that, so...

0:08:33.4 IM: Tell me how you worked on that Trip Around the World quilt where you made the sketch.

0:08:39.5 RH: That was fun, all right. I had... [chuckle] I finally had to end up drawing it on a real large... Well, I put two or three pieces of brown paper together, and then I had to draw it out on a small scale and then I used a color crayon and colored each round. I tacked it on the wall, and then when I sat down and sewed from the outside corner and up, and then I would look at the pattern because it was... Some people... If I'd have had all the same colors, I think, two maybe it would have been better. I think that some of them varied a little and that would mix me up, so I just used that pattern. That was enjoyable to do that, it was fun.

0:09:24.4 IM: Did you know other people who would sketch overall designs before they started a quilt?

0:09:32.1 RH: Oh, I think my mother did. She would come up with something or she'd see something. We never sent for patterns. They were in the papers. And then you would sketch it out to the size you'd want or to fit your pieces, and then make up your pattern from what you'd seen in the paper. And a lot of times, it was squares and then half squares. It would come up with a ways of using them up, it was only mix and match. Mixing and matching, mixing.

0:10:09.4 IM: I already asked you your favorite pattern. Did this change over time?

0:10:17.4 RH: No, I think it's still my favorite pattern, because it's an intriguing pattern and diamonds are... They're kind of hard to work. I like a challenge in a way too. And they're a little harder to work with. Double Wedding Ring is another favorite of mine. I've made several of them. And we use the same pattern for each piece in the print area. And I noticed in some books, they have a variation in the size of them, but the one that we had, it worked out real fine. We didn't have to vary it, so we didn't have the problem keeping track of where each piece went. In fact, I didn't know there was a different pattern until later years I had seen one.

0:11:01.3 IM: Did you ever change the name of the pattern to a more personal name that meant more to you?

0:11:06.8 RH: No. I never did because I tried to keep all the patterns in my head that I knew of and would like to have made or enjoyed, but I didn't... I don't think I ever changed one.

0:11:20.3 IM: Did you have or see sample blocks or patches anywhere?

0:11:26.3 RH: Oh yeah, I've seen a lot of sample blocks, and then I'd order. If were I was visiting someplace and they had a pretty quilt, I got my paper and pencil out and would sketch it. And eventually, I finally had enough quilt books that I would find the name to it. But some of them were beautiful when they're put together. Like Jacob's Ladder, I seen that in black and white. I thought, "Oh, what an ugly quilt." But when I'd seen it made up in colors, it was a beautiful quilt. So it shows how a person can misjudge.

[laughter]

0:12:02.0 IM: Did you ever do quilts that were primarily embroidered on a solid background? Yes, I know you have.

0:12:07.0 RH: Yeah, I did.

0:12:07.5 IM: Tell me about them.

0:12:08.8 RH: Well, the first one I'd done, I started collecting the Rainbow quilt collection. Then the company gone out of business, so I was in a quilt robin and the...

0:12:22.2 RH: We exchanged patterns, so I have probably over 100 patterns, I'm not sure. And I don't like cross stitch, so I have the patterns, but I made the other kinds, the flowers and the other kinds of stitches. So I made one top on that, and it was interesting, the man that was in Chicago who was head of the quilt, Rainbow Quilt Company. He had started it and he had 'em in the paper years and years ago that you could send for the blocks. And they were not... Well to our time, they weren't expensive in those days. It was hard to come by too, but the man had died and then his daughter took over, she went to Florida and she moved the company down there, but... I've lost track of her. If she's even in business or what, but he had probably a thousand quilt patterns. I don't know. I would be fun to have all of them, but I have a lot of them.

0:13:19.7 IM: Now, these designs were stamped patterns that you transferred to the fabric yourself?

0:13:26.2 RH: Yes, they were stamped patterns. But I think when he sent them out, you didn't get the pattern, you got the stamped block and then they must have copied...

0:13:36.4 IM: A piece of paper that you would have iron on, is that what you got?

0:13:41.3 RH: No, no, you got the material that was stamped...

0:13:43.4 IM: Oh, I see. Okay.

0:13:44.8 RH: You didn't get the pattern, so then those that were mindful of it would get the pattern off of the block before they started embroidering it. So I think this is how a lot of them got these patterns that we were in the robin with. So and they're... I think they're pretty much obsolete now. I don't know of any place they have them and I've never seen them in a book. So there. And they were on a 18 inch block. They were easy to embroider because you had a piece of material to work on and it's works out beautiful in a quilt. You don't have to make so many big blocks. There aren't many blocks. I don't know.

0:14:24.7 IM: What was your embroidery thread called?

0:14:27.9 RH: I think it was Coats and Clark's years ago that we used and I always used three strands of embroidery thread. Some cut it down to two but I like the dimension of the three a lot better.

0:14:42.4 IM: Did you use any other kinds of embroidery thread besides...

0:14:45.7 RH: Not those times. That's all I used but now the later years they have others that are out and I haven't experienced use of them yet.

0:14:54.1 IM: Okay. Did you ever hear of a string quilt?

0:14:58.5 RH: Yes, I have a couple three patterns for string quilts.

0:15:02.5 IM: Did you make some?

0:15:04.3 RH: No, I started a couple of times and I think they're in the box, yet I haven't gotten very far with them. They're interesting. Very nice to make and I have an elderly lady friend, I don't know if she lives now in Alabama, that sent me several different string. In fact, I did two. It must be a string quilt. I think it's called a Snowball or the Fireball. I made for my son and his wife and it was a shaped like a necktie but it was like a point on each end. And then you put so many of them together. I think its four together and then you put your big round circle in the center. If you put red in, it's Fireball and if it's white you use a Snowball pattern on it. And that I sewed on paper. It was more on the... Almost the like the scrap quilts that they embroidered on.

0:16:01.3 RH: You use different pieces across and they wouldn't always be straight. You'd keep laying them and you'd sew it on that paper. Then you sewed them together on the paper and got the whole top done, and my granddaughters were here and I said that... I asked them if they wanted to tear all the paper off the back, 'cause I used newspaper. Well I had it bed... Well I had it on my bed upside down and they're in there tearing and they were about probably six and seven or five and seven or something. And they got tired of tearing this paper...

[laughter]

0:16:35.8 RH: Especially the older one. She said, "Oh, this is too much work. We don't want to this." And the young one says, "I think grandma's gonna make this for us." She says, "We'd better keep on." She says...

[laughter]

0:16:45.8 RH: So they got the quilt.

[laughter]

0:16:48.2 RH: That was cute.

0:16:50.4 IM: Do you know of other people who made string quilts?

0:16:55.1 RH: No, not right around in my area. I've heard of others making them, but not right around here I haven't heard of them.

0:17:00.1 IM: Not that you do personally know?

0:17:04.8 RH: No.

0:17:05.0 IM: Were quilts ever done as copies of an old favorite quilt?

0:17:09.7 RH: Yes, they were. My grandmother had a quilt pattern, it was just probably two and half by... Say two and half by three and half piece and you'd sew two of them together, you had a square. You put them this way and they mismatched. My grandmother made one like that to use up scraps and it was a fast-making quilt and I never could find the name of it. And then finally I'd seen a pattern but it was larger. It was a little longer and a little wider and it was called Roman Stripe, I think. And I made quite a few of them. They were the fast-making quilt using up... I made one with flannel and made one with... Two with flannel. I made one with cotton pieces and they were our kind of everyday quilts. And you could use any colors. You didn't have to have all the same. If you had two or three pieces of the same color or whatever it didn't make any difference but... So...

0:18:14.2 IM: How did you add to your collection of patterns?

0:18:18.4 RH: Well I bought quilt books when I was young and ever since I started making quilts and then I... They were 10 cents a piece and then I... They got to be a little more and then I had The Work Basket for many, many years. In fact, we have the first ones that ever came out until probably about three years ago that I quit subscribing. And that always had patterns in and then I was in about four different quilt round robins throughout about a 10 year period of time. And then I had... Some people gave me quilt books, quilt patterns and then I had one given to me that was a five cent quilt book. So that was... That is a treasure.

[chuckle]

0:19:03.9 IM: Did you ever get kits?

0:19:09.0 RH: The only kits that I ever got was the embroidery. There was some embroidery blocks at a rummage sale, and I got them all for like a dollar. So I bought them and embroidered them. But I have them to sew together yet.

0:19:25.3 IM: What about magazines as either in the past or in the present?

0:19:31.9 RH: Yeah. I don't get any now because I have so many, but I had The Work Basket ever since it started and I had the Quilter's World and then I had Lehman's Quilts from out of Colorado for quite a few years.

0:19:47.9 IM: Quilter's Newsletter.

0:19:48.5 RH: Yeah. I had that. And then, occasionly I'd pick up, maybe a magazine at the newsstand or a quilt book, different ones. And then I got, I think from Boss..., yeah, or something quilt book. It's a bigger book. I have one or two of them that I had sent for one was on lap quilting and I can't remember what the other was on, but the one on lap quilting was intriguing. I haven't tried it yet. One day I will...

0:20:21.7 IM: It says Bonesteel?

0:20:23.2 RH: Bonesteel, maybe that's what it is. Bonesteel.

0:20:26.4 IM: What about magazines when you were a child?

0:20:31.3 RH: The magazines was The Farmer and The Dakota Farmer. And they had pictures about two by two, with the pattern and I got a neighbor lady, real good friend. She cut all those out, down through the years. And then I acquired a lot of them from her just to look at for the names they had the names under and that's when I got them too. And that's what we had years ago was my mother never bought quilt pattern. She would... She was kind of an artist anyhow, and she would sketch them out and then she could make the size quilt block that she wanted. So.

0:21:17.7 IM: And did she design her own?

0:21:20.1 RH: She'd done some of her own designing. Yeah. She made a pansy quilt which was an applique and she designed that herself and she would always add something to a quilt. She would get a pattern and she'd change it a little bit for what she had unique ways of doing things.

0:21:38.6 IM: What about you? Did you use your own designs?

0:21:41.9 RH: Well, the only way I'd done that would be in my coloring or my, the way I'd set them together. I never liked a square quilt and I just would redo them a little and then otherwise it's pretty much to the basics because it was done good to sew it, I guess and get it together. I didn't have time for... I milked cows, done chores. So this was in between.

0:22:09.3 IM: Did you get... When you saw quilts at the fair, did you specially go try to keep track of some of the patterns from that?

0:22:19.5 RH: I would sketch, I always had a notebook with me and I'd sketch patterns of the ones I'd seen. And then I think what I was more interested in was putting the colors together, how to put them together. So they would stand out. We've seen a log cabin in Crookston at the winter shows about four years ago and it was done in blacks. It was black prints and I wished I would've sketched that one. I didn't do it. And my daughter-in-law, she's trying to make one now as close as she can remember, but she can't... We can't remember how it was put together because there's so many different ways of setting your blocks together. But she's working on her blocks and she has the cotton, she went for a cotton and then I found out there's a lady in Oklee that does quilting and she's very reasonable. So if my daughter-in-law doesn't have the time to quilt it or I don't, why...and she has the machine.

0:23:15.4 IM: She does it by machine?

0:23:16.7 RH: She has a machine and she does it. And she's a younger lady. She does very nice work and it's not necessary now really to quilt them so close together. Not unless you want to do a lot of hand work for antique or whatever they call them, heirloom or something because you benefit from your puffiness of your quilt and then you design stands up. She had a shell pattern and I can't remember what the other one was that she had others too, but that was two she was working on. So that was interesting.

0:23:52.5 IM: Are there any other places that you can think of where you obtained patterns, other sources, I guess I should say.

0:24:03.7 RH: No. I got patterns from you years ago and I was always collecting patterns and that. And then I'd get these year, round robins or whatever they call, you need to send you some patterns, you'd make up two or three and send on and somebody's supposed, you put your name on, you're supposed to get, well, you never get, but you got of patterns. I benefited that way, but if I sent some out, I never got many back in return. So.

0:24:30.1 IM: Were you aware of batting companies like Mountain Mist and others that promoted quilt patterns and kits?

0:24:36.1 RH: I used to use Mountain Mist and it's nice material, but that's the kind you have to stitch so close together. And then they had patterns. I have a lot of their patterns from the back. I saved the whole wrapper with my pattern. It's very possible that's where I got that Ohio Rose one from, can't remember. And then I bought some in the stores. And then when I got acquainted with the Oklee batting, it stays together and it's so nice to work with and you can get different weights. So if you wanna stitch closer, whatever, you can get a thinner weight. And so I really like that kind.

0:25:13.5 IM: Were you... Did you send to Sears Roebuck.

0:25:16.0 RH: No. I've never sent the Sears before.

0:25:20.1 IM: What about, were you aware of the Ladies Art Company?

0:25:23.1 RH: Yes.

0:25:23.4 IM: When were you aware of that?

0:25:26.5 RH: Oh, that's probably 20, 25 years ago, at least.

0:25:31.1 IM: And you had a catalog from there?

0:25:32.9 RH: I have, I think I've got catalogs. If I've saved them all.

0:25:37.0 IM: What about McCall's?

0:25:38.9 RH: Yes. I've had some of those magazines too.

0:25:41.4 IM: That quilt pattern?

0:25:43.3 RH: I think I've probably, I don't remember if I got that for a year. At one time, probably did as a subscription.

0:25:53.6 IM: What colors did you, or do you prefer to use?

0:25:58.2 RH: As long as it's true blue.

[laughter]

0:26:02.7 RH: I'm a blue person. But I've learned to mix colors. That's why I have to go to the patterns or the quilts' name to get color ideas, because I end up with blues and that's it, but now I'm older, I've learned to use other colors too, but blue is my color.

0:26:20.8 IM: Why do you think you like blue so much?

0:26:23.0 RH: I've had migraine headaches all my life and when I have blue around me, it's restful. It doesn't talk to me and I feel at ease. And if I'm in a room where there's other colors, loud, like reds and purples, this is a bright yellow back here, it eventually gets to me whereas the blue is kind of more content or something.

0:26:52.2 IM: How did you learn to use colors needed in a given quilt to get the effect that you wanted?

0:26:57.5 RH: Well, this was by books and by looking at other ones because like I said, I had blue in my mind.

[laughter]

0:27:09.1 IM: Were there any color rules that you learned as you learned to make quilts?

0:27:12.8 RH: Well, yes. You need to have 'em blend in. And then you need every so often, like if you make trip around the world, you have to have an outstanding color when you switch to kind of section it or whatever the word would be to, so it's more pleasing to the eye. And then, I have a problem with this color coordination. Everybody's got their rules and such and such colors, and I'm still back to my pieces using them up. So I'm kind lost there [chuckle] but a lot of that is done, but then you gotta go out and buy all your materials, which is fine for the material companies and all that. But I'm back on my scraps.

[laughter]

0:27:58.3 IM: What would you consider unusual color combinations?

0:28:02.2 RH: Well, down through the years, red and yellow was a no-no and now they put red and yellow together. And to me, I still don't like them two colors together. And then, I think another one that stood out with was green and orange, and that was a no-no, too but today we see all colors. So I think your colors need to blend in. And that I learned through being colored one time, so that I'm a summer and blues are my colors, and there's where I kind of started appreciating blending of colors and this has been probably, five, six years ago. I couldn't see the difference, I couldn't see this blending until I'd seen that when they colored me; and you learn, every day you learn.

[laughter]

0:28:57.6 IM: Were you always able to get the colors preferred when you were working with it? I know you used scraps but...

0:29:04.2 RH: Pretty much you could and we done the dye method. If we wanted a plain colors especially in the years ago, we didn't have a big variety and we had lots of flour sacks years ago. So they come in real handy for either dish towels or quilts. Even petticoats.

[laughter]

0:29:23.7 IM: Did you ever make an all white quilt?

0:29:26.7 RH: No, not all white.

0:29:28.7 IM: Did you ever make a solid color quilt then of another color?

0:29:34.1 RH: No. I've never made a solid color. I always shied away from white because of keeping them clean. White is color I shy away in clothes even, but other people get by with it. I should, but I still shy away from it.

[laughter]

0:29:48.7 IM: Did you ever buy fabric specifically for a quilt? You have talked so much about using scraps.

0:30:03.3 RH: I bought for the stripping of them, set 'em together. And then for the backs I have bought, and that was usually a shop around and get on sale. A lot of times I bought material didn't know what I was gonna use it for, and it would come in and make some quilts. And then I did like the muslin a lot. I used a lot of Muslin for the backing or for stripping too.

0:30:26.3 IM: Alright. Your scraps, where did they come from? Were they remnants from sewing from pieces from used clothing?

0:30:39.0 RH: No, I didn't care to use used clothing only like that one wool quilt I made, that was a woolen clothing, But I wanted the newer materials and it was all from my sewing. I'd done all my own sewing and clothes, and I even sewed shirts and stuff for the boys when they went school. In fact, the oldest boy, last year of school, he wore shirts that I made and kids couldn't understand where he got all those shirts from, because they never seen 'em in the store. [laughter]

0:31:12.4 RH: But I'd have a lot of scraps left and then I would use them. So they're all from scraps.

0:31:20.8 IM: Did you have scraps of other things besides clothing scraps? I mean, did you get scraps from any other place?

0:31:28.3 RH: I had picked up a few on rummage sales from other people's excessive sewing that and they were nice you know, either oblong or square pieces. They worked in nice for... Some would quilt like plain colors to go with the prints I had. So I have picked up a few over, but not too much. I've always had too much on hand.

[chuckle]

0:31:53.2 IM: We talked a little bit about using discarded clothing. And you did for your wool quilt?

0:32:00.6 RH: Yes. Yeah.

0:32:00.7 IM: You using the wool. What about such things as ribbons or neckties?

0:32:05.5 RH: Well, I saved neckties for a long, long time, and I tried and tried to figure out how to make a quilt out of neckties. And then I washed a necktie because it was soiled a little and that thing frayed and frayed, and I thought, I don't wanna make quilts out of something like that because it... I like something that's stable. And then I had occasion to send some clothing and that to Russia for four people. So guess what went in the box first was about...

[chuckle]

0:32:36.2 RH: I think it was 103 neckties.

[laughter]

0:32:38.5 RH: So there went my quilt.

[laughter]

0:32:43.4 IM: What was the source or the sources for your purchased fabric over the years? Did you buy it in the stores send for it from a catalog or?

0:32:51.8 RH: I got most of in the stores and then I always was, they'd have sales on, but I was careful about the type of material that I bought, because I like to have pretty much the same kind of material all the time. And when you make a quilt, there's a lot of work in, so you need to use better stuff. And that's what I did with my dresses and everything that I made. I used a better quality stuff too. So.

0:33:20.2 IM: Did you ever feel limited or stimulated by the fabric selection that was available?

0:33:27.5 RH: Well, years and years ago, it was very limited. You could get material very reasonable, but you didn't have the money. I think that was probably the biggest limit.

[chuckle]

0:33:37.2 RH: So, and that's why we used such small pieces because we ended up with small pieces. We bought just enough material for a dress or an apron and you didn't get too many pieces out of it. So, and then you'd figure out like the Lone Star. I did get a row out of a dress, I must have had when I was about 16. I had enough material after that to get one row all the way around. It was the green with the white and otherwise it was all of plain colors in the Lone Star. So.

0:34:10.5 IM: Right. You mentioned that you dyed the fabric in that one, Lone Star, what kind of dyes did you use?

0:34:17.7 RH: I don't remember. That was probably in...

0:34:19.6 IM: Were they commercial dyes?

0:34:21.4 RH: Yeah, it was a boughten dye. I don't know... Rit, I suppose. I think that was probably the one they had way back in '39 or '40.

0:34:30.1 IM: Did you use natural dyes ever?

0:34:32.6 RH: No, we never did try that. I think my mother tried it on. We used to... We always had sheep all our life and she washed a fleece or two when we lived in South Dakota and carded it 'cause her mother done our own wool carding and made for the inside. But, and it seemed to me, she tried some... I don't know what she used because she was kind of into those things, but I don't remember anything. I was so young. I don't remember how it turned out but it did.

0:35:03.1 IM: Do you remember times when newly available fabrics and colors changed your quilt designs or color use?

0:35:10.1 RH: No, not really. The only thing is they have a lot more colors now than they used to have. We just had the basic colors years ago. We didn't have 20, 30 shades of blues and greens. Nowadays it's you get... If you're gonna get something, you better get enough 'cause you'll never match it.

0:35:29.5 IM: You already told me yes, you did use outing flannels. Do you wanna tell me about...

0:35:34.1 RH: Well, the flannels now that was also used to make pajamas and night gowns and we had made. I mean quilts... Baby quilts are real nice for that. And I think I made two or three quilts. Some of the families have gotten them from the flannel and they were pieced quilts too. They were, had a design and I think I purchased maybe a couple of yards for stripping.

0:36:00.1 IM: Did you use it on the back as well?

0:36:01.3 RH: Yeah, I put the flannel on the back and that was usually the ones we put a wool batt in too. I used to get my wool batts from Bemidji. If you took woolen underwears, she took the buttons off and woolen sweaters and different things. You could take it up and trade it in for a wool batt. So I'd done that. In fact, I had a slip, I had so much stuff I took up there that... 'Cause my husband wore woolen underwear all of the time and I took up to there and I had this slip and I finally, and I think about three years to pick up all my wool batts.

[laughter]

0:36:33.9 IM: What about feed bags?

0:36:36.6 RH: Yeah, we used feed bags. They yeah... We use them on the backs too of the everyday quilts that we'd make. We used the feed bags. They were a heavy material, a lot heavier than the flour sack.

0:36:48.8 IM: They were very sturdy [laughter]

0:36:50.3 RH: Oh, they are, I think I still got a couple of 'em in the trunk. [chuckle]

0:36:53.6 IM: I had lots of dresses out of feed bags.

[laughter]

0:36:57.8 IM: Sugar or flour sacks?

0:37:00.5 RH: Flour sacks. Yeah. Sugar sacks are a little thinner. We didn't use them really. I think we'd fold 'em in about four and make a pieced pot holder and put that in for the inside 'cause it was little thin. We used the flour sacks, though.

0:37:16.1 IM: Any other uncommon fabrics or at least uncommon by our standards right now?

0:37:22.3 RH: Well, we had flour sacks that were print and they were very pretty. I made aprons out of 'em and I used the excess in quilt patterns for quilt making. And then let's see. Well, I don't know... Yeah, the materials, just the qualities have changed they got more polyester in them. It used to be strictly cotton.

0:37:52.5 IM: What fabrics did you consider most desirable for quilting?

0:37:57.6 RH: I like the cotton pieces of cotton piecing and that... And now with the polyester they're not quite so wrinkly and they're a sturdy fabric and I like them real well. And then there's no... The others would be shrinkage. I... Whenever I got pieces or materials, I dipped it in very hot water when I'd come home. And then would iron it.

0:38:22.0 RH: And then I put it in the sewing box or whatever, because you could be sure it would shrink. But now with the polyesters in that it doesn't do that, but I still dip them. I still dip all my materials, 'cause I feel there's either some starch in them or their possibility could be one that would shrink a lot so I dip everything.

0:38:41.6 IM: What materials or fabrics do you consider undesirable for quilting, and why?

0:38:47.7 RH: Anything that frays, like satiny. I remember my mother told me she'd make me a friendship quilt if I get the material. So I get a real pretty blue, but it was kind of a satin rayon, mostly rayon. Well, she just couldn't understand why I picked that, although it was so pretty. And then she stamped them all, she had to... She cut the squares and she had to turn them under and sew around the outside of them to keep from fraying, and then she passed them out to the different friends. I'll try and find where that quilt... It must be upstairs, yeah. It's about the size of a... Barely covers the size of a regular bed on just the top. And they embroidered their name on it, and a flower or something, and I've never gotten it made up yet. But that's very undesirable. Anything that'll fray or pull. Like when you sew them and if you pull on them you can rip them so I don't like them. They're beautiful, but they don't last.

0:39:50.3 IM: Did your choice of fabrics ever change through the years?

0:39:56.6 RH: Well, I like knit fabrics real well. But for clothing, it isn't so ideal, it doesn't breathe. It's... It don't wrinkle and it's nice for travel and that and I've used scraps from that for making quilts. And it's really nice 'cause I already made corners with that. It gives a little [chuckle]

0:40:16.7 IM: Are you talking about the polyester knits?

0:40:19.2 RH: Yeah. Uh-huh. But other than that, they have improved a lot down through the years, the types of fabrics and they are a lot better than we used to have. But that old time material, it's still going, in the quilts, it's still going.

[laughter]

0:40:35.3 IM: That nice cotton. Did you ever order sample patches of silk or velvet?

0:40:41.6 RH: No.

0:40:43.4 IM: Did you ever get fabric from a garments factory or a seamstress?

0:40:49.5 RH: They had packages into the clothing store in Bagley... It must have been in the '50s, it's where Lilligard's store used to be, and the clothing and that. And they had packets of materials that came from a factory from somewhere and it was very reasonable and they were all... The color, same colors. And there you can see it, so that some was more rayon-ish or twill or something, but the cotton ones I got quite a bit of them and they were nice. It was kind of fun because it gave us something we hadn't seen before, patterns and other material.

0:41:30.4 IM: What did you use on the backing of your quilts?

0:41:34.9 RH: I usually use pretty much the same quality material on the back as on the front. Some people would use sheets, but I didn't care for the sheets, I liked the material better because it seemed to blend in better. And I like the... I've had plain patterns and I've had some unusual patterns like for children's quilts. They like funny things on the back of the quilt [chuckle], pictures or whatever.

0:42:03.7 IM: What did you use for the filling?

0:42:06.4 RH: Well in the woolen materials and flannels, I used wool. And I used the battings, I have used Mountain Mist, and then when the other ones came out, they had one that was so fluffy and that didn't stay together very good either. But then when I got this... I don't know what they call it, it's made out of Oklee. It's a kind of a polyester batting, but it stays together. So when you wash your quilt, it don't bunch up or anything and that's nice.

0:42:42.4 IM: Did you ever have any hand made filling or batting?

0:42:47.4 RH: Well, yes, many years ago, we carded our own wool from the sheep. That's something, wash them fleeces many times to get the stickers off. It's the worse getting off those stickers. And then to dry it, we used to hang it on the woven wire fence to dry, so... And then you carded it and kept working it and then you get it all so. It was fun to do that [chuckle]

0:43:11.6 IM: How long did it take to do something like that?

0:43:13.6 RH: Oh that take couple weeks just to get your wool ready, at least. And you have to be working almost every day in between chores and stuff.

0:43:23.2 IM: What is your filling or batting preference and why?

0:43:27.0 RH: Well, it's the new kind they have now, although I like wool for wool quilts in this country. They beat heating pads and all that stuff, even electric blankets because they are so warm, and they breathe and they're light. I like the light. Some people can't stand the heavier quilts. Polyesters quilts are, and knits are heavy quilts. But I like the wool real well, and this batting now they have is nice. So that's in between the two I like.

0:43:58.6 IM: How did the filling affect the quality or ease of quilting?

0:44:03.7 RH: I think this... The newer kind they have now is better than what we had in that Mountain Mist would break or tear if you didn't handle it just right. I think we even had paper in between it, so it wouldn't stick together and also some of those other battings that first came out, they were hard to handle 'cause they'd separate too, so you'd be very careful with it, so now it's bonded together more it's better.

0:44:33.8 IM: Where did you get the frames that you used for quilting?

0:44:37.3 RH: Well I have my grandmother's frames that my mother used, and I'd use them when she wasn't quilting, but now I have them. And I think they were made about 1890 or sometime. And they had a little piece of material, in fact, they still have that on, it's tacked on the edge that you would fasten your quilt to. 'Cause they didn't have tacks and things like that, so they would sew it to the sides. And then I have, I suppose it would be considered queen size frames or king size even, that I got from a neighbor lady. So I have two sets. And I got a stand, I think it's come out of either Sears or somewhere, but I can't remember where I bought it on a sale. I think that you can roll the edges in and start from the center and work out, but that don't hold it real tight in the front...

0:45:35.6 IM: Is that a frame... Now the frame that your mother and grandmother was that one of those huge frames that filled the whole room and you put it together with c-clamps in the corners?

0:45:46.7 RH: Yeah. I have two of them and then I had this other one, and then I also have a round hoop that I never conquered. Now, I just got a new kind, I was so intrigued with it. It's made of plastic and you clip it on the sides.

0:46:00.7 IM: And it's square.

0:46:02.0 RH: Well you can get oblong or square. I think I got the oblong. They had three different sizes and I got the oblong.

0:46:11.1 IM: Are these the pipe ones, is that what they're...

0:46:12.9 RH: They are plastic tubes, and then they have the plastic clamp over the...

0:46:20.9 IM: Your first frame obviously was the big old fashion one that filled up the whole room.

0:46:24.9 IM: Yeah. And years and years ago, they used to have pulleys...

0:46:28.1 Speaker 3: Grandma?

0:46:28.8 RH: What?

0:46:29.2 Speaker 3: Where are you?

0:46:30.4 RH: I'm in here. You can turn that off just a second.

0:46:34.4 IM: Okay, which frame do you prefer to use?

0:46:37.4 RH: I like the first.

0:00:00.6 Ione McIntyre (interviewer, IM): Okay, have most frames in your experience been home-made?

0:00:06.9 Ruby Hoie (RH): The two big old frames are home-made, and then the other one is a boughten one and the factory-made, I think, the hoops are factory-made.

0:00:19.2 IM: The one that you got if I still remember, it was those clamps of...

0:00:26.1 RH: Now, that's...

0:00:28.2 IM: How big is that one, or how big did they make those? About 18, about the size of one block?

0:00:35.5 RH: About 15 by 18, probably. And it's for lap quilting to do your stitching on these.

0:00:47.6 IM: Do you know anyone who has invented a new or unusual type of home-made frame?

0:00:55.9 RH: No, the frames were pretty much the same. Like I was saying, they would put pulleys, four pulleys in the ceiling and then they'd lower the quilt to work on it years ago, because houses weren't too big then. And then when it was time to eat or activity, they'd pull it up to the ceiling, 'cause they had like eight-foot ceilings in those years. Nine-foot ceilings.

0:01:21.2 IM: Or 10, maybe. [chuckle]

0:01:22.2 RH: Yeah. And so that was something that was... But we never done that, ourself, we always seemed to have enough room to do, but I know a lot of them used to do that.

0:01:34.5 IM: Did you ever quilt without a frame?

0:01:39.1 RH: I did. I quilted on top of the bed one time, and I pinned it real good all the way around. I don't remember why I'd done that. I had it in the frame and I pinned it real good all around. I don't believe in sewing and ripping off the sewing, so I just used a lot of pins and then I laid it on the bed and stitched it together around. I think I just stitched around the blocks then. But you either start in the middle and work out, or you start on one side and work over to the other side.

0:02:05.5 IM: Did you ever work... You mentioned something about a hoop.

0:02:10.3 RH: I tried the hoop and I couldn't get it quite to... I don't know, it must have been me, because some women say they use them and they get along fine, but I couldn't figure out how to use it.

0:02:21.3 IM: So you didn't like the hoop?

0:02:22.6 RH: No, I haven't used it, but I guess I should have loosened my tension on it and then set it up when I got it on or something, but then I couldn't figure out where to work on the quilt, get in the center and work out or what, and I was afraid it would get crooked, so I wasn't happy with it.

0:02:39.1 IM: Did you ever lap quilt without either a hoop or a frame?

0:02:42.3 RH: No, I've never done the lap quilting yet. That's something I wanna try.

0:02:47.7 IM: Do you do all your own quilting?

0:02:49.7 RH: Yes, I have.

0:02:51.2 IM: Did you ever invite friends to quilting bees, or parties?

0:02:54.6 RH: The only one that was helped me quilt was my mom. She came over and and helped me quilt, and I'd help her quilt. We stitched pretty much the same. I was at some place and there was about four or five different people that were working on a quilt and all the stitches were different. And I felt that took away from the quilt. So I was kind of, I don't know, I'd rather do it myself.

[laughter]

0:03:19.0 RH: Maybe make it even anyhow.

[laughter]

0:03:22.3 IM: In what room of your home did you quilt?

0:03:26.7 RH: Either a spare bedroom, or my front room.

0:03:32.0 IM: Was quilting done at any particular time of the year, or the time of the day?

0:03:37.5 RH: It was usually in the wintertime and then afternoon, some evenings a lot, because then I could work until I got tired or something.

0:03:48.2 IM: Was your frame set up periodically, or was it constantly up?

0:03:53.2 RH: No, it was periodically, because I'd go to quilt and I'd have to do something else, 'cause I was a farm wife, so I was outside as much as inside. [chuckle]

0:04:03.4 RH: Did you ever quilt out of doors?

0:04:05.6 RH: No, I never did do any quilting outside.

0:04:09.6 IM: What kind of quilting needles did you use?

0:04:14.3 RH: I can't remember the name of them now. Sharps, or something like that? I liked a shorter quilting needle, and I liked one that didn't have too sharp a butt on it, because I used a thimble. Sometimes I'd forget my thimble, but I didn't like them sharp-ended, I liked them more rounded. And then I needed a little larger eye to thread the...

0:04:37.5 IM: What size, do you remember?

0:04:39.9 RH: It was, I don't remember the size; about a medium, I suppose.

0:04:45.9 IM: Did you ever use needles once they became bent?

0:04:49.1 RH: No, I never. They were hard to handle.

0:04:53.1 IM: Did you feel you had to break in a needle?

0:04:55.9 RH: Break it in? 

I'm: It is. You get used to a needle, and then when you use a different type, it's different.

0:05:03.4 IM: But not any individual needle you'd... From a package when you pull it out, you never had to...

0:05:08.1 RH: No, it'd be different package, or different. Maybe you'd get the same kind back, or something.

0:05:13.2 IM: What kind of thread did you use?

0:05:18.2 RH: Years ago, we used the sewing threads, then they came out with the quilting threads. And they were more durable and stronger, and I always used a double thread when I used a sewing thread. In fact, that there was always one strand would break, or something. So you had mending to do on your quilts, years and years ago when threads would break, you'd have to restitch.

0:05:46.3 IM: What did you do to remove blood stains from a quilt when you pricked a finger?

0:05:50.3 RH: I used cold water.

0:05:53.1 IM: Did you ever have someone else do the quilting?

0:05:57.0 RH: No.

0:05:57.5 IM: Did you ever do quilting for other people?

0:06:00.3 RH: No, I haven't. I've been asked, but I refrained from that.

0:06:04.8 IM: Do you enjoy quilting?

0:06:06.8 RH: Yes, I do.

0:06:08.0 IM: More or less than other parts of quilt making?

0:06:11.8 RH: Well, about half and half. I love making them and I love quilting. And so my husband used to say, "Sit there and sit there for hours." And it was so enjoyable and the time went so fast. It's fun.

[chuckle]

0:06:26.3 IM: Did you ever sign or date a quilt.

0:06:27.3 RH: Mm-hmm.

0:06:29.0 IM: When and for whom and do you always do it?

0:06:33.6 RH: I should have been doing it all down through the years, but I have pictures of lot of the quilts and I've dated the pictures, but it should have been your name and at least your initials and a date on a quilt. Because I have had some quilts... This is kind of interesting, I had quilts from my grandmother that were... You wouldn't know what to do with them. Some of them were made like out of suits or either they got these samples out of stores or something and they were the darker kind and they were nice quilts, but they were just to the end of what you're going do with them. And I didn't have storage. I've seen an ad in a paper about 10 years ago, there was somebody wanted to buy old quilts. The older the better and I thought what do they do with these old quilts? So I wrote to her and, well she had gone back to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. But her sister was over at Menahga or somewhere.

0:07:29.5 RH: I sent the letter there and she sent it on to her sister and she told me that she'd been up visiting. So she would pay all the way from $5 to $35, $40 for an old quilt. So I had... I don't remember how many old quilts I had but I sent one kind of cruddy one and then one better one to her. And she paid me $15 and $20, $15 for one, $20 for the other. Well then she wanted to know if I had any more or knew of anybody who had any more. So I sent her some more then and I ended up sending all these old quilts and I must have had probably 10, 12 of them. I just didn't know. I couldn't keep them, I didn't wanna repair them and they were... I thought the material was rotten in a lot of them. So then I finally wrote and asked her, I said, "What do you do with these quilts?" So I said, "Please send me a picture, whatever you do with them, just outta curiosity," so she sent me back pictures and they were far enough away.

0:08:33.0 RH: So I couldn't figure out, they were in the forms of like little animals, cats and dogs and different things. And they would take the better part of these materials and the older it was... She must have been up on dating materials even. And some of those pieces weren't very big, but she'd patch them together and she made ornaments and then they had a sale once or twice a year. She lived out in the suburbs of Philadelphia and she said that her and another lady they'd been working real hard on these projects. And then they had a sale around November and I don't know how many articles they had, but she said they had taken in a thousand dollars on these things. And she said the people, the wealthy people, they just go crazy over these old, old. They got something older than somebody else has or something. So it was really antique stuff so it was. And I wrote back and told her, I says, "Well," I say, "You satisfied my curiosity," but I said, "If you're sure can have the job, I wouldn't even want to attempt it."

[laughter]

0:09:35.6 RH: Oh, but it was... Then I seen a chicken, I'll have to show it to you. She's a fluffy chicken out of looks like fake fur but she's black and white, red. And she got her wings and then she got a little chicken on each wing and I've seen that in Mahnomen in a drug store. And I looked at it, I walked up the street and I went back and looked at it and my husband said you will never dare find out about this, so I went in and bought it. It was $20 for that chicken. And I looked and I looked for a material like that, I was gonna make another one, but I couldn't find the material. So then one day he said, "How much did you pay for that chicken?" I say, "I don't dare tell you,"

[laughter]

0:10:14.5 RH: But I said, "Now that's my grandma. She made all these quilts. And I took some of that money." Because I hated to part with them, so I got my chicken and two chicks for them quilts that I sold and I was happy somebody could used them otherwise they'd have been in a garbage. That was the story of my chicken. [laughter] Crazy story.

0:10:40.0 IM: Why do you think it's desirable to sign and date a quilt?

0:10:43.6 RH: Well, if you don't remember and people want to know when you made it and you kind of forget what year you made it. And then eventually some quilts have gotten to be antiques. And I think if they're signed and dated, it would benefit down the road for someone else if I didn't benefit from it.

0:11:05.7 IM: What were the criteria for good work as far as you were concerned, was the design or color combination the most important?

0:11:13.1 RH: I think that was probably second. I think in the quilt judging some different things that I'd been around, they go by the quilting stitches themselves and how they are, how close your stitches are and how you put your... How you start and how you end. No knot showing and the consistency of your quilting design. And then I think second place was color coordination.

0:11:45.0 IM: What about the accuracy of piecing?

0:11:47.6 RH: Oh yeah, that was very important.

0:11:50.4 IM: What about the intricate design of the overall quilt or your needle work skill?

0:11:58.7 RH: That is your biggest thing in the judging of a quilt is the stitching and the design that you have. And I think that... When I was around it, and then of course, like you said, the pieces sitting together perfectly.

0:12:18.4 RH: So as far as design and colors, at the state fair, the quilt that took first prize was made out of denim. So there was no color consistency and that, so it had to be with the stitching or either because it was a new type of fabric. I don't know. I couldn't understand that one.

0:12:35.5 IM: When was that?

0:12:37.1 RH: That must be probably 20 years ago. 18, 20 years ago.

0:12:43.8 IM: Wow.

[knocking]

RH: Come in.

0:12:46.1 IM: Alright to you, which criteria was the very most important?

0:12:52.5 RH: You mean...

0:12:52.9 IM: Of all of all of these things that we talked about, the color, design, piecing accuracy, needle work skill, closeness, eveness of the stitches, which of those things to you was the very most important criteria in making a quilt?

0:13:08.6 RH: I think it was... I think it's the materials that I used, 'cause I've always been very economical. So it would be the making use of the materials and then using your skills to put it together. So that was, would be my, what I would say to me was the most important, using up my scraps and then, and I was very interested in the quilt stitching itself. I liked it to have it as even as I can, although I don't make the tiny stitches, so, and I, that design is pretty. Otherwise everything blends in, your colors, in your patterns in your sizes and all that.

0:13:54.1 IM: So perhaps the artistic quality of it would be your first choice of being able to blend and use your fabrics?

0:14:03.8 RH: Yeah.

0:14:05.1 IM: Okay, so the artistic value in looking at the quilt is the first thing, and then what would your next most important criteria would be?

0:14:12.5 RH: Then it would be the color coordination, depending on the quilt pattern that you're making, how they coordinated and set it together, the colors.

0:14:24.3 IM: Okay. How were quilts and comforters cleaned and how often were they cleaned?

0:14:30.1 RH: Well, when they were like years and years ago, you were very careful, in fact, you put a piece of material on the top where you took a hold of it all the time, you take that off and wash it. So the quilts years ago were washed maybe once to twice, once a year, or maybe once in a year and a half, because you had to take them apart and put them back together again. And the, now they can wash the quilts, but I don't believe in washing quilts very often because its wears and tears on them. You need a gentle cycle and then I like to line dry them because then you get air. But all my quilts, I air them every year, in the spring, I air the winter quilts and then in the fall, I air the summer quilts and put them down and put them in moth balls or something, cedar or something.

0:15:22.2 IM: So you hang quilts out sometimes rather than wash them?

0:15:26.2 RH: Oh yeah, that just to air them out, if they've been covered and not soiled. And I was very particular with nobody sat on the beds or jumped on the beds because it's hard labor there and years ago we weren't allowed to do that, so...

0:15:41.0 IM: Did you ever... Alright, you mentioned this, you did apply extra cloth at the top of the quilt to protect it from soil and prevent wear, did you have a name for that?

0:15:50.3 RH: I don't think my mother called it a head piece or something. I don't remember what she called, something like that.

0:15:57.2 IM: Did you do that with all of your quilts?

0:16:00.1 RH: The ones that you used yourselves every day, but your company quilts were, or on your spare bed, you didn't put it on. That was a show off.

[laughter]

0:16:12.3 IM: How did you store quilts?

0:16:14.5 RH: Well, I made a great big box. We had trunks and I always had something else and so, I made myself a quilt trunk and I was outside with my boards in the shed and making it, my husband comes down and he says, "What are you doing?" And I says, "I'm making a quilt box." And then he comes down and he started teasing me, he says, "I think it looks more like a coffin." [laughter] But I made it and I just stained it was nice white lumber and I stained it and then I lined it inside with, probably contact or something in the bottom and that, and then I'd lay a blanket or something down, and then I'd put my quilts in and close it. Then I had a hasp closing so that I could fold it down. So I'd store them in there.

0:16:58.5 IM: How big was it?

0:17:03.0 RH: Oh, it must be three feet wide and four and a half feet long. And it's about two and a half feet tall or so.

0:17:15.2 IM: So it was a pretty good size, but you still folded the quilts when you put them in there?

0:17:20.2 RH: I fold them and then I refold them, if I ever go in there, I refold all the quilts and then I put cedar or a little moth balls or something. They say that you gotta be careful with your moth balls, because it's strong, it can damage materials if you should put them in a bag or something, not have it too strong.

0:17:44.3 IM: Was there someone known as the best quilt maker in your community?

0:17:50.3 RH: Well, we do have a very fine quilter Miss. Fern Downs. She's done a lot of hand quilting for a lot of people. And I think she's still doing quilting.

0:18:02.5 IM: Was there someone known to have made the most quilts?

0:18:09.0 RH: Well, I would say she probably has made the most quilts in our area. She's made a lot of quilts to sell and she's quilted for other people. So yeah, she's... Let's say she's among the one that make the most.

0:18:24.0 IM: Do know how many quilts approximately?

0:18:26.5 RH: That she has made? No, I have no idea.

0:18:29.7 IM: Was there ever a record in your community for the greatest number of pieces in a quilt?

0:18:36.1 RH: Yes. I think Alma Burr in town has one that her husband's grandmother and mother made and they were little octagons. And when you put your finger on that, it was all hand stitched, but you put your finger on it, you can't see the piece. And that's the Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt, and she still has it and she uses it on her bed occasionally. But how many pieces, it must be a thousand or more. It's just, I've heard, but I don't remember how many pieces.

0:19:15.7 IM: Was any of your quilt making done with a church group?

0:19:19.1 RH: No, I've done all on my own at home.

0:19:24.9 IM: Okay. Did you ever make a friendship quilt? Now, the ones that you made for your children would be...

0:19:31.8 RH: Yeah, yeah, they were friendship.

0:19:33.0 IM: Considered a friendship quilt.

0:19:34.8 RH: And I have, I have a friendship quilt, in fact, that one's in the closet, that it was in this round robin. So then we decided to started exchanging quilt blocks. I sent a quilt block with my favorites on, my name and birthdate and address and where I was born and they sent me one back. So I had, I think I had, I had one like that and then I had one with a Bible verse. I think that's what we call it Bible verse quilt block. We changed, so I have two of them like that. And then I have that one that my mom made, that's three and then I made that heritage one, that's four quilts so far.

0:20:11.7 IM: And the patterns that were used were, those were appliqued or, and pardon me, embroidered or painted?

0:20:19.6 RH: Liquid embroidered.

0:20:20.0 IM: All of them are painted?

0:20:21.7 RH: Yeah. They're all liquid embroidered. Oh no, that first one is embroidered. That satin, that one, that blue satin. [chuckle] Now that's embroidered.

0:20:31.3 IM: And those are still blocks. So that's never been put together. [chuckle]

0:20:33.6 RH: No, they're together.

0:20:33.8 IM: Oh, they are.

0:20:35.0 RH: But I don't have the quilt put together. I gotta put...

0:20:35.7 IM: Oh, I see. The top is finished, but not...

0:20:39.1 RH: Yeah. 'Cause I haven't decided what to put under it. I should have a ruffle on it to make it bigger on the bed and I'm still thinking.

[laughter]

0:20:47.7 RH: After probably what, 50 years? [chuckle]

0:20:50.3 IM: Were friendship quilts often done in your community?

0:20:55.5 RH: No, they wasn't. My mom came up with that idea and then of course then when I got in the robin, it was suggested so, but it wasn't something that we seen much of. In fact, I don't know of anybody around that has one besides hers.

0:21:09.3 IM: When were you in this round robin?

0:21:12.1 RH: Well, probably 25 years ago. It was a long time ago.

0:21:16.0 IM: 25 years ago isn't that long ago.

[laughter]

0:21:24.8 IM: Were there any superstitions regarding quilting that you know of?

0:21:29.9 RH: No.

0:21:33.6 IM: Okay. Let's go on then to nationality. What were the main nationalities of the people in your family?

0:21:39.2 RH: English and German. My mom was German. Her family came from Germany and my dad was English and his relatives came from Germany oh England. So English and German.

0:21:52.0 IM: Which nationalities made quilts? Did they both?

0:21:54.6 RH: Yes, on both sides.

0:21:58.4 IM: Did some make quilts earlier than others? Was your mother the first generation...

0:22:03.0 RH: No.

0:22:03.1 IM: Here?

0:22:03.3 RH: No, my great grandmother and my grandmother on both sides were quilters. In fact... Yeah, they did because I think they made them in the old country even, 'cause they washed their wools and made the, there, I think maybe the... They made their materials or they dyed their materials too. 'cause I know my grandmother said you didn't have no choice of color. It almost always black 'cause the sheep... No, they didn't dye them, it was the sheep was black. They'd have a black sheep, and then they'd have the other colored sheep or speckled ones, and that's what their... They would, I don't know how they'd done the fabric part of it. That must have been what the quilt parts or something. I don't know how they done it. I know she was talking about that. Maybe that's the way they... Not factories but the places where they get materials.

0:23:01.4 IM: And then they would...

0:23:02.1 RH: More natural colors. 'Cause I know almost all our clothes or skirts in the pictures are almost all black and that, and then their blouses would be maybe white or black. Didn't have much color. Browns and some browns. That was far back as I can remember and they would talk they've made quilts.

0:23:25.5 IM: So how many generations were born in America?

0:23:30.4 RH: Oh, let's see, it would be me and my dad, and my grandfather on the one side, and then on the other side was my, me and my mom and my grandma, and her parents, three generations there.

0:23:46.2 IM: They were born in the United States?

0:23:47.6 RH: Two generations, me and my mom, my grandma was born in Germany. So that would be two generations on that side, and three on my dad's side.

0:24:02.2 IM: What were the main nationalities of the people in your community when you were growing up?

0:24:08.9 RH: When we lived in South Dakota, we had kind of a variety of people, but when we moved up here was Scandinavian, all Scandinavians, we thought we went to the old country.

[laughter]

0:24:21.1 RH: Go to town, they're talking Norwegian or Sweden.

[laughter]

0:24:25.5 IM: Did you know any men or boys who made quilts or took part in the making of quilts?

0:24:33.5 RH: No, not in my families and not in my neighbors either.

0:24:40.9 IM: How many years have you made quilts?

0:24:46.1 RH: Well, ever since I was 14. 14 from '68 is what? 58 years? [chuckle] 54 years, 54 years.

0:24:58.3 IM: Did you ever stop making quilts and why?

0:25:00.7 RH: No, I haven't stopped. I take a rest in between, but I still make quilts.

[laughter]

0:25:06.5 IM: Did you ever set a goal to complete a certain number of quilts?

0:25:11.7 RH: No.

0:25:12.5 IM: Did you ever make a quilt that's always been your favorite?

0:25:17.8 RH: Double Wedding Ring is my favorite along with the Lone Star.

0:25:22.3 IM: How much a part of your life would you say quilting was? Was it a small amount, a moderately important or very important?

0:25:30.3 RH: A moderate, because I worked at quilts most every year, off and on.

0:25:38.3 IM: Was your family supportive of your quilting interests?

0:25:40.8 RH: Oh, yeah.

0:25:42.3 IM: Can you explain how?

0:25:44.3 RH: Well they were good to help lay the blocks, I have two sons and my husband and they'd lay the blocks down and arrange them and no that don't look good that way you put it this way and my husband was very good and my oldest son was very good with colors. He was very cocky, you look good in that or you don't look good in that. This looks good and that don't look good.

0:26:10.1 IM: I'm going to read some ways that people think of quilts and the function of quilts. Listen, and then tell me which statements reflect how you feel about quilts and quilt making in your life. Alright. I'll read through them first, and then repeat them one by one. So you can respond with your feeling about the importance of each one of them. Alright, quilts as an expression of love, as a creative outlook in... outlet, pardon me in color and design, to fulfill utilitarian needs that is warmth and protection, as a link of the past to the present and continuing a tradition, as something that women were expected to do and as a showcase for skills, as a time for reflection and relaxation, as an activity that brought one together with a friend or friends, as a means of earning extra income, as a help in working through problems such as grief, disappointment, frustration, anxiety, or anger, as a comforting connection to earlier simpler, better times. Okay, then we'll go back to the first one. What do you think of the idea that quilts are an expression of love?

0:27:26.2 RH: Well they are because you're always making them for somebody to use, or someone else to enjoy.

0:27:36.5 IM: And how do you feel is that very important, somewhat important?

0:27:41.9 RH: I think it's important because it's important in a family especially. I know the grandchildren older children too enjoyed their quilts and are just happy they have a quilt, a lot of children or grandchildren don't get quilts.

0:28:01.1 IM: As a creative outlook [chuckle], why do I wanna say outlook, as a creative outlet in color and design?

0:28:10.3 RH: That didn't bother me too much because I used the colours that I had. It's just during the later years I've been conscious of color coordinating.

0:28:20.7 IM: To fulfill utilitarian needs, that is warmth and protection.

0:28:25.3 RH: That was our main purpose, still is in this country and it's... I'm a saving person I grew up in the depression years and I save on water, I save on heat, I save on quilt pieces. [laughter] And if you ever had a quilt on, you don't have to have the heat up so high and...

0:28:43.0 IM: So that was very important.

0:28:47.3 RH: Yes.

0:28:47.3 IM: As a link of the past to the present and continuing a tradition?

0:28:50.9 RH: Now that's important too, I think.

0:28:54.6 IM: As something that women were expected to do and as a showcase for skills? If you have any other comments about these.

0:29:01.3 RH: Well, it's something that we were more or less expected to do years ago because it contributed to the family comfort. And you didn't buy blankets and that. And then I never felt competitive or trying to outdo someone else. I enjoyed my work and I enjoyed seeing theirs, but there was a lot of competition with the quilters down through the years. In fact, I think that's why some of the quilting bees would dissolve over things like that. We're picky or complaining or jealous was the back of it really. But I just done it out of necessity and enjoyment.

0:29:49.2 IM: As a time for reflection and relaxation.

0:29:53.1 RH: It relaxed me when I quilted. And then I would think about the pieces, what I made out of this or that or maybe there was a piece... I made an apron for my mother or I'd make a blouse for somebody and you think about those you still can pick them out when you see them in quilts it's fun.

0:30:11.7 IM: As an activity that brought one together with a friend or friends.

0:30:17.0 RH: My mother and I worked together a lot on our quilting projects, now am more or less kind of alone with it. But I'm sporadic now because I'm busy with other things, but so I just do it in my spare time for relaxing.

0:30:31.1 IM: As a means of earning extra income, well if you never made any extra income I guess that didn't [chuckle]..

0:30:35.3 RH: No, I never got into it and I always kind of held back from that because I never felt I could do it good enough for someone else or you have a timetable and I couldn't take pressure because I had those headaches all the time.

0:30:51.0 IM: As a help in working through problems such as grief, disappointment, frustration, anxiety, anger.

0:30:57.6 RH: It relaxes a person a lot. You get busy quilting and doing and measuring, and the same one I use it in the machine, I've got to concentrate there. And that's very good to get away from anxieties and stuff.

0:31:11.8 IM: Did you ever make a special quilt when your husband died or anything like that?

0:31:19.0 RH: No, I knitted. 'Cause that's something I... 'Cause when I was sewing, I can still think and that so even embroidering I could think so then I would sit down on the knitting machine and I had to concentrate there because I had to keep track of the row I was on and watch for mistakes or a drop stitch or something and then I'd have to rip it out. So that really took my mind off a lot things, that was very good for stress.

0:31:48.7 IM: As a comforting connection to earlier simpler, better times.

0:31:52.3 RH: Yeah, it's fun to reflect on those simple times. Because I grew up in those times and we didn't know no better and it doesn't bother me. I can go sit out in the woods somewhere and have an outhouse and carry water it wouldn't bother me a bit, get wood for my fire. It's just the pace we're living in now is way too fast. It's even got the old people trotting.

[laughter]

0:32:16.2 RH: We're supposed to slow down and instead you're going full speed ahead. It's just too much. So I enjoyed the times it was much simpler. We didn't have all the problems, anxieties that we have today and people have to work so hard for everything. They have a lot of comforts, but they work hard for them. And years ago we carried the water in and carried the slop pail out and went outside. That wasn't too much fun, but you didn't sit in the toilet very long either. And you didn't go to the toilet very often because nowadays it seem like everybody, every time you turn around you gotta go to the bathroom just because they don't have nothing to do or their bored children, especially can't sit still. Well, I go to the bathroom, probably get a drink of water.

[laughter]

0:33:00.3 RH: But it just shows the pace of time, how it's changed. And it's just like, everybody's on the move, too many things going on.

0:33:11.3 IM: Are there any other comments that you might like to make about your quilt making in particular or quilt making in general?

0:33:21.9 RH: Well, I could say I enjoy quilts and it's taken me a while to accept the trend of quilts nowadays, where they buy all the materials and coordinate them and have a match in the rooms and all that, which gets to be expense and a lot of them start them and they aren't able to finish them and then they don't know how to quilt them. They have to go to classes to quilt, they're kind of lost out along the way. Taking, I have two nieces they're taking quilting classes and they said that they really are interested in that and years ago they weren't interested. So I learned it at home when I was growing up. So I think that it's a lot of, I think it's coming back the quilts there for a while and nobody had quilts some of that it's now they're coming back and they're even using quilts as table cloths and runners and things like that.

0:34:18.1 RH: And it's fun to make even a pillow of a quilt pattern. And I've never made a sampler quilt because a lot of the patterns were a either nine by nine block or a 10 by 10 block. And if you could get a sampler quilt to fall, 'cause I like, I like everything on the square and I like an oblong quilt. I didn't made a sampler. Well, maybe that rainbow one could be called a sampler, but that's different patterns on 'cause they were supposed to be all the same block in the whole quilt. And you sent for those blocks stamped. They were all the same and I think that was enough for a quilt top at that time. But other than that, and then I showed quilts at the fair until the last two years, I take care of the poultry barn and it's been such a hassle to get in there and take my stuff over there and get the barn open and get going that I've just kind of not taken the last couple years. Two, three years ago, two years ago, there were so many quilts at the fair we have a wonderful fair here.

0:35:24.4 RH: That they were piled on top of you and hung all over, last year there wasn't hardly any quilts. So people get disappointed because they all should be recognized for something in their quilting, because they are all beautiful quilts. But they... There's only three ribbons that's given out and that's it. So people get disappointed they say, well that other one, they always get all the time I'm not gonna bring but to me I don't care if I get anything or not I think that adds to your fair, just taking something in so I'll probably take this year again. But I like quilting. It's one of my, I think it is one of my first loves is that and of course the knitting. 'Cause quilts are useful. And I gave all my nieces and nephews quilts for their wedding present. And my two sons, then they got all their quilts, grandkids, they got quilts, they made their own quilt or blocks and I sewed them together. Other than that, I don't know much of anything else. That's the only thing I need is two more hours a day. Then I maybe can get a little more done.

[laughter]

0:36:34.3 RH: I don't get everything done I like to do. And it's been enjoyable talking to you and nice you can come out and the weather isn't too crazy yet.

0:36:45.2 IM: And that's right it's been very nice.

[laughter]

0:36:49.6 IM: Let's see how I turn this off here.

0:36:53.2 RH: Yeah, the crazy quilt there is one I couldn't remember and it's all different odd size pieces and you fit them together on a block. You usually sew it on a piece of material. I think it's we use muslin or flour sacks and then you do a fancy embroidery stitches on all these seams. And I tried a couple of times I started out and I got mixed up or I wasn't happy with my corners coming out right. And that, so I never did accomplish that, but she had one and that was really beautiful. But I think that one went down to Pennsylvania because it was, had been used a lot it was darker colors and you used dark color quilts years ago 'cause you didn't have bedspreads and that. And it was pretty bad shape, but that's something that everybody should make. And then you get to try all your different kinds of embroidery stitches. I don't know all of them myself, but I have books on it. It would be interesting. And that's something that they'd sit in the evening that was kind of their specialty or their each person years ago at least made one of those crazy quilts they called them [laughter] I think you had to be crazy to put them together.

[laughter]

0:38:09.8 RH: And they probably sewed them on by hand and I was trying the sewing machine and I think that was my problem. If I had, sewn them on by hand then you can get all your little seams in...

0:38:20.3 IM: Corners tucked in right...