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Audio Recording "Now that's what I'd call a fancy quilt."

"Now that’s what I’d call a fancy quilt."

About this Item

Title

  • "Now that's what I'd call a fancy quilt."

Names

  • Johnson, Geraldine Niva, 1940- (Interviewer)
  • Todd, Zenna, 1916-2012 (Interviewee)
  • Todd, Zenna, 1916-2012 (Creator)

Created / Published

  • Sparta, North Carolina

Headings

  • -  aesthetics
  • -  Ethnography
  • -  Interviews
  • -  United States -- North Carolina -- Sparta

Genre

  • Ethnography
  • Interviews

Notes

  • -  Mrs. Todd started making quilts for her family to use when she was 25. She teaches quiltmaking and makes quilts to sell through a local shop to supplement her income. Geraldine Johnson described her as "a bubbly, enthusiastic person who would be a natural à interpreter of Blue Ridge quilts." This interview includes good information on the economics and practice of making quilts to sell, criteria for selection of materials to use in quilts, and how quiltmaking has changed over time.
  • -  Transcription: GJ: What would you call a fancy quilt? / ZT: Well, a fancy quilt, I would call one that was pieced by a pattern, and it quilted around each piece on each side of a seam, and then if it was put together with, say, one pieced block and then a solid block. Then do some kind of a real pretty design in the solid block, and then your border, do the border, then, to correspond with the, the quilting you did in the solid. Now that's what I would call a fancy. / GJ: What do you call the other kind, then? / ZT: Well, I just call that just a ordinary quilt. Just a quilt to keep the bed warm. Well, the other kind would be just something that you would need to keep the bed warm. Well, I'd say when I was raising my family, that I had to you know kind of make 'em in a hurry. And it took a lot, you know they'd kick out a lot. The kids, they soon kicked the quilts out. They'd play in the bed, and they get 'em and take 'em outside to lay in the shade, of the trees, and you'd have to really get after 'em about that. And then you got to wash 'em more. And it takes a, it takes a lot, a lot more, when you're raising your family. You know, people, years ago, they didn't have oil, and they didn't have maybe ways of keeping their house warm like they do now. And maybe you'd have four, five quilts on the bed. I know when I was just a kid, that we lived in this old house, and it had a upstairs, and me and my sister would sleep together, and why we'd have so many quilts on us, we couldn't hardly turn over. [laughter] And you had to, to keep warm, you know. The house was open and, and it took a lot of quilts. And the more you laundry a quilt, you know, that's hard on 'em too, cause they're heavy and it pulls 'em quite a bit. That's why that I think, the late years that people have learned that they can make 'em lighter weight and quilt 'em closer together, and make 'em more serviceable, to wash, and laundry, ever what, and they just last better than they used to. I know mine does now, better than they did years ago.
  • -  For rights information please contact the Folklife Reading Room at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/folklife.contact

Medium

  • Sound tape reel : 7 in.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • AFC 1982/009: BR8-GJ-R99

Source Collection

  • Blue Ridge Parkway Folklife Project Collection (AFC 1982/009)

Repository

  • American Folklife Center

Online Format

  • audio

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that some of the materials in this collection are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions, and are therefore free to use and reuse. For example, the fieldwork in this collection is in the public domain in the United States.

However, the Library has obtained permission for the use of other materials, and presents additional materials for educational and research purposes in accordance with fair use under United States copyright law. For example, some of the recordings contain copyrighted music, and not all of the performers and other individuals who were recorded signed releases for public use of their work.

In addition, the American Folklife Center and the professional fieldworkers who carry out these projects feel a strong ethical responsibility to the people they have visited and who have consented to have their lives documented for the historical record. The Center asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here. Researchers are also reminded that privacy and publicity rights may pertain to certain uses of this material.

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Credit line: Blue Ridge Parkway Folklife Project collection (AFC 1982/009), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Johnson, Geraldine Niva, Zenna Todd, and Zenna Todd. "Now that's what I'd call a fancy quilt.". Sparta, North Carolina, 1978. Audio. https://www.loc.gov/item/qlt000066/.

APA citation style:

Johnson, G. N., Todd, Z. & Todd, Z. (1978) "Now that's what I'd call a fancy quilt.". Sparta, North Carolina. [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/qlt000066/.

MLA citation style:

Johnson, Geraldine Niva, Zenna Todd, and Zenna Todd. "Now that's what I'd call a fancy quilt.". Sparta, North Carolina, 1978. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/qlt000066/>.