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Audio Recording "I done a Sunburst, and it sold right now!"

"I done a Sunburst, and it sold right now!"

About this Item

Title

  • "I done a Sunburst, and it sold right now!"

Names

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

Created / Published

  • Ennice, North Carolina

Headings

  • -  Quilt patterns
  • -  income
  • -  bear paw quilts
  • -  sunburst quilts
  • -  turkey track quilts
  • -  Ethnography
  • -  Interviews
  • -  United States -- North Carolina -- Ennice

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 are some of the other, more difficult patterns? / ZT: Well, I guess the Bear Paw, they call the Bear Paw, and the Turkey Track. I imagine that that would be, I've never done one of them, I've laid off to do the Turkey Track, and I've just not got into it. And, they would, that, they're pretty hard. But they's none of them too hard for me to do, because I've been in it so long till, I can just take a pattern and do it. And it don't, I done a Sunburst, what they call a Sunburst. But I didn't do it in a big quilt. I just done a, what you'd call a crib quilt? My goodness, was that ever pretty! That was the most prettiest thing you've ever seen. And it sold right now! I didn't have any trouble that a getting gone! But I think that I got my colors, you know, together good. You've got to, you've got to know how to get your colors together to make a quilt go, too. / GJ: Are there certain colors now that are popular? / ZT: Yeah, if you, they like, well, some do and some don't. But you've got to, uh to, coordinate 'em together, you know, like uh, if you're going to do what you call a rustic quilt, earth, you need earth tones. You know. Like real dark reds, or, and certain shade of browns, and different things, you know, that goes good together, like a burnt orange, and things like that. But, well, let me tell you it's like this. When you get your colors, when you get all your material out and get your colors blended to where they'll look good together, you've done got your quilt made! [laughter] / GJ: Is that right? So that's the hard part. / ZT: Oh, that's the hardest part. I've been all day, a-working my colors out. You know, getting together what looks good together, and what don't look good together. And what, that would, what you would think that would blend in with any kind of decoration, room color, you know, and all.
  • -  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-R101

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.

Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these collection materials should contact the Folklife Reading Room for assistance. Rights assessment is your responsibility. The written permission of the copyright owners in materials not in the public domain is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions. Permissions may additionally be required from holders of other rights (such as publicity and/or privacy rights). Whenever possible, we provide information that we have about copyright owners and related matters in the catalog records, finding aids and other texts that accompany collections. 

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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. "I done a Sunburst, and it sold right now!". Ennice, North Carolina, 1978. Audio. https://www.loc.gov/item/qlt000079/.

APA citation style:

Johnson, G. N., Todd, Z. & Todd, Z. (1978) "I done a Sunburst, and it sold right now!". Ennice, North Carolina. [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/qlt000079/.

MLA citation style:

Johnson, Geraldine Niva, Zenna Todd, and Zenna Todd. "I done a Sunburst, and it sold right now!". Ennice, North Carolina, 1978. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/qlt000079/>.