Top of page

Audio Recording "I don't usually start until after Christmas."

"I don’t usually start until after Christmas."

About this Item

Title

  • "I don't usually start until after Christmas."

Names

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

Created / Published

  • Ennice, North Carolina

Headings

  • -  Quilting
  • -  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: When you do quilt, what time of year is it generally? / ZT: Well, I don't usually start till after Christmas. And then, just as soon as Christmas is over, and I get everything cleared away and get the household settled down, I put my quilting frames up, and then I start. And I'll quilt like, I usually can quilt one in a week. If it's not, you know, too awful much quilting to it. Some will have more than others, you know. Just according to what kind you're quilting and the way you 're quilting it. So when I get, get one through with, I take it out, and while I've got my frames up, I just put another one in. But I don't work on it, because your fingers get so sore, you just can't stand it. Well, then I'll work at something else for a few days, till I kind of rest on that. Then I go back at it. I think I quilted three or four after Christmas last year, and pieced two. Oh yeah. When I get started, I just go at it. But it got real bad, and snowing, sleet, and I didn't have any company, and, and I would get up of a morning, and get my breakfast over with, and, and sometimes I didn't make up my bed, and sometimes I did. [laughter] And I'd go right to work on it. I'd put maybe eight, nine hours on it. You can do a right much in that length of time.
  • -  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. 

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

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 don't usually start until after Christmas.". Ennice, North Carolina, 1978. Audio. https://www.loc.gov/item/qlt000074/.

APA citation style:

Johnson, G. N., Todd, Z. & Todd, Z. (1978) "I don't usually start until after Christmas.". Ennice, North Carolina. [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/qlt000074/.

MLA citation style:

Johnson, Geraldine Niva, Zenna Todd, and Zenna Todd. "I don't usually start until after Christmas.". Ennice, North Carolina, 1978. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/qlt000074/>.