Sue's News

Arizona Quilt Documentation Project – Tucson

By Sue Franklin

In July, the group welcomed guest, Carolyn O’Bagy Davis.  After a brief business meeting, Carolyn presented the continuing education program on Hopi quilts and her journey of discovery.  Carolyn noted that her involvement was quite accidental.  She was invited to the mesas to see some excavations, went on to visit the Hopi Indians, and began to notice the quilts.  They covered ovens, roof tops, or were to sit upon, and babies were wrapped in quilts.  She thought they were made by “bahanas,” white women or missionaries, but they were not.  In historic times, men made the blankets and clothing, not the women, because only men sewed.  They spun and wove the cloth, made simple dresses, and red, green, and white woven belts to tie around the dresses.

In the 1890s, quilting was introduced to the Hopis by missionaries who lived with them.  Also, around that time, children were sent to boarding schools where girls learned homemaking skills including sewing and quilting, and boys acquired shop skills.  Eventually, the missionaries realized that teaching quilting was the most effective way to get the Hopis to attend church.  The women made quilts while the men stitched and tied thin mattresses.  Today there are fourth or fifth generations of Hopi quilters, women as well as some men.

Details of this program are available on the AZQS web site www.azquiltstudygroup.org/.

Hopi Quilts documented included the following:  1) Painted Tile, a blue ribbon quilt with corn in the husk borders and between some blocks, skilled painting by maker; 2) Hopi Pottery with Yellow and Purple (Prairie Points on two sides); 3) Painted Pottery;  4) Flat Doll, a cheerful flat doll surrounded by bright yellow sashing and red borders; turquoise ties; 5) Field Mouse Goes to War; Nine blocks surrounded by narrow black, with sashing and borders in cheery diamond print of blue yellow and orange, tells antics of Field Mouse as he goes to war. Black wool ties.  6) Morning Song Kachina; Nine lovely Kachinas surrounded by sashing and borders of pots and baskets.  Narrow tan binding.

Anyone is welcome to visit our meetings!  We love guests.  For questions about either quilt documentation or joining the team, please either call or email Tucson liaisons Sue Franklin, (520.490.4721; suevette63@comcast.net) or Terry Gryzb-Wysocki, (520.749.9326; terry-gw@mindspring.com).  New team members are welcome. Monthly training sessions are held from 9:30 until 12:30 at the Ellie Towne Flowing Wells Community Center on Ruthrauff Road.  The next meeting is Monday, July 10.

Information about quilt documentation teams throughout Arizona may be obtained from Lynn Miller at either 480.202.1230 or azquiltdoc@yahoo.com.  Lynn also needs people familiar with the computer to aid her with data entry for the Quilt Index.  Lynn does distance training which takes about two hours.