Interview with Jannett Caldwell, February 15, 2008

Partial Transcript: Okay. This is Karen Musgrave, I'm doing a Quilter's S.O.S. - Save our Stories interview with Jannett Caldwell.

Segment Synopsis: Caldwell talks about her touchstone quilt, "Losing my mind a piece at a time." She found out about the competition for the Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece exhibit two months after finding out that her mother had Alzheimer's. Her goal in making the quilt was to depict her mother's life and her mind. She describes rereading the rules the day before she had to mail the picture of the quilt in and discovering that her quilt was four inches too wide. She cut two inches from each side and put a binding over the cut edges. When asked about her plans for the quilt, Caldwell said that in the short term the person running the exhibit could keep it as long as necessary. She indicates that her understanding is that the quilts would eventually be auctioned off for Alzheimer's research, but if that didn't happen, it would stay in her family.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece; Mothers; Quilt purpose - Charity; Quilt purpose - Disease/illness; Quilt shows/exhibitions

Partial Transcript: Have you seen the exhibition?

Segment Synopsis: Caldwell describes going to the Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece exhibit in Harrisburg in 2006, when it was held in conjunction with the Harrisburg Quilt Show. She says she found the exhibit "hard to look at," but that it inspired hope. She describes how when her aunt had Alzheimer's in the 1970s, medical personnel did not really know what it was and there was no support for families. Caldwell says that even though mother has Alzheimer's, she is glad that she has it now (i.e. 2008) rather than earlier.

Keywords: Alzheimer's Disease; Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece; Family; Harrisburg Quilt Show; Quilt shows/exhibitions

Subjects: Quilts--United States--Exhibitions

Partial Transcript: So tell me about your interest in quilting.

Segment Synopsis: Caldwell describes making her first quilt in 1971 when her nephew was born. At that point, she had no relatives who were in a position to offer help or guidance. She thought that quilt was long gone, but someone found it after she had a quilt in the exhibition. Caldwell indicates that her nephew's quilt shows signs of wear, but that it held together very well, considering her lack of expertise when she made it. Caldwell says that her grandmother made quilts for practical reasons. Her mother did a couple of low-level quilting projects involving sewing cloth to a pattern, but never really developed an interest in quilting.

Keywords: Family; Grandmothers; Learning quiltmaking; Mothers; Quilt purpose - Birth

Subjects: Quilts--United States

Partial Transcript: Uh, do you belong to, um, any art or quilt groups?

Segment Synopsis: In 1980, Caldwell learned how to hand quilt. The woman who taught Caldwell how to hand quilt encouraged her to join a guild, but Caldwell didn't have enough time then. By 2000, Caldwell's children were no longer living with her, and she went to a quilt show for the first time. Until then, she hadn't realized there was a quilting community. When asked what types of quilts she likes, Caldwell reports that she likes all kinds of quilts, especially quilt history. She then returns to the questions about quilts and says that she joined the Ladybug Quilt Guild, probably in 2003. Caldwell has helped with the Delaware Quilt Documentation Project and plans to do so again.

Keywords: Baltimore Album quilts; Delaware; Delaware Quilt Documentation Project; Gee's Bend quilts; Hand quilting; Ladybug Quilt Guild; Quilt documentation; Quilt guilds; State quilt documentation project

Partial Transcript: Where do you sew?

Segment Synopsis: Caldwell says she uses an empty bedroom in her house as a sewing room. She reports spending more time, usually a couple of hours a day or more, on quilting now that she is no longer working. She tries new things that she has learned about at her guild, but also likes using "a traditional block in a new way." Caldwell talks about the applique she used in the touchstone quilt, most of which was done by machine. She compares hand applique and machine applique.

Keywords: Hand applique; Machine applique; Sewing room; Techniques; Work or Studio space; applique

Partial Transcript: What advice would you offer someone starting out?

Segment Synopsis: Caldwell recommends that new quilters join a guild. She adds that if someone is interested in quilt history, documentation projects always need help. Caldwell believes that the biggest challenge facing quilters now is that they rush to finish their projects. Using herself as an example, she points out that this approach creates more reliance on machines. She expresses concern that the skills used in hand sewing may be lost. She is also worried about the current commercialization of quilting. Caldwell and the interviewer discuss the rotary cutter as an important innovation for quiltmaking.

Keywords: Commercialization; Hand quilting; Machine quilting; Quilt guilds; Rotary cutter; Technology in quiltmaking

Partial Transcript: So why is quilting important to you?

Segment Synopsis: Caldwell says that quiltmaking is "just a part of my life." She quilts for "family things" and thinks that quilting something is better than buying a gift. Techniques such as incorporating clothing into her quilts give the quilts extra meaning. Caldwell says that the exhibit caused her family to think of her quilting as "something special." One of Caldwell's daughters is also a quilter. They have worked on quilting projects together and taken classes together. They are going to go to a quilting retreat in Lancaster. They often go to the Country Store in Intercourse, PA, which is a particularly good quilting store with great fabric.

Keywords: Country Store; Daughters; Family; Intercourse, PA; Lancaster, PA; Mothers; Pennsylvania; Quilt purpose - Gift or presentation; Quilt shop; Quiltmaking for family; quilting retreat

Subjects: Quilting

Partial Transcript: Is there any aspect of, of making a quilt that you don't enjoy?

Segment Synopsis: Caldwell says that the part of quilting she dislikes is "having to make the sandwich," or putting the different layers together. When asked about her response to having to trim her touchstone quilt to make it fit the exhibition requirements, Caldwell denies being concerned about it. Caldwell adds that she thinks the quilt would have looked better at its original width. Caldwell says that exhibit organizer Ami Simms did not know that she had made the quilt smaller. Caldwell recounts saying in her statement for the exhibition that her grandmother made her mother's dresses from feed sacks. She later talked to her mother and found out that was untrue. She informed Ami Simms of her error, and the statement was not incorporated into the exhibit CD. Caldwell and the interviewer agreed that recording their statements for the CD was difficult, but Caldwell feels it was worth it. She herself, over time, listened to the all the statements of the other quilter participating in the exhibit.

Keywords: Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece; Ami Simms; Artist statements; Fabric - Feedsack; Feedsack

Subjects: Quilting; Quilts--United States--Exhibitions

Partial Transcript: Now, um, have you participated in the priority quilt?

Segment Synopsis: Caldwell says she has made around eleven quilts for the Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt project. She uses fabric from a Sunbonnet Sue quilt that someone started but never finished. A friend of Caldwell's bought the quilt blocks very cheaply at a yard sale and gave them to Caldwell. Caldwell's priority quilts sell for $40 each and the money is used for Alzheimer's research.

Keywords: Donating quilts; Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt Project; Quilt Purpose - Charity; Quilt Purpose - Fundraising; Sunbonnet Sue - quilt pattern

Subjects: Quilting

Partial Transcript: Do you worry about getting Alzheimer's?

Segment Synopsis: Caldwell says that she assumes that she will get Alzheimer's. Her grandmother, her grandmother's brother, and her aunt all had it, in addition to her mother. She hopes that, like her mother, she will develop it later in life. Caldwell thinks that family quilts are important as a link between family members. Similarly, she sees her priority quilts as, on the one hand, linking her back to the original creator of the Sunflower Sue quilt blocks she works with, and on the other hand, to the person who buys it. Caldwell's mother has not seen her quilt, "Losing my mind a piece at a time," because she thinks it will upset her.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Family; Mothers; Quilt documentation; Quiltmaking for family

Partial Transcript: What do you think makes a quilt artistically powerful?

Segment Synopsis: When asked what she think makes a quilt artistically powerful, Caldwell says, "You really don't know until you see them." She recounts looking through the book for the first quilt show she entered in the 1980s. The book includes pictures of the quilts that won prizes, and also some pictures of Caldwell's entries, which were not prize-winners. She describes the prize-winning quilts as "fabulous," and adds, "I don't know what it is, you just know, when you see it, you just know it. It just grabs you." Caldwell says that she is "drawn to" the vast majority of the quilts in the Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece exhibit. Musgrave found the exhibit hard to "get through" the first time, but she acknowledges both the excellence and the variety of the quilts. Caldwell speculates that picking the quilts for the exhibit must have been difficult. She wonders if Ami Simms was the only judge, and Musgrave confirms that that was the case. Caldwell and Musgrave agree that looking at all of the quilts and listening to the artists' statements must have been hard. Caldwell notes that Simms sent an email saying that it was a difficult process.

Keywords: Aesthetics; Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece; Ami Simms; Quilt shows/exhibitions