Interview with Peggy Mages, March 7, 2008

Partial Transcript: This is Karen Musgrave, and I am doing a Quilters' S.O.S. - Save Our Stories interview with Peggy Mages, and Peggy is in Lake View, New York and I'm in Naperville, Illinois so we are doing this interview by telephone. We are doing a special Quilters' S.O.S. - Save Our Stories based on the exhibition "Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece."

Segment Synopsis: Mages says that she had no ideas for a quilt when she first heard of the Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece exhibition, but she found inspiration from Liz Schwartz's and Stephen Seifert's Quilter's Puzzle pattern. After Mage purchased it, she found that the design was for a quilt larger than what was allowed in the exhibition, so she asked the designers for permission to alter the pattern, and they granted it. Mages used brightly-colored fabric, but she dyed some pieces with darker and darker colors, to represent fading memories. She also used black fabric to represent memories that have completely and irrevocably disappeared. Instead of finishing the quilt off in a tidy way, Mages cut unevenly around the edges, to represent the disintegration of a mind with Alzheimer's. Mages has not yet seen the exhibit herself.

Keywords: "Puzzling Memories"; Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece; Design process; Liz Schwartz; Quilter's Puzzle - quilt pattern; Stephen Seifert

Subjects: Alzheimer's disease; Quilts--United States--Exhibitions

Partial Transcript: What do you plan to do with the quilt when it comes back?

Segment Synopsis: Mages does not know what she will do with the quilt when it is returned, but she is thinking about asking Ami Simms about donating it to be auctioned off. It is not a quilt that Mage wants in her house on a permanent basis, because "it's not a happy quilt." Mages' mother was recently diagnosed with a non-Alheimer's form of dementia and is currently in assisted living. Mages does not think her plans for the quilt will be an immediate concern for several years, because the exhibit is continuing to travel.

Keywords: Ami Simms; Quilt Purpose - Charity; Quilt Purpose - Exhibition; Quilt Purpose - Fundraising

Subjects: Quilts--United States--Exhibitions

Partial Transcript: So there's a CD that goes along with the exhibition, and it has an audio component, it has the voices of each artist reading their artist statement.

Segment Synopsis: Mages discusses the process of recording her artist's statement for the exhibition CD. She describes the process as "very nerve-wracking," in large part due to her awareness -- honed by years of reading books to children as a librarian -- of the need to read the text with the right emphasis and "punctuation" to convey her intended meaning. Ami Simms told Mages "that she could listen to [Mages'] voice talking for a long time," which Mages appreciated. Overall, Mages thought the process was "kind of fun," as she had never previously recorded a statement for a CD. Musgrave praises Simms' idea of including the audio component and her use of an answering machine to collect the statements. Mages credits Simms with "having so many wonderful ideas."

Keywords: Ami Simms; Quilt shows/exhibitions

Partial Transcript: Well, you haven't seen the, the exhibit, but, you, I know that you looked through the book, and , um, I'm assuming you went through the CD.

Segment Synopsis: Mages says that she has looked through the exhibition book, but she hasn't been able to get through the exhibition CD. She has lent the CD to other people, including a nurse who works in her mother's facility. When asked about favorite quilts in the exhibition, Mages said that she likes quilts that include pictures. As an example, she gives Beth Hartford's quilt, which is included in the exhibition book and is based on a silhouette of Hartford's father. Mages herself created a family silhouette quilt which she undertook around Christmas of 1983, prior to her father's death. Hartford's quilt reminded Mage of her own family silhouette quilt. Another quilt in the exhibit that she especially liked was Linda Huff's "Nevilyn," which showed pictures of "just her mom, kind of, dissolving away there..." Mages also liked "Mimi has Squirrels in Her Attic" by Sue Lemmo. Mages comments on the diversity of styles and techniques among the quilts for this exhibition.

Keywords: "Mimi Has Squirrels in Her Attic"; "Nevilyn"; Beth Hartford; Linda Huff; Pictorial quilts; Quilt shows/exhibitions; Silhouette quilts; Sue Lemmo

Subjects: Quilts--United States--Exhibitions

Partial Transcript: Although they're all pretty small.

Segment Synopsis: Mages and interviewer agree that the quilts in the exhibition are all a relatively small size, due to the specified dimensions. Mages' quilt is 36 x 46, but she does not remember how much she had to reduce the size. When she heard that her quilt was accepted for the exhibit, she was "ecstatic." She was even happier when she looked at the names of the other people whose quilts had been accepted, since they were "experienced and well-known" among quilters.

Keywords: Quilt Purpose - Exhibition; Quilt shows/exhibitions

Subjects: Quilts--United States--Exhibitions

Partial Transcript: Now another part of the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative is the priority quilt.

Segment Synopsis: Mages says that her initial contribution to the Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt Challenge was ten quilts constructed to look like the views seen through different window frames. The Priority project auctions the quilts to raise money for Alzheimer's research. At the time of the interview, auctions were held via Ebay. Mages says that one of her quilts appeared in an early description of the project, in the Bernina May 2006 issue of "Through the Needle." She initially learned of the publication from Ami Simms, who emailed her a copy, but Mages picked up more copies of the magazine from a Bernina store near her. When Alex Anderson was sponsored by Bernina to speak in Mages' area, that copy of the magazine was distributed in the goodie bags handed out to attendees, and her local friends were impressed.

Keywords: Alex Anderson; Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative; Ami Simms; Bernina; Donating quilts; Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt Challenge; Published work - Quilts; Quilt Purpose - Charity; Quilt Purpose - Fundraising; Through the Needle

Partial Transcript: Well, what else do you do for priority quilts?

Segment Synopsis: Mages also volunteers for the Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt Challenge, handling registration, as a retirement project. As of the day before the interview, 2,199 priority quilts had been donated. Because people were contributing quilts larger than the dimensions specified for priority quilts, which wouldn't fit in a priority mailing envelope, Ami Simms also created an additional category, "Little Treasures," for the larger quilts. These quilts are also auctioned. Mages' job includes tracking quilts when someone wants to know what is happening with their contribution. Mages has twelve notebooks of print-outs for the Priority Quilts and three notebooks for Little Treasures. The work is time-consuming, involving transferring the information to an HTML form and sending a number of emails. Mages describes work as both "trying" at times and "very rewarding." While Mages and the Musgrave were not entirely certain of the latest figures, they agreed that a fair amount of money is being generated for Alzheimer's research.

Keywords: Ami Simms; Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt Challenge; Quilt Purpose - Charity; Quilt purpose - fundraising; Volunteering

Partial Transcript: So, let's move on, and let's talk about your involvement in quilt-making.

Segment Synopsis: Mages says that none of her relatives quilted, but that, starting with her first Home Economics class in school, she has liked sewing. She made quite a lot of clothing, including her wedding dress and her bridesmaid's dresses. Later, one of her co-workers showed her a beginning book on quilting. Mages worked on some projects with that woman and then took classes. Mages likes making quilts, such as picture quilts, that are "non-traditional" and making quilts for family. She made a quilted wall hanging that is in her mother's room. It shows a closet with half her father's old firefighter's jacket and part of his American Legion hat inside. Mages also incorporated family pictures into that quilt, as well as other family mementos. Most of Mages' quilts are gifts. She does not keep many.

Keywords: Pictorial quilts; Quilt Purpose - Gift or presentation; Quiltmaking for family

Partial Transcript: And I just did with the people who live in the facility. I'm in the middle of putting a quilt together that they have done.

Segment Synopsis: Mages describes working with a group of residents in a facility to do a quilt. The organizers of this project printed nature pictures from a coloring book for the residents to color using fabric crayons. Mages transferred the pictures onto 100% polyester cloth, which was necessary for the technique, but she had not worked with polyester previously. Musgrave describes a baby quilt she made from partially polyester cloth years ago and how well the quilt has lasted. Mages describes a problem with the first image she worked with, but she learned from that problem and adapted her technique. The quilt shows a number of attic windows. The quilt will be displayed in the facility for a while, but it will probably be auctioned off for a charity in their area. When asked, Mages agrees that making quilts for gifts and charitable purposes is what she finds most satisfying about quiltmaking.

Keywords: Fiber - Polyester; Photography/photo transfer; Pictorial quilts; Quilt Purpose - Fundraising; Quilt Purpose - Gift or presentation

Partial Transcript: What does your mom think of your quilt-making?

Segment Synopsis: Mages says that her mother likes her quiltmaking and is always inviting people into her room to see the quilts that Mages has given her. In addition to the quilt described earlier, Mages gave her mother a quilt when her sister died, which is now on her mother's bed. It includes pictures of her family, starting from a photo taken in 1913 and working forward chronologically. Mages describes her studio as "a mess." She and her husband recently relocated to a smaller house. In the old house, Mages had a dedicated sewing room in the basement, but in her current house they have yet to set up a similar studio space. At this point, her supplies are both in the basement and in the spare bedroom. Mage quilts on the dining room table, because the dining room gets little use otherwise. Mages does not cook and is working on a quilt that will eventually hang in her kitchen that says, "I only have this kitchen, because it came with the house."

Keywords: Family; Home studio; Mothers; Photography/photo transfer; Pictorial quilts; Quilt Purpose - Gift or presentation; Quiltmaking for family; Sewing room; Work or Studio space

Partial Transcript: Um, do you belong to anything other than the guild?

Segment Synopsis: Mages does not belong to any groups other than the guild. In Orchard Park, NY, where Mages used to live, a friend of Mages started a guild, Quaker Quilters, with Mages and a group of other people. Mages would advise new quilters to not "be intimidated" and not to "look for the faults" in their own work, although she admits to not following the latter piece of advice. Similarly, her approach to teaching is not to judge other people's work, as she operates on the assumption that people are doing the best they can. A lot of the members of her quilt guild joined "who really were not quilters," but eventually they started to try things out. Mages contrasts this with other groups, which only accept quilters with good skills who make a lot of quilts. Her guild is more interested in members who want to learn and take part in group activities. The group initially had about thirty-five people, but it eventually grew to a hundred members. That is the maximum number of members they currently want, so the guild now has a waiting list. The guild meets once a month, and at the time of the interview, they were expecting to have a quilt show in a few months.

Keywords: Quaker Quilters; Quilt guilds; Quilt shows/exhibitions

Partial Transcript: What do you think is the biggest challenge confronting quiltmakers today?

Segment Synopsis: Mages thinks that the most significant challenge for quiltmakers is educating others to "appreciate" what goes into making a quilt. As with any art or craft, people don't understand what it involves. People think quilt prices are too high, but if quilters were paid an hourly wage, the price would be so high that no one would buy a quilt. For Mages, quilting is a form of self-expression, and her immediate response to any major life change is that it should be acknowledged with a quilt. For instance, her first thought on hearing that one of her guild members will be retiring from her job is that they should make a quilt for her and sign it. She has made quilts for her sons' high school and college graduations with signatures from their friends. She currently has a project making a t-shirt quilt for a friend whose daughter is graduating from college. When asked what else she might want to say, Mages said that she is happy that people are increasingly interested in quilting and that new techniques are being developed. Mages enjoys trying new things and buys relevant books when she sees something new.

Keywords: Quilt Purpose - Gift or presentation; T-shirt quilts