Interview with Resna Ximines Hammer, September 27, 2005

Partial Transcript: All right. We are interviewing Resna Ximines Hammer, 20002.018 during the Daughters of Dorcas meeting on September 27th, 2005. The interviewer is Evelyn Salinger.

Segment Synopsis: Hammer has brought two quilted items to the interview. She has a strong interest in ceremonial cloths used in Jewish contexts. The first item is a challah cover, which Hammer made for the Jewish holidays. (She uses another challah cover for regular Fridays.) Hammer discusses the symbolism of the imagery and the Hebrew text on the challah cover. The challah cover also reflects her belief that "the table should be beautiful." She adds that challah covers are typically painted silk, but says the "wonderful quilted ones" that she has made, "I just think enhance the, uh, the day and the Sa-, the ceremony."

Keywords: Ceremonial cloths; Challah cloths; Imagery; Judaism

Partial Transcript: Tell us now the fabrics and the techniques you've used here.

Segment Synopsis: The fabric in the challah cloth is fused cotton that Hammer purchased in Israel. Hammer used metallic thread to quilt the cloth. She is interested in the interaction between light and the quilting. Hammer and the interviewer agree that the challah cover would be an asset to a holiday. Hammer thinks that she made the challah cloth around 2000, but did not label it at the time. There are Jewish stars on the back of the quilt.

Keywords: Ceremonial cloths; Challah cloths; Fabric - cotton; Judaism

Partial Transcript: And show us the other.

Segment Synopsis: Hammer's second touchstone quilt is meant to hold matzah, specifically round matzah, during Passover. Hammer made it to give her husband something attractive to look at during the lengthy Passover meal. Hammer explains the imagery on the cloth. The interviewer observes that some of the cloth is quite shiny and that the cloth is not cotton. Hammer agrees on both points. Hammer also notes that the cloth is beaded and that she likes "the way the light catches the beads." Hammer and the interviewer also briefly discuss Hammer's children, two daughters in their thirties, one of whom has children of her own.

Keywords: Ceremonial cloths; Family; Judaism; Matzah covers

Partial Transcript: Okay, I'm going to ask you, uh, starting back now, for you to tell me when you first, came in contact with quilts or quilters.

Segment Synopsis: Hammer's Aunt Clare, by whom she was very impressed, collected quilts. Hammer and her aunt used to look at and talk about the individual quilts. Hammer was fascinated by the beauty of the quilts and the way her aunt handled them and talked about them. Hammer developed a love of quilts long before she ever thought of making them. Her aunt was also an artist. She gave Hammer a huge box of crayons, with instructions not to use them in coloring books, but to instead figure out which colors look good together. Hammer spent quite a bit of time doing exactly that. Unfortunately, her aunt's house was destroyed in a fire, along with about (Hammer estimates) 100 quilts and her aunt's paintings.

Keywords: Collecting quilts; Family

Partial Transcript: So, um, right after that, my, my father brought home, a, um, a Singer, um Touch and Sew, it was the first one, he, he bought it at the World's Fair.

Segment Synopsis: Shortly after Hammer's aunt's house burned down, Hammer's father gave her a sewing machine with instructions to "figure out how to use this, and, um, have fun doing it." Hammer's mother signed her up for a sewing class. She started sewing doll's clothing and some of her own clothing. She enjoyed it, despite, in her opinion, not being a particularly good sewer, and came to think of sewing as a way to put out into the world what was inside her. She took the sewing machine with her to college and to the Dominican Republic, where she worked in the Peace Corps. Later, she made smocked dresses for her daughters. At this point, she became interested in "manipulating fabric, and I started to see how, the light hit it when you changed the, the texture." She found it enthralling.

Keywords: Peace Corps; Singer Touch and Sew sewing machine

Subjects: Peace Corps; Sewing

Partial Transcript: And then, about twelve years ago, my neighbor who, I just, um, had a great time with, called me and said, "Come over to my house. I want to show you what I just did."

Segment Synopsis: Hammer became interested in quiltmaking when a neighbor showed her a quilt she had made for her own niece. Her friend had had no particular idea what she was doing, but went out to buy cloth and made a quilt anyway. Hammer thought the quilt had come together well and wanted to make one, too, so she also bought fabric and put a quilt together the best she could After that, she was quite interested in quilting, and bought books, to learn techniques. She and her friend also took classes. They visit at each other's houses and work on their own projects and problem-solve jointly.

Keywords: Learning quiltmaking

Partial Transcript: And now you started in Daughters of Dorcas, when did you?

Segment Synopsis: Hammer thinks she started going to Daughters of Dorcas five or six years prior to the interview, but does not really remember. The books Hammer was using mentioned quilt guilds, but Hammer felt that her full-time work conflicted with her ability to go to the suburbs for guild meetings. Roland Freeman suggested Daughters of Dorcas to her, and she started going to meetings while between jobs. Hammer's professional expertise is in Human Resources. At the time of the interview, she is unemployed, due to a major layoff at the Whitman-Walker Clinic. Hammer indicates that she is "grieving" the job loss, but also that when the lay-off occurred, she looked forward to having the summer to quilt

Keywords: Daughters of Dorcas; Roland Freeman; Whitman-Walker Center (Washington, DC)

Partial Transcript: And the quilt you made for the Sumner School, is that something you did in, during the summer?

Segment Synopsis: Hammer made a quilt ("Honorable Mention") for an exhibit at the Sumner School over the summer. It was difficult for her, because she did not find the theme [which the transcript identifies as "School Days"] inspiring. Then she learned from a friend that Washington's "traditionally black schools" were "considered amazing schools" and she decided to use the quilt to educate people about that. She incorporated several techniques she had not used before, including photo transfer and several different stitches, into the quilt. Those stitches and most of her other work were done by machine, as Hammer does not hand stitch well. The parts of quilting Hammer likes best are choosing cloth, piecing, and the colors. She is less interested in quilting, but has been becoming aware that quilting makes a significant difference to a project and has decided she needs to improve her quilting skills.

Keywords: Charles Sumner School Museum and Archives (Washington, DC); Hand sewing; Machine sewing; Quilt shows/exhibitions; Techniques

Subjects: Quilting

Partial Transcript: Do you keep track of the things you've made, have photo albums or anything like that?

Segment Synopsis: Hammer keeps a photo album, but it does not include all her work, in part because her daughters appropriate what she makes, without giving her time to photograph it.. Hammer sold some of her work at the Lubavitch Women's Convention, the year prior to the interview, when she was given a booth there. She sold twenty of the twenty-two items that she brought. She does not, however, know if this event will be held again or if she will be invited back.

Keywords: Lubavitch Women's Convention; Photo album

Partial Transcript: Are there any other outlets for your quilting, besides, the selling things and your daughters, do you give to anyone else in the family or?

Segment Synopsis: Hammer says that she gives most of her quilts to others. She has made some quilts for people getting married or going away to college and also donates quits for charitable purposes. Hammer has also done some teaching. While she was still working at the Whitman-Walker Center, she taught HIV positive women with families to quilt, after one of the women in the group asked her to. She also taught quilting to senior girls at a Muslim school. She ran into one of those students shortly before the interview and learned from her that she is continues to quilt. Hammer talks about how wonderful it is to know that she has passed along the joy she feels in quilting to someone else.

Keywords: Clara Muhammad School (Washington, DC); Quilt Purpose - Gift or presentation; Quilt Purpose - Wedding; Whitman-Walker Center (Washington, DC)

Partial Transcript: Yeah, I, I usually ask, how has quilting had meaning for the American woman?

Segment Synopsis: The interviewer asks Hammer how quilting has had meaning for the American woman. She wonders if Hammer may already have answered that question at the end of the last segment when talking about "joy" and "calm and peace" arising from quilting. Hammer says, that Americans tend to get so involved in everyday life that "there is no time for, for being who you are. just stopping and being you..." She says, "quilting allows you, to take the time, to get out what's inside that you never have a chance to do."

Partial Transcript: Um, do you have any stories or experiences that you'd like to share, [?], in the past or anything to do with quilts or artwork?

Segment Synopsis: Hammer talks about her inability to draw as a child and how different and how joyful it is for her to be able to make a quilt which is visually appealing both to her and to other people. Hammer's advice to beginning quilters is not to aim for perfection immediately, but to "just fun have doing it." She suggests "get[ting] the other benefits from quilting" prior to entertaining any concerns about how the work looks or other people's thoughts about it. She thinks that, when looking at fabric, that if quilters see something that they really like, that they purchase it and incorporate it into a quilt, where it will make them happy to look at it. When asked, Hammer agrees that she has a lot of fabric at home.