Interview with Karen M. Love, June 22, 2010

Partial Transcript: ...conducting a Quilter's S.O.S. - Save our Stories interview with Karen Hill Love. Today's date is June 22, 2010. The time is 9:45 a.m. This interview is taking place during the Daughters of Dorcas meeting in Washington, D.C.

Segment Synopsis: Love and Salinger talk briefly about Love's grandson, whom she has been babysitting. Love's touchstone quilt was made via Alex Anderson's Block of the Month, which was connected to Anderson's TV show. Love's friend Alyce Foster worked on this project at the same time. They received the pattern for a different quilt block each month. At that point, Love was a relatively new quilter. She really looked forward to receiving her monthly pattern and being able to then find the fabric and the embellishments for it. Each block depicts a particular month and the finished quilt goes through the full year. Salinger and Love describe and discuss the imagery in, the appearance of, and techniques used for the quilt blocks for January - March and July.

Keywords: Alex Anderson; Block of the Month; Embroidery; Family; applique; grandchildren

Partial Transcript: Now, did you do, anything by machine in, in each of the squares?

Segment Synopsis: Love says the squares in the touchstone quilt were sewn by hand, but the sashing was sewn by machine. The quilting was done by hand. Salinger and Love focus in on the squares for August and December. Love says that the border of the quilt is composed of all the types of cloth used in the squares. The quilt was made "for the Love family," consisting of her husband and three children. Love considers the piece a wall hanging, as the embellishments would make regular use as a bed quilt impractical, She has, however, not yet hung it up. The quilt was completed in approximately 1998, when Love was still a relatively new quilter.

Keywords: Hand quilting; Machine piecing; Quilt purpose - Home decoration; Quiltmaking for family; Techniques; Wall hanging

Partial Transcript: So, start with me, what is your real quilting career?

Segment Synopsis: Love and her friend Alyce Foster went to a Daughters of Dorcas event at the Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum in Washington, DC. After "catching the bug from the Daughters of Dorcas," the two of them talked their way into joining their local quilting group for seniors, even though they were not yet old enough. Their first project was a quilt for flood victims. After that, using a book, they made a number of blocks, each of which involved learning a new technique. Love constructed a quilt from hers. It was hand quilted as, so far, Love quilts only by hand.

Keywords: Alyce Foster; Daughters of Dorcas; Hand quilting; Learning quiltmaking; Quilt Purpose - Charity; Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum (Washington, DC)

Partial Transcript: Well, when did you first learn to sew?

Segment Synopsis: Love first learned to sew in a high school Home Economics class in the late 1950s. Since her family had little money, she started sewing her own clothing. Love was raised by an aunt, who could also sew. Love continued sewing clothing until she began quilting. Love grew up in Amelia, VA. After studying Business Education in college, she came to Washington, DC for a summer job at the U.S. Department of Labor. She was supposed to take a teaching job in the fall, but decided to stay with the Department of Labor, rather than teaching. After five years, she took a new job with the Washington, DC government. Due to a leg injury, she had to retire early in 1972.

Keywords: Home sewing machine; Sewing; U.S. Department of Labor

Partial Transcript: What is your favorite aspect of quilting? What do you like to do best?

Segment Synopsis: Piecing and appliqueing are Love's favorite parts of quilting, but she tends to have some problems with fabric selection. Love typically works on several projects at once. At the time of the interview, her projects include a Daughters of Dorcas block of the month project, a Daughters of Dorcas raffle quilt, a quilt for a neighbor, and another for her sister. Love spent at least four hours a day quilting, until she started caring for her grandson. She will be paid for the quilt she is making for a neighbor. She has more fabric than she really has room for.

Keywords: Block of the month; Daughters of Dorcas; Fabric stash; Family; Hand applique; Hand piecing; Quilt Purpose - Fundraising; Quilt purpose - Personal income; Quiltmaking for family; Techniques; Unfinished objects (UFO)

Partial Transcript: Do you have a special room to quilt in?

Segment Synopsis: Love lives and quilts in the attic of her house. She describes the entire attic, which consists of several rooms and a bathroom, as "full of quilting material." She also keeps her sewing machine in the attic. Given sufficient time, Love prefers to piece by hand. She is piecing the quilt she is making for a neighbor by machine, but quilting by hand. Love started quilting about ten years prior to the interview. Her work has been in one quilt show.

Keywords: Hand piecing; Hand quilting; Home sewing machine; Home studio; Machine piecing; Quilt shows/exhibitions; Techniques; Work or Studio space

Partial Transcript: Do you remember any quilting, as you were growing up? Did you know anybody who was doing quilting?

Segment Synopsis: When Love was growing up, her grandmother would earn money by making embroidered, silk quilts. Love's aunt made "utility quilts," but also had one in a Monkey Wrench pattern. Love's grandmother gave her a quilt, but it was lost during a move. Love used to crochet. She learned the skill on her own as a child. She eventually crocheted two full-size bedspreads, which went to one of her children's teachers and the other to her sister. Before that, she crocheted doilies and some clothing. Love would be very happy to return to crocheting, but she is not necessarily up for doing another bedspread.

Keywords: Crochet; Embroidery; Family; Grandmothers; Monkey Wrench (quilt block pattern); Quilt Purpose - Personal income; Quilt purpose - utilitarian; Quiltmaking for family; quilting bee

Subjects: Silk quilts

Partial Transcript: How do you think quilting has been meaningful from the American woman?

Segment Synopsis: When asked how quilting is meaningful for the American woman, Love says that quilting sparks creativity, that quilts are "comforting," that making them distracts women from their problems, and that quilts can be given to or shared with other people. Quilting is both very fun and open to many different approaches and uses. Love joined the Daughters of Dorcas about a decade prior to the interview, through the leader of the quilt group at her local Wellness Center, Sarajane Goodwin, who is a Daughters of Dorcas member. Love appreciates the mix of ages, the potential for learning, and the "sharing" she finds in the Daughters of Dorcas. Love has never taken formal quilting classes nor gone to a retreat.

Keywords: Daughters of Dorcas; Sarajane Goodwin; Washington Seniors Wellness Center (Washington, DC)

Partial Transcript: Do you get a little time to do this now or are you still babysitting so much?

Segment Synopsis: When asked if she has time for quilting, Love says that she cannot do focused work while caring for the baby. At the time of the interview, Love expects that she might be caring for her grandson until he is a year and a half or two years old. Since her daughter-in-law teaches, Love can quilt over the summers and hopes to complete unfinished projects. Love and the interviewer discuss the importance of grandmothers as caretakers. Love made a quilt for her grandson before he was born. She also has three other grandchildren. She makes quilts mostly for family members. Love's advice to beginning quilters is to finish a quilt, rather than taking on a lot of projects simultaneously.

Keywords: Family; Grandmothers; Quiltmaking for family; grandchildren; unfinished objects (UFO)

Partial Transcript: Um, anything else you have in mind that you would like to share with us about yourself or about, your quilting?

Segment Synopsis: Love survived cancer twenty-four years prior to the interview, even though her doctors did not think she was going to live. Love credits God with her survival. She reasons, "He didn't leave me here to do nothing, so I have to keep sharing." Consequently, she teaches both Bible studies and Sunday school. She offers to teach her Bible study members to quilt if they're interested . Love has some photographs of her work, but does not keep close track of the work she has done. The part of quilting Love likes least is attaching the binding. She does not design quilt patterns but has made changes to existing patterns. Love is interested in working with any type of quilt pattern. When asked if she feels she has been self-taught, Love agrees but goes on to credit Daughters of Dorcas members with assisting her when she needs help with a technique.

Keywords: Illness; Learning quiltmaking; Quilt documentation; Quilt patterns