Interview with Jane Lury, November 2, 2002

Partial Transcript: This is Joe Koval. Today's date is November 2nd, 2002. It's 3:21 p.m. and I'm conducting an interview with Jane Lury for the Quilters' Save our Stories project at the Houston Quilt Festival. Jane, can you tell us about the quilt that you brought today?

Segment Synopsis: Lury brought the first quilt that she ever bought at an antique shop in Portland, Oregon for $200, a quilt that she considers a "history piece." Lury describes her subsequent quilt collecting while on a trip to Oregon and on several road trips throughout America where she and a friend collected at antique stores and from quilters themselves. While this quilt is meaningful to her as her first collected quilt, she especially likes to collect mid-nineteenth century and earlier pieces. She describes the quilt she brought-- a 1930's quilt made from feedsacks in a Double Trip Around the World pattern. She considers what she might do with her collection in the future and reiterates this quilt's particular meaning as "the thing that caused all this change in my life."

Keywords: Antique quilts; Collecting quilts; Collections; Double Trip Around the World (quilt pattern); Fabric - Feedsack; Quilt history; Quilt memory

Subjects: Quilting; Quilts

Partial Transcript: Um. Other than how you got started, what do you think your earliest memories of quilts or quilting would be?

Segment Synopsis: Lury remembers kit quilts from a friend's home in Baltimore, Maryland and reflects on how she did not know about her grandmother's hand piecing until after Lury began collecting. She compares her own love of collecting to her father's, though her affinity towards textiles is her own. Lury considers the impact of collecting on her life as it has prompted her to travel around the world, pay more attention to aesthetics of both quilts and other arts, and develop a network of relationships through buying and selling quilts. She discusses how collecting helped her get through cancer and compares her collecting business with her job as a psychotherapist.

Keywords: Aesthetics; Collecting quilts; Collections; Quilt business; Quilting communities

Subjects: Quilting

Partial Transcript: Um. You mention some of the quilts you sold that you might have wanted back. Can you think of any in particular?

Segment Synopsis: Lury describes two particularly unique quilts that she regrets selling from her collection. She goes on to characterize her collection of very early and idiosyncratic quilts and suggests there is something special about these objects because of the care and preservation that goes into a quilt surviving all those years. She explains what types of quilts she tends to keep--those that are white on white, broderie perse, English, or odd or unique. She sells American, English, French, and East Indian quilts and contradicts the common conception that quilts are especially American creations.

Keywords: American quilts; Antique quilts; Collecting quilts; English quilts; French quilts; Indian quilts; Quilt business; Quilt care; Quilt history; Quilt preservation

Subjects: Quilting

Partial Transcript: What makes a great quilt?

Segment Synopsis: Lury describes the quilting craft and textiles of Japan whose quilters combine tradition and new techniques from America to make beautiful quilts. She thinks humor and intelligence are important in quilt making generally and that aesthetics, age, condition, and rarity are important considerations for a special collection or museum. She lists the characteristics of a good quilt dealer--a passion for quilts, communication skills, and understanding of value. She compares types of dealers, like those who make money with high end quilts and those, like herself, who collect "low end things" for the relationships they give her to people. Lury gives her opinions on hand stitching and machine stitching.

Keywords: Aesethics; Collecting quilts; Japanese quilts; Quilt dealer; Quilting communities

Subjects: Quilting; Quilts

Partial Transcript: I guess we covered why quilting is important to your life.

Segment Synopsis: Lury explains that handling and dealing with the quilts is important to her and that she herself does not quilt. Lury considers the importance of quilting in developing opportunities for socializing and community among women in both America and other countries and describes how quilting can bridge international bounds through common interest. She finds similarities and commonalities in women around the world despite their cultural differences.

Keywords: Friendships through quilting; Gender in quiltmaking; Gender roles; Quilt shows/exhibitions; Quilting communities

Subjects: Quilting; Quiltmakers

Partial Transcript: How do you think quilts should be used?

Segment Synopsis: Lury critiques the repurposing of antique quilts into new crafts. She describes how she hangs, preserves, and uses her own collection. She considers the role of touching (or refraining from touching) in the preservation of quilts, especially old quilts and quilts made of silk, and the importance of educating people about proper handling.

Keywords: Antique quilts; Quilt care; Quilt preservation; Quilt shows/exhibitions; Silk quilts

Subjects: Quilting