Interview with Cliff Bailey, January 7, 2008

Partial Transcript: Tell me about the quilt that you selected as your touchstone piece.

Segment Synopsis: Le Rowell introduces Cliff Bailey, who describes the quilt that he brought with him. The quilt uses a nosegay pattern. One reason Bailey chose the pattern was because he could use lots of different fabrics for the pieces. He collects feedsacks and used fabric from feedsacks for parts of the quilt. Bailey discusses the fabric and techniques used in the quilt.

Keywords: Fabric - Feedsack; Fabric stash; Feedsack; Hand quilting; Le Rowell; Machine piecing; Nosegay - quilt pattern; Techniques

Subjects: Male quiltmakers; Quilts--United States

Partial Transcript: Talk a minute about the feed sacks. Do you know some of the background of the feed sacks?

Segment Synopsis: Bailey recalls his time as a child in Oklahoma as inspiration for using feed sacks in his quilts. He would visit relatives and feed chickens out of feed sacks back then. Bailey now collects feed sacks and primarily makes 1930s era quilts using reproduction fabric and vintage feed sacks. The quilt is currently used on his bed at home. Bailey also uses other quilts at home and rotates them to have different bed covers.

Keywords: Everyday use; Fabric - Feedsack; Feedsack; Oklahoma; Quilt Purpose - Bedcovering; Traditional quilts

Partial Transcript: So you have a large collection? Talk a minute about your collection.

Segment Synopsis: Bailey has a large collection of quilts from his family and that he has purchased. He's been quilting and collecting quilts for about thirty years. Bailey's collection is focused on quilts from the 1930s. He likes the colors and patterns from that era, because they remind him of the quilts he grew up with. His grandmother and great aunt were quilters. Bailey's first memory of a quilt is seeing a quilt in his great aunt's home that she made. He still has the quilt and describes it as a "name quilt," where different quilters embroidered their names on blocks.

Keywords: Collecting quilts; Family; Friendship quilts; Quilt memory; Quilt purpose - Autograph or friendship; Signature quilts; Traditional quilts

Subjects: Friendship quilts; Quilts--United States--History--20th century; Signature quilts

Partial Transcript: So when did you start quilting?

Segment Synopsis: Bailey began quilting in the early 1970s. He saw a quilt pattern that he liked in a magazine and decided to make it. Bailey already knew how to sew, so he didn't have a difficult time learning to quilt. He has taken lessons since then about how to make different kinds of quilts and techniques.

Keywords: Bargello - quilt pattern; Learning quiltmaking; Log Cabin - quilt pattern; Quilt patterns; Star quilts; Techniques

Partial Transcript: How many hours a week do you quilt?

Segment Synopsis: Bailey discusses the amount of time he spends quilting each week. Some weeks he doesn't quilt at all, but other times he quilts up to ten hours per week. He has entered quilts, including the touchstone quilt, into shows. Bailey also gives his quilts away to family members.

Keywords: Quilt Purpose - Exhibition; Quilt Purpose - Gift or presentation; Quiltmaking for family; Time management

Partial Transcript: Have you ever used quiltmaking to take you through a difficult time?

Segment Synopsis: Bailey says that he has used quilting, including making the touchstone quilt, to get through times when he has been depressed. He notes that seeing the bright colors helped him as he made the quilt. It took Bailey ten years to complete the touchstone quilt. Bailey usually has three quilting projects going at once. He works on one quilt for a while and then switches to another that is in a different stage of completion.

Keywords: Quilt purpose - Therapy; Techniques

Partial Transcript: Do you have a special place in your home where you do your quiltmaking?

Segment Synopsis: Bailey has a large room in his house where he quilts. He prefers to arrange his pieces on the floor before sewing them together. He does both machine and hand piecing depending on the pattern that he is sewing. He specifically mentions hand quilting a grandmother's flower garden pattern. Bailey likes putting the pieces together like a puzzle, and he enjoys seeing the colors and feeling the fabric as he quilts. He prefers to hand quilt instead of machine quilting.

Keywords: Blocks; English paper piecing; Grandmother's flower garden - quilt pattern; Hand piecing; Hand quilting; Machine piecing; Machine quilting; Work or Studio space

Partial Transcript: Have there been any advances in technology that have influenced your quiltmaking?

Segment Synopsis: Bailey explains that using a rotary cutter was a major advancement for his quiltmaking. He usually finds a quilting pattern that he'd like to make, and each pattern has several techniques. The touchstone quilt includes multiple techniques including piecing stars, set-in seams, and bias edges. He had to unsew and fix part of the quilt because the triangles stretched on two sides due to the bias edges.

Keywords: Rotary cutter; Technology in quiltmaking

Partial Transcript: What are some of the other things you've learned?

Segment Synopsis: Bailey speaks on some things he's learned through quiltmaking, including working best on a deadline. He has also learned patience through quilting. Bailey says that being patient is easy because he enjoys the process of quilting. Bailey then details what he thinks makes a great quilt, including a pleasing design and colors, and being put together well. He likes attending quilt exhibitions to see other quilts and get ideas for his quilts.

Keywords: Quilt design; Quilt shows/exhibitions; Techniques; Time management

Subjects: Quiltmakers; Quiltmakers--United States

Partial Transcript: When did you start sewing?

Segment Synopsis: Bailey learned how to sew when he was five or six years old. As he got older, he began making clothes with patterns. Bailey's quilts reflect the Depression era in Oklahoma during the 1930s. He grew up using quilts from that time, and his current quilts use colors and fabrics that connect him with that period.

Keywords: Clothing; Depression era; Everyday use; Fabric - Feedsack; Feedsack; Fiber - Wool; Home sewing machine; Oklahoma; Quilt Purpose - Bedcovering; Sewing; Wool quilts

Partial Transcript: So, talk a minute about the importance of quilts in American life.

Segment Synopsis: Bailey discusses how quilts were traditionally made by women. Quiltmaking gave women an opportunity to express their creativity when other outlets might not have been available to them. When Bailey began quilting, he was not aware of other male quiltmakers. He's now met a few other quiltmakers and attended a class taught by a male quiltmaker. He enjoyed the butterfly pattern taught in the class but says it felt more like a math class than the other quilting classes he's taken.

Keywords: Gender in Quiltmaking; Gender roles; Quilt Purpose - Artistic expression; Quilt history

Subjects: Male quiltmakers

Partial Transcript: How do you think quilts can be preserved for the future?

Segment Synopsis: Bailey says that the friendship quilt he inherited from his great aunt still looks new, because it wasn't used. He says not using quilts is one way of preserving them. The quilts he has used have gotten softer and faded over time. Bailey prefers to use the quilts that he has made, except for certain quilts that were either difficult to make or have special meaning.

Keywords: Double Wedding Ring - quilt pattern; Everyday use; Friendship quilts; Quilt Purpose - Bedcovering; Quilt preservation

Partial Transcript: How do you care for the ones that you use?

Segment Synopsis: Bailey cares for his quilts by keeping them out of the sunlight. He's seen other quilts that have faded from being displayed in the sun. He stores some quilts in cedar chests or folded in a closet. Bailey lets his quilts soak in the bathtub for half a day and then rinses them several times with fresh water, before spinning them on a spin cycle and letting the quilts hang to dry.

Keywords: Quilt care; Quilt preservation

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

Segment Synopsis: Bailey says that when he was learning to quilt, there was not enough information. Now Bailey thinks there is too much information available about quilting. He discusses how many quilt magazines and stores there are now, and the abundance of fabrics and patterns to use. The variety of choices can be overwhelming when deciding what quilt to make. Bailey discusses quilting trends that he's noticed about tools, TV shows, fabrics, and a variety of patterns.

Keywords: Challenges within the quilting community; Quilt patterns

Subjects: Textile fabrics--Reproduction

Partial Transcript: We just have a couple of minutes left, actually. Is there anything else that you would like to mention or talk about?

Segment Synopsis: Bailey encourages listeners to make a quilt if they are interested in it. He says quilting is not necessarily difficult, but it requires a lot of patience to make one. Bailey has three other quilts that he's currently working on. They use the World's Fair, Grandmother's flower garden, and Double Irish chain patterns. He plans to give one of the quilts to his daughter and another to his sister.

Keywords: Double Irish chain - quilt pattern; Fabric - Feedsack; Feedsack; Grandmother's flower garden - quilt pattern; Quiltmaking for family; World's Fair - quilt pattern