QSOS Interview with Rosemary Davidson

Pam Schultz (PS); Its February 12 [2010.] at 10:28 and Im interviewing Rosemary Davidson. We are at the First United Methodist Church in Battle Creek [Michigan.]. Good morning, Rosem ary.

Rosemary Davidson (RD); Good morning, Pam.

PS; How are you doing today?

RD; As little as possible.

PS; Okay. Tell me about the quilt you brought in today.

RD; This is the first item I made after I joined the guild [Cal- Co Quilters Guild.], which I did in 1991. It was the tenth anniversary of the guild and I decided I would make an entry. They called it a challenge. You had to depict something that would indic ate that it was the tenth anniversary and I somehow got the idea of making a piece with ten sides. Im quite fond of irregular 00:01:00shapes anyway. But I found it quite a drafting concern and I ran into some technical problems that I had help with, but for a miracle, when I finished the center star it worked. And then I went on from there. I made it by dividing it up into like a pie so there were te n pie pieces that all met in the center and I used fabric that matched the flower in the border, whi ch was kind of a mauvey pink. It was blue and green and I find that I do like those colors. I dont know whether the pink is because Rose is part of my name or not, but, anyway, I 00:02:00like it. I hadnt looked at it in quite a while and from another few years of experience I wonder how I did it. I di d not know very much about formal quilting. I just did what I liked to do, which is something-- Ive always been interested in needlework. I tried them all. Made doll clothes and people clothes, did all kinds of other stitchery but somehow, quilting is it.

PS; What special meaning does this quilt have for you?

RD; Well, its the first thing that I made and entered and I got an award for it.

PS; Why did you choose this quilt to bring to the interview?

RD; Because I thought it was so unique.

PS; What do you think this quilt says about you?

RD; That Im apt to tackle things that are a little beyond my skill. But, so far theyve turned out a ll right. And that I, perhaps, could have worked a little more on my color matches, but it sold me on doing handwork, I think. And I have since done almost all the things Ive made, except baby quilts and something like that, by hand.

PS; How do you use this quilt?

RD; It is explained on the wall which is at home. I could wallpaper the place with things. I dont have quite that many books, so very to display.

PS; So what are your plans for this quilt?

RD; Keep it forever.

PS; Thats a good plan.

RD; Let my niece and my daughters fight over it.

PS; Tell me about your interest in quilt-making.

RD; Well, as I said before, Ive always done needlework. When I was younger and the kids were younger I made--I learned to sew, actually by making doll clothes. And then I got old enough-- I was probably ten, eleven-- and Mother trusted me with her Singer sewing machine, which was a treadle converted with an e lectric motor. And I got good enough I made my own wedding dress on that machine.

PS; Wow.

RD; And an article was done by Scene Magazine that circulated in our area some years later. An d my brother had taken a picture of me at the sewing machine 00:05:00making my wedding dress and the y had used it in the magazine and they have a staff member whose picture is displayed somewher e in the magazine and if you find it you call and you get a dinner or something like that. Well, m y younger sister, who was in the area saw that. She called up and she said, How did his picture g et on my mothers sewing machine? It was on the wheel of the sewing machine. And she got her dinner.

PS; At what age did you start quilt-making?

RD; Well, lets see, I have to figure out how many years to go back. I was probably sixty to seve nty years. But, as I say, I had tried everything else and this was it. I was-- Im a slow learner, you see.

PS; I dont think so. And, who taught you how to quilt?

RD; Mostly me.

PS; Did you?

RD; I did take a couple of formal classes with a couple of friends who were interested but who n ever pursued it like I did. And I learned some of the technical details and so on. But most of its s elf taught, or if I run into a problem I usually can find a friend that can give me a little bit of help . Most of the time I do my own thing.

PS; How many hours a week do you quilt?

RD; I have never kept a clock. Some days I do a lot and it depends, too; I have been forced by ac cidents to not be very active outside the house. And those 00:07:00have been times that I spent more time quilting, probably. Once I got all the bones healed up enough to do that, I still cannot use the sew ing machine. So, isnt that nice that I really like to do it all by hand?

PS; It is. That fits very nicely. What is your first quilt memory?

RD; I dont remember anything about childhood things. And, since Im the oldest of five, by the time theyve gone down, there wasnt anything left. I did not know very much about what my m other did. In fact I never knew she had any quilts until the later years of her life and after she had passed away. And 00:08:00I dont know-- I know she made practical things. We had one that wore out that was made out of bits of shirt or whatever, and just made to be used and not to be an ornament.

PS; Are there other quilt-makers among your family or friends?

RD; My next-to- younger sister is a quilter and she kind of started it, the formal part of it anyway. This was about 89, I think. She had a quilters magazine that was full of rose patterns.

PS; Wow.

RD; Ah well, dumb me, I started making some of those blocks. They were 00:09:00appliqud and pieced and embroidered, and heres me-- I dont know a thing about what Im doing, but I kept working and I was doing it quilted in patch es and then, quilt as you go, I guess is what the technical term is. And it got to be a full- sized quilt. And, by George, it all fit together somehow and Im so proud of it I dont use it on ac count of the cats like to sleep on our beds.

PS; And I just asked you that. Id better make a note here. Im sorry. How does quilt- making impact your family?

RD; Well, they live with stacks and stacks of boxes and I cannot lift sufficient 00:10:00to get to the box I need, so I have been known to recruit a strong male. I have a husband and an adult son and the ju st the other day I made him take down the Fourth of July fabric and exchange it for the Christma s, so I could work on the current project. So theyre cooperative.

PS; Tell me if youve ever used quilts to get through a difficult time.

RD; Well, I think I mentioned that one that I brought thats not really anything but busy work. It was a pattern of little tiny squares and I was making quilting projects like pillows with printed fa bric, preprinted. And my husband 00:11:00was going through an operation and I quilted a lot while I sat i n the waiting room, etc. So that got me through that and as soon as that I got to the point I could, after my shoulder accident and surgery, etc. then I went back to it. And I missed it when I couldn t do it.

PS; Tell me an amusing experience that has occurred from your quilt-making.

RD; Oh, I cant think of any off the top of my head. Ive had a lot of good experiences with it, bu t I dont-- well, I had fun with my friend Brenda. When we go to quilt shows and with other friends and we ve gone to quilt 00:12:00shows trying to figure out what that maker was thinking of. We thought the patt ern was kind of goofy or the colors, maybe they wouldnt have been the ones that we chose, but t hat lady chose. I think thats one of the interesting facets-- why do people choose what they do? And you never have a chance, or very seldom, have a chanc e to ask them just why. And maybe they cant tell you. It just looked right to them.

PS; What do you find pleasing about quilt-making?

RD; The creativity part of it. You start with an idea. You then have to figure out how to make tha t idea become concrete and you look for-- or maybe you have a particular pattern. Gee, thats neat. I wish I could figure out how to do that. And then once you figure out how to do, or maybe yove run across 00:13:00the most wonderful piece of fabric youve got to do something with it. And so you finally get the fabrics chosen and the pa ttern and then its the execution and as our new choir director is fond of saying, Enjoy the proce ss. And sometimes theres a little hair pulling and what not and process making, but to see some thing grow and to know that thats you even though you took somebody elses pattern, its you w hen its done. And I think thats another reason I like to do it by hand. I have control of the needl e. Well, not always. Ive got a few pricks and what not. And also the repetition thats very soothi ng. Until you have to take out that awful long one that you 00:14:00made when the cat landed on your lap and stuck his claw in your leg, which has happened.

PS; They like to help, huh?

RD; You know the fabric is wonderful to sleep on, especially when its the one youre trying to work on.

PS; We have cats and ours go for natural fabrics, so theres something about natural fabric.

RD; Yes.

PS; What aspects of quilt-making do you not enjoy?

RD; Well, I have not done much with paper piecing. I have done that, but that was so frustrating to me and I think what really did the number on me was I took 00:15:00a class. It was making a lighthous e and the lady had brought the pattern and the water was not just one piece of fabric. It was sliver s, paper pieced and put together and I found that I was not getting the instruction that I needed pl us I was not used to using the sewing machine for that. I got very little done during the class, but you know my English blood triumphed and I did finish it. In fact, I loaned it to the preacher a co uple of Sundays when he preached about lighthouses. With water youd expect a lighthouse, wou ldnt you?

PS; Yes.

RD; Yes.

PS; What art or quilt groups do you belong to?

RD; Well, I belong to the Cal- Co Quilters Guild. On the national level I 00:16:00belong to the National Quilting Association. Our guil d is a chapter. And then, I am friends with a group thats a very informal group that weve done v arious things together. Right now the group is working on Hospice quilts. My job is to sew down the bindings on the back, by hand.

PS; Have advances in technology influenced your work?

RD; Somewhat. But, I find, now, that I am not prone to use the rotary cutter because Ive lost a l ot of strength in my arm to hold the ruler steady and unless you hold the ruler steady you end up with zigzags. So, maybe Ive cut 00:17:00some binding or something of that nature, but I do not do anythi ng thats entirely rotary cut, not at the present time anyway.

PS; What are your favorite techniques and materials?

RD; Well, materials, I like cotton. Ive used a little of cotton- polyester. If I were real desperate and I needed that color and it was all I had. But, cotton works s o much better. Techniques, well I appliqu, I piece. Ive been known to put a little embroidery on . Ive cheated and used buttons for the centers of flowers. Did that with the last piece I did recent ly. I had three 00:18:00days to finish it before deadline. So I cheated. I use freezer paper for appliqu and mark seam allowances on fabric and then approximate the quarter inch, which usually was all ok ay.

PS; Describe your studio or the place that you create.

RD; Studio would be the answer to a dream. We live in a two bedroom, very small house. There are three adults. We have computers. We have radio equipment. We have books. We have fabric. We have computers in various stages of disrepair. We do have beds to sleep on and chairs to sit i n, and my favorite, just about my 00:19:00only place to quilt is in my chair in my living room, with a goo d lamp close at hand. Thats where I keep what Im working on and trying to keep the cat from si tting on it. But I have no formal room. Wouldnt I love to have a whole room. But you use what you have and be grateful. I guess. At least that saves a lot of frustration.

PS; How do you balance your time?

RD; Well, right at the moment I do nothing long term except sit. I do something 00:20:00active and then I ll feel like sitting down and Ill sit down and quilt a little bit. Then Ill get some new energy and up and at them and do some laundry or fix the meals or whatever. I try to balance out, but its kin d of difficult when due to various things you no longer to carry on like you used to. And you hav e to decide whats important, what you can lay aside, even if its only a temporary thing.

PS; Do you use a design wall?

RD; Well, Ill tell you what my design wall consists of is a piece of Styrofoam. Pinned to that is an old, old, old piece of flannel, from back 00:21:00when they knew how to make flannel that was war m. I use that. Its the only blank wall in the bedroom and theres no room to put any furniture aga inst that wall, so thats what its used for. And then, I do have spaces out in our living room wher e I can hang at least four or five small things which are usually what I do to enjoy, providing I ca n find a tall man to change them. I dont think theyll allow me on a step ladder any more.

PS; No. What do you think makes a great quilt?

RD; Good workmanship. Good choice of fabrics that go together. And carry out 00:22:00whatever idea th e quilter had, providing if they had-- if you go to a show and the quilter said I did this because of so-and-so. I think thats important.

PS; What makes a quilt artistically powerful?

RD; Dont ask me. Im not an artist.

PS; Well, I think you are. I think you are. What makes a quilt appropriate for a museum or a spec ialized collection?

RD; Uniqueness, for one thing. Age for another. Well, it wouldnt be meaningful in the historic s ense, not to you personally, but maybe to your area, your town, your city. Maybe it was the first of this that was done in your 00:23:00city or some person made something and earned a lot of money for making it, like a quilt that sells for four or five figures.

PS; Like this quilt, your anniversary quilt, your guild anniversary quilt.

RD; Yeah, that means a lot to me and it probably wouldnt mean much to a person who wasnt fa miliar with the history of the guild. I like to look back at it and say, Well you did learn a little by practice.

PS; What makes a quilt appropriate for a museum or a special-- I just asked you that. Im sorry. What makes a great quilt-maker?

RD; I want to add something to that category.

PS; Okay.

RD; Twice this aviation organization that I belong to [Experimental Aviation Association.] asked each year for quilt blocks for a display that had to do with aviation. And for two different years I entered a block. They both were accepted. I got honorable, maybe it was fifth honorable mentio n on the first one which was Harriett Quimby and her Bleriot, a World War I era-- before World War I era-- airplane, consisting mostly of wire and wood, which I embroidered. That was accepted and displ ayed for a year in their museum at Oshkosh [Wisconsin.]. And the second time we live under the flight path of the A- 10s 00:25:00which were previously stationed at our airport. You hear this loud noise and ah. And then o ne of our guild members husband was over in Iraq and he had A- 10s tied in with his service. So I got the idea to make a tribute to the A- 10. I found a silhouette of one because theyre rather difficult to make. Airplane pieces show up. It was a silhouette against a sunset and at the bottom that was a dividing line. On one side I show ed Michigan--green grass, nice river, green trees and tents, vacation- type tents. Then there was a dividing line and on the other side was Iraq. I talked to the gentlema n involved and 00:26:00asked him what the soil was like. He says, Its flat and dirty. So I found the dirti est looking fabric and he described to me the double layered tents that they used in the dessert. T hey air conditioned the tents to keep the guys from melting. His wife very graciously cut off the badge, the squadron badge off of one of his shirts that he had worn in Iraq. And I put that on.

PS; Oh. What a gift.

RD; It won fifth place, so I went up in the world a little bit. But, that might not-- yeah, its an airplane Its nice, but it was associated with our time. And they are the ugliest thing s that only, youve heard the expression, 00:27:00so ugly that only a mother could love. But, those plane s-- I called the thing War Tested Wart Hog because Ive heard of instances when we had troops th at were faced with a machine gun nest or some other thing like that, they call for A-10s. A- 10s come in and poof-- gone. So they were very effective. Maybe ugliness is not necessarily a disqualification for useful ness.

PS; True. What makes a great quilt-maker?

RD; A patient person, for one thing, because these are not things you can hurry. Except if your d aughters having a baby in two weeks and you havent made a quilt, you might hurry then. And b esides, I think Steve is right. Enjoy the process. Steve is our new choir director. I mentioned him before, I think. There 00:28:00are so many steps to go through and sometimes you run into a snag. Someti mes things are just not working; you have to put it down until you get a bright idea or your finger s can control the needle and make it stitch straight. Cant even talk straight today. Anyway, its j ust that kind of a process. It takes time and if you hurry youll be sorry.

PS; Whose works are you drawn to and why?

RD; I like historic-type quilts. I like-- well, modern art quilts and done by 00:29:00machine are gorgeous but somehow they dont appeal to me as much as something that is part of our past. Like it was interesting on a project I worked on rec ently, tracing patterns. How old some of them were and there was one in particular that was calle d the Newest One that they had located. They were talking about an era from 1910 to 1935 that was the earliest one known in their area which was in Kansas. Well, Gettysburg, Adams County, they had one quilt gone into their quilt show evaluation dated back to 1830 so it just took time fo 00:30:00r patterns to travel West with the pioneers.

PS; Which artists have influenced you?

RD; I dont think I could pick out a particular one. I used to use a lot of Gwen Marston and Joe C unninghams patterns. They did a book together called American Beauties, rose and tulip quilt s. And they have done research which I found very interesting, too.

PS; How did you feel about machine versus hand quilting?

RD; I think my attitude has come through. Machine quilting is beautiful and if that is the way yo u like to do things, fine. But thats what is so nice about 00:31:00quilting. If you want to make quilts out o f burlap bags or whatever and you want to do that, fine. Were a rather broadminded group of pe ople and I can enjoy things that I would not enjoy doing myself. And so I think we have people i n our group that have done absolutely marvelous work and I admire them for that. But, I feel that a machine between you and the product takes away some of the uniqueness and something of w hat makes it your work.

PS; What about longarm quilting?

RD; Ive seen some beautiful longarm quilting, but frankly I cant afford 00:32:00it. And also my projects are usually small enough to be hand quilted. And so I hand quilt it. I think I can truthfully say th at I do not have any machine quilting as such. I cant afford to have it done. Its beautiful, but, I m not in that big a hurry.

PS; Why is quilt-making important to your life?

RD; It gives me something to do with my hands. My reputation in this church among the ladies e specially, is that when we had more active womens groups, I never was without something to do with my hands. It was knitting or maybe I was working on a quilt thing, and I kept myself awake during the meetings. By 00:33:00doing that sort of thing I find my hands need to be doing something. Ma ybe Ill stave off arthritis if I keep on doing something.

PS; In what ways do your quilts reflect your community or region?

RD; Well, I dont know if this area is any different from most areas. We are a less historic area th an the East Coast, so we do not go back as far in history as the East Coast does, in quilting as in a nything else. But I think like that 00:34:00Michigan is a mitten is influential. I did something for-- I dont remember which one it was now. I made a quilt. It had to do with Michigan and I put the shape of Michigan as the label on the back, along with a pin that had a robin on it, the state bird a nd what not. And some quilts have been inspired by-- have pine trees and robins and apple trees and things of that nature, that people have used in their quilts.

PS; What do you think of the importance of quilts in American life?

RD; Well, it certainly is not what it used to be. When quilts were made in the first place, a sort of quilting, back as far back as the age of Chivalry, when 00:35:00they wore all that clanking armor and the re was some kind of quilted, padded stuff that they wore underneath. And they padded the curtai ns around their beds just to keep from freezing to death. And then, of course, the pioneers had to use what fabric they had available. Much of it they did themselves, grew the fibers, and spun it, wove it. Everything. So, now quilts are used more as art and they are being treated like art. You dont take them on a picnic or let the baby crawl around and spit up on them. Or the dog. I hope I dont offend 00:36:00any dog owners by that.

PS; In what ways do you think quilts have special meaning for womens history in America?

RD; It was something that they were almost expected to do. It was acceptable for women to quilt , but to do other things was not acceptable, in the eyes of the men, who were the controlling facto r in the situation. Women who started their own business or did something outside the sphere of domestic duties were-- they had a pretty hard time of it. And so I think that quilting now is not a necessity. Its somethin g that a woman can do and enjoy and have a lovely 00:37:00product to use and expect that it isnt going t o be worn out right away.

PS; How do you think quilts can be used?

RD; It depends on what kind of quilt it is. If you make one out of delicate fabric like they used to do with the crazy quilts, you put it on the top of the piano and if you make one out of old jeans, now you let the kids take it on a picnic. So a quilt can serve a lot of purposes and you make the q uilt to suit the purpose.

PS; How do you think quilts can be preserved for the future?

RD; One thing is that they must be appreciated. You dont think of them as 00:38:00that old thing you ca n use and throw away. And you put so much of yourself in them that if something happens to tha t you feel diminished. Part of you is disregarded. You arent appreciated. But, boy, that is a hard feeling. A lot of people, I think, suffer from that in this modern day and age. It causes more diffic ulties. Should we appreciate them for the purpose for which they are made. If they are going to b e art, fine. If they will be more practical, thats fine.

PS; What has happened to the quilts that you have made? Or those of friends and families?

RD; Well, I cannot speak for the quilts that I have made for my nephews, nieces, great nephews and nieces. They probably have been worn out, but I know they have been used. Ive made them for wedding presents and I hope that the recipients have treasured them. One of the first pieces a nd one of the first contacts I had with the guild, was that my niece, Sally, was getting married an d I wanted to make her something. And so I got a book, and I think it was Its Okay if You Sit o n My Quilt or something like that and I made the quilt for her for her wedding. And I had a ques tion about it and at that time the guild was quilting a raffle quilt in a public place. So I took my pi ece and went up and 00:40:00asked if they could help me out with it. So they said what I was doing was j ust fine and I finished it and gave it to her for a wedding present. And she came back some years later and she was very vehement that my quilts should not be thrown away. If something happen ed she wanted to see them kept in the family and treasured. So I thought that was the way it shou ld be. They should mean something to do the family.

PS; What do you think is the biggest challenge confroning quilt-makers today?

RD; Time is a problem. Materials are available, much more so than they used to be. There are ti me-saving techniques. If you need those things. But, Im 00:41:00still kind of old fashioned.

PS; Is there anything else that youd like to talk about or bring up?

RD; I cant think of anything. Maybe you have something you are curious about. We dont know each other all that well.

PS; Well, we will.

RD; I definitely feel better acquainted to do this.

PS; Thank you, Rosemary.