QSOS Interview with Lori Buhler

Pam Schultz (PS); This is Pam Schultz. Its Wednesday, June 2 [2010.] at 12:40 p.m. Im here to interview Lori Buhler at her place of employment in Battle Creek, Michigan. This interview is b eing conducted for the South Central Michigan Quilters Save Our Stories project of The Allianc e for American Quilts. How are you today, Lori?

Lori Buhler (LB); Im fine. How are you?

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

LB; This quilt is obviously not my best work, but its got meaning to me because it was really on e of the first ones that I designed myself. It didnt come from a pattern in a book or a purchased p attern, or anything like that. It started because Id bought templates, plastic templates that were a certain shape and I kind of played with them and laid them together and it made a flower. So the n I put this design together myself. This quilt is made out of flannel. Its actually-- I call it my personal snuggle quilt because its 00:01:00the quilt that I use to lay on the couch or whatever. You can see that the bindings all worn off. You see that? Both ends are that way. I pull it from t he end rather than the sides. Ill have to replace the binding on that, but its well used and well lo ved.

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

LB; Well, like I said it was the first one that I designed. I had it in the quilt show when I was quil ter of the year in 2001. It was part of my display and a lot of people were asking me about the pat tern for it. And I designed it myself so, of course, it didnt have a pattern. A lot of people liked it and were interested in the pattern and it got me to thinking that maybe I can design my own patte rns. That kind of got me started down the line of thinking of developing patterns and trying to sel l them. Thats eventually where my book came from and this pattern is included in my book and I brought along a second 00:02:00quilt thats the same pattern but its done in cottons and it looks nice. A nd this is the pattern thats in my book.

PS; Tell me about your book.

LB; My book is called Quilters Happy Hour. It was published by Martingale and Company in 2008. It has eleven patterns in it and all the quilts are named after cocktails. They have the cockta il recipes in it and it was a very exciting project for me to do, to see something come out in print with my name on it. PS; Yeah, it is. Why did you choose to bring this quilt to the interview?

LB; Well, like I said, it does have special significance. It kind of got me started into the, down th e path of designing my own quilts. Mostly thats what I do now.

PS; What do you think someone viewing this quilt might think about you?

LB; About me? [laughs.] I dont know. She uses her quilting and wheres the 00:03:00binding. Its nice a nd soft.

PS; The next one is how do you use this quilt, and youve kind of answered that already. Do you have any other plans for this quilt?

LB; No, Im not sharing it with anybody. This ones mine.

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

LB; It really started very early. I remember, as a child, my mother taught me how to sew. She did nt quilt so she just did garments and so thats what I did. She also taught me to crochet and do n eedlework of all kinds and never really made any quilts. I do remember our family was friends w ith another family and on Sunday afternoons we used to swap kids back and forth to the other per sons house on Sunday afternoon. My sister came home from these friends house and they had worked out a project together and she had made a quilt. They 00:04:00were just big squares and I think th ey were almost like upholstery fabric samples. She brought that home and I was so jealous that s he had made this quilt. It appealed to me even then, but I didnt really get into quilting until I was an adult. It was back when the country style of decorating was starting to get popular and I want ed a quilt for my wall and I couldnt find one because if I could find one that I could afford then i t wasnt the right colors. If I could find one the right colors then it wasnt one I could afford and so I decided to make one myself. Thats how I got started.

PS; What age did you start quilt-making?

LB; Probably about 24, 23 or 24.

PS; From whom did you learn to quilt?

LB; At that time there was a lady in my church who was a quilter and she showed me how to do t he hand quilting stitch. She was the first person who showed me 00:05:00anything about quilting. The firs t quilts I made were really from patterns so I didnt really have anybody teach me. I got into one pattern that was a bed- sized quilt. It was a Giant Dahlia pattern. Yeah. Well, the story behind that-- I wanted to make a quilt for my bed and my mother and I were in a quilt shop and she, like I said , is not a quilter. She sews but she is not a quilter and I had a pattern in my hand for a Trip Aroun d the World quilt that I was going to do. You know, squares. She saw this Giant Dahlia one and s he said, Oh, this would be easier. It has bigger pieces. [Both laugh.] But its a huge circular des ign and I laid it out on the floor and cut around it like you do a dress pattern. I wasnt really bein g too careful about how I was cutting it and I wasnt being too careful with my quarter- inch seams so when I laid out that big circular design, pulled the edges all out, the center of it rai sed up probably about two feet. Literally, I mean it was like this on the ground. It 00:06:00was horrible. B ut my mother, she tore it all apart and I paid a little more attention to my quarter- inch seams and put it all together and its a finished quilt.

PS; Oh, thats great.

LB; At that point I knew enough to know I didnt know enough about quilting, so I took a class. I took a beginning quilt-making class at The Quiltery.

PS; How many hours a week do you quilt?

LB; Of course it depends on the week. Id say probably four to six hours a week. Maybe more de pending on if Ive got something I need to get done.

PS; What is your first quilt memory?

LB; Like I said, with my sister coming home with the quilt and me being very jealous that she go t to make a quilt and I didnt.

PS; Well, that kind of leads to the next question. Are there other quilt- makers among your family and your friends?

LB; Not really. I do have two quilt tops that were made by a great grandmother. 00:07:00But Im not reall y sure. My mother was-- it was through my mothers family. She had them. She wasnt sure if it was her maternal or pater nal grandmother that had made them. So, I do have quilt tops that were made by a great- grandmother, but Im not really sure who they are, unfortunately.

PS; How does quilt-making impact your family?

LB; Well, everyone sleeps under a quilt. As far as time, and everything, my family is very tolera nt of the time I spend quilting. They dont complain if theres no-- of course theres just my husband and me now, but even when my daughter was small there was no complaints of no dinner on the table because I was quilting. They were very understanding ab out it.

PS; Have you ever used quilts to get through a difficult time?

LB; Well, not anything specifically. No. Its just a soothing way to get 00:08:00through any difficult time, but nothing specifically. No.

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

LB; Well, I dont know. Id have to think about that one. Could we come back to that one?

PS; Sure we could. What do you find pleasing about quilt-making?

LB; Its just -- I guess its just the creativity of it. You know, you work on it to see what its going to look like when its done. Thats why I like to do things that use a multitude of fabrics for the most part bec ause if every block is the same, by the time youve made ten theres no anticipation of what its g oing to look like. I like to use different fabrics so each block looks different, so that when I get d one with the block its like, Oh, thats what it looks like together. Its a process, the creativity p rocess I think.

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

LB; Isnt that the same one?

PS; Im srry it is. Thats why I started checking them. What aspects of quilt- making do you not enjoy?

LB; Basting. [Both laugh.] Basting. Yeah. Theres not much fun about that. You get down on the floor and youre on your hands and knees. [Both talk at once.]

PS; --until its done because you cant leave it on the floor.

LB; Thats right.

PS; What art or quilts do you belong to?

LB; I belong to the Cal-Co Quilters which is the quilt guild [Cal- Co Quilters Guild.]. I also belong to the Ladies of the Lake, which is a smaller circle. I dont rea lly attend any of their meetings right now. Its just hard when Im working, but I go on their retre ats and everything.

PS; Have advances in technology influenced your work?

LB; Yeah, Ive got a really cool sewing machine that does a lot of stuff. So, I would say yes. Wh en I got my new sewing machine-- of course Ive had it for 00:10:00probably five years now. It has an automatic thread cutter. Thats a swee t thing. And its all computerized. Of course, the rotary cutter; when I first took my first quilt cla ss the rotary cutter was just coming out and becoming popular. That was an advance in technolog y back then.

PS; What are your favorite techniques and materials?

LB; I like to appliqu. I just finished a quilt that had a lot of piecing on it and it wasnt as much f un as doing appliqu. I enjoy that more. And materials? Of course, I just use cotton. I like to use a variety of fabrics rather than just three or four in a quilt.

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

LB; Its the third bedroom in our house. I have the whole room to do with what 00:11:00I want. Its the g uest room because the sofa in there turns into a bed. Its got a TV and a chair so I can sit and do handwork in there. Im just in the process of trying to reconfigure it and get some-- have my husband build me some new furniture so its more workable. Ive got a sewing machine and a table and then Ive got a cutting table, but being so short its at the wrong height for me. I really want something like cabinets all across the wall that will have lots of room to put things a way. So I do have a room to myself but Im working on trying to make it better.

PS; How do you balance your time?

LB; I dont cook or clean. [Both laugh.]

PS; I like that. Do you use a design wall?

LB; I do have one. Its a flannel, kind of a free standing thing, so you can 00:12:00put it up and take it do wn. I probably dont use it too much for designing, meaning looking at things and rearranging thi ngs. I like to just put things up as I finish them so I can see them. I do have one, yeah.

PS; What do you think makes a great quilt?

LB; Thats different for everybody. I mean, everybody has different tastes. What I think is a grea t quilt somebody else might not think so much. So its just a personal opinion, the combination o f colors, the design you like, the quilting that goes into it.

PS; Which ones do you like?

LB; Well, like I said, I like ones that have lots of different patterns in it. I prefer appliqu. I like q uilts that have a lot of quilting on it. I find that Im doing more and more quilting on my quilts. T hats taking a lot longer. Im working on a quilt right now. Its a graduation quilt for one of my n 00:13:00ieces. I bought a spool of thread to use for the bobbin because I use the clear on the top and I we nt through a whole spool of thread on the back of that quilt. Thats 500 yards and Im not done. It s got a lot of quilting on it and I like that.

PS; What makes a quilt artistically powerful?

LB; I think thats beyond me to answer. Artistically powerful. I dont think if I can answer that.

PS; What makes a quilt appropriate for a museum or a special collection?

LB; Well, theres a lot of debate about art quilts and regular quilts. Really, every quilt is a work o f art. Its just, art is different to everybody. When the guild has had exhibits at the Art Center her e in Battle Creek, and just 00:14:00putting a normal bed quilt under the lights in the gallery makes it art. I think thats what is so exciting about that exhibit, is to see our quilts displayed like that.

PS; What makes a great quilt-maker?

LB; These are hard questions. What makes a great quilt- maker? Somebody who enjoys what shes doing.

PS; Whose works are you drawn to and why?

LB; Anybody, right?

PS; Oh, yeah.

LB; Ive got a lot of quilting heroes in my, in our guild. One of them-- two of them that came to mind right away are Wanda Warner and Joyce Rupp and both of those, I think Im drawn to their work because of the quilting they do. They both do machine quilting w hich has been a process for me to improve that. So 00:15:00Im drawn to theirs because of the beautiful q uilting they do on it. Shirley Palmer is an amazing quilter, because of her sense of colors, the wa y she puts colors together and the beautiful appliqu she does. Thats just a few of my quilting he roes.

PS; Which artists have influenced you?

LB; Artists? I cant say that any have. You mean like famous painting artists?

PS; Well, maybe quilt artists.

LB; I dont know.

PS; Okay.

LB; I cant really say that any have.

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

LB; Well, Im a big fan of machine quilting. To me-- Ive done both. When I first started quilting I hand quilted everything. I enjoy the process of han d quilting, but I want to make more than two quilts a year. So the speed of machine quilting help s me finish things. To me its a harder process to do 00:16:00than hand quilting. Hand quilting is very rela xing. You sit down and you got a hoop in your lap and you can make it look nice. It just takes a l ot of time. Machine quilting, when I first started doing it, it was an ugly mess. It was hard to get t hat quilt through the machine. You know the back had puckers in it. It was hard to make it look n ice and so thats why I admire somebody who does beautiful machine quilting because I think it i s harder to do beautiful machine quilting on a regular sewing machine than it is to do beautiful ha nd quilting.

PS; What about longarm quilting?

LB; Longarm quilting. Theres a place for everything. Theres a place for everything in quilting. Some people are snobs where youre not doing it all yourself. It can only be hand pieced and qui lted, but theres room in this quilting world for every different technique there is. If youve got a longarm 00:17:00quilting machine and you can operate it, more power to you.

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

LB; It just is. Its a way to fulfill my creative urges. That sounds--it is. I just enjoy doing it.

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

LB; I dont know. I dont have a good answer for that.

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

LB; Well, its a traditional country art, I think, that has gone worldwide. Its not just a country thi ng that women do when they cut up old shirts and 00:18:00dresses. Its become a full- fledged art. Its probably a multi-million dollar business. What was the question?

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

LB; Oh, importance of quilts. I think everybody should sleep under a quilt, but thats just me.

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

LB; I think it was different in the past when women were making quilts out of old clothes and stu ff, because then there was a historical record of what they had at the time, whether its feed sacks or old aprons or whatever that theyre cutting up to make quilts. Its a little different now. There is still a lot of ways to record history in quilts. I have been making graduation 00:19:00quilts for my niece s and nephews as they graduate from high school and on the back I piece into the back an open ar ea. I usually use the digits of their graduation year like this year was two thousand and ten and th ey have it at their open house and everybody signs it. So its a history of that event and for that p erson so this is my way of giving them something they can keep and hold on to.

PS; How do you think quilts ca be used?

LB; Can be used? Well, we can sleep under them. We can hang them on the walls to view. We c an put them on our tables. Just infinite possibilities.

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

LB; Well, Ive got two minds about that. I mean, you should preserve your 00:20:00quilts for the future b ecause you put a lot of time in and youd like for them to last forever. But, on the other hand, if I give a quilt for a gift, I tell people, Dont put it away in a closet to keep it for nice. Use it. Use it and you use it up. Like this one, its on its way to being used up, but it brings me joy every day, so if I put it away I cant enjoy it. So, yes, its important to preserve our quilts for the future. On t he other hand, we should enjoy them today.

PS; What has happened to quilts that you have made for your family or friends?

LB; For the most part they enjoy them and appreciate them. I have requests for quilts all the time . I did graduation quilts for all my nieces and nephews as they graduated from high school. They re now starting to get married so Im 00:21:00doing a quilt for when they get married. Theyre thrilled wit h them. I have made a few flannel quilts that werent any great works of art that got used up. Me aning, the dog got ahold of them. They got holes in them. I got them back to see if I could salvag e them and it was like, No, sorry. Have to throw that one out. Ill make you a new one. But I ca nt say that theyve-- well, maybe when the dog gets ahold of them they get a little abused, but for the most part theyr e not abused. Theyre appreciated.

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

LB; One of the challenges, I think, is that the general public thinks that a quilt is worth whatever J. C. Penny sells them for. You know, theyre selling the imports from China for fifty- eight dollars and the man on the street thinks the quilt is worth fifty- eight dollars, when, if Im making a quilt, or 00:22:00anybodys making a quilt using quality fabrics, you ve got a hundred dollars into the fabrics alone, plus all your hours of labor on there. So, its hard to get across that these quilts are worth more than what they are selling for in the store. Another t hing, too, I think a lot of people, if I tell people Im a quilter, they say, Oh thats a dying art. W ell, no. No it isnt. You dont live in my world, so you might think that, but its really not true.

PS; Have you ever been a board member or a chair of a committee in a guild?

LB; Yes, actually when I first joined the guild, a couple of months after I joined, I got a call from somebody on the nominating committee and asked if I wanted to be the secretary. And it was ki nd of out of the blue. It was like, Well, what the heck. Why not? And that was a great way to ge t to know people in the guild; is to jump right in and join the board. I think I was secretary for fiv e years. I was vice- president for a couple of years. I was 00:23:00president for two years. I chaired the quilt show for one yea r.

PS; Thats a big job.

LB; Yup.

PS; Do you teach quilting? Or have you taught quilting?

LB; I have. Not consistently anywhere. Ive taught at quilt camp. Ive taught some classes at som e of the local quilt shops.

PS; Have you ever won an award?

LB; Yes, a few. At our quilt show Ive won, I dont know what Ive won. Ive won a number. On e year I was very pleased to see that I won Best of Show at the quilt show. It was kind of funny b ecause my brother had been visiting and I had that quilt on a spare bed and he was looking at it a nd it was like, Well, thats an ugly quilt. [Both laugh.] You know men. They give their opinion. You know, of course it doesnt bother me because his opinion is not 00:24:00mine and it went to the quil t show and it won Best of Show. So then, now when he sees a quilt that Im working on hell say, Oh, looks like another award winner.

PS; Anything else youd like to discuss? Did we miss anything?

LB; I dont know. I dont know. I dont think so.

PS; Okay. This concludes our interview. Its 1:04 p.m. Thank you, Lori.

LB; Okay.