Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - The Sleepy History of Quilting (Bonus)

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Starting point is 00:00:42 Add your teen to your Uber account today. and highly rated drivers. Add your team to your Uber account today. Welcome to Get Sleepy. Where we listen, we relax, and we get sleepy. As always, I'm your host Thomas. Thanks for joining us for this special bonus episode. We know that history episodes are some of your favorites and they're so popular in fact that we've decided to launch an entirely new show dedicated to them called Sleepy History. to them, called Sleepy History. It features calm stories from all areas of history, just like this one tonight. You'll find exclusive topics that you won't hear on Get Sleepy. These include the legend of El Dorado, the mysteries of Stonehenge, and the life of a Roman gladiator, plus many, many more to come.

Starting point is 00:01:47 You'll be guided by familiar narrators and enjoy the same soothing music and production that you've come to love from the team at Slumber Studios. So if you're a fan of our history episodes, be sure to search for Sleepy History on your favorite podcast player and hit the follow button. I'll put links to the show in the episode notes too. So, let's prepare to enjoy tonight's Sleepy History, which was written by Alicia Stefan and will be read by Heather. As you lie in your bed, you may be snuggling underneath your favorite blanket or duvet,

Starting point is 00:02:38 perhaps it's a comforter or a covering made of wool. But a hundred years ago or more, your bed covering might very likely have been a quilt. In fact, the history of quilting goes back further in time than many people think. This particular type of fabric work has been found in clothing, in floor coverings, and in wall hangings throughout the ages. Eventually, the humble craft became recognized as an art form. For hundreds, even thousands of years, the craft of quilting, which was mainly the task of women, has risen above mere utility to become art. So tonight, we'll journey back in time to explore the humble origins of quilting and to discover the ways in which it's preserved the lives and the stories of

Starting point is 00:03:51 history's quiet artisans. So make yourself cozy and comfortable, cocooned in the safety of your warm covers and allow your eyes to softly close if you haven't already done so. Steadily breathe in and out, allowing the cares of the day to fade away, leaving them in the past and feeling positive towards the new day that you'll be able to enjoy tomorrow. A good night's rest will set you up nicely for it. Simply listen along to Heather's soothing voice as we begin tonight's sleepy history. Celebrated textile artist Annie Albers once said the following, Usefulness does not prevent a thing, anything, from being art. Although Albers was primarily known for weaving, her sentiment about the beauty in everyday items

Starting point is 00:05:52 is applicable to many of the domestic crafts that were traditionally assigned to women. women. For centuries, the making of textiles and clothing was viewed as a household task, even when the blankets and garments involved showed evidence of great skill. In the last few decades, however, museums have begun to celebrate the artistry stitched into so many of these items. Among them, hailing from all different cultures, are many variety of quilts. As it happens, quilted fabric has been around since ancient times. The oldest surviving depiction of a quilted piece was discovered in the Temple of Osiris in Egypt in 1903.

Starting point is 00:07:16 Among its excavated treasures, there's a carving of a king of the First Dynasty. In that depiction, he's wearing a piece of cloth with decorative quilting on it. This 5,500-year-old object can be seen today in the collection of the British Museum. To find an example of the earliest surviving cloth artifacts, one must move forward in history. In fact, the oldest existing artifact of a quilted piece of fabric was discovered in a Mongolian cave in 1924. Dating to sometime between 100 BCE and 200 CE,

Starting point is 00:08:17 the item is thought to be a funerary rug. It is decorated in geometric shapes in the middle and has depictions of animals around the edge. Whether a piece of clothing, a rug, or a drape, the basic definition of a quilt is two pieces of cloth with some sort of padding stitched in between. And of course, it stands to reason that this very sensible method was being used in a variety of places other than Egypt and Mongolia. For practical purposes, quilted fabric provides softness and warmth. For example, the colorful tradition of making Raleigh quilts for this purpose in Pakistan and India is thought to go back as far as the 4th millennium BCE. The tradition of quilting may have traveled to Europe during the medieval period.

Starting point is 00:09:51 During that time, it became customary for soldiers to wear a padded jacket called an akaton underneath their chainmail. In fact, for the less wealthy fighters, a heavily padded jacket was often all that a soldier had to protect himself. European men took these padded garments with them from the Crusades, and the garment eventually transformed into what became known as a doublet. The use of the doublet in Europe lasted for 300 years. The island of Sicily provides the modern world with the oldest surviving example of a purely decorative quilted piece. Featuring scenes from the story of Tristan and DeZolda, the two remaining sections of this

Starting point is 00:10:57 famous piece of stitchery can now be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and in the Bargello Palace in Florence. Not only are these the oldest examples of a decorative medieval quilt, but they are also the only known surviving examples of blanket quilts from the era. The Tristan quilt, as it is called, consists of two layers of linen that are stitched together with wadding in between. that are stitched together with wadding in between.

Starting point is 00:11:50 Backstitching in cream and brown linen thread, combined with the raised stuffing, creates images and captions from the famous story. This stitching technique is called trapunto. Despite the decorative examples such as these that survive, it is thought that for the next few hundred years, most cultures were often quilting to at least some degree from the perspective of thrift or resourcefulness. For example, in the Kanthra quilts of India and Bangladesh, old saris and other used cloth were repurposed to piece together designs with spiritual meaning.

Starting point is 00:12:53 In Japan, in keeping with Shinto principles, quilters pieced together used scraps of fabric in the craft of Yosigera, which celebrates giving new life and vigor to old things. And in colonial America, settlers employed various methods of quilting to quickly and efficiently methods of quilting to quickly and efficiently make use of every last resource, always working hard to survive winter's chill. In fact, although it's common to think of American colonial women

Starting point is 00:13:51 sitting before the fire, making elaborate quilts, it's really true that not many people had the leisure time to think of their stitching as art in the beginning. Quilts were being made, but the focus was more on practical purposes rather than decoration. During that time, the blankets were used not just for warming beds, but also for hanging on the walls to keep out drafts.

Starting point is 00:14:32 These utilitarian items were made in a number of different ways, showing varying levels of practicality and artistry. showing varying levels of practicality and artistry. In the 18th century, there were a few different types of quilting methods that were popular. Many women would make what was known as a counterpane. This was simply whole cloth with padding sandwiched in between. Although decorative stitching was used to attach the pieces together, the goal was to complete a coverlet quickly.

Starting point is 00:15:22 cover it quickly. More often, when we have nostalgic thoughts about quilts, we imagine patchwork. This way of quilting in the United States evolved out of a combined desire for thrift and function. In an attempt to economize and get the most use out of every scrap, homemakers would sometimes spend years adding to these elaborate fabric constructions. Thousands of pieced and patched quilts from the years 1750 to 1850 still survive today, so it appears their painstaking work was worth it. But colonial women didn't invent patchwork. In actuality, the tradition goes back to ancient China. The craft may have originated as early as the 5th century CE,

Starting point is 00:16:38 during the Liu Song period of the Southern dynasty. the new song period of the Southern dynasty. The ruler at that time was rumored to have come from a poor home, where nothing could ever be wasted. As a symbolic reminder of their own good fortune, all of his royal children received patchwork robes commemorating their humble roots. His people followed that lead, making patchwork popular for a wide variety of families during his reign. families during his reign.

Starting point is 00:17:34 Later, Han women made patchwork garments in China called 100 Family's Robes. These were offered as gifts for their sons on important birthdays. They were sometimes made from scraps of fabric obtained from other local families. So in a sense, the robe was a community effort. The symbolic importance of this neighborly gift was to help the child repel unwanted spirits. Returning to the American colonial period, it's important to note that not all quilts were made with just one method or another. made with just one method or another. For example, one running theme in quilting at that time is the medallion quilt. This popular design was brought to the Americas from Europe. It featured a focal design in the middle of a piece of whole cloth.

Starting point is 00:18:51 This decorative center could be achieved using either patchwork, applique, embroidery, or all three. Indeed, the applique method was first found most among women with more leisure time, as they used it to make quilts that were intended to be a showpiece. to be a showpiece. In this practice, decorative shapes were laid atop whole cloth

Starting point is 00:19:34 and carefully stitched on. Much like patchwork quilts, this type was popular from the mid-18th to the mid-19th century. However, in contrast to methods like patchwork, it was a craft confined mainly to the wealthier classes who had the funds and the leisure time for this purely decorative pursuit. A less time-consuming way of deploying appliqué was the brodery purse quilt. With this method, a pattern was cut out of one printed piece of cloth and then carefully tacked onto another single piece of cloth, creating a large applique.

Starting point is 00:20:41 This allowed people to get more use out of a more costly length of fabric. They did this by cutting more than one design out of the expensive cloth and then applying it to a less expensive piece. Depending on the level of artistry, the design might have been carefully selected to represent a whole picture or rather randomly cut out. As a result, some of these quilts will look more meticulous than others, depending on the time and care used in their creation.

Starting point is 00:21:35 A famous example of the Brodery Purse method is an artifact known as the Rajah quilt. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the government in Great Britain operated a transport in which convicts would sometimes be sent to penal colonies in Australia. Over 150,000 prisoners, both men and women, were shipped abroad in this manor during that time. The journey was arduous. The journey was arduous. Philanthropic organizations of the era sometimes sought to improve the lives of these convicts by providing them with supplies for the trip or by offering some type of assistance with

Starting point is 00:22:44 rehabilitation or skill acquisition. In 1841, a woman named Lydia Irving arranged for a group of women on one of the ships to be given materials for quilt making to be used during the passage. About 29 of them are thought to have participated in the creation of the Raja Quilt, which was made as a gift for another philanthropist by the name of Jane Franklin. Some of the women's names are still known. Records show that about 15 of the women may have been skilled seamstresses, may have been skilled seamstresses, but the quilt is clearly a group effort, with some sections revealing more expert needlework than others.

Starting point is 00:23:56 It is made of 2,815 pieces. In addition to the depictions of flowers, wreaths, and birds, there is an inscription embroidered upon it. The inscription reads, To the ladies of the convict ship committee, this quilt worked by the convicts of the ship Raja during their voyage to Van Demon's land, is presented as a testimony of the gratitude with which they remember their exertions. For their welfare while in England and during their passage, and also as a proof that they have not neglected the ladies' kind admonitions of being industrious. Although historical references assure us that the making of this treasure was not a unique occurrence.

Starting point is 00:25:09 Its rediscovery in 1989 was important, since others like it had been lost to history. The Rajah quilt is now considered to be a very important holding in the National Gallery of Australia Textile Collection. From a modern perspective, it is an amazing testament to the survival of the spirit and the importance of community under difficult circumstances. The quilt and the history behind it tell a story that still resonates with us today. At the time that the Rajah quilt was made, the craft of quilting was also creating community under happier circumstances in the United States. As a key aspect of homemaking, the creation of warm blankets and hangings, was certainly a necessary everyday chore. However, homemakers found ways to bring meaning to their work

Starting point is 00:26:40 via the establishment of traditions and community. via the establishment of traditions and community. It was common for small groups of settlers to host an event like a barn raising, in which many families would come together to quickly complete a large building task on a farm. In the same way, women were known to collect in fellowship to quickly create special quilts. This might be done for a wedding or for a birth. wedding or for a birth. The gathering was known as a quilting bee and would produce as many as several finished

Starting point is 00:27:32 projects in a single event. In some regions of the United States, it was traditional for young women to make a baker's dozen of quilt tops. The first twelve would be basic quilts for utility purposes, and the thirteenth was to be considered her masterpiece, an exhibition of her skills. Upon her engagement, the bride-to-be would turn these tops into finished quilts, using them to furnish her home with her new spouse. Likewise, it was not uncommon for mothers to spend years making several quilts for each of her children to take with them when they left home.

Starting point is 00:28:38 This provision of a basic necessity, but with love and artistry by her own hand was a blessing placed on them for the future. In the mid-1800s, a Chicago man named Henry Davis produced a quilting attachment for sewing machines. produced a quilting attachment for sewing machines. Although one might expect the population to make a mad dash for such a convenience, the attachment was not widely used. It seems that quilting was too much of a product tied to pride and status for women to want to turn the work over to a machine. We would remiss in this history of quilting, not to mention the achievements of enslaved African Americans in the United States, who were contributing richly to the craft during the same period. These women were expected to make blankets for their enslavers,

Starting point is 00:30:06 but they also created quilts for themselves, drawing upon their own skill and traditions. In many cases, they created beautiful and meaningful pieces out of the humblest scraps, such as feed sacks and bits of old clothing. Known as the mother of African-American quilting, Harriet Powers was born into slavery in Georgia in 1837. At the end of the Civil War, she became a landowner with her husband and their nine children. She quilted both by hand and using a machine,

Starting point is 00:31:05 and displayed one of her creations, called the Bible Quilt, at the Athens Cotton Fair in 1886. It caught the attention of a local artist named Jenny Smith, who offered to buy it. But Powers refused to sell her beloved creation until years later, after she and her husband fell on hard times. hard times. When Powers decided to sell her quilt, she explained the imagery on each of the 11 panels to Smith, who recorded it for posterity.

Starting point is 00:32:03 They included depictions of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the story of Cain and Abel, the baptism, and the Last Supper among others. The Bible Quilt is now in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution. Another of Power's quilts, called the Pictorial Quilt, is preserved by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Both works use appliqué and piecework techniques, which are considered noteworthy for their bold images and storytelling. One notable fad in quilting during the late 19th century was the Victorian crazy quilt. This was a piece that was constructed of a wide variety of fancy fabrics, such as delicate silks, lush velvet, or satin and taffeta.

Starting point is 00:33:16 In contrast to more traditional quilts, these featured irregularly shaped scraps, These featured irregularly shaped scraps, even if the fabric pieces were not really salvaged from old clothing. More for decoration than for thrift, these blankets were also called slumber robes, or couch throws. They tended to be dark in color and sometimes even had embroidery on the scraps for the purpose of preserving memories or delivering protest messages about abolition or suffrage. They were intended to be fascinating and unusual works of art.

Starting point is 00:34:19 World War I gave quilting a whole new practical purpose. With wool being redirected to army blankets, the U.S. government launched a campaign urging people to turn to quilting for their own needs. The ads told people to save the blankets for our boys over there. Quilting as an art still remained popular in the ensuing decade, and the onset of the Great Depression in the United States in the 1930s made the thriftiness of quilting even more crucial than before. With money in short supply, every scrap was a treasure, and even feed bags and flower sacks were regularly repurposed to produce both clothing and blankets.

Starting point is 00:35:28 With the arrival of World War II, the making of quilts was not only considered patriotic, but it was sometimes used as a fundraiser. used as a fundraiser. Quilts were raffled for the troops, often with sponsors' names stitched upon them. Quilting expert Sue Rich has written an entire book about these wartime quilts, demonstrating their value as historical records.

Starting point is 00:36:16 At the end of the Second War, when the relative quiet of the 1950s began, quilting lost some popularity. It's possible that the thrift and frugality of the prior decades had worn thin far to find the art of quilting thriving among certain groups of artisans, even during that time period. For example, the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian has a collection of 88 quilts made by Native American women of the Northern Great Plains. These date from 1940 onward.

Starting point is 00:37:22 Historians relate that the people of these tribes took up quilting, partially in response to the disappearance of the bison, which had formally provided them with blankets and robes. Learning the basic art from missionaries, Learning the basic art from missionaries, they then imbued their quilts with their own unique style and special messages. The items in the Smithsonian collection incorporate both storytelling and geometric patterns, and they serve to preserve and celebrate the culture of the women who lovingly stitch them. Another excellent example of a thriving quilting community is that of the quilters of Gee's Bend, Alabama. Generally, the residents there are descendants of enslaved people who once labored on plantations.

Starting point is 00:38:38 After the Civil War, many of the same people became sharecroppers on the land, enduring as a tight-knit community. In the 1960s, the settlement in Gee's Bend and the nearby region was isolated due to discriminatory state policies. The residents found themselves struggling economically. Quilting was not new to the women of the area, but in response to their plight, along with other quilters in the region, they formed the Freedom Quilting Bee, a cooperative intended to spur income and opportunity via quilting. Quilts were taken to New York City for auction with the hope that they would attract attention to civil rights efforts,

Starting point is 00:39:48 as well as bringing the group income. The craft of the collection gained so much fame that the work of the women in the Freedom Quilting Bee ended up in the hands of celebrity decorators, as well as being mentioned in high fashion magazines. This exposure for their art was so meaningful that it may have helped spur a general national revival in quilting that surged throughout the ensuing decades. It didn't hurt that the craft of quilting was a perfect fit

Starting point is 00:40:40 with the back-to-the-land movements of the 70s after all. The legacy of the Freedom Quilting Bee has been profound. The rich history and amazing technique of the G's Bend quilts, in particular, are now recognized as great art. In a review of a Whitney Museum exhibition of these extraordinary quilts, the New York Times tells the story of the evolution of quilting in Gee's Bend. They describe the collection as, an indigenous style of quilting geometric patterns out of old britches,

Starting point is 00:41:39 cornmeal sacks, seers corduroy swatches, and hand-me-down leisure suits, whatever happened to be around, which was never much." The article continues by adding that, the results, not incidentally, turn out to be some of the most miraculous works of modern art America has produced. In the case of the talented women of Gee's Bend and the freedom quilting bee once again, Quilting produces exceptional artistry in response to a basic need. In 1980, celebrated African-American artist Faith Ringgold began exhibiting her first quilts. Prior to this time, she had been working in other media such as paint.

Starting point is 00:42:52 However, she said she felt inspired to move away from the tradition of the European men and towards a more feminine, diverse subject. She learned from her mother and grandmother whose quilting techniques had been passed down through generations of women in their family. Her quilts were meant to tell stories with themes that broke down racial and gender stereotypes

Starting point is 00:43:31 and celebrated empowerment for women. Today, her collections are exhibited across the globe, and she is viewed as an artist across the globe, and she is viewed as an artist who has also been an activist via quilting and other media. She has also been recognized with 23 honorary doctorate degrees. In 1987, quilting was chosen as a way to demonstrate love and remembrance for the victims of the AIDS epidemic. Amid a general denial and misunderstanding of the disease, activists created what would become the largest piece of folk art in the world.

Starting point is 00:44:33 Officially, the project was called the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. Each panel of this massive quilt measured three feet by nine feet, and displayed the name of a person who had passed away from AIDS-related causes. Unfolded on the National Mall that October, the quilt initially contained 1920 squares and required 48 volunteers just to unfold it. In 1989, the Names Project was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. The quilt grew each year as it toured the country. Due to its size, the organizers began rotating panels in and out in order to keep the displays manageable. By the year 2020, it was so large that it became available online. By this time, it had 50,000 panels with nearly 110,000 names.

Starting point is 00:46:19 Viewers were able to search the collection by name and read the stories upon the panels. One thing that makes the AIDS quilt so amazing is that each of the panels is created by different crafters using their own choice of materials. Thinking back to the quilting bees that once strengthened communities so long ago. It's poignant to see the direct line between those early American women and the vast community of people who are represented by the AIDS Quilt today. Their stitches join together to make something far bigger than themselves. In 2021, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston hosted a show containing 58 historical American quilts.

Starting point is 00:47:26 a show containing 58 historical American quilts. The collection sampled across 400 years of work, featuring the contributions of a broad cross-section of women, from a variety of backgrounds. The curator of the exhibit, Jennifer Swopey, was quoted in Smithsonian Magazine. She said of the quilts that, they can tell stories about culture, community, and the power of remembrance. Quilts, she said, bear witness.

Starting point is 00:48:24 Reaching back through history, the concept of quilting has always been applied to survival. As clothing, it provided warmth. As floor or bed coverings, it provided comfort and softness. But more than that, the people of each culture have used this practical, everyday art in order to tell their stories. Where a blanket could be ordinary so often, these textile artists have chosen to preserve something that can be shared. And in viewing the messages they left us, recorded in tiny stitches, blocks of fabric, and symbolic appliqués, we can understand a little bit more about where we all came from. Returning to the words of the venerable Annie Albers,

Starting point is 00:49:36 we find a simple statement that sums it all up. it all up. Along with cave paintings, threads were among the earliest transmitters of meaning. and very beautiful indeed. You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You you

Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - The Sleepy History of Quilting (Bonus)

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