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PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
March 18, 2009
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Contact: Amy E. Milne, Executive Director
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QUILTERS' S.O.S. - SAVE OUR STORIES EXCEEDS 900 INTERVIEWS
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Asheville, North Carolina, March 18, 2009-The oral history project of the Alliance for
American Quilts, Quilters' S.O.S. - Save Our Stories, has surpassed the
milestone of 900 online interviews.
This is an impressive milestone for
a project that will celebrate its 10th anniversary this fall. The growth rate
for this groundbreaking online archive continues to be impressive: the most
recent 100 interviews have been posted since September, 2008. But the point
isn't just quantity.
 The transcribed interviews are meant to reflect the
sophistication and diversity of quilting in American today, to provide to
historians, collectors, quilt-lovers and quiltmakers themselves, a broadly
accessible archive of modern-day quilting. The interview subjects range from
the unknown to the famous, and cover a wide spectrum of techniques. There are
quiltmakers representating every state and multiple foreign countries, ranging
in age from 5 to 99. Recently, the project's first Spanish-language interview
was posted-- an interview with Peruvian quiltmaker Silvia Huaman Loa, pictured at right (http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/qsos/interview.php?pbd=qsos-a0a8v3-a).
Within the Q.S.O.S. archive, interviews are divided by state, organization,
guild, exhibit and special project. For example, the Daughters of the American
Revolution have documented members and contest winners, posting more than 100
interviews in recent years. Another project documents quiltmakers who made
quilts for the "Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece" exhibit organized by
quilt teacher Ami Simms. The 900th interviewee was Marjorie Diggs Freeman of
Durham, N.C., picture below at left (http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org//qsos/interview.php?pbd=qsos-a0a9y3-a),
one of about 50 quiltmakers interviewed who made a quilt inspired by President
Barack Obama.
 Q.S.O.S. was created as a grassroots effort to document,
preserve and share today's quiltmaking history as it happens. As such, the
Alliance has always invited anyone interested in participating to join the
project, and more than 200 individuals have conducted interviews to date. There
is a detailed manual available at the nonprofit AAQ's website
(http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/qsos/manual.php) for those who want to
conduct interviews. The project is overseen by a task force of quiltmakers and
seasoned interviewers. Karen Musgrave, a quiltmaker, curator, and former
Alliance board member, is co-chair of the Task Force and helps shape the goals
of Q.S.O.S.
"I don't think that we set out to
touch another's feelings and longings in an interview and yet in the course of
sharing and revealing ourselves words and images rise up that are as universal
as they are personal," says Musgrave. "They move into the common consciousness where others can
draw on them for strength and sustenance. This is the gift that the volunteers
for Quilters' S.O.S. - Save Our Stories give and will continue to give the
world."
All Q.S.O.S.
interviews are archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of
Congress, which attests to their importance as significant oral histories. The
Task Force continues to change the project's focus as quilting itself changes,
and to improve the usability of the database: a key word search function was
added so all the interviews can be searched simultaneously.
To get the
full flavor of this unusual project, here are several typically atypical recent
interviews to sample:
Irene Bigeagle, pictured below at right, talks about her quilt honoring
Kateri Tekakwitha, a 17th century Mohawk woman who is currently on track to
become the first Native American declared a saint by the Catholic church
(http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/qsos/interview.php?pbd=qsos-a0a9f4-a). 
Myrtle Bartley, pictured below at left, is a 99-year-old Kentucky quiltmaker who has been practicing the
craft for more than 80 years and has watched its remarkable transformation (add
photo)
(http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/qsos/interview.php?pbd=qsos-a0a9v0-a)
Barbara Wester is an Illinois quilter who became fascinated by painter Jasper
Johns and created an unusual quilt as an homage.
(http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/qsos/interview.php?pbd=qsos-a0a9s7-a)
Q.S.O.S. is a project of the Alliance for American Quilts, a national nonprofit
member organization committed to sharing and preserving the stories of quilts
and their makers, often by working with partner institutions such as museums and
universities. For general questions about the AAQ, contact Executive Director
Amy Milne, amy.milne@quiltalliance.org.
Specific questions about Q.S.O.S. can be directed to Karen
Musgrave,
karenmusgrave@sbcglobal.net or call 630-579-1024.
Let us know if you'd like an additional
list of recently added interviews, or go to the page listing the newest ones
(http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/qsos/).
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