Mary Fons is a writer, editor, and host who specializes in quilt history and the life of the quilt in American culture. She hosts a live broadcast streaming on RU-vid and on Twitch called Quilt Nerd. Visit twitch.tv/yomaryfons for the schedule.
From 2010-2015, Mary served as co-host of PBS’s Love of Quilting alongside her mother, quilter Marianne Fons. In 2009, Mary created and hosted Quilty, a weekly online how-to quilt show, and served as editor of Quilty magazine. Mary has taught patchwork techniques and delivered lively lectures on American quilt history and culture to many thousands of quilters in North America and the UK.
Mary is a member of the advisory board of the International Quilt Museum and reads dissertations in quilt scholarship for fun. She holds a BA in theater (University of Iowa) and an MFA in writing (School of the Art Institute of Chicago). She's currently developing a quilt history series for TV. She lives in downtown Chicago and in London.
I was victimized by one of these. Well known charity too. They actually refused my quilt and insisted I pay full market value for materials. Brutal and very hurtful.
I would cry if I new one of my mothers quilts ended up cut to shreds which would only be used till the fad was over. It would kill me. Doesn’t these people know what work and time goes into one quilt ?
I once was making a wedding quilt for my brother and his wife. The pattern came from a quilt magazine. I was working on the hand appliqués when a scene Hannah and her sisters, that I was watching showed the sisters chatting under a quilt….. the same one I was making! Wow
I understand your thinking. Some quilts get new tops and backings due to wearing out. My grandma cut up one of her quilts and made each grandchild a clothes rack. To each their own. I hate to see quilts for sale at the secondhand store for next to nothing....but I cannot store abandoned quilts in my home. I wish I could be a quilt rescuer, but it is not feasible. I will not depart with my grandmother's quilts though. Quilts are art, but they are also utilitarian. I think it depends on the quilt. If I decide to cut up a quilt to make a coat, it's my choice.
I love you, Mary Fons! I have been so intimidated by the “quilt police!” I have even completely changed a quilt after the “are you really going to….?” And I hated the quilt and never finished it! Thank you for legitimizing ignoring them! I feel free!!!!
So interesting hearing that the quilt show at the Whitney traveled to Japan. American quilt designs were very popular in Japan at that time. My grandmother passed down a number of Japanese quilt magazines from the 60s and 70s that had like articles talking about like the Amish tradition in quilting and explaining victory quilts and the like. And these magazines would always include lots of lovely photographs and patterns for "American" style quilts.
You're funny. This is a joke right? I was searching for patterns for quilted clothing and your video was the first I came across. I learned about things I can create now! Not just your alternatives, but coats and fanny packs! Thank you!
This is just so powerful and I regularly come back to listen to it because once again, I am the queen of unrequited love. There's a pain to it but it's also very beautiful at the same time. Thanks, Mary - I love you too. ❤
Clearly, you have not seen Lady Lancaster quilt coats. I am desperately searching for one of her patterns (obviously not available, duh) because I can't part with that much cash, well, maybe I could because they are fabulous!! I actually come from a long line of Mennonite hand quilters. I have a few family heirloom quilts that I used to display until they became faded. They still have plenty of life, so now that you brought up the subject, I actually feel like I have buried them alive in my closet. I still have a couple I made myself back in my early days before rotary cutters and rulers and they are even hand quilted. Hours and hours of fun did I have making those quilts. I just might make one of my own into a cozy comforting hug of a memory. I wasn't sure if you were really mad about this until you totally emphasized your feelings with some colorful language. But I half expected to see you walk into the sunset wearing a Lady Lancaster duster and some cowboy boots. I long ago dismissed the quilt police even though I still have a lot of admiration for a well pieced and hand stitched quilt.
Generations of my family are from Oklahoma, and further South than that. They have all always claimed that the Quilt Code was real. It wasn't that specific story... but it was a warning here and a show as to where to go for the meeting or if someone that was unsafe was at the house. (the monkey wrench) Also, one has to remember that so many of the blocks have similar names, especially the Monkey Wrench Block. The Snail Trail is technically a Monkey Wrench. As is the Shoe Fly, and several others. Yes, there were some quilts that may have more than one of the blocks to make a simple statement, but no one knew if the people were with the underground railroad or just loved the blocks. Only specific places and people were using the code, supposedly. Just like the markings on the trees. I mean, who would be looking for arrow markings on trees? Would you think a broken heart carved in a tree wasn't about the death of a loved one there, or that it mean to go alone further? So many thing are accepted due to the generational information. BTW, I learned about the Quilt code in the early `1960's , when my Grandma showed me the quilts made by my Great-great Aunt in the TB sanitorium back in the WWI era. The story is old as my family it seems... as my Great-great-great Grandma is the one to tell the story to the following generations, inclueing my grandma. She was born in 1860. Doesn't matter if it's true or not at this point. The fact is we needed more people to help resolve the slavery problem and the financial problems that followed afterwards for the entire United States! And yes, I feel better after the puppy pic! mwahs little poochie!
I usually machine piece and hand quilt. Years ago I took my mother-in-law to a quilt show and there was an exhibit showing how a quilt is made. She looked at it, sniffed disdainfully, and said, "Hmmp! Machine pieced!" I said, "Mara, how do you think I do my quilts?" You could literally see the idol tumbling off the pedestal! She replied, "Well, in my day, it wasn't a real quilt unless it was all by hand!" (By the way, she had never made but one quilt in her life--a baby quilt that took her 9 years!) Okay, how far back do we have to take it to make it an authentic quilt? Back to my great-great-grandmother who started with her own sheep, produced her own wool fabric, and turned it into a hand quilted quilt? I don't intend to give up my sewing machine and my beautiful patterned cottons!
I’m a French women so I never heard of those myth before, it was so interesting to learn more about the history (real or not) of quilting in the US and what impact it has on todays beliefs in the matter. I love you way of explaining things !
Hello I do agree with your thoughts. This should never be happening commercially. But in the private sector I believe we need to respect families on what they need to do. I would like to talk to you more. You are not wrong. Thanks for your time.
I'm trying to keep up. Your enthusiasm is overwhelming. I know of you because of your mother. Whom I love. I saw you on a special some years ago. You said there was no actual written history to back up the underground railway quilts story. (Or something like that) I always hoped I simply misunderstood you.
Mary needs therapy. I watched her when she was on her mom's tv show and she knew nothing and I saw a quilt she made on the cover of their magazine in green. She was not a quality quilter. Im sure she is proud of her work but these are not museum pieces. Being lectured on everything these days is getting old. Do your thing Mary and be extreme and turn off many many people by calling them murders. This video is not convincing to me. The video from Ken Burns and his love of quilts is so worth watching.
This post just turned up on my feed, 2 years late, LOL. I agree with you Mary. I have read a lot of the comments and most are so anti and nasty. People she is talking mainly of old old quilts, not ones from the 80"s. It would be like cutting up the original Stars and stripes flag to make a tote bag, just because. Another craze was doing mozaic tiling with antique plates. WTF, use modern cheap stuff.or cutting up a Victorian wedding dress, to make it more modern. If you destroy the past you can't learn from it. First is, if you come across an old quilt, see if a museum might like to own it. If they don't, then sell omline, then no buyers, maybe turn it into a coat which you will wear for one seasom, then thrift it. If no one wants it then hello land fill. 1 year delayed, but what the heck. That upcycler is taking credit for the beautiful designs, probably hand stitched and making out its her creation. Ruffled collars WTF. Ps sure if you buy it it is yours,, but this is a trend. If you see this. I bet the trend is over.
Hi from France ! I just discovered your channel thanks to this video and this is so interresting for the stitch nerd I am and I'm going to watch your other videos! Thanks for this amzing work !
Anyone have the name of The 1930’s quilt with a big star and swirl of rainbows? When she was talking about the worlds fair quilt competition. I just cant make out the text and I would love to look into this quilt more.
Hi Cat ❤ I'm a recovering planner need. I don't even want to think about all the money I've spent on fancy planners since I got my first one back in the 80's. . All the fancy features always ended up being neglected/going to waste because I'm not a CEO, I'm just a regular person. It's taken me years to figure out a simple page is all I really need. Even a bullet journal is more complicated than I need. I'm loving your composition book method, simple, concise format, not heavy to lug around. At the beginning of the school year our Walmart always has these marked down to 50c. I stock up while the price is down. Thanks for your inspiration😊
I remember as a child us cousins playing under the wooden quilting rack as my grandmother and aunts quilted. Quilts were recycled, just adding new quilt tops made from whatever fabrics available. They would become so heavy (invention of weighted blankets??) a small child couldn’t roll over under them. I still have some of those quilts and have carried on the quilting tradition, although I use her pedal Singer for an end table!
Amen! Yes... It's absolutely disrespectful to cut up an antique quilt, hodge podge it back together as some jank IDK what that's now been sloppily serged togethger, is a ratty disgrace, the quilt's original pattern is ruined, then be greedy & sell your not! handmade piece of garbage, as handmade for an outrageous dollar figure, that's not described truthfully & can never be cleaned, so it ends up in the landfill, because it's now a hideous mess, filthy & can't be washed, so nobody would want it. What a sad, effed up, greedy story. Aaaggghhh! Calgone, take me away!
I can relate to your experience in the museum. The Underground Railroad Museum in Cincinnati had a quilt show of 500 years of slavery. Each quilt focused on a single year of that history. I walked through that exhibit for hours, openly weeping. I learned so much history that I never knew. The works were spectacular. There is an incredible quilt on permanent display there as well. Thank you for telling a more complete history of quilts.
Also communities of women would get together and trade fabrics with each other for more variety in their quilts. Or each woman might make squares on their own, so when they got together they would have a "quilting bee" to quilt the quilt sandwich together. Often this was done like having a bridal shower for a young woman prior to her marriage. Thank you for the video.
Seems suspicious. Like, follow the dollar, right? Joe Mnuchin, a Trump crony is possibly interested in buying it. So, it seems to me, you force a company to go bankrupt and then it’s up at a fire sale.🤔. Just saying…
I enjoy quilts and love the idea of saving them but I do believe that my quilt my desire of what to do with it. Don’t mean it nasty , I wish my mother had turned her mothers and grandmothers quilt had been turned into something because she didn’t take care of it as a proper quilt and sad. She never took care of anything….. I was gifted with a quilt from the 1800s and I am thinking of donating it to a museum to keep it in great condition. I do feel their importance and a reverence for the people who made them and what was meant for them. I see both sides
Hi Mary I’ve just found your RU-vid Just watched “Stop cutting up Quilts” from 2 years ago. So important this subject.Thank you for standing up for beautiful old Quilts that we should be cherish .
My acceptance letter was a small envelope, but the instructions on how to pay for it I recall as being a big fat envelope, LOL. I wish you every success! (My PhD is in Interdisciplinary Studies, focus on career development). Best of everything that you get an exciting email soon!
I am terrified to list my quilts for sale because of this. I had a collection of antique quilts that I donated to an historic house museum hoping to keep them safe for furture generations from quilt hackers. I would not even trust my family not to sell them to these so called fashion upcycling designers. This is a fashion travesty and a huge historic loss for future generations. These quilt garment will eventually end up in a landfill. Please dont buy them.
