For the Breakfast Club at Prairie Pieces Quilt Shop early Saturday, the morning wasn’t just about quilting; it was about learning, sharing memories and learning about the Great Depression.
The Breakfast Club was started in January by Trudi Cobb and by the owners of Prairie Pieces Quilt shop, sisters Sue Bluebaugh and Linda Carter. The Breakfast Club was formed after they discovered the book “Stories and Recipes of the Great Depression” by Rita Van Amber, a child of the depression born in rural Minnesota. Van Amber compiled five volumes of the book and is still seeking out new stories for future volumes. The women had the idea to start a Saturday morning quilting group that focuses on trying a recipe from the book and reading the stories from the book. The group meets once a month and also shares depression-era quilts and swaps quilting tips as well.
On Saturday, several women filled a room off to the side of the quilt shop. The recipe for the month was home-churned butter and sourdough bread. A large glass butter hand-churner was passed among the group while Carter talked about the Depression. Saturday’s theme was Works Project Administration projects from the Depression, specifically, the building of outhouses. The Works Project Administration was set up to put people in the United States to work. About 15 million people were out of work in 1933. During this time, 35,000 men and women were trained in carpentry to construct toilets, septic tanks and clay pipes for drainage. This was necessary because water supplies were being contaminated by waste and was causing an epidemic of diseases.
More than 2,300,000 “privies” were built in the United States. Those who needed an outhouse signed up and paid $5 for materials. If they couldn’t afford the $5, the government paid it for them, Carter said. The outhouses were fly-proof and halted diseases like typhoid fever in America.
The Breakfast Club also discussed quilts made out of flour and feed sacks. Carter spoke of some of the unique aspects of flour and feed sacks during this time period. During the Depression, many of these sacks had colorful prints on them and were made into quilts or children’s clothing. In 1948, a straw poll was conducted when President Harry Truman was running for re-election against Thomas Dewey. The Percy-Kent Bag Co. made one design for Republicans and one for Democrats on feed sacks that held Staley Pullet Atoms Feed.
Following discussion, members of the Breakfast Club shared their own quilts and materials. Regina Falcetto of Emporia, brought her husband’s grandmother’s quilt that was made in the 1930s and was made out of printed feed sacks. The quilt isn’t finished and Falcetto inquired about the best way to finish it.
Debbie Lingenfelter of Miller brought a large quilt that her mother had given her for her 18th birthday. It was made by church ladies. She’s had the quilt since the 1960s. Lingenfelter’s quilt brought on a discussion about quilting techniques. Carter said many times when quilters didn’t have enough material to make a two-inch square they’d use another piece of material to fill in the gaps.
“They used everything,” Carter said.
Memories also were shared on Saturday. Linda Robinson of Florence recalled going to other people’s homes when she was a child and the adults spent the day quilting. Sometimes the children would sit under the quilt and push the needles back through, Robinson said. Sometimes the children would play games like croquet as well.
During discussion, the group continued to churn the butter, which in the end took an hour and a half to make. The Depression-era sourdough bread was used to taste the butter as the group laughed at how long it took to make it.
Bluebaugh said hand quilting will soon be a lost art.
“Hand quilting is probably going to be an art that will dissipate in another generation,” she said. “I think it’s a lost art.”
Prairie Pieces also holds other groups in addition to the Breakfast Club — Knotty Girls, which focuses on appliqué; Crabbies, which focuses on embroidery and patterns from Crabapple Hill Patterns; and the Saturday Sample Club, which allows members to sample different blocks of quilt fabric. Anyone interested in joining a group can call Prairie Pieces at 342-9110.
create (anonymous) says...
I love, love, love this shop and the ladies who work there. I joined a couple of clubs and they're not only a lot of fun, but I've learned to hone my own skills and to correct bad habits too.
March 9, 2009 at 4:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )