Plains Folk: Preserving Quilts--Finding Symbolism in a 'Persian Pickle'

NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

October 8, 1998

Plains Folk: Preserving Quilts—Finding Symbolism in a `Persian Pickle'

Tom Isern, Professor of History
North Dakota State University

Keeping an old quilt in good shape through the years is more complicated than I had thought, but Ann Braaten explains it as well as anyone can. She's the curator of the Emily Reynolds Costume Collection at North Dakota State University. She recently gave a workshop on quilt preservation in connection with an exhibition of quilts at the Plains Art Museum in Fargo.

It's the varied composition of quilts that makes them subject to unusual stresses, Ann explains. A quilt is made up of a bottom, a patchwork top, batting in between and thread holding it together. The problem is that these elements may be composed of different textiles. One quilt might include cotton, wool, nylon and unidentified materials. Each material responds to the environment—temperature, light, humidity, physical manipulation—differently. No wonder the stitches give.

Few of us can provide the optimum storage conditions recommended for museum practice, but we can use common sense. For instance, what room is best for storage of quilts? Not the attic or basement. Ann says to think about what room is most comfortable year-round, and that's the best one for quilts. Also, you have to be careful of light falling on quilts in use or on display. Even indirect light will do damage with prolonged exposure, but window treatments and ultraviolet films can help minimize the harm.

The best way to store quilts is rolled onto carpet rolls along with polyester batting. Roll them face side in; that stretches the stitches less. If they are to be folded and boxed, then fold them loosely and wrap them in acid-free paper (available from archival or museum catalogs) or in clean sheets. Make sure that quilts going into storage are clean, as stains attract vermin. Be sure to inspect the items in storage now and then to catch any problems early.

As Ann was finishing her workshop, women started bringing old quilts forward, like maybe she could lay hands on them and heal them. She at least gave good advice. It seemed to me the women brought the quilts forward only partly for the advice, though, and partly to show them off. The first one held up was a 150-year-old piece made by the great-great-grandmother of the woman who held it. It was full of color—red geraniums and green foliage affixed to yellow patches.

Watching this, my mind drifted to some recent reading, "The Persian Pickle Club," by Sandra Dallas. This is a novel set in Harveyville, Kan., a little town south of Topeka where the author has family roots. Before reading it, I knew Harveyville only as the bromegrass capital of the world. Evidently there are some other things going on beneath the surface. "Persian Pickle" is another name for a paisley print, the pattern that gave its name to a quilting club among farm women around Harveyville. There are several plots in the book and several layers of symbolism associated with quilting.

Judging by the numerous scandals and intrigues stitched into the novel, it might have been called "The Peyton Place Persian Pickle Club." I won't give away the plot because it's enough to say that the women know a lot more about local affairs than they are telling. Women should read "The Persian Pickle Club" for a chuckle. Men should read it for their own self-defense.

I read it because I was in search of a metaphor. History is what I do for a living, and most of the models for it are masculine. I've been looking for the right symbol to express a way of doing history that is less combative and more community-oriented. After listening to Ann and reading "The Persian Pickle Club," I think I've found it.

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Source: Tom Isern (701) 231-8339

Editor: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136