August through November, 2005, the
Saluda County Museum featured an exhibit of quilts and other forms
of the needle arts, both old and new. Bob Horne, Museum Director, put
out a call in the newspaper for local individuals to place on loan with the museum
items that are representative of these kinds of crafts. A local club, the Saluda
County Quilters, agreed to help with the exhibit. These talented ladies had
made dozens of quilts for charitable purposes. They had also made the beautiful
Saluda County Centennial Quilt that was a highlight of the 1976 anniversary
of the founding
of the county. This one-of-its-kind quilt is showcased in the Saluda County Courthouse.
The needle arts were an important part of the lives of women in days gone by. They saved scraps left over from sewing garments for the family and even from old, discarded clothing to make the quilts so necessary for household use. These quilts, though vital for warmth on cold winter nights in unheated bedrooms, were also outlets for their creativity. The intricate patterns formed a mosaic of the life of the family, and years later each small square of calico or plaid or stripe could be identified as having been used for Peggy’s dress or Johnny’s shirt. Quilting also provided ladies an outlet for socializing in those earlier, less hectic times, and many a recipe or cure for a sick child or juicy tidbit of local gossip was shared around a quilting frame.
Traditionally, women have always been the “keepers of the hearth,” and to many of them then as now that meant trying to incorporate a little beauty into their homes. The modern lady of the house can go out and purchase bed linens of literally any color and pattern, but her counterpart of yesterday often made her own. Always white and made of sturdy stuff, they were meant to last for years and stand up to lye soap and the boiling wash pot. This didn’t stop her, though, from adding her own little embellishments. Her pillow “slips” as she called them might be embroidered with bright flowers, birds, or butterflies and edged with intricate crocheted or tatted lace. Likewise, she might have created a matching dresser scarf and an antimacassar for the back of her husband’s chair. Almost noone has the time or inclination to create such things today, but many of these pieces have survived as testimony to the creative spirit of our grandmothers and their mothers.
The needle crafts are still very much alive, though. Quilters abound, still piecing their intricately cut materials into lovely works of art, and crochet hooks and knitting needles still speed along in the hands of those who create gorgeous items from simple threads and yarns. While it is not very likely that women today can spare the time to sit on the porch in the afternoon shade or by the fire on winter nights creating lovely handwork, still many do manage to incorporate these timeless forms of self-expression into their daily lives.
This exhibit, appropriately called “Stitches in Time,” showcased items such as these mentioned and many others. The society invited anyone having handmade baby clothes, crocheted doilies, afghans, bedspreads, tablecloths, knitted items, tatting, and embroidery of all types to loan them to the museum for display. They could include antique pieces or recently made examples of needle crafts. Many made it a point to come by to see what talented hands of yesterday and today had created.
