Say My Name: "In War Time, 1863," by Jane A. Stickle

Good morning, Quilty Peeps!  Today's post is another in a series exploring and organizing my thoughts around the many quilts I hope to make "Someday," in order to deter myself from wasting time chasing the so-called Squirrel Projects that sometimes distract me.  The idea is that, before I purchase a new pattern or project materials, I'll consult my new Future Quilt Plans page at the top of my blog and decide whether I really want to invest the time in that new distraction project, or whether I really would be happier digging into one of my Bucket List quilts instead.  It has recently dawned on me that I probably won't live long enough to make every single quilt that strikes my fancy, so I want to be more intentional about which quilts I admire from a distance and which ones I choose to make for myself.

"In War Time, 1863" by Jane A. Stickle

"In War Time, 1863" 80.25 x 80.25 Original Antique Quilt by Jane A. Stickle

So much has been written about this iconic quilt.  You can see it in person at the Bennington Museum in Bennington, Vermont (check first before traveling as it's not always on display) and the best history of the quilt maker Jane A. Stickle can be found in the Summer 2013 issue of the Walloomsack Review on the museum's website here.  I know some of you have already made one or more versions of this quilt and others of you have it on your own Wanna-Make lists, but you're likely calling the original antique quilt by a different name.

Jane A. Stickle Named Her Quilt "In War Time, 1863."  NOT "Dear Jane"

One of the many remarkable things about Stickle's quilt is that, very unusually for the period, her quilt includes a label that names her quilt "In War Time, 1863" as well as the number of pieces in the quilt (5,602) and her name, Jane A. Stickle.  The "Dear Jane Quilt" moniker derives from a 1996 book by Brenda Manges Papadakis in which the author extols the virtues of the Stickle quilt and presents self-drafted line drawing reproductions of the blocks interspersed with extensive imaginary correspondence with the quilt maker.  Papadakis was so smitten with the Stickle quilt that she was inspired to learn everything she could about the quilt maker, the world she inhabited, and what was happening around her during the time she made the quilt.  However, Jane Stickle was an ordinary woman of declining fortunes living in times when ordinary women's lives tended to go undocumented.  We know she was childless, we know she was married but living apart from her husband at one point in their marriage when the census listed him as living with some other, much younger wife.  Later censuses show Jane living with her husband again, filing for bankruptcy, and ending her life as a ward of the state.  "In War Time, 1863" was a project she devised to pass time when she was bedridden.  

Papadakis' book Dear Jane: The Two Hundred Twenty-Five Patterns from the 1863 Jane A. Stickle Quilt  and the many classes she taught have been instrumental in sharing Stickle's exquisite masterpiece with hundreds of thousands of quilters worldwide, both challenging and encouraging readers to attempt reproductions and variations based on the original.  If Papadakis had not written about and popularized this quilt, I probably wouldn't even know it existed.  And, to her credit, Papadakis herself refers to Jane's quilt reverentially as "The Quilt" and only nicknames her students and their quilts as "Baby Janes."  The quilt only became known as "The Dear Jane Quilt" colloquially subsequent to the publication of the Papadakis book as quilters around the world fell in love with the quilt and began the journey of making “Dear Jane” quilts themselves.  

Which is all well and good, except what would that look like if Jane Sickle had been a male artist, working in a highly esteemed medium like oil painting rather than the oft-denigrated “women’s work” of needle craft?

The Dear Leonardo Portrait

The "Dear Leonardo" Portrait (instead of Mona Lisa or La Giaconda) by Leonardo Da Vinci?

My beloved Leonardo,

         I dreamed of you with longing today whilst working on my replica of The Portrait.  Who was this woman you painted, and what did she mean to you?  She must have sat in your presence for hours on end as you painted, close enough to breathe the same air, staring directly into your smoldering eyes and inhaling the intoxicating scent of your manhood.  Was she your mother, as some have supposed, the wife of your father's merchant friend Giaconda, or your own secret paramour, smirking at you playfully?  Perhaps she tried to keep a straight face as was customary in portraits of the time, but your ribald stories and dirty jokes broke down her maidenly reserve.  You lived through such an amazing time, what with the Renaissance and the Medici family's campaign to Make Florence Great Again...  Oh Leonardo, if only we were not separated by the centuries, I know you and I would be lovers as I am truly your soul mate now that I am copying your painting and thereby gaining access to your very soul!  I long to lick your paint brushes clean and will never stop searching for more of your precious paintings.

                                                     Your Playmate,

                                                      Rebecca Grace

Now seriously -- Isn't that WEIRD when it’s me writing letters to Leonardo Da Vinci instead of Brenda Papadakis writing letters to Jane Sickle?  Writing to "My beloved Jane" and signing off "your playmate Brenda" comes straight out of the Papadakis book.   (There are no sexual overtones in Papadakis’ letters to Jane, however.  I got carried away with my letter to Leonardo…)

Okay, so suppose I wrote a whole book full of entertaining letters like that to Leonardo Da Vinci, titled my book "Dear Leonardo: How to Paint the Famous Portrait by Leonardo Da Vinci,” and my letters were entertaining and made readers feel a personal connection to the artist and exploded his popularity and reach and thousands of people all around the world were coming together to create their own versions of the portrait -- and from then on, everyone referred to the Mona Lisa as "The Dear Vincent Portrait" instead of as the Mona Lisa? 

The Dear Pablo Painting

The "Dear Pablo" Painting (instead of Guernica) by Pablo Picasso?

Oh my dear Pablo,

         I was thinking about that horrible Spanish Civil War today as I copied the images in your Painting.  What a surprise to learn that other countries besides the United States have experienced copycat versions of our American Civil War!  The woman holding the child in her arms has very lopsided breasts and I wonder if I should even them out for my book or if you did that on purpose.  Maybe she is crying because her boobs are so weird; that would make me cry, too.  Did you pray for the soldiers and civilian victims as you created The Painting?  Were any of them quilters?  Were you friends with Francisco Franco, the leader of the Nationalist Forces?  I imagine you taking long walks along the river Ebro with Miguel de Unamuno, who was a prominent Spanish essayist and playwright working around the same time as you were commissioned to create The Painting.  What were you thinking?  What were you eating?  What were you wearing?

                                               I want to know you,

                                                Rebecca Grace

Once again, "Oh my dear Jane" and signing off "I want to know you, Brenda" come straight from the Dear Jane book.  The artificial familiarity and "I wonder if you knew so-and-so who lived at the same time" are similarly inspired.  I had great fun writing both of these letters, by the way.  😂. All silliness aside, I do have a point to make here:

We would never disrespect distinguished male artists like Leonardo da Vinci or Pablo Picasso by renaming their artworks to suit our fancy, habitually referring to those artists casually and intimately on a first-name basis, or allowing the personality and daydreams of obsessed fans of their work to steal the attention and acclaim due to the artists themselves.

And that is why, if and when I make an adaptation or a faithful reproduction of this magnificent quilt, I will refer to it as "In War Time, 1863" or simply as "My Jane A. Stickle Reproduction Quilt."  If we want masterpieces in the quilted textile medium to be honored and recognized as an art form, and we wish for women artists to be as revered for their genius as their male counterparts, then we need to reevaluate the language we use when discussing significant quilts and their makers.  Just putting that out there as something to think about.  Obviously, anyone who puts in the hundreds of hours required to make their own quilt based on the original by Jane Stickle can call absolutely call their quilt whatever they want!  

"Newfangled Jane" by Gwen Nishida, Quilted by Judi Madsen in 2011

"Newfangled Jane!" by Gwen Nishida, Quilted by Judi Madsen in 2011

For instance, the version above in Kaffe Fassett print fabrics was made by Gwen Nishida and custom quilted by Judi Madsen in 2011.  Nishida named her quilt "Newfangled Jane!" and I love absolutely everything about it, from her unconventional fabric choices (for the time she was making it) to Madsen's elegant and exquisite custom quilting.  This may have been one of the first versions of the Jane Stickle quilt that I ever saw when Judi posted about it on her Green Fairy Quilting blog here.  In the 14 years since Nishida’s quilt was completed I’ve seen lots more versions of the Stickle quilt in bright fabrics and I love them all.  

I own the book by Brenda Manges Papadakis, and I also own the Dear Jane Add-On for EQ so I can print out templates, foundation paper piecing patterns, or line-drawings of any of the blocks.  There are plenty of free online resources to help with suggesting construction methods, including dedicated Facebook groups, YouTube videos, and blogs.  Tula Pink has recently started making a version of the Jane A. Stickle quilt in Tula fabrics, and I can't wait to see how her quilt turns out!

Reasons for me to make this quilt?  I like the variety of a sampler and I like the challenge and complexity of these diminutive 4 1/2" blocks as well as the distinctive and unusual border treatment.  Reason NOT to make this quilt?  So many people have made reproductions and variations of the Stickle’s quilt already that I'm not sure I have anything new or different to say.  Do we really need one more version of this quilt that looks like thousands of other versions?  Not sure which fabrics I would use either, but the original antique quilt was notable for not repeating a single fabric (other than the background) for more than one block.  I do like the white background and the wild variety of print fabric scraps used for the blocks.  That’s as far as I’ve gotten with my musings.

And that's all I have to say about this quilt for today!  I'm adding it to my Future Quilt Plans page for further consideration.  I see similarities between the Jane A. Stickle quilt and the Susan Smith's Stonefields quilt (the one I’m planning to start next) in that both are sampler quilts featuring half-size blocks in a mix of patchwork and appliqué, utilizing a variety of prints, with an antique traditional aesthetic.  It may be that, after making one of these two quilts, I no longer feel compelled to make the other one.  We’ll see.

Have you or any of your friends made a version of the Jane Sickle quilt?  Is there one reproduction or "inspired by" quilt that is so stunning, I really need to see it?  Do you have strong opinions about this quilt, one way or another?  Please let me know in the comments.

I'm linking up today's post with the following favorite linky parties:

MONDAY

Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts  

Monday Musings at Songbird Designs  

TUESDAY

To-Do Tuesday at Quilt Schmilt  

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday Wait Loss at The Inquiring Quilter

THURSDAY

Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation  

FRIDAY

Finished or Not Friday at Alycia Quilts

Off the Wall Friday at Nina Marie Sayre

Beauty Pageant at From Bolt to Beauty

 TGIFF Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday, rotates, schedule found here: TGIF Friday

SUNDAY

Frédérique at Quilting Patchwork Appliqué

Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework