Since 1986, a quiet and comforting project has been spreading its goodness all over Maine. It’s the quilt documentation project of Maine Quilt Heritage, a volunteer committee of the Pine Tree Quilters Guild Inc. It is dedicated to the preservation of the history of Maine’s quilts.

All too often, said committee member Wendy Reed, quilts are packed away in closets and attics, and there they stay until another generation discovers them after the maker, or the one who knows the provenance of the quilt, has passed on. The questions “who,” “when,” and “why” go unanswered. Recording the history of individual quilts keeps those unanswerable questions at bay and helps preserve Maine quilt heritage, she said.

During a quilt documentation day, volunteers examine, record and photograph quilts made before 1960. Each quilt receives a registration number. Forms are completed giving a description of the quilt and information the owner supplies about the quilt’s history.

Quilt analysts identify the quilt’s pattern and techniques used in making the quilt. The owner receives a copy of the registration number and the documentation information. The owner also receives information about taking care of the quilt.

“We have documented more than 2,500 quilts since 1986,” Wendy Reed said in an e-mail. “Our earliest dated quilt was 1797 – although we documented quite a few that were made in the same era, but have no date on them.”

The most frequent type of quilt the volunteers see, Reed said, is the Victorian crazy quilt. “There were thousands made between 1870 and 1920. We see regional differences in bindings or border treatments or even the patterns themselves which will be very similar in a certain region, especially in the more remote locations.”

Maine Quilt Heritage keeps the original documentation in a permanent file for future generations of quilt lovers and scholars.

“The cut-out [corner] style of quilt, which allows it to fit a four-poster bed,” Reed wrote, “is very prevalent and seems to be indigenous to Maine and northern New England. We saw lots of them on Vinalhaven and North Haven islands.”

The volunteer committee is always interested in finding organizations to serve as hosts for a quilt documentation day. All that is needed is a facility easily accessible within the community, such as a church hall, municipal building, library, Grange hall or community center, and some volunteers. Space is needed for 4-foot-by-8-foot tables for the analysis area, a few smaller tables for a reception and sewing-on-labels area, and room enough for quilts to be held up to be photographed.

Volunteers will need to act as receptionists, photographer assistants, label stitchers, and general factotums. All other positions and supplies are provided by Maine Quilt Heritage.

Maine Quilt Heritage volunteers prefer to schedule documentation days 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Sundays.

Maine Quilt Heritage does not appraise quilts or certify their age, Reed said.

To schedule a quilt documentation day, call Wendy Reed at 443-9076, e-mail gwreed@clinic.net, call Cyndi Black at the Busy Thimble Shop, 268-4581, or e-mail bsythmbl@gwi.net.

Snippets

Thai Silks, a California company, offers this advice in a flyer to those who have silk garments and are unsure how to care for them: Silk is a protein fiber and you should not do anything to silk you could not do to your hair. Use cool or lukewarm water. Use only pure soap, not detergent. Don’t mangle or squish the garment. Let it air dry. To learn more about Thai Silks, visit www.thaisilks.com.