Welcome back to the Quiltfiction Podcast! In this week’s episode, we present Chapters 7 and 8 of Friendship Album, 1933. If you enjoy this episode and the ones that came before it, please leave your rating and review over at iTunes. It really makes a difference! And don’t forget to subscribe!
We start out this episode with Bess enjoying a cup of Eula’s coffee, so I thought I’d share this fun coffee fact with you: In the 1930’s, 98 percent of American families were coffee drinkers, including 15 percent of children between 6 and 16 years of age and 4 percent of children under 6. I can’t imagine giving a five-year-old coffee, can you? Hard to think of anyone who needs caffeine less…
This is the episode when we finally have all five quilters in the same room and get to see whether or not they play well together. We also get to see the inside of Florence’s house and learn why, at age 27 this lively young woman is still single. Is she really destined to become another Miss Havisham, Dickens’ wealthy spinster from Great Expectations? Stay tuned to find out…
Florence’s parlor is filled with stacks of the latest needlework magazines. Popular titles from the era include House Arts, Needlecraft Magazine, and Modern Priscilla. In the name of research, I’ve collected my own piles of 1930s magazines, which not only have a lot to say about stitching, but also how to live a useful and well-decorated life. Reading these magazines, I have to remind myself that life really wasn’t simpler back in the day, it just seems that way.
Florence makes a reference to the Ladies’ Aid Society, which has come up at least once before in the story. These organizations were dedicated to caring for sick and wounded soldiers during the Civil War. Their members were sock knitters and bandage wrappers—and some eventually became nurses and hospital volunteers. They also collected money to help keep hospitals supplied. During the Great Depression, some of these groups continued their community work by fundraising for those in need. There are still Ladies Aid Societies in existence today, often attached to local churches.
I’ve gotten so many nice comments about the podcast, and many of you have said you feel inspired to make a 1930s quilt. I hope you’ll send me pictures if you do! I’m currently working on a Double Windmill quilt and hope to have the top done by the end of this week. My source for the pattern is below.
See you next week!
Frances
