Recently I discovered this neat little alphabet quilt made by Andrea Proudfoot. It was on the Goodwill auction site.
It came with a blue ribbon from the Siskiyou Golden Fair in Yreka, California.
It also came with a very detailed, handwritten label on the back with information about how the quilt was designed and made.
One of the most intriguing details to my eye was the quilting in the lower section. She included a copyright, and I can't recall seeing anything like that before. I suppose in the early to middle 1990s, quiltmakers were thinking of protecting their design work. It just struck me as something unusual in a quilt.
A quick Google search yielded an obituary in the Mt. Shasta News, from
December 2013. Andrea Proudfoot was a fascinating person, and she had a connection to Oregon. I would love to hear from anyone who knew her or remembers the fabric store in Oregon.
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Andrea Hofer Proudfoot, aged 76, passed peacefully Saturday, November 23, 2013, after battling Parkinson's Disease for over 30 years. Andrea grew up in the Washington, DC area; and received her BA in Home Economics from the University of Maryland. She moved to Oregon and successfully owned and operated a fabric store. She designed and produced clothing, as well as developed a baby pack which she marketed throughout North America. She moved to Yreka, California in 1983 where she married Robert and lived in view of Mt. Shasta. She began a new career as a quilter. She marketed several of her designs and received awards for her completed quilts. This last phase of her life included many treatments that attempted to halt or diminish the
symptoms of Parkinson's Disease. She participated in a fetal tissue implant study and, as a final part
of the study, has donated her brain to Dr. Curt Freed of the University of Colorado.
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How sad that this quilt was not passed on to a family member! At least it will be loved and appreciated by you. She was a fascinating woman and sounds like she lived a great life!
ReplyDeleteAs a distant cousin of Andrea's, I would like to report that her children, Eric Mahaffy, Denise, and Emily, have lived in the Eugene Oregon area. Emily may be in the Portland area with her father. I'm sorry to say that I have lost contact with them.
DeleteSo sorry, I forgot that Denise had changed her name to Savona. She has followed in her mother's footsteps with her boutique in Eugene.
DeleteI agree that it would have been a fantastic keepsake for the family to pass along. It's wonderful that you were able to share her work and a piece of her life with others, though. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous piece of work - So intricate, and I love the detailed description on the back!
ReplyDeleteThere may be no family member to pass on to.....
ReplyDeleteTo do all that work with Parkinson's took a great deal of fortitude. Interesting how much that label adds to the quilt.
So enjoyed seeing this quilt and all the information you've gathered on the maker. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI have just seen this, while researching Proudfoot family history. Andrea Hofer Proudfoot (Andy) was my husband's half sister. Her father remarried, to an English woman, and all three of Andy's brothers live in the UK. Andy's children Emily Sharp, Savona Cook, Eric Mahaffy, are all still alive and would love to know about this quilt. I will pass the information on. Andy was a very talented designer but developed Parkinsons quite young and I imagine this work was done before that. I am surprised that the quilt ended up in a Goodwill auction but pleased that it has been preserved for posterity by people that value it. Anna Proudfoot.
ReplyDeleteDear Anna, I would love to see this quilt go back to the family. Please feel free to e-mail me through my web site (www.billvolckening.com) to get in touch. Best wishes, Bill
DeleteHi Bill, that's really lovely of you. But I will contact Andy's three children, our nephew and nieces. I already posted on Savona's Facebook, she lives in Eugene, Oregon. Looking at the dates on the quilt, I can see that Andy probably did make it when she was already diagnosed with Parkinsons, which is quite amazing. She was a very determined lady! Anna
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