Calgary Herald from Calgary, Alberta, Canada • 78

Calarv Herald ife uardening MO i Editor: Susan Scott THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1984 have history V. I 4 stitched into fabric i day Quilts i U-3 "I used to put it out when I had company," she recalled, which explains its almost new condition. "If anyone sees it (now), good and well," said Vair who is proud the quilt is on display. Her sunburst pattern is one of several examples of ladies' aid quilts in the show. Often, quilters would pay 10 cents to have their name embroidered on a signature quilt which would be raffled to raise money.

"We did a lot of good work," said Vair. "We were happy to know we were helping them (the needy) somehow." In the days before government social assistance these women's groups played a vital role helping the less fortunate, Vair explained. The Depression-era quilts speak of the conditions of the times through the fabric pieces used in their construction. Utility quilts were made from any available material, especially men's suits, or as in one of the show's examples, out of nurses' uniforms. But, noted Eliot-Los, the end result was attractive despite the quilter's limited resources.

Eilot-Los says quilting examines the personal world of women. "Needle arts are dominated by women and quilting is an activity that's associated with women's history," she said. "Quilting bees were a form of women's socialization their sense of community," especially in Alberta, where neighbors were often many kilometres apart and life could be lonely. In the '30s the popular Home Loving Hearts column, a vehicle for women to exchange ideas about domestic life through letters, in the Manitoba Prairie Farmer Weekly Free Press often included a quilt pattern. A Home Loving Hearts signature quilt fad was started by the column's editor.

Readers would send letters asking for fabric pieces with embroidered signatures, which they would assemble into quilts such as one in the exhibit made by Naomi Smith Hall from Onion Lake in 1933. Receiving the pieces was like having a quilting pen pal and would lessen the isolation of rural life. One quilter well woven into the history of Alberta is Rosie Davis, who died in 1983 at the age of 1 10 and was known for her knowledge of Indian culture and her quilts. The daughter of a Blackfoot woman and a riv-erboat captain, Davis worked in Fort Macleod as a court interpreter. Many of her quilts are still around today, including her pieced quilt from 1960 which is included in the show.

"Some of the quilters were also midwives," Eliot-Los said. Grandma (Margaret) Butz ran a boarding house in Brule Miner, now a ghost town near Rocky Mountain House, but was loved for her work as a midwife, according to the show's catalogue. She passed on her quilting skills to her daughter and her granddaughter, Millicent Nelson, who now lives in Edmonton. By Christine Diemert (Herald staff writer) When the pioneer women of Alberta stitched their quilts they had no idea they were assembling pieces of history. And they probably wouldn't have believed that the scraps of fabric they cut and combined to decorate their bed covers would be anything but a way of keeping warm during the long winter months.

But, in this age of central heating and electric blankets, the quilt has taken on a new importance as people warm to their visual beauty as well as their historical significance. Alberta Quilts, the current exhibition at the Muttart Gallery, is a bold display of 30 quilts chosen from cities and towns to represent the history of this folk art in the province. The show is the culmination of 2V4 years of research that included driving across Alberta to meet with quilters and owners, photographing the bed covers and documenting oral data, then finally choosing and assembling the show. The idea originated with Elyse Eliot-Los, directorcurator of the Muttart Gaflery, who wanted to draw the general public into the gallery. "Textiles are part of everyday life," she explained.

"They are very approachable, very tactile." Sandra Morton-Weizman, curator of social history at the Provincial Museum of Alberta joined Eliot-Los in the project. With an assortment of photographers, they travelled as far north as Spirit River and south to Cardston. Funding was boosted with the help of a research grant from the National Museum Corporation. "It's one of the most exciting projects I've ever done," said Eliot-Los. Attendance has been very high.

"Every day we get more response from the public." In particular, the show is attracting many senior citizens. "They (seniors) love it. They all have their own stories about the patterns," she said. "The show is a vehicle for them to re-experience that time in their lives." The quilts, from 1907 to 1982, are displayed in chronolgical order. One room is dedicated to examples from the Depression.

Most of the quilters were surprised that the research team wanted to look at older quilts, said Eliot-Los. And, they were "astonished to think their quilts were going in a gallery." "Never, never in my life did I think I'd see my quilt in an art gallery," said Catherine Vair, who owns the sunburst quilt, circa 1930, the only one to be displayed on a bed. Vair, now a resident of the Sarcee Nursing Home, was a member of the Bethal Chapter No. 9, a woman's group that constructed the quilt for a raffle. The proceeds went towards fabric for clothing donated to Calgary's Red Cross Crippled Children's Hospital.

Vair, who has lived in Calgary since 1915, was the winner of this vibrantly colored all-silk quilt. Bruce Stotesbury, Calgary Herald The sunburst quilt (circa 1930) is the only one to be displayed on a bed view from her home in Oyen. The new way includes Martians, rockets and space ships. "I've been quilting all my life," said Meers, 85, who added that most of her work was in traditional patterns. "Alberta Tomorrow was just some of my silliness I guess," she said.

"I had the idea in my head and put it onto the quilt." Alberta Quilts was a community-oriented project, said Eliot-Los. "Quilting goes beyond the ego. It ties into the home and the family." "I hope people take home a piece of heritage that's the visual tradition of women." The exhibit stays at the Muttart Gallery until Nov. 4th and will re-open next February in Red Deer. The midwives used quilts to keep warm while travelling on their wagons to their rural calls, said Eliot-Los.

Most pieced quilts use traditional designs that endured many new homes and new names. The log cabin, the fan, hole in the barn door and the double-wedding ring designs are probably recognizable to many even today. But not all quilts carry time-honored designs as Mable Meers has demonstrated. In her quilt, Alberta Tomorrow, made around 1975, a frame of appliqued wild roses surrounds Meer's embroidered visions of Alberta's past and future. One side shows the "old way" and the.

other the "new way," Meers said in a telephone inter erformance hinges on wheel alignment (4 i- least 80,000 kilometres out of them before they need attention. But then, a lot depends on how-much rough use the car has been subjected to and whether they have been properly lubricated or not." Usually there are four ball joints on an automobile and it costs around $80 each, parts and labor, for replacement. For the economy-minded however, there may be an alternative. A product called Aline is available which the manufacturer claims will restore partially worn ball joints to "as new" tolerances. "A thermoplastic polycarbonate based material is injected under pressure into the ball joints," says Arnie Dietrich, director of marketing for Acry-liKing International.

The firm is based in Winnipeg but has 50 outlets in Alberta. Cost for this service is around 25 per ball joint. Dietrich says the product displays high impact strength, wide temperature limits and abrasion resistance. It hardens instantly and is designed to eliminate slack and play without the cost of removing and replacing parts. It is suitable for all friction bearings such as ball joints, tie rods, idler arms and king pins.

But because of specialized equipment needed for drilling through the casing and injecting the product, Aline is not considered a do-it-yourself process. "It is not effective if the friction bearing is worn beyond manufacturer's specifications," he says, "or if any form of damage is present." Products like this, as well as strut recharging kits, engine tuneups in a can and radiator sealing compounds are looked upon as "Mickey Mouse" by many automotive enthusiasts. "Let's put it this way," says Murray Munsie, owner of Mun-sie Motorsports. "A car's suspension is just too important to use a band-aid approach. For example, if a ball joint breaks, the wheel comes off.

The only safe way to deal with worn suspension parts is to replace them with new components." By Art Suderman (Herald staff writer) Driving a car with poor wheel alignment can be as frustrating as pushing a balky grocery cart. In effect, the motorist is trying to make the car go in one direction while the tires are pulling in another. Auto makers place such importance on correct wheel alignment at the factory, that initial settings are done with electronic precision and double-checked. "Caster and camber are preset in the body shop area and electronically linked to a computer," says Jim Hartford, public relations manager for Ford of Canada. "If there is something wrong, the computer immediately stops the line.

Toe-in is closely monitored by a system of digital readouts. In addition, five cars a day are taken off the line for a complete wheel alignment check." With this kind of accuracy supplied as standard equipment, it's a shame that accidents, rough roads and normal wear and tear eventually conspire to throw a new car's wheel alignment out of whack. "Probably the biggest reason is spring sag," says Dave Zacha-rias, owner of Merlin's Auto Craft. "All the suspension and steering components on the front end of a car must work together, if something starts to wear out, angles change and the car needs what is referred to as a 'wheel alignment'." This procedure refers to adjustment of caster, camber and toe-in the three characteristics that combine to make a car handle properly. Caster is the angle between the steering axis and the vertical, as viewed from the side.

"The front forks on a bike are a good example of positive caster," explains Zacharias. "If they were straight up or angled forward, you couldn't ride the thing." Camber can be visualized as tipping the top of a wheel cen- i John Colville, Calgary Herald Dave Zacharias knows that measurements with precise tools are necessary for proper wheel alignment a reputable alignment shop as soon as possible. Continued use of an automobile with faulty alignment is not only dangerous but will quickly result in uneven tire wear. If no front end parts are bent or worn out, a simple alignment is relatively inexpensive. Less than $30 should do the trick.

Expect a more substantial bill if shock absorbers or MacPher-son struts need replacing. Ball joints as well, are vital to proper front-end alignment. Ball joints are connecting links (ball and socket style) that permit wheels to turn side to side and move up and down at the same time. "They are a relatively high mileage item," says Zacharias. "A motorist should expect at maintenance procedure in North America," says Bert Coates, publicity administrator for BF Goodrich Canada.

He points out "proper pressure" is the number of pounds per square inch (psi) specified by the vehicle manufacturer. "Sometimes different inflation pressures are specified for front and rear tires," he says. "You can find correct air pressure information on the tire placard, or sticker. This is permanently affixed to the glove compartment door or one of the car's doors or on the door jamb." If adjusting tire pressure doesn't solve the problem or if handling feels strange after a sharp impact with a curb or pothole have the car checked by end until rear-wheel alignment has been checked." Performing a wheel alignment is definitely not a task for a Saturday afternoon mechanic. Without specialized equipment, it is virtually impossible to do properly.

The symptoms of poor alignment, however, are readily apparent and should not be overlooked. When a car tends to drift or "pull" to one side going down a straight, level roadway, it's the first sign of trouble. But before hot-footing it down to the nearest wheel alignment shop, a motorist should first check all tire pressures. "Maintaining proper tire pressure is the most neglected outward to produce positive camber, or inward to produce negative camber. For example, when looking at a car from the front or back, camber is positive when the tops of the two tires are further apart than the bottoms.

Negative camber is the opposite, producing a splayfooted appearance. Toe-in is defined as an adjustment to the front wheels that sets them pointing toward each other very slightly. This results in directional stability on the highway. don't think too many people realize that some cars need to have toe-in adjusted on the rear wheels as well," says Zacharias. "In fact, on front-wheel-drive cars we don't even consider working on the front.