AAGPBL BASEBALL HALL OF FAMER JAYNIE KRICK & HER ALL-AMERICAN QUILTS – Around The Frame

The crack of the bat is in the air and many a mind turns to baseball. Soon the TinCaps will be promoting “Pitch n’ Stitch” and we’ll be in the stands working on our needlework projects hopefully under a warm sun and gentle breeze. Please contact me for discounted tickets if you wish to join us.

In 1992 Penny Marshall directed the film “A League of Their Own” a fictionalized account of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League. The women played baseball and entertained the crowds while their husbands and sweethearts were off to war. The All American Girls Professional Baseball League (League) teams were centered in the Midwest from 1943-1954 and included the Kenosha Comets, Racine Belles, Rockford Peaches, Milwaukee Chicks, Minneapolis Millerettes, South Bend Blue Sox, Grand Rapid Chicks, Battle Creek Belles, Peoria Redwings, and our very own Fort Wayne Daisies.

A few weeks ago I attended the estate sale of Jaynie Krick (10/1/29-12/29/14) to discover: She was a member of the League, she’s included in the Women in Baseball permanent exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, NY, and she appears in “A League of Their Own” where she kicks dirt on an official’s shoes after a bad call while the closing credits roll. Jaynie played for five years on four different teams. Opponents respected her fastball, which she often had difficulty controlling. Jaynie set a league career record by hitting one player four times in one contest.

Three hand-quilted quilts are purchased from her estate: two American classic grandmother’s fans and a whole cloth. The fans appear to be from the 1980s and the whole cloth from the 1960s. Their stitching is good and the quilts are a little worn as they were used and not tucked away.

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To determine whether Jaynie was their quilter, I go to Facebook and find the League’s page. Scrolling down there is a post of her passing and her baseball card when she played for the Grand Rapids Chicks. Her niece Elaine left a comment so I Facebook her and ask. Elaine writes she knows with 100% certainty her Aunt Jaynie never quilted. Elaine calls her mother who believes they were made by Aunt Jaynie’s friends, mother and grandmother during the many decades she lived in Texas.

Elaine also writes how she was unable to attend the sale in time to purchase any of her quilts. I write her back offering to sell her two of them for their listed price. She hasn’t responded yet, but I hope she does. I’d love to reunite her with them. It doesn’t really matter that Jaynie didn’t make them, they were important to her and now her niece can cherish the All-American quilts of her All-American Aunt.

Lois Levihn is the owner of Born Again Quilts Studio located at 4005 South Wayne Ave. BAQ specializes in the restoration and of vintage quilts, and sells vintage quilts, tops, fabrics (reproductions and sewing accessories. www.bornagainquilts.com 260-515-9446