Pour l'Amour du Fil 2019

A beautiful Quiltmania Editions book, part of the Collections and Collectors series, was introduced at Pour l'Amour du Fil, Bliss of a Quilt digger by Charles Edouard de Broin.  Charles, a Parisian, has collected American quilts for forty years.  A sampling of log cabin, pineapple and crazy quilts was exhibited at the show.  You'll want to add this book to your reference library - excellent full and detail photography!

Following is a peek of my digs for four days.  It was a magical experience.

I managed a spare hour to walk the historical section of Nantes.  The cathedral and castle were amazing.

And now, back to reality!

October Catch Up

In late October, Jan and I took a quick road trip to take in a few quilt exhibits - Waste Not, Want Not at the Iowa Quilt Museum, Pattern and Purpose: American Quilts from Shelburne Museum at the Joslyn Art Museum, and multiple exhibits at the International Quilt Study Center and Museum.  We were fortunate that our visit to Lincoln coincided with the Clues in the Calico presentation by Barbara Brackman.  We even fit in a quilt shop stop at The Woolen Needle in Williamsburg, IA - a treasure just off I80.

First are photos from Waste Not, Want Not.  My favorite at this exhibit was the Slanted Strips of Scraps, c 1890.

 The diagonal stripes are made up of four rows of tiny half-square triangles.  The common alternate fabric is very dynamic - what a perfect fit!

The standout of the Shelburne exhibit for me was the Pieced Rising Sun, Kansas Troubles, and Star of Home quilt attributed to Eunice Haynes Baker Willard, c 1860 - 1870, from Vermont.  The border held my eye for quite awhile.  The exhibit included amazing quilts.

Jan and I attended the Red and White exhibit in New York City, so we knew the Joanna S. Rose cheddar quilt collection would be worth the drive.  There were many beautiful quilts included in the exhibit.  My favorite was a pineapple hung too high for close study.

I really appreciate that pictures are allowed at most exhibits.  There is definitely overload when viewing so much exceptional art in a short timeframe.  If not for pictures, many would be forgotten.

That catches us up thru October.

Travel Wrap Up

I have seven more Skinny 'T' blocks to piece.  I hope to have a completed center section to share soon.  I've calculated the first border dimensions to fit the second pieced section.  Now to get crackin'.

One afternoon of my vacation was spent at Old Sturbridge Village to view the exhibit 'Early New England Quilts: Repurposed, Refashioned, and Recycled' (on display thru early Feb, 2019).  Although the exhibit is small, the items on view were exceptional.  If you're interesting in visiting the living museum, the timing is great.

The featured quilt from the exhibit (c1840) was made by Susannah Allen Anderson Howard (1813 - 1891) from Ware, MA.  Nearly 12,000 pieces, likely from old garments and household textiles, were used to complete this quilt which was probably made for her marriage to Emery Howard in 1839.  The proportions of my photo seem to have skewed in cropping, but a close-up follows.

One of my favorites was the Orange Peel quilt (c1830) attributed to Matilda Fiske, Sturbridge, MA.   She was my kinda girl - the quilt was appliqued rather than pieced and the melons float, so no worry about melon ends meeting.

I'm in love with the indigo pockets in the next photo.  All cotton items on the mannequin are from 1830 - 1840.  Love that indigo!  The pieced quilt to the right of the mannequin (c1820) is from the Arnold family of Providence, RI - relatives of the infamous Benedict.

There was a kids event going on the day I visited.  The period activity was a pleasant addition to the living museum.

The morning of the following day I visited Old Deerfield Village in Deerfield, MA - a New England treasure.  The village is perfect for a quiet stroll of picturesque historic homes.  The draw for me is the fantastic graveyard (carved tombstones from the late 1600's forward) and the Memorial Hall Museum (the best $6 you'll ever spend).

I'll share more tombstone carvings near Halloween, but how cool is this?  You aren't allowed to clean the markers, so most are adorned with bird droppings.  The earliest carvings are skeleton heads with angel wings followed by angelic faces and wings.  Again, I think cropping altered dimensions.

The Memorial Hall Museum (founded in 1870) includes a quilt room.  The Stars, Hexagons and Polygons quilt top (c1860) was made by Mrs. Carpenter of Vermont.  It contains 82,000 1/4" pieces.  The lower right shows the back of the quilt top.  I think it's rather sad - similar to my Grandma's Welch Grape Jelly box of quilt pieces I posted about on the old blog.

The Rising Star quilt was owned by Martha Washington (DeWolf) Briggs (1815 - 1879) of West Deerfield, MA.

The pumpkins are growing - anticipation for my favorite season!!

Schwenkfelder Heritage Center

I visited the  Schwenkfelder Heritage Center last week while vacationing in Pennsylvania.  The beautiful textiles were a treat. The plaid silk dress from 1860 was very fetching.   The two brown dresses on the platform were believed to be worn for weddings in 1892 and 1894.

I especially enjoyed the German Sampler exhibit.  The sampler above was made by Rosina Schultz over the period 1809 - 1817.

The center tulip design is unique to Rosina.  My time was limited, so I wasn't able to study the samplers closely.  There were many extraordinary pieces in wonderful condition.

There was also a Perkiomen Valley split nine patch quilt exhibit.  The quilt above is circa 1900.

I'll share some photos from Old Sturbridge Village and the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Hall Museum in another post.

I'll close with a photo of a charming barn from Lancaster County, PA.

Beginnings



Meet Jacks, a 3 year old rescue dog we adopted last week.  He immediately made himself a part of the family.

I completed the quilt top, but it doesn't look much different than last week's pic.  I didn't find another name for the block pattern. Please leave a comment if you recognize it.  I've decided on the specifics of the quilt back and have started to pull fabrics.  I hope to get a sample block sewn today to test cutting directions. 

Jan and I visited the Chicago Art Institute yesterday.  I have a few items to share that caught my eye.

This French wool and silk tapestry weave dates from 1756 to 1763 produced at the Manufacture Royale de Beauvais.  It depicts the arrival of Princess Psyche at Cupid's Palace.  (Accession nbr 1943.1237, 67" x 140.75")

A silk and cotton plain weave ikat (warp-resist-dyed) Woman's Chapman/Robe from Bukhara, Uzbekistan edged with silk twined embroidery (1840/60, accession nbr 2005.606)

Roman bronze, silver and copper Busts of Silenoi (part human, part goat) dated from mid 1st century BC to mid 1st century AD.  They represent the desires released by the magic elixir of the wine god Dionysos.  They adorned the sides of an elaborate couch used by high society at lavish banquets.  (Accession nbr 1997.554,1&2)

The first two items can be found on the Art Institute online collection using the accession numbers.

V & A Textile Tour

Happy 4th and Happy Birthday to my firecracker hubby!

 If your travel plans include London, I highly recommend the 'Antique Needlework Tour at the V & A' hosted by Ann.  There are two ways to book the tour - thru Airbnb and Eventbrite.  The Airbnb search engine doesn't bring up the tour, but an online search of the tour title will bring up the airbnb link.  Or, visit Ann's beautiful website at antiquelacelady.com and click on 'Textile Talks Itinerary Page' and then 'The Antique Needlework Tour' which links to the Eventbrite site.  Be sure to check out Ann's  blog from the menu dropdown.  She introduced me to pieces I would have never stumbled across on my own and her stories enriched each piece.  This cover or wall hanging from Bohemia (dated 16 October 1790) was hidden in the elevator alcove.  It's appliqued in wool and silk.  Amazing!

The black raspberries were prolific this year.  The abundance of rain was good for something.  Batch four and five are pictured below - a record 42 jars of jelly this year!