Showing posts with label textile conservation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label textile conservation. Show all posts

October 18, 2023

Quilt Repair Tidbits #2

The second installment of weekly quilt repair tidbits and photos.

Schoolhouse quilt, c. 1915-20

This week: a wonderful schoolhouse quilt, a lovely and unusual rendition of a favorite traditional block.  One of the benefits of working with antique and vintage quilts is that it’s like having your own up close and personal quilt show!

I hope I can inspire you to join the virtual quilt repair and care workshop I’m planning for winter 2024.  All the info is on my websiteEmail  me to be added to the mailing list for notification when registration opens.  

The workshop will cover restoration and conservation supplies and techniques and how to choose which to use, and also, fabric history, and preservation concepts like storage and cleaning.  Everyone will get to show a quilt or two and we’ll discuss how to proceed with their care. 

 

The most damaged block, very ragged fabrics.  I recommended against patching (restoration) and for covering the worn fabrics with fine netting (conservation) to protect them.

This block also has the highest color contrast, which means one color of net doesn’t look equally good on both fabrics.  My assistant Pam and I agreed that patching with two colors of net will look best, light for the sky and building structure, navy for the house shapes.

So you can see why this quilt is such special fun, here’s a quilt with the traditional Schoolhouse block.

 

May 8, 2023

Taking Care of a Crazy Quilt....by not Restoring It

 

The owner sent me these photos of her gorgeous crazy quilt for an initial assessment.  She and I decided not to do any repairs at this time.  However, it's such a beautiful quilt that I wanted to share it, and I am grateful that she has allowed me to share her photos.

It was made for my great great grandfather John Davis Cassada when he was born by his mother Lucy and his aunts.  Many were single or widowed from the Civil War.  All the initials are attributable to family members.  They were very thrilled to have a male in the family and used many 'fancy' scraps of silk and velvet. 

 John Davis Cassada was born in 1874.  His mother's name was spelled Lucie and Lucy alternatively.   John was born in South Boston, Virginia.  His family moved and he married and settled in Halifax then Raleigh area North Carolina. 

The reason I didn't have her send the quilt to me for repair is that the damage, shattering silk, is minimal for a silk quilt of this era.  Shattering is the damage caused by metal salts that were sometimes added during the manufacturing of silks during the Victorian era.

December 12, 2022

Virtual Preserving Our Quilt Legacy Workshop

My next virtual workshop on quilt restoration and conservation is coming up in 2023 - Saturdays from Jan 18 - Feb 23 to be precise. Here's a little holiday fun for you.
 
What do these things have to do with taking care of vintage and antique quilts?
 
Two-step greens?

https://www.vecteezy.com/free-vector/tap-dance" Tap Dance Vectors by Vecteezy
 
Straw needles?

Insect pins?

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Come to the workshop and find out! 
 
There will be lectures, triage sessions for participants' quilts, how-to videos, samples of repair supplies, etc., etc.
 
There are several ways to register depending on your interests and needs.

Email me if you have questions.   

 

September 9, 2021

Preserving Our Quilt Legacy - Virtual Workshop

What do these things have to do with taking care of vintage and antique quilts?
 
Two-step greens?

https://www.vecteezy.com/free-vector/tap-dance" Tap Dance Vectors by Vecteezy
 
Straw needles?

Insect pins?

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Come find out!  

I'm offering a virtual workshop this fall that covers quilt restoration, conservation, and preservation. 

There will be lectures, triage sessions for participants' quilts, how-to videos, samples of repair supplies, etc., etc.

You can attend the whole workshop - five Saturdays October 16 - November 13 - 3 hours per day.

Or you can attend selected lectures alá carte.

Or you can sign up for a private session with advice on mending and caring for your family heirloom quilt.  

All the details are on my websiteEmail me if you have questions.  

 

 
 
 

August 31, 2021

Preserving Our Quilt Legacy - Virtual Workshop

Might I suggest a new quilt adventure for your fall?  I am teaching an in-depth workshop focusing on repairing and caring for quilts.  Here's the scoop:

The workshop covers:
• restoration
• conservation
• preservation
• identification and dating
------
• philosophies
• supplies
• techniques


We will start with the basic information in my book, Preserving Our Quilt Legacy, and explore the topics in more detail and with hands-on experience:
• lectures
• discussions
• "triage" sessions for students' quilts
• a library of how-to videos teaching stitches and repair processes
• specialty sessions (including how to run a quilt repair business and yoga for tired hands and shoulders)

Sewists, appraisers, and collectors - quilt lovers of all sorts - will all find useful information here.  

There is a maximum of 15 students, so everyone will have time for individual attention, and we'll have several Q&A periods.

 

The workshop takes place on 5 Saturdays, October 16 through November 13, 3 1/4 hours per Saturday, for a total of 16 1/4 class hours plus the set of how-to videos and other useful resources.

Class sessions will be recorded and available for students who have missed a session.  


Several of the lectures will be available separately for "alá carte" registration, as will private lessons and private triage sessions.  

I have 40 years of education gleaned from workshops, symposia, and reading, plus the experience of working with 400+ quilts.  I will be joined for some sessions by Martha Spark, who has long and deep experience with quilt restoration also.  My goal is to pass this knowledge on, and keep more quilt history alive.

Full description and registration can be found on my website:
https://www.annquilts.com/POQL_Workshop.html

Email me with any questions you may have:
annquilts@comcast.net


 


May 29, 2020

Why Restore and Conserve Old Quilts?


Why do I like repairing quilts?  My academic background is in anthropology, which taught me about how much meaning the objects we make and use every day can hold.  And all quilts have their story.

"Storytelling is the place where social and personal history meet."

This is a line from a lovely book I recently received, How to Write Your Personal or Family History, by Katie Funk Wiebe.  The book was written by the mother of a dear friend of mine.  She wrote many books, many of them about family and history.

One thing she stresses is how small memories and facts can build a valuable memoir.  I feel the same is true of quilts - it's not only the flashy and museum quality quilts that are worth gentle handling and care.

April 17, 2020

Brilliant Stars

Wow.  This quilt is just wow.  It's one of the wow-iest quilts I've worked on.  I love it.

Here's how the owner came to acquire it:

I don’t collect quilts or even know how to use a sewing machine. I just really liked the quilt colors and patterns.....when I saw it in an antique mall in Columbia, MO (I honestly love Orange as a color). So much so, that after leaving without it I regretted it. The following Monday I was back at work and just called them on a whim and made them an offer and they agreed to ship it to me. 

Well, what a fun story!  I love that the quilt kept calling to him from half way across the country and waited for him to call the dealer!

February 12, 2020

Announcing Our *Quilt Restoration Workshop*

My restoration buddy Martha Spark and I have been planning our brand new Quilt Restoration Workshop for the past year.  And now - here we are - venue, schedule, a pretty flyer, and registration forms, ready to go!   All the details and registration forms are on my website.


June 18, 2019

Antique Wedding Dress, 1872


This dress was worn by Margaret Jane McCornack at her wedding to Myron Gage on May 14, 1872. The dress has been passed down in her family, and is now in the possession of her great-granddaughter.  She told me that the McCornack family came from Scotland to the Elgin, IL, area in 1835 for religious reasons.  Margaret’s father Alexander McCornack was born in St. Luce parish south of Glascow.  The Gage family came to the US in the 17th century.

The dress is now headed to the Elgin History Museum.  Margaret's great-granddaughter brought it to me for mending before it goes to the museum.

To add to the fun, here's a family portrait taken the day after the wedding.  Margaret is sitting on the far left side in the second row.  Her father and mother are seated on the right of the second row.  

The dress is a textured silk, in one of those colors that just won't stay put in any one category.  Is it an olive-greeny grey?  Or is it a greyed olive green?  We shall never know for sure!  It is lined with a medium brown polished cotton.

March 30, 2017

A 1930s Sampler Quilt

OK, folks, I totally love this quilt!

It's a super fun collection of well-loved blocks, other more uncommon blocks, and a couple of wonderful appliqué creations.  The fabrics are pure 1930s style.  One really fun detail that you can watch for in the photos is that the ties are placed according to the design on each individual block.  There were some previous repairs here and there, including a new binding.

I just couldn't help myself, and took a photo of each block.  You can click to enlarge them.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

March 2, 2017

I Always Love a Quilt with a Great Story

Well, I'm of a certain age, which means I'm still totally enchanted and amazed by the ease and extent of all these means of electronic communication.  Here's one of my best experiences so far.

Ruby wrote to me via my blog, and in addition to the question she was asking, mentioned an antique quilt she had restored and finished that had a great story.  And I answered with the title of this post!

Ruby answered with what truly is a great story.

(Reprinted with permission from “A Family History Quilt” by Ruby L. Marcotte, 2011.  Voices, The Journal of New York Folklore, Volume 37, 1-2, pages 36 – 40.  Copyright 2011 by New York Folklore Society.)

February 8, 2017

Announcing! Quilt Repair Book - 2nd Edition!


Well, if it wasn't exciting enough to be able to say that I wrote and self-published a book, I now get to announce that the first printing has sold out, and I now have made a second edition - hot off the presses! 

July 25, 2016

100-Year-Old Christening Gown

      


This christening gown is a family heirloom with a full pedigree.  The left photo is the front, right photo is the back, third photo is the matching slip.  Here's what the current caretaker knows about the gown:

August 24, 2015

Sharing Some Fun Blogging

Stephanie Ann, over at her blog World Turn'd Upside Down, posted two really fun items last week.
Stephanie Ann is a re-enactor, historian, crafter, and cook whose blog has tons of great info on all these things, well worth a visit.

One -
Her new 1940s dress.
Photo: World Turn'd Upside Down
I just love the 40s styling.  It has some pretty detailed patterning and extra seams, but the end result is much more exciting than shaping the look just with basic darts.  (Be sure to scroll down to the end of the post.  Stephanie has included links to other folks who've used the same pattern, so you can see it in a variety of fabrics.)

I'm reminded of a dress I mended for Basya Berkman not long ago.  It's a 1930s-40s rayon.  I don't have photos of the whole dress yet, but here are a couple of construction details.  And I just love the fabric.  (You can see from the seam allowances along the zipper how much it's faded over the years.  I think I like it both ways, new and aged.)

April 6, 2015

Tapestry Repair


There's a wonderful post over at Treasures From A French Attic.

It's about a tapestry fragment - just the top border - which was repaired in 1902 and still bears the lovely cross-stitch label documenting that work!


This is a perfect moment for me to step up on my soapbox and proclaim that we should all be documenting and labeling our work, both newly created and newly repaired.  You could be the person who creates such joy for a collector and historian 100+ years from now!

So head right on over and read the whole post, which includes more photos and a discussion of the repair work and changes in dyes between when the tapestry was woven and when it was repaired.  Really, really interesting!




February 12, 2015

Kate Greenaway and a Crazy Quilt

Another crazy quilt!  They certainly were all the rage with the Victorian ladies, and of course, still have many, many fans.  (Pun not intended, but left as written.)

As with all good crazies, this one has some unique and endearing embroidery details, and the scalloped edge is very special.  Having an embroidered date - 1883 - is always a big plus!  This is a family heirloom piece, though the precise history is not known.

May 27, 2014

Crazy Quilt Saga - Repairs


This crazy quilt provides a good example of the different techniques that I use to help maintain aging silks.  It also had a special problem - a silk ruffle on the edge, some of which was in really bad shape.

I used three different techniques, depending on the type of damage in each patch:

May 22, 2014

Crazy Quilt Saga - History


This quilt is a family heirloom, made by the great-grandmother of the current owner.  My thanks to the family for sharing their ancestor's story, and thereby the story of this quilt.
  

The quilt was made by Angela MacGregor Coutts Lewis.  Angela lived from November 20, 1871, to April 29, 1947.

November 29, 2013

Fantabulous Eagle Quilt

Photo by Sotheby's
I can think of no better way to celebrate the release of my book on antique quilt care than to tell you the story of this amazing quilt. Now, I love all sorts of quilts, and appreciate repairing anything, from simple comforters that hold memories of overnights at Grandma's house, to jaw-dropping wonderful artwork. This is one of the latter.

It was sent to me by Mark Wilcox of Summer Antiques in upstate New York. The quilt is inscribed "Phelps 1853".  I assumed that Phelps was a family name, but Mark told me that it is a town not far from his shop. Phelps is near the Erie Canal, which was relatively new at the time the quilt was made, and the quilt celebrates the economic growth the canal brought to the area.

July 12, 2013

Dye Migration

This ocean waves quilt is in my own collection.  It's one of the first quilts I purchased when I was starting to learn about antique quilts, in the early 1980s.  I bought it because I like the soft color combination, and especially liked that the quilt-maker had built on the reds in some of the prints, and accented those soft colors with a cheerful red binding.

A short while ago, I took it out of storage to bring it to a show-and-tell lecture I was about to present.  All my quilts are kept in acid-free storage boxes, and padded with acid-free tissue paper.  Lo and behold, I discovered that the tissue lining the box was covered with pale red triangles.

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