More Snowflake Quilts for the Winter Solstice

Yes, I'm a day late for the Solstice, but better late than never, I figure.  Let's slow down for a while and appreciate the cycles of time and the amazing Earth we all share.  Wishing everyone health and kindness. 

And so, let's talk about the quilts.  I've showcased two Snowflake quilts here on my blog made from a Paragon kit.  And now, here come numbers 3 and 4!!!  

The first quilt I wrote about was a repair job.  The quilt was made in the late 1930s.  There are two posts.  One tells about the quilt and its history, which is noteworthy because the owner also has the diary of her great-grandmother who made the quilt.  She describes details of shopping for the kit and how the sewing progressed.  The other post details the repair work I did, which is noteworthy because the owner asked me to add an embroidered dedication to her great-grandmother and the cousin who received the quilt as a graduation gift in 1940.

The story of the second quilt was sent to me by a reader.  She inherited her quilt from her grandmother's house.  She doesn't know who exactly made the quilt, but it is likely someone in the family. 

Now come these two quilts!  This information was sent to me by a quilter/quilt historian friend.  She says:

Another Snowflake Quilt

Wonderful coincidences and quilt stories just keep on coming.  I love quilters!  Here's the newest one to arrive in my inbox:

I have inherited this quilt and saw you restored one just like it! Thank you for giving me some history of where this quilt came from. I didn’t know who made it but am a new quilter and really appreciated the work. So, that's pretty exciting!

Of course, I wrote back and asked if I could post the quilt and her story here.  She kindly agreed.  Here's what she has to tell:

A Tale of Two Eagles

Two American eagle quilts, in honor of Veterans Day.

Several years ago, I was honored to be asked to conserve a spectacular eagle quilt.  It is embroidered prominently with the date and location - 1853 and Phelps, at town in upstate New York.  Beyond that, it is totally gorgeous, and in pretty good condition.

I was asked to do the work on this quilt by Mark Wilcox of Summer Antiques in Lake Placid, NY.

He auctioned the quilt at Sotheby's.  The auction catalog has a full description and larger photo.  My blog has photos of the conservation work I did on the quilt.  It is still one of the most important and fun adventures I've ever had in the quilt repair biz.

Well, then a week or so ago, I came across an auction listing at Freeman's for an incredibly similar quilt!  The auction will take place next week.

Photo: Freeman's

The date on this one is 1845.  The descriptive materials say that the name of the quiltmaker is known for this quilt, as it has been handed down in the family.  She was married in 1811, and died in New York state.  She could quite reasonably have been living somewhere in New York at the end of her life when the quilt was made.

I’m wondering whether or not the two quilts were made by the same person.  The borders and the halo over the eagle’s head are very different stylistically.  The designs on the 1845 quilt are quite angular by comparison, and more formal and symmetrical.  I wonder if this was a design that appeared on some other item that quiltmakers were drawn to copy and interpret on their quilts.  I poked around a bit, but haven't found anything yet.

If it was the same person, she was certainly having loads of fun coming up with different ideas!

My challenge to you all - look for a design source for this grand old bird.

Another amazing coincidence is that there is one and only one previous exhibit on the quilt's "resumé", and that was right here in my home town!  And no, I didn't know about it.  Wish I had!

Seminole Patchwork

 

 

Here is my good friend Julia of Basya Berkman Vintage.  She usually is behind the camera photographing her models, but this time, I took the camera and photographed her in this great Seminole skirt.   As an anthropology major way back when who long ago became a quilter and then much more recently took on vintage clothing, mending this skirt was a real treat!

This is a patchwork style created and stitched by the Seminole Indians of Florida.  After the sewing machine and cotton fabrics were introduced to the Seminoles in the late 1800s, they developed their own patchwork technique by the 1920s.

The Tapestries of Stirling Castle

A friend posted a link to this amazing tapestry story.  There's been a 14-year project (yes, that's right, 14 years) to create new work based on the famous unicorn tapestry series held by the Metropolitan in New York.

The originals were made around 1500.  The new tapestries are being hung at Stirling Castle in Scotland.  James V is known to have had unicorn tapestries there (of some sort, not necessarily the ones at the Met) during his reign in the first half of the 1500s. 

The artists worked according to all that is known of the weaving methods and materials of the time.

The video is a must-see!  (Follow link at the bottom of the main page.)

(I continue to be fascinated by tapestries ever since my experience a while back with helping conserve one.)

I Love a Good Coincidence

Remember this sweet baby quilt I posted about a couple of months ago?

Well, look what I found at an estate sale this weekend!

I think I squeaked out loud when I found it....

I don't have any intention of making this quilt, but somehow just had to buy the pattern anyway!  Really, how could I not?

And now, I can add the pattern name and info to the quilt's story:

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.

Eye On Elegance exhibit

"Eye on Elegance: Early Quilts of Maryland and Virginia" is the title of the current exhibit at the DAR Museum in Washington DC.  The museum has long been known for its spectacular quilt collection, and here it is on view.  Simply amazing quilts!  Every one is good enough to be on a book cover!

There is an online tour of the exhibit, a great-looking catalog, and several short videos on quilt styles on YouTube.  This is quilt history at its best.  Great research and superior, beyond superior, quilts to see.

The online tour would serve well as a really good introduction to the wonderful world of exquisite needlework and "mistresspiece" quilts for newcomers to the quilt world.  And it is a joy to watch over and over for those of us who have been looking at antique quilts for years.

The exhibit runs through September 5, 2015.  Sadly, I don't have a trip to DC on the calendar this year, but this exhibit makes me want to change my plans!

Egyptian Appliqué Art

Welcome to Egypt!

Having just visited Turkey during the ancient Roman era in my previous post, let's continue the tour with a stop in Egypt for a little needlework history.

A friend brought over a gracefully appliquéd pillow case that had been purchased for her in Egypt. It's about 33" square, for a floor cushion.  She asked me to put a sleeve on it so she can hang it on her wall

String Star

It's Thanksgiving here in the US.  This quilt combines stars and hearts and family mementos, so by way of giving thanks for brightness and love, here is its story.

This quilt came to me for minor repairs.  I find it very well balanced and visually pleasing.  The blocks are 25" square, so the overall effect is quite strong and graphic, but is balanced by the soft pink sashing and scrappy piecing of the stars.

First Prize Quilt

This surely is a "collector's dream" quilt.

It pretty certainly dates to the 1930s.  The peach and soft green were both new and popular colors at the time. I think the cream background is fairly close to the original color, i.e. not a yellowing of a truer white.

Art Deco Second Addendum

Well, here's another addition to my increasing knowledge Cleopatra's Fan, the Art Deco-style pattern on this quilt.  Here's what's gone before:
Original post
First addendum

A very astute and friendly reader of this blog scouted out and is sharing a couple of websites with us.

Art Deco Addendum

I posted about a week ago about the quilt I repaired with an Art Deco pattern that I couldn't name.

Yesterday morning, over breakfast, I was leafing through the current catalog from Keepsake Quilting, and came across a kit for this quilt.

Keepsake Quilting kit #6253

Art Deco Flowers ... or Fans

When this quilt arrived for repair, it just plain made me smile.  Such a nice pattern!  I was certain I'd seen the block many times and would quickly look it up and be reminded of its name.

Well, nope.  I haven't found it in the pattern compilation books.  I asked an appraiser that I know, and she didn't have a name for it either.  She said it could be a fans variation.  The owner had been thinking they were flowers, possibly tulips.

All I can say for sure is that it is firmly Art Deco, be it a rendition of a fan or a flower.  The fabrics are firmly in this era too, probably towards the end of it, c1940.

It must look familiar to me because I find the Art Deco style so intriguing, and have looked at so many photos of Art Deco everything.  I can easily imagine this design as a wide tiled or relief border up either side of a fancy doorway, for example.  Bottom line: I really like it.

More of this story at Art Deco Addendum and Art Deco Second Addendum.

When I Really Fell in Love With Quilts

After I graduated from college in 1977, I stayed on campus, working on the data base of one of the profs.  I spent most of my days on the computer, editing transcribed field notes on monkey social organization.  

At that time, the state-of-the-art was the big mainframe computer to which we submitted jobs and waited, and waited, and waited, for output.  I really needed some color and handwork in my life.  My mom was always saving sewing scraps and talking about making a quilt.  We never did do it, but that's what gave me the idea to try quilting with a little, 6-week, just-for-fun class at the student union.  

After a few years of pillows and placemats and my first big quilt, I was in San Francisco visiting some friends, and decided to hop over to Oakland and see the quilt exhibit there.  The exhibit was curated by Pat Ferrero, Linda Reuther, and Julie Silber.  It was life-changing for me!  And I guess it was life-changing for lots of folks, since it became a landmark exhibit.  

I recently discovered the out-of-print catalog on a used book website.  I was so excited!

This exhibit came 10 years after the famous Whitney Museum exhibit in 1971 that first hung quilts on the wall and discussed them as art.  The curators in Oakland had an additional theme, and gathered period photos and artifacts and family stories and arranged them alongside the quilts.  They presented the quilts as windows into women's lives.

One story that always has stayed with me is this:  There was a set of beautifully made and unusually colored quilts, interesting dark purple-ish and maroon colors.  Turns out, these pieces had all been dyed black, by the quilter, while she was going through a deep depression.  I was struck both by the incredible sadness that she expressed so eloquently, and by the thoughtfulness of her descendants, who kept the quilts and her story to honor her.  

The catalog has wonderful essays by several historians about quilts as objects that express everyday history and the lives of everyday people.  This concept has become a big part of my love of quilts.  It's one of the reasons I feel so good about repairing and preserving quilts.  I wrote about this in two of my previous posts: Thoughts About Repairing Antique Quilts and Textile Stories.  And I like the idea that today's quilters are creating this same kind of history for future historians to enjoy.

The three curators also produced some of my favorite books and videos - and I am deeee-lighted to add this one to my collection.  (I have no connection with their business, just spreading the word, especially for newer quilters who may not be familiar with their work.)

Glowing Pineapple Quilt

This is a lovely silk Pineapple quilt.  There are lots of wonderful colors, still bright and clear.  This quilt definitely puts to rest the view of antique fabrics as drab and basically brown!  In the 1700s and 1800s, the pineapple was often used as a symbol of hospitality.  I've also sometimes heard this pattern called Windmill.

It's super large - about 81" x 92".  Older quilts, meaning earlier on in the 19th century, are sometimes quite large because they were made for very high bedframe with trundle beds stored underneath.

Most of the fabrics are silk, with a few velvets in the mix.  They are in pretty good condition.  All I did for the quilt was to vacuum it to clear out old dust and freshen it up.  Visit this post for instructions for vacuuming quilts.

Ancient Roman Mosaics

My friend Shauna recently spent several weeks in France.  Amongst her wonderful travelogue of photos, this one really caught my eye.

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:

Prize-winning Quilts of 1947

While poking around on the "interwebs", I found a fun vintage photo.  It made me smile, and I hope you'll enjoy it, too.

It is captioned:
"Two women examine the award winning quilts on display at the 1947 Illinois State Fair."

The four prizewinning quilts are:
Double Wedding Ring, Cathedral Windows, Grandmother's Flower Garden, Irish Chain

These are not at all unexpected as favorite 1947 quilts.  Wouldn't it be fun to be able to see them in  color?!  The photo also provides a fun little glimpse of ladies' dresses, hats, and bags of the time.

The photo is in the extensive collection of the Illinois Digital Archives.

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.