Road Trip Day 1 thru 3

The ramblings of three quilt buddies on a week-long road trip - Days One thru Three

Day One:  After converging from various points the night before, our trip began with a two hour drive in the rain to visit the beautiful Hagerstown, MD Washington County Museum of Fine Arts quilt exhibit, 'Beauty in a Time of Scarcity: 19th Century Quilts from the Collection of Lewis Allen and Katherine Haag.  Unfortunately, pictures weren't allowed - this was one of the highlights of the trip.  The quilt exhibit included some choice pieces.  We finished the day with power fabric shopping at Zook's in PA Amish Country - we arrived 45 minutes before closing.  We lucked into a 30% off sale - Woo Hoo!  This was our only night at a B&B - Kimmell House in Ephrata, PA, a 1795 Colonial Shaker stone farmhouse - delightful!

Day Two:  Morning fabric/antique shopping (fabric at Sauder's and antiques in Adamstown) before an adventurous drive to the NJ quilt exhibit celebrating the 300th anniversary of Hunterdon County, 'Common Threads:  Quilting Traditions in Hunterdon County, NJ'.  Info on the exhibit can be found here - http://www.hunterdon300th.org/events/QuiltDisplay-CommonThreads.html.  The border image above is from this exhibit.

Update:  You can receive the exhibit catalog by contacting Judy Grow (judy.grow@comcast.net).  The cost is $13.50 which includes shipping.  Make checks out to 'Hunterdon Tricentennial'.

The exhibit included two period dresses.  Wouldn't you love to have yards of both of these fabrics?

Unusual treatment for block seam coverage - applique over them to add secondary pattern.

Another beautiful, airy border













Day 3:  A trip to Winterthur Museum to visit the Downton gowns!















  Two quilt treasures were on display in the museum:

This Medallion English quilt was made for Joanna Southcott in 1808.  She was an English religious prophetess with a large following who published on her faith and prophecies in England from 1790 until her death in 1814. 

This album quilt contains 85 different blocks, each with a unique signature.  The quilt was begun in 1851 in Lewisberry, PA by Margaret Potts and was completed in 1858, the year of her marriage to David Reeser Miller.  In 1886 she gifted the quilt to her son for Christmas.  He noted the names and relationship to Margaret of each block contributor.  Margaret made 13 of the 85 blocks - one in memory of her sister.  Margaret's two twin brothers Andrew and William each stitched a block for the quilt at the age of twelve.





This mahogany miniature bed from the early 1800s is complete with original hangings, mattress, bolster pillows and quilt.

 
At left is the staircase within the Winterthur estate.  I loved this wall of chairs (at right) - wouldn't it be great to incorporate this idea on a blank wall in your home!

 

The Baltimore Orioles have returned for their Spring Visit

Sunshine

Life is good - the sun has been shining on me!  In October, I visited the Texas Quilt Museum with my daughter and granddaughter.  The current exhibit, "Celebrating Great Quilts", includes antique quilts from the International Quilt Festival Collection.  My granddaughter, 11,  was the featured guest of the day.  She was asked whether she preferred new or antique quilts.  She replied, "Antique quilts because they tell a story."  That's my girl! 




A couple weeks later I attended the Houston Quilt Show.  Antique quilts from the International Quilt Festival Collection were also on display at Houston (block above).  It was quite a weekend.  I had a quilt accepted to the 'In the American Tradition' exhibit.  It was a wonderful experience.  My quilt was included in show exhibit PR and was displayed at the end of the row.

That put a smile on my face until .... I spent 14 hours in Trauma 1 ER advocating for a friend.  We missed a night's sleep, but with the help of some pain meds and antibiotics, we powered thru.

The next weekend I attended the Colonial Williamsburg Quilt Conference.  The weather was sunny and there was alot to see.  I missed getting a spot on the DAR trip, but check out Barbara Brackman's post on the DAR and the Baltimore Album quilts on display at the Williamsburg DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum. 

This quilt (1800- 1820) was also on display at the museum. It is a whole cloth quilt made from handerchief yardage which was meant to be cut apart and hemmed.

I wandered through an antique mall on my drive back to North Carolina.  This sweet crib quilt caught my eye, but didn't come home with me.

I stopped at Bacon's Castle, even though I knew the property was closed on Monday's.  The plantation was built in 1665 and owned by the Allen family until 1844.  The family was briefly driven from their home in 1676 by the Bacon Rebellion.  There was renovation work going on, but I was graciously treated to a personal mini tour.  

Being a nothern girl and a quilter, I've been interested to watch the cotton crop mature.  It's harvest season and the shoulder of the road looks like wisps of batting have been blowing. 

Check out the Primitive Christmas Blog Hop hosted by Primitive Pieces by Lynda starting Monday, November 26!

H A P P Y   T H A N K S G I V I N G



Finally, Some Piecing!

There's been alot of antique quilt inspiration for me lately.  Long dry spell with no sewing, but a quilt from the Elizabeth Richardson quilt exhibit in Bowling Green, KY inspired me to ignore the long list of 'projects in flight'.  My garbled notes needed to be deciphered quickly while still fresh in my mind's eye.  It's been refreshing moving out of my Civil War repro comfort zone - the antique quilt is c 1840.  Fun digging thru stash to find fabric appropriate to the time period - I seldom use solids (and never muslin). 

The quilt has a deep mid-scale border and I found the perfect fabric at Whittle's not one hour after leaving the exhibit.  The time period of the border fabric is later (1876), but the color and scale are a match.  The constant alternate was from stash - Judie Rothermel Old Sturbridge Village Collection.  I'm half done with the pinwheels!

  

Jan and I visited the Quilter's Hall of Fame in Marion, IN to see the antique PA quilts from the collection of Pat and Arlan Christ. 

What a wonderful border on this quilt, c 1890, from the Kreider Estate of Lancaster Co.

And look at this backing fabric!  I'll take six yards, please.

This crib quilt, Sunbonnet Lassies made by Marie Webster, was featured in Ladies Home Journal, Aug. 1912.  It was inspired by the Sunbonnet Babies book illustrations by Bertha Corbett.  The quilting includes picket fences and flying birds. 

Hope there's alot of quilt inspiration influencing you!

Shipshe Pics

An indigo quilt; unusual pattern.

This concentric honeycomb was quite inexpensive, but one fabric didn't hold up, so an entire round would need replacing. Great colors, though.

Indigo...sigh.

This tumbling blocks could be a beauty. The light machine quilting just detracts from the wonderful fabrics. Hopefully, someone will remove it and finish it - but not me, I have enough projects!

I've been working on a project that was started long ago from exchange hsts, and 4 patchs. I will share this when it gets further along. I've been sewing "parts" to make more blocks. Then, I can just work with the parts, and the blocks will sew up rather quickly.

I'm Serious About This One...

This was my favorite quilt from the exhibit in Indianapolis. I have every good intention of making my own version of this dynamic quilt. The vibrant red fabric used in the side triangles, and outer border really grabbed my attention.
When I saw the online swatchs of the new Crossroads to Texas line by Betsy Chutchian, there was a perfect, equally striking bold print on deep blue. So, mine won't be a replica, but I hope to do it justice!Fun description of this quilt...Block measurement... Border measurement...When the fabric arrives, I'll be good to sew!

Indigo in Indianapolis

I love blue, I love baskets, and I love little blocks, so this one has it all, in my book...

The batting may be thick, but it doesn't detract much...

An indigo whole-cloth...

Detail - Still has that beautiful sheen...

Half Log Cabin/Road Trip

These half log cabin blocks were made a couple of years ago, and intended for a quilt to hang in my living room. After realizing that I hadn't made even half of the blocks that I needed, I just wasn't up for it, so they languished on a shelf. Since I've been in a "finishing" mood of late, I pulled them out, and sewed them up into a 68" top. Not the size I had envisioned, but I am really happy with it. The quilt is based on one in the Patricia Cox book, "American Quilt Classics". The layout is the same, but the coloring is a bit different. A close-up.

Saturday, Vicki and I left bright and early for two of the exhibits listed on our sidebar. First up was Indianapolis for the Frugal and Fancy, then on to Bloomington for the AQSG Star Quilts. We will be sharing lots of photos soon.

On the way home, we stopped in Greenwood at Back Door Quilts in Greenwood. Here are a few pics to entice you if you are ever in the area - lots of repros, and look at all of those samples!

This puss in the corner quilt was one of my favorites. My purchases are on the little bench in front of it. The star quilt book is based on the Bloomington exhibit.

NYC Wrap Up

I wish I had a new red and white project to show you - so many ideas spinning in my head.  I've done some planning and figuring inspired by one of my favorites from Infinite Variety, but stash yardage is short and time even shorter!  So, I'm sharing the last of my favorite non Red and White photos.  The quilts might be repeats from other blogs, but they're my favorites.  These quilts are from the Amercan Folk Art Museum exhibit.  The Amish quilts were behind glass, so close-up shots won't do, but I love this shot from the floor above.  

The star quilt is circa 1860 - 1900 from Geneva, New York.

 

  At left is a close-up of the Slashed Star quilt (dated 1872 from Lancaster, PA), a variation of Mariner's Compass.  I love the border on the quilt at right. - no info on this quilt due to bad photo.

This last quilt (again no details due to bad photo) is perfect for a spring post!

Isn't this entryway great!

Jan and I love libraries.  We visited the main branch (built in 1911) on 42nd St on our first afternoon.   We planned to go back for one of the guided tours, but quilts took precedence.  Jan recommended a great book - Time and Again by Jack Finney - set in NYC in both 1970 and 1882 .  Part of the plot takes place at  the Dakota on the edge of Central Park, which we visited.  I just finished the book and really enjoyed visualizing the city.  Thanks Jan!

 

Finally, the Chrysler Building.  It was a great trip!