Triangle Shirtwaist Exhibit & Two Color Quilts

While in New York to see the quilt shows last month, the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire took place. The fire cost the lives of many young women working at the factory, and ushered in many of the reforms that we still enjoy today. Around the corner from the Empire Guild Show, at the Fashion Institute of Technology, an exhibit was held to commemorate the anniversary.
I took this photo because of the quote at the bottom of the page - "You could touch the sorrow in the air".

Quite unusual, and modern, wouldn't you say? The displays were made of paper, and, if you look closely, the detail really depicts that day.

The burnt cloth of the skirt. The names of the victims, on the spiral at left. On the back wall, the women preparing to jump to escape the flames. I've read a couple of books involving the fire, and was, at first, surprised by the modern approach to the exhibit, but it was a solemn tribute to the women who perished that day.

On a lighter note, I have been thinking about the red and white quilts (who hasn't?!), and remembered that I had made a doll quilt of red and white sailboats. Both of the solids used are vintage pieces, as is the bias binding. Here is a little redwork piece that I bought online. I am not certain of it's intended use, but it works perfectly as a little sheet for one of my doll beds!Here is another two color quilt, using a great cheddar solid. I really quilted the heck out of this, didn't I?

The last doll quilt has a little story. I was at an auction, which used to be a frequent event for me, and there was a doll quilt made of a cadet printed with little stars, and a heavier, almost sacking type material. Well, it went for more than I cared to spend, so I went home, and made a copy of it for myself, of similar fabrics, and machine quilted it simply. It looks nearly identical to the one that brought the big bucks!

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!

Museum of American Folk Art

Other bloggers have shared their photos of the magnificent Red and White Exhibit held in New York City last week. I am still editing mine, and, unfortunately, deleting quite a few that were blurry. Thank goodness there will be a book in the future! I thought that I would share a few pictures from the Museum of American Folk Art, who hosted all three exhibits of quilts. These were taken at the main Museum. I love doll quilts, and these were charming, as was the little bed. Vicki and I wanted to fold back the hexagon to get a better look at the middle quilt!

This sunflower quilt was beautiful, and the close-ups of the fabric came out quite well. Excuse the blurriness of this shot...

Enlarge this one! I plan to share some other pics from the week spent in NYC in future posts. I can't add to the already glowing reports, except to say that I can't imagine that I'll ever forget those red and white quilts, and the way in which they were displayed. I know that I have even dreamed of them!

It was wonderful to meet fellow bloggers, and put faces to names, in some cases. I feel like it was quilter's Woodstock! We can all say that we were there for the quilting event of the new century!

Happy Birthday Joanna Semel Rose

and heartfelt thanks for your generous gift to the quilting community.  Everyone described 'Infinite Variety' as the 'exhibit of a lifetime'.  Jan and I viewed the exhibit three times and found new favorites each visit.  The impact of the display as you walked thru the doors was amazing - never to be topped!  I'm posting pics of my fav 5 - those that 'spoke to me'. 

The Park Avenue Armory was a wonderful venue for the exhibit.  This last photo is the pattern projected on the worn drill hall floor from the ceiling lighting rigging.

Preview of Gathering

The "Gathering of Quilters", a tri-state annual quilt show for Indiana, Illinois and Michigan was held this past weekend in Schererville, Indiana. Vicki and I attended as it is only about 20 minutes away from my house. The show is a juried one, and this year, was combined with the Heritage Quilter's Guild show. This pineapple caught my eye, and is actually pink and brown, even though it looks a bit green in these photos. Here is a close-up of the fabrics. Vicki will be sharing lots more photos of the Gathering in upcoming posts.

On another note, my parents have moved to assisted living, and are breaking up housekeeping. My mom wanted to give back quilts that I had made them. Since my dad is a Halloween baby, I made this doll quilt for him in 1993. You may notice that it has a bit of a curve to the upper edge. It was safety pinned at the upper corners, and hung from nails to a wall in his office since that time! It will have a bath, and maybe a blocking, and hopefully, will return to square.

We will be traveling to New York on Thursday to see the Red and White Exhibit at the American Folk Art Museum. I can hardly wait!

Crazy Quilt

The first stop at the Punta Gorda Quilt Show was a lecture on the care of antique quilts.  I only caught the last couple minutes (so missed the bed turning), but after wrap-up an attendee brought out an antique crazy quilt to share.  The quilt, dated 1881, was found among family possessions, but wasn't made by a family member.  This was one of the nicest crazy quilts I've seen - mostly embroidered silks.  I'm the caretaker of a family heirloom crazy quilt, but mine is the more typical velvet with fancy edge stitching.  Each square of this quilt was special and included some cigar silks.  

The year is stitched at left.

This is my favorite quilt from the show.  Notice that two of the blocks are pieced a little differently than their neighbors.

Lastly, here's a picture postcard sunset.  Glad I have this to remind me of sunshine and palm trees, because I'm not finding any at home in Indiana!

Fragments

Today has been quite an odd one for me. I spent a good part of the afternoon making progress on the Texas Braid - sewing rows 11 and 12 out of 14 to be made. No pic for that because it just doesn't look much different than the last one I shared. This afternoon I received good news from a friend, and this morning some disturbing news - nothing truly awful. My dad has Alzheimer's, and my parents live together in assisted living. The facility called to tell me that my dad had a dispute with another resident - he asked for a cigarette, and the man said no, then my dad called him a name. I didn't ask what, but assumed that he swore at him. This is a new, bad behavior for him, so I kept thinking about it throughout the day, and how best to handle it.
The only reason that I mention it is because I think that is why I made this little top. The red pieces are slivers from the trimmed ends of the "match" part of the Texas Braid. The exhibit in New York of red and white quilts has been on my mind (Vicki and I bought our tickets and are ready to go!), and I just wanted to make a little, liberated piece with them. When I finished, I realized that it may need to be my donation for the Alzheimer's Art Initiative. It just seems to represent to me the disconnected brain signals that occur with the disease. I think that I will not even attempt to square this up, just quilt and bind it with the unevenness left as is.