Road Trip - Day 4 and 5 (1st Installment)

Day 4 started with a trip to the National Museum of Women in the Arts to visit the 'Workt by Hand: Hidden Labor and Historical Quilts'. They had a 'no photo' policy and the exhibit book was out of stock; but according to this 'A Quilter by Night' blog post, The Brooklyn Museum exhibit must have had a more lenient photo policy - be sure to click on 'Part 2' at the bottom of the post.  I have one thing to share - not the eagle above - that was Day 5, but I'll get there.  I studied my 'favorite' quilt from the exhibit for quite awhile.  Jan discovered that Mary Koval has reproduced the quilt, Lydia, and the free pattern pdf is available here.
Update - thanks to Sandy's comment on the previous post.  The Workt by Hand exhibit is at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, CA thru Sept 1, 2014 - link.

In the afternoon, we visited the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.  We saw some amazing things - the top hat President Lincoln was wearing when he was assassinated, the Star Spangled Banner flag that inspired our national anthem, Dorothy's ruby slippers, the First Ladies' Gowns, and the original Kermit the Frog.  Here are a few of the items on display that resonated with me -

The 1841 pin-making machine patent model, patented by John Howe.  The machine could produce over 20,000 pins a day compared to 20 pins per day made by hand.

This 1870 sewing machine patent model accompanied William T Smith's application for patent No. 99,743.

Day 5 was the best day ever.  It personally ranks just under momentous family events (weddings and births).  In the morning we were on the Smithsonian 'Behind the Scenes' quilt tour - AMAZING.  If you're planning a trip to DC, you have to plan around this - the second Tuesday of the month excluding January and February (I think - check to be sure).  Space is limited, so sign-up early.  We saw many of the quilts from the book The Smithsonian Treasury American Quilts by Doris M Bowman. If you have this book (and you should - used copies on Amazon for $0.56!), dig it out to refer to to get the overall view of the quilts I'll post pics of.   Remember to bring your copy of the book - I wish I had mine with me to get Ms. Bowman's signature.  This event ran long and we just made it to our afternoon appointment - Textile Tuesday at the DAR.  BEST DAY EVER!!!

I'm sharing a couple photos from the Smithsonian but will post more later (maybe tonight).  The beautiful Indiana sunshine is tugging at me!  These photos have been shared on other blogs, so this might be a repeat, but they're all worth a second look!  

The eagle from the beginning of the post is a close-up from the Maryland Album Quilt on pg 53 of the book.  Book excerpt: 'This album quilt was probably made about 1860, perhaps for a member of the Wilmer family of Kent County, Maryland.  Much of its elaborate applique was made three-dimensional by gathering folded strips of fabric and stitching them down in various shapes, while some of the motifs are padded with cotton fibers under the applique.  Twelve of the twenty-five blocks have embroidered, inked, or stamped signatures or initials.'

Also appropriate to the Memorial Holiday is the Stars and Stripes Quilt from pg 57.  Book excerpt:  'Mary Rockhold-Teter of Noblesville, Indiana, made this quilt during the Civil War, when patriotic symbols were much on the minds of Americans.  The design, adapted from the American flag and named Stars and Stripes, appeared in the July 1861 issue of Peterson's Magazine, a women's periodical published in Philadelphia....  Mary made the quilt for her son, George, a Union soldier.  In the quilting she included his name, the names of Generals Scott and Taylor under whom he served, "Genral Lyon," the president of the United Sates as "Abe" and "Ab Lyncoln," the word "Cat," and the year, 1861.  Written in ink on the lining is "George Teter."'

A beautiful block print that was displayed on top of one of the quilt storage cabinets.














This snippet of applique is the border to a 'sunflower' quilt that I didn't find in the book - amazing edge stitching along the applique edge.

 I'll post more soon!

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

A Few Favorites From the LQS

Sample Blocks

This has always been a favorite block, so I thought I would make a sample 9" - too small.  I wanted to see the fabrics more, with a larger scale block, so I sewed a 12" sample.  You can see where this is going...

Yes, indeed, there was no stopping.  This is still just blocks, and I'm considering a border.  As I was sewing, I thought that this should look like an upscale farm quilt, which makes me lean toward no border.  It will be 72" square as is.

Postcard from Pax

 I got caught in the snarled air travel from Pax.  My weekly commute includes two legs - I travel thru Charlotte to catch a prop plane to a small airport in eastern North Carolina.  I knew I wouldn't make it from the small airport to Charlotte, so I rented a car and drove five hours to increase my chances of getting home for the weekend.  My Indiana winter driving skills got me there safely.  I waited in line for two hours to get booked on a flight the next morning.  Unfortunately, there were no hotel rooms available - my only option was to spend the night at the airport. Amazingly, I had a quilt packed in my luggage!  I finished hand stitching the binding earlier in the week and the quilt was packed to bring home. 

Airports get pretty cold in the middle of the night.  I wrapped up and covered my head to get a bit of privacy.  I've only traveled with a quilt twice - someone was looking out for me!  Here's a peek at the back -

Add it to the Pile

Among my cache of quilt ephemera was a photo of a T block doll quilt.  It was made of scrap and muslin.  I really thought that I was going to make a copy of it, but ended up with this version, made of charm squares.

Sometimes you just need to listen when the fabric speaks to you.

What I've Been Sewing

These tinman blocks were pieced in the '90's, and were intended as part of a two-sided quilt with a friend from Oklahoma.  That project never came to fruition.

A couple of months ago, I was thinking about UFOs, and put these up on the design wall.  My granddaughter loved them, and since her favorite color is red, I chose to border in reds.

The top is 60" square, and will make a nice napping size quilt for her.

This crib quilt top is for my grandson, due February 6th.  I had another one in the works, but nursery colors were changed to Seahawks' navy and lime green, along with alligator print sheets.  My daughter and son-in-law are in Alaska, so I didn't know about the switch until last week!  I quickly chose an online free pattern.  Not exciting, but it will look nice in the nursery.