Botanical Quilts Exhibition - part 2

I have been asked if there was a catalogue for this small exhibit - I am afraid not. All the information below was taken from the information boards inside the glass cases with one or two additions from myself. There are some more pictures on the Charleston Museum's website

I am afraid some of the photographs came out rather dark, but I hope there is sufficient detail for you to see the beauty of the work.

Floral Urn Chintz Applique Quilt Top c. mid-19th century - made by Mary Frampton Townsend Pope

Pope Quilt Top c. mid-19th century

Close-up of left hand border and broderie perse

Close-up of border chintz fabric



Central Urn



Close-up of central urn and bird showing deterioration of fabric in the urn base

A dramatic quilt top particularly with the border fabric with the pink background. The deteriorating fabric at the base of the urn is "...most likely due to the acidic natural dyes used for these colours".

Mary (1804 - 1861), was the daughter of Daniel Townsend jr. and Hepsibah Jenkins of Charleston. Mary married John Jeremiah Pope of the Oaks Plantation in Frogmore (near Beaufort) and the quilt came to the museum in 1988 through her great grand-daughter.

Tree of Life Applique Quilt Top c.1840 - made by Maria Boyd Schultz

The Tree of Life Applique Chintz top c.1840

Close-up

Another close-up

Close-up of right border

Close-up of bottom left corner - note the giraffe and greek style temples

The tree is composed of a number of different chintz prints pieced together to form the trunk, branches flora and fauna. At the base of the tree are a number of other applied motifs including a giraffe, cavalry officer and palm tree. The border may have been added later since it dates to the 1850's.

Maria Boyd Schultz (1806 - 1883) was the daughter of John Christopher Schultz, a travelling merchant and Susan Flud Cantey of Charleston. Maria was the eldest of nine children, but she never married and the quilt passed down through her sister's family.

Basket of Fruit Chintz Applique Quilt c. 1840 - probably made by Margaret Eliza Darley Seyle Burges

Basket of Fruit Chintz Applique Quilt c. 1840

As above photograph with view of border

Central basket of flowers

Close-up of bird motif

Close-up of border

Close-up of basket motif

This quilt was probably made by the same person who made the Burges Tree of Life Applique Quilt seen in part 1 as it passed down through the same family. The central basket in the centre was a popular motif as it appears on another three quilts in the Charleston Museum collection (not on display). The International Quilt Study Centre and Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska also has a quilt with this fruit basket, which is also attributed to Charleston. The quilt is quilted in clamshell pattern throughout with large overlapping arcs in the floral border.

Piece of Chintz fabric c.1835 - Made by John Lowe and Company, England

Piece of Chintz Fabric c. 1835

Whilst originally chintzes were importaed from India, English textile manufacturers started making the fabrics for the home furnishing and quilting markets. This piece still bears the name of John Lowe and company from Shepley Hall and says that they were furniture printers.

Some individual blocks c. 1830's - 1850's

Cactus flower

and.... the chintz applique quilt top that got away...!

The day after visiting the Museum I went out on a trip to Magnolia Plantation and Gardens and having recovered from seeing and being so close to alligators (I do not like reptiles and I had no idea that they lived naturally in South Carolina, I always associate them with southern Florida) I took a tour of the house - unfortunately, no photographs were allowed. I kept my eyes peeled though and sighted a reproduction Baltimore Album Quilt and reproduction Eagle applique quilt plus a 1930's feedsack Butterfly quilt. But, in the master bedroom and very hard to see because we were roped off too far away, was what looked to be an 1850's Blazing Star quilt with chintz broderie perse in the corners. I hung around at the end to see if I could get a closer look but it was not to be - soooo frustrating to be so near and yet so far!

Magnolia Plantation

The exhibit at the Charleston Museum will be there until 22nd April 2012, so if you are in the area, do go and see because my photographs do not do the quilts and tops justice.

In my next blog, most probably at the weekend, I will upload my photographs of the quilts that were on display at the DAR Museum in Washington DC, my next port of call.

Thank you for reading my blog!

Botanical Quilts Exhibition - Charleston, South Carolina (Part 1)

In all my planning for my trip I somehow missed the notice for this exhibition so very many thanks to Lisa over at Stray Threads, otherwise I would have most probably missed this small, but wonderful exhibit during my visit to Charleston where it was staged at the Charleston Museum.

The Charleston Museum

Unfortunately, all of the quilts were hung behind glass and were not all completely hung to see, but I spent a really enjoyable, and cool, two hours studying the quilts. Here are just a few of the 172(!) photographs I took that afternoon. The overhead lighting was quite subdued so some of the photographs came out darker despite my playing with the camera controls. Enjoy!

Gracy Drummond's (1777 - 1847) Floral Chintz Applique Album Quilt


c.1844 -45



Eason Block

Close-up of Gracy Drummond's Quilt

Forty-one blocks set on point. Whilst all the blocks have different names on them, it is thought that the workmanship is of one-person. Gracy Drummond's name appears in the centre floral wreath with the date "December 4th, 1845/aged 66 years". The two recipient's names each appear in the two wreaths above Gracy's block. They were "Margaret Thompson Banks 1844" and "James Monroe Eason 1844" who were married in Charleston on March 23rd, 1847. All of the other blocks have been signed by family members.

1885 Chintz Applique Album Coverlet - made by ladies of Pinopolis, SC

1885 Chintz Album Coverlet

Close-up of 1885 Chintz Album Quilt

A comparitively late chintz quilt composed of 30 blocks. Many of the blocks are signed in ink or embroidery. The signatures probably represent friends and family of Rene Ravenel and his wife Maria Stevens Jervey who lived at Pooshee Plantation in Pinopolis at the time.

Trophy of Arms Chintz Pieced Quilt, c.1815 - probably made by Mary Withers Read

Trophy of Arms c. 1815

The centre medallion

Close-up of 1815 Trophy of Arms Quilt

The centre medallion shows a number of pieces of equipment used in hunting - a shield, arrows and horn. Interstingly none of the chintz was cut up, but used in its entirety. to form a series of borders. The whole has been quilted using an overlapping fan design.
Mary Withers Read was the wife of John Harleston Read (1788 - 1858); she died in 1820. It descended within the family who donated it to the museum and is thought to have been made by Mary based on the date of the fabrics.

Chintz Applique Album Quilt Top c.1847 - 1848 - made by family and friends of the Chapman family Blackville and Charleston, South Carolina

Chapman Family Album Quilt Top c.1847 -1848

Close-up of block

Close-up of another block

Made of 36 squares the top was never completed. Only 15 of the squares are signed and dated. The bold floral piecs were very popular during the 1840's.

Mary Louisa Schirmer's chintz pieced and appliqued crib quilt - late 19th century

Chintz applique and pieced crib quilt

A variation of a log cabin quilt, with a block of chintz or a tiny piece of appliqued chintz in the centre of each block. Mary Louisa (1852 - 1941), was the daughter of Jacob Frederick Schirmer and Mary Margaret Bachman of Charleston. Mary Louisa married Otto Tiedeman, a Charleston grocer.

Aiken Basket of Flowers Chintz Applique Quilt - c.1840

Aiken quilt c.1840

Close-up of centre basket



Close-up of wreath in border

Described as the "quintessential Charleston chintz applique quilt", the maker is unknown. The central basket is made from a vine print and the circular border around the basket is made from a pieced floral vine. Around the outer border are four appliqued wreaths each with a print of an architectural ruin inside.

Tree of Life Applique Quilt c.1833 - probably made by Margaret Eliza Darley Seyle Burges

Burges Quilt c.1833

Close-up of top right corner and border

Close-up of peacock

The base of tree is a mound of flowers with peacocks sitting to the left and right. It is marked in blue cross-stitch on the back with "Burges/Dec 1833". The border is a large chintz appliqued cut out on a printed floral background. The tree is composed on a number of appliqued cut-outs from different chintz fabrics and include large hollyhocks as well as the palm trees.

Margaret (1804-1877) was the daughter of Samuel Seyle and Mary Susannah Wesner from Charleston. She married James Burges jr. in 1829 and the quilt was passed down through the family before being donated to the museum by her great grand-son in 2010.

That's part 1!  I hope you have enjoyed the show! It has taken me a few days to upload these, so I'll publish the remaining quilts in part 2 later this week.

...and November???

For the past eight years I have been extremely fortunate to be able to attend the Dear Jane Retreat in Shipshewana in north-east Indiana. The retreat was started about 10 years ago to bring together quilters from around the world with one common interest - reproducing the Jane Stickle quilt.

The Farmstead Inn, Shipshewana, Indiana

Where the Dear Jane Retreat is held

Whilst over the years most regular attenders have completed and even made one or two more Dear Jane reproductions (and in the case of one friend is it 5 or 6??!!), the retreat has become an amazing "hotbed" for inspiration and sharing, which for me as a lone quilter has both nourished, renewed and encouraged me to keep going. I have made some great friends over the years and whilst I have still to finish my first Dear Jane quilt (120 blocks, 20 triangles and 2 kites finished!) I come away enthused to get it out and keep going, but of course never get around to doing so. However, this year Brenda has challenged me to finish it for 2013 when it will be the 150th anniversary of the making of the quilt, with celebrations both in Europe and the USA being planned.



Of course, it is not all sewing. Shipshewana is the home of two quilt store's - Lolly's and Yoders, so much shopping and much eating especially of JoJo's pretzels, cream pies and in recent years cupcakes is an important part of the retreat! I wasn't very good at taking pictures this year so to see more pictures visit LuAnn's Loose Thread's blog, you'll find the link in the right hand column.

Yoder's Department Store, Shipshewana, Indiana

 

The Blue Gate Restaurant, Shipshewana, Indiana
The pop-corn chicken salad  and meatloaf are my favourites and I am slowly working my way through the list of pies!


I stay with a very good friend, Theresa, in Indianapolis, who drives me everywhere, so I can get my annual "fix" of fabrics and quilts. It was Theresa who persuaded me to come to the retreat and each year she has been very gracious to let me come back and stay, plus arrange some very special events for me - more about which in another post.

Fabric shopping!
I flew from London to Washington DC with a very heavy cold which made for an uncomfortable take-off and landing. Amazingly for mid- November I arrived at 8.05pm to temperatures in the mid-70's - I was not prepared as I waited at border control in a thick coat and scarf which soon had to be discarded! I stayed overnight in Arlington, Va close to National Airport as I had two flights to Indianapolis via Detroit the next morning.

On awaking I was greeted with this view of the late autumn tree colours:-

Autumn tree colours

Of course, I always travel with a shopping list much of which gets added to as I travel along as I get tempted by new fabrics which I have not espied on the internet.

So, as soon as I was off the 'plane in Indianapolis we were on our way to Backdoor Quilts in Greenwood on the southside of Indianapolis. We judged that we would have about an hour before the shop closed and arrived to discover that they didn't shut until 9.00pm - 5 whole hours to shop!! Now for some strange reason I don't have a photograph, so please follow the link. I always enjoy this shop it has a very good collection of reproduction fabrics plus batiks and they have some lovely displays of their patterns and kits which are always very tempting! Of course I had to buy fabric and my points (yes, I even have a store points card) are slowly on the increase - maybe in 5 or 6 years time I will have enough points for a free yard of fabric!!

The next day we journeyed to Shipshewana. On the way up, we usually drop off at a couple of quilty venues, including the Quilter's Hall of Fame in Marion, Indiana, but this year it was not to be as they now only open Thursdays - Saturdays and we travel up on the Wednesday returning on the Sunday. This was disappointing as I always enjoy seeing the exhibition of quilts of the current inductee, but it is understandable given the current economic climate as it must cost to keep the house open, warm and lit.

So instead we went directly to Caroline's Cottage in Rome City.

Caroline's Cottage, Rome City, Indiana

The outside of the cottage belies the treats which lie inside! The cottage was built in the 1870's and each room carries a different theme with all the reproductions being in one of the bedrooms, wool, plaids and miscellaneous and a teaching room being in another bedroom attached to which is the original bathroom which is a mix of aquagreen bath and toilet with pine surrounds which always gives me a smile as I remember my grandparents bathroon back in the 1960's and then in the kitchen are all the 1930's, 40's and '50's fabrics with the original kitchen now refurbished - this has to be my favourite room. 

In the kitchen of Caroline's Cottage

Of course, we also have to eat and so we went to the Amish Diner at Emma and ate strombolis! A sort of rolled up pizza - too, too delicious.




Amish Diner in Emma, Indiana

 Yoders and Lolly's in Shipshewana were just as wonderful as usual with both having a wonderful collection of fabrics, with Yoders in the past year having extended the floor space to enable even more fabric to be put out on display. It is wonderful to return and be greeted by assistants who even remember my name!! Of course my credit card got well used in both stores! It was interesting to see how Kaffe Fassett's fabrics have become so popular in the USA with complete display areas showing off the ranges and in another post I will add some photographs from the retreat's show n'tell to see how they are being used. I smiled to myself watching everyone buy these fabrics as they are... British! Kim McLean, an Australian quilt designer is getting a huge following in the USA, and her designs lend themselves well to the Westminster/Rowan fabric ranges so brights are well and truly in!


After the retreat Theresa and I always make a visit to my absolutely favourite quilt store in the whole world - Quilts Plus in Indianapolis. Theresa lives just 10 minutes away - I am so green with envy! I wish I could pick up this store and put it in my back garden, there is so much fabric and inspiration in that shop with quilt samples, a wonderful range of all my favourite fabrics and little month by month projects which I so wish I could participate in.

Some years ago Theresa's daughter dropped me off at the shop with the plan that Theresa would come by after work to pick me up. After dropping me off she grew concerned about leaving me in the store for a couple of hours and 'phoned her mother to check that I would be okay in there - to me that store is like being a child in a sweetie shop - Theresa reassured her that 2 hours would most probably not be long enough for me and she was so right as the shop assistants were beginning to switch off the lights as we left!!

Quilts Plus in Indianapolis
This picture really does not do the shop justice!

There are many other quilt stores in the Indianapolis area which I have gradually over the years visited such as Quilts Quarters, but time always runs out but I always leave inspired,  with a full suitcase of fabric, renewed and an increased enthusiasm for my projects.


Charleston, South Carolina
Usually after the retreat I add on a visit to another town/city to see a quilt exhibition, but with all my searching I couldn't find anything that drew my attention so instead I decided just to head to another city for a bit of R & R and this year I decided to visit Charleston in South Carolina. I have never been so far south (Williamsburg, Va is the furthest south), so I was looking forward to a little bit of warmth, but was not prepared for the unseasonably warm weather that greeted me! Heat and humidity are not my favourite bed fellows I am afraid and on my first full day in Charleston as I was wondering aimlessly about, well in truth I got lost, my map reading skills were sorely wanting - guess what I found? Yes... another quilt store!!!! Now don't ask me how I do it, but I seem to be able to find myself near quilt stores - and this is the only one in Charleston!

Called People, Places and Quilts the proprietor was extremely welcoming offering me a drink (the effects of the heat were becoming all too apparent or maybe it was my age!) and facilities (now why don't we do that here in the UK?)



People, Places and Quilts, Charleston, SC

One of the displays showing Kaffe Fassett fabrics

Another interior view of the store

It was lovely and cool in the shop and I had a lovely time choosing some fabrics, reading quilt books and just taking my time; I left with some fabric for a sample quilt using blocks relating to Charleston and South Carolina including a border print with magnolia's printed on them which was to become quite apt as I planned to visit the Magnolia Gardens and Plantation a couple of days later, so I have some lovely fabric for a memory quilt.

South Carolina Sampler Quilt

The proprietor though was an ace at working out how much fabric I would need for the quilt, she amazingly was able to slash my bill in half by working out a different way of cutting the fabric for the borders etc. I just hope I can remember how I should cut the fabric when I finally come to use it!

Well, that's just about it for this post - in the next postings I will show some quilts from the show n'tell at Shipshewana and my visits to the North Stars quilt group, Charleston Museum to see a small exhibition of chintz quilts and the DAR Museum in Washington DC... oh and of course some pictures of my buys and stitching (yes, I did get some done!)

Thanks for reading my blog.