Quilts in the Baltimore Manner

What good fortune that I could go see the "Quilts in the Baltimore Manner" exhibit at Colonial Williamsburg, a little over a month after I acquired the Achsah Goodwin Wilkins Chintz Medallion. Ronda McAllen is speaking at the "Influences in American Quilts: Baltimore to Bengal" conference, and "The Chintz Gardens of Achsah Goodwin Wilkins" is her topic. I expected to see the medallion from the Williamsburg collection in the exhibit. What took me by surprise was how prominently it was displayed.

Compare: the chintz medallion at Williamsburg (left) and mine (right). 

It was at the end of a long gallery full of quilts, facing the entry, and it was basically the crown jewel in an exhibit full of rare, precious gems. It took my breath away. I hadn't really considered where it would be, or what that would say about it. The placement was important. It made me think to myself, "Wow, I guess I really did find something good."

People in the gallery asked me how mine differed from the one in the exhibit, and I tried showing a picture on my iPhone, but the side-by-side (above) really tells the story. More about the chintz medallions later. Here are some pictures of the exhibit.

It was a treat to hang around in the gallery chatting with other visitors and looking at the quilts. Julie Silber was there, and I very much enjoyed the chance we had to visit. We hadn't spent enough time visiting with each other at Quilt Adventure in Bellingham and the AQSG Seminar in Lincoln, so I was especially happy to sit down, relax, and catch up. Once people began to arrive, there were a lot of familiar faces, and it was great to see everyone. I'm looking forward to two days of fascinating presentations by some of the most knowledgeable people in the world of quilt and textile history.