Beauty Secrets: Ohio Beauty from Texas Comes to Oregon

My third New York Beauty, a 1940's red. white, and blue head-turner, came from Mary Ann Walters of Log Cabin Antique Quilts in Texas. I bought it in January, 2004. In the same purchase, I also bought a funky, early twentieth century goblet quilt. At the time, Mary Ann said the New York Beauty came from Ohio, and warned me about the quilting stitches, which were rather odd and uneven. Thinking it would detract from my interest, she wanted to make sure I'd be happy with the quilt. I immediately loved the unskilled hand in the quilting stitches, and considered the quilt a bargain.

When I brought this quilt to show the Columbia-Willamette Quilt Study Group in 2009, everyone was very interested in the quilting. It was a puzzle. What was the story? People started making up their own theories about the person who had done the quilting. The quilt was compelling, and a mystery. From a distance, it's a show-stopper. Classic, bold, and patriotic, the quilt a wonderful display piece with a very human touch.

This quilt is currently on display at the Benton County Museum in Philomath, Oregon, as part of "Beauty Secrets: 150 Years of History in One Quilt Pattern" through October 1st. The exhibit is part of Quilt County, a biennial, countywide celebration of quilts. An 80-page, full-color printed catalog is available in limited numbers at the museum, and online through Blurb. To preview or purchase the catalog, click here.

Beauty Secrets: My Second New York Beauty

Twelve years after I bought my first New York Beauty, I found a second one. I'd seen only a few other examples along the way and was still very disconnected from the quilt world, but I was starting to buy through eBay, was finding several quilt dealers online. From time to time I visited Shelly Zegart's web site, where she had quilts for sale. That's where I found this quilt.

It was listed some time around Christmas, but it wasn't listed long because I bought it in January, 2001. The quilt would be a nice companion to the red, white, and green quilt I'd bought in 1989, I thought, but there were significant differences.

The dark, solid navy background was one thing. The thickness and loft was another. Then there was the basic grid quilting, and rustic, loomed backing fabric. Clearly it was more of a utility quilt, even though the piecework was very well done. The tan fabric was another color at one time, but had faded.

Around that time, I started to see other New York Beauties called by different names, particularly Rocky Mountain Road and Crown of Thorns. I wasn't as enthralled with the names as I was with the quilt's design and its rarity as a collectible. To me, there was something very American about these quilts. I didn't see them every day, but made a subconscious decision to buy every one I saw if I could afford it.

This quilt is currently on display at the Benton County Museum in Philomath, Oregon, as part of "Beauty Secrets: 150 Years of History in One Quilt Pattern" through October 1st. The exhibit is part of Quilt County, a biennial, countywide celebration of quilts. An 80-page, full-color printed catalog is available in limited numbers at the museum, and online through Blurb. To preview or purchase the catalog, click here.

Beauty Secrets: My First Quilt

I love to tell the story about how I got my first quilt. I was living in New York, going to grad school at NYU, and dating a young lady from Germany who was a Fullbright exchange student at F.I.T. Ulrike, or "Uli" as she liked to be called, really wanted to make the most of her experience in New York, and she always had ideas about where to go and what to do.

One day, she had a postcard invitation to a private showing of antique American Quilts. I have no idea where she got the invitation, but we went to an upscale, uptown brownstone apartment that afternoon to see quilts. Uli had heard about our nation's tradition of patchwork quilts, and wanted to return to Germany with a bona fide antique American quilt.

Before that day, I had never heard the name Shelly Zegart, but that's who greeted us at the door. Over the years, Shelly has continued to be a guiding light. There were very few people who influenced me during the bulk of the 22 years I've collected, but Shelly's been there since day one.

There were dozens of amazing old quilts draped over the furniture, all over the apartment, and Shelly blew me away that day. She was clearly passionate about quilts, very bright, and brimming over with information and stories about the quilts. Uli found an indigo and white Drunkard's Path quilt, and we giggled about the name since we invariably ended up at the Irish pub on the corner of 23rd and Lexington most evenings.

I was studying photography at the time, and art history was always part of my college curriculum. Shelly made me realize that quilts should be considered part of art history. Quilts were works of art. I fell in love with this New York Beauty quilt, and couldn't really afford it, so I left empty handed. But I think Shelly could tell I was smitten, so she kept in touch and worked with me on a payment plan. A few months later, I owned my first quilt.

At a lecture in Lebanon, Oregon. You can see the batting inside the quilt.

The plan was to display the quilt on the wall, but I was moving around a lot, wasn't exactly sure how to display it, and was afraid of what my mom would say when she saw it. How could I justify such an extravagant purchase? So, I hid the quilt from Mom for a number of years.

She finally saw it one day, when visiting my new apartment in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. She and Dad had come to see where I was living, and I had the quilt draped over a rack in the corner of my bedroom. Mom made a beeline to the quilt, and I realized I had to explain myself. After I fessed up, she said the quilt was the best thing I've ever spent my money on.

This quilt is currently on display at the Benton County Museum in Philomath, Oregon, as part of "Beauty Secrets: 150 Years of History in One Quilt Pattern" through October 1st. The exhibit is part of Quilt County, a biennial, countywide celebration of quilts. An 80-page, full-color printed catalog is available in limited numbers at the museum, and online through Blurb. To preview or purchase the catalog, click here.

Open - a day early!!

The quilts are up, the labels are in place, the lights are set, and "Beauty Secrets: 150 Years of History in One Quilt Pattern" at the Benton County Museum is open - a day early!! Originally the exhibit was scheduled to open on Friday, but things went so smoothly yesterday, it was actually ready to go this afternoon. So, it will be open tomorrow - Thursday. Photos courtesy of Mark Tolonen.

"Beauty Secrets: 150 Years of History in One Quilt Pattern" is on display now through October 1st at the Benton County Museum in Philomath, Oregon as part of Quilt County, a biennial, countywide celebration of quilts. An 80-page, full-color catalog is available in limited numbers at the museum, and online through Blurb. To preview or purchase the catalog, click here.

"Quilts are Cat Magnets"

On Saturday, I was pinning sleeves on quilts most of the afternoon. My cat, Boo, was sleeping on the couch. She's an old kitty, I think about 17 years old, and she doesn't move around as well as she once did. Boo paid no attention until I started working on the Mountain Mist New York Beauty.

The quilt was all spread out on the floor with the loose sleeve positioned, and that's when Boo decided to pay me a visit to express her approval. First I felt her rub up against me, and when I turned to look, there she was rolling all over the quilt, purring.

"Why does she like this one best?" I wondered. She hadn't been the least bit interested in any of the other quilts. Did little Boo know it was a Mountain Mist New York Beauty? Did she realize it was a key point in the chronological progression of quilts in my upcoming exhibit at the Benton County Museum? Did she know how hard it was to find this quilt?

I tried to shoo her away, and even picked her up and moved her off the quilt a couple times, but she wasn't about to go away. As soon as I moved her, she'd be right back on the quilt, rolling around and purring. Then I realized why couldn't I get the cat to stay off the quilt. It's something Pepper Cory said a while ago: "Quilts are cat magnets."

So, if you happen to go see the "Beauty Secrets" exhibit at the Benton County Museum and notice a few black cat hairs on the Mountain Mist New York Beauty, now you'll know where they came from. 

Beauty Secrets: During Installation

Today was hanging day at the Benton County Museum, and the quilts are now up. Just a few details, wall labels, etc., and the exhibit will be ready to open. Perhaps even a day early! Many thanks to the fine folks at the museum, especially curator and webmaster Mark Tolonen who facilitated the whole installation, created labels, and publicized the event on the web.

It was mind-blowing to see so many of these quilts on display in one space, and I'm just delighted. So, I thought I'd share a few pictures taken during installation. Enjoy!

We started the day with bare walls, ladders, and a table piled with quilts.

First order of business was to hang a few quilts from the ceiling. 

Then it was time to get quilts up on the walls and furnish the glass cases.

This glass case display will address key points in the pattern evolution.

Most of the older quilts are either on the stage or toward the front.

Newer and less traditional quilts are on the opposite end.

Quilts made from published patterns bridge the gap between old and new.

"Beauty Secrets: 150 Years of History in One Quilt Pattern" will be on display from August 5th to October 1st at the Benton County Museum in Philomath, Oregon. The exhibit is part of Quilt County, a biennial, countywide celebration of quilts. An 80-page, full-color exhibit catalog is available through Blurb. To preview or purchase the catalog, click here.

August Quilt of the Month

It's August, and summer's really flying by! Here in the Pacific Northwest, our summer has seemed more like an extended spring, with unseasonably cool temperatures mostly in the upper 60s to mid-70s. It hasn't reached 90 degrees yet in Portland, and nobody's complaining. Just the opposite. My air conditioner hasn't clicked on more than once this year, and while a heat wave is hitting most of the U.S., Oregonians enjoying one of the most delightful summers in recent memory.

The weather isn't the only thing making the summer feel like it's flying by. I've been busy, which is why I haven't posted a blog in a while. My very first museum exhibit "Beauty Secrets: 150 Years of History in One Quilt Pattern" will be installed this week and will officially open Friday at the Benton County Museum in Philomath, Oregon.

My August Quilt of the Month is part of the exhibit, and is probably very familiar to readers of this blog. It appears prominently in the promotional materials for the exhibit, part of Quilt County 2011, a biennial series of quilt exhibits and events around Benton County. An extremely rare variation on the pattern best known as New York Beauty, I thought this quilt would be the ideal choice for August - the second edition of the Quilt of the Month on my web site.

To read about the August Quilt of the Month, click here.