Wordless Wednesday: Jerome, Idaho - Jerome Bowl Vintage Bowling Shirt Quilt

Wordless Wednesday

Thank You, Benton County Museum!

Yesterday was the final day of "Modern Materials, Quilts of the 1970s" at the Benton County Museum. I am already thinking ahead to what's up next. Before I do that, I'd like to send out a great big thank you to everyone who was part of the experience, especially my friends at the Benton County Museum.

Thank you for inviting me back. I thoroughly enjoyed our second exhibition together at the museum. "Beauty Secrets: 150 Years of History in One Quilt Pattern" in 2011 was the first-ever exhibition of quilts from my collection, and it brought a whole lot of good luck. It was a culminating experience, but at the same time, a whole new chapter.

A lot of things have happened since 2011. When I look back on this amazing journey, which I am still on, I am especially thankful for the role the Benton County Museum played. The 2011 exhibition started a chain reaction of events, which ultimately led to the publication of my first book, "New York Beauty, Quilts from the Volckening Collection" (Quiltmania/France) earlier this year.

When I received the return invitation last year from curator Mark Tolonen, I was in the middle of working on the New York Beauty book. That whole month, I photographing the quilts and editing the photos, a very big project. I would soon head down a whole new path with the 1970s quilts, and the museum that brought me such good luck would be part of it, once again at the beginning.

My next exhibition will open in January at Latimer Quilt & Textile Center in Tillamook, Oregon, and will explore a very special group of scrappy patchwork creations with explosive, tropical color. Stay tuned for more details as we approach the date. 

It's a Wrap: Back to School Blog Hop Recap

Sam Hunter of Hunter's Design Studio

It's a wrap! The Hunter's Design Studio Back to School Blog Hop has reached its conclusion, and you can still read all the great blogs posted during the month of September and a little of October. Sam Hunter was very kind to wrap up the event by linking all the posts in one place. Now you can follow the links directly to each Back to School post. Very user friendly, and much appreciated.

Thank you Sam, and everyone else who participated and read along. To see the list of Back to School blogs with direct links, click here.

epic!

It's been an epic year, and when I look back on it, I will remember the epic 1970s polyester Tile Blocks quilt from Louisiana.

It was displayed at QuiltCon 2015 in Austin, Texas, when I debuted my "Modern Materials, Quilts of the 1970s" exhibition.

QuiltCon 2015, Austin, Texas

Last year, it appeared in print, in a magazine called Patchwork Professional from Germany. This year it was in Quilters Newsletter.

Patchwork Professional, Germany, 2014

Quilters Newsletter Magazine, 2015

It's everywhere, it's everywhere! Pretty cool, considering the quilt was plucked from eBay in October, 2013. If you have followed this blog, you saw it here first.

When it arrived it was an edge-finished quilt top, likely used as a single-layer bedspread. Each patch was hand-stitched to the black rick rack between the patches. It is 112" x 120" and is 100% polyester double knit with a cotton backing and sleeve added recently for display purposes.

I love hanging it over the banister whenever it's home. The thing is huge. It fills a room with color.

Today is the LAST DAY to see the exhibition "Modern Materials, Quilts of the 1970s" at the Benton County Museum in Philomath, Oregon. TODAY ONLY - 'til 4:30!! For more information about the exhibition, location, hours,  and other venues showing quilts during Quilt County 2015, click here.

"Levittown, Pennsylvania, After the Big Paint Sale"

Sometimes I give my quilts little nicknames. This 1970s House Quilt is one of those. I call it "Levittown, Pennsylvania, After the Big Paint Sale." For those readers who do not know Levittown, it was a planned community in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and only six models of homes were built, all single-family dwellings with lawns.

Levittown, PA (before the big paint sale) 

It probably would have been helpful to paint the house a distinct color when living in Levittown, where all the houses pretty much looked the same.

this quilt was once part of my collection and sold a few years ago

House quilts, also called Schoolhouse quilts, appeared some time around the third quarter of the 19th century. They are often two-color, red and white or indigo and white, and pieced. Sometimes they come in varied colors like the Schoolhouse quilt from New York, once part of my collection and sold a few years ago to a collector in New York. It is interesting to look at this quilt and the 1970s quilt side-by-side.

two house quilts, c. 1890-1910 (left) & c. 1970 (right) - see the difference?

The older example has more muted colors and each block is two-color. The newer one is more vibrant, with six different solid color fabrics in each block. The older quilt seems to predict Pop Art half a century early, even though it manages to have a traditional feel. The newer quilt seems heavily influenced by Pop Art.

Even though I joke about the quilt being Levittown, Pennsylvania, After the Big Paint Sale, it is not from Pennsylvania. It came from an eBay seller in Texas, part of the early wave of 1970s quilts I collected between 2011 and 2012. Being able to place it in historical context with other house quilts told me a lot about the 1970s. The quilt is 79" x 94" and made of cotton-polyester blend fabrics, all solids.

There are just two more days to see the exhibition "Modern Materials, Quilts of the 1970s" at the Benton County Museum in Philomath, Oregon. TODAY & TOMORROW - THROUGH SATURDAY ONLY!! For more information about the exhibition, location, hours,  and other venues showing quilts during Quilt County 2015, click here.

another spin on the hexagon

In yesterday's blog I featured Hexagon quilts. Well, here's another spin on the Hexagon quilt; but these hexagons are surrounded by narrow, interlocking, trapezoidal strips on all six sides, creating a complex, visually sophisticated design.

The pattern is called Woven Pattern and it appeared in a book called "Quilt Patterns for the Collector, with Keys for Drafting" by L.K. Meeker of Portland, Oregon, 1979. According to Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns it is #425.7.

The quilt came from an eBay seller in Georgia. It is 76" x 92", the top is 100% polyester double knit, and the backing appears to be a pre-quilted bedspread with botanical / tall grass print in browns on off white.

The quilt is tied with colorful yarn, which is much more evident when you see it in person, and there is a wide variety of fabrics and colors.

There are just a few more days to see the exhibition "Modern Materials, Quilts of the 1970s" at the Benton County Museum in Philomath, Oregon. THROUGH SATURDAY!! For more information about the exhibition, location, hours,  and other venues showing quilts during Quilt County 2015, click here.