My 2018 Word of the Year!

Be original! That's my message for 2018 and beyond. Every year I like to choose a word for the year. It's not an original idea. I started doing it because other people were, and I like the word to be rooted in my hopes for the new year. In 2018, I hope to see more originality. I hope to encourage others to look for originality and generate it, and I hope to be a beacon for it. Originality is my 2018 word of the year. What's yours?

Embroidered Applique Quilt, c. 1950, Maine

The auction was more than a month ago, but for a variety of reasons, there was a delay shipping this quilt. It came from an auction house in Maine, and a shipper in Portland was planning to ship it, but possibly not until after Christmas. So, I let them know I would soon be in Maine, and arranged to pick it up in person. I'm glad I did. We enjoyed having it around for the Holidays.

It's a charming piece, full of appliqued animals, creatures and other figures...there's even a Santa Claus. Merry Christmas!

The quilt is 52" x 80" and is backed, bound and tied in a few places, but has no batting. Here are photos of some of the individual blocks, showing the applique and embroidery. Enjoy!

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your favorites

It was a lot of fun counting down my top 20 quilts acquired in 2017 during the month of December, from the 7th through the 25th. Seeing these quilts together as one group representing a year of collecting was really something! I gained a great appreciation for diversity in quiltmaking and how it can shape a collection.

So, which ones were your favorites?

Top 20 Quilts of 2017: #1, Holy Hexies!

Holy Hexies! What an incredible year it was.

Merry Christmas! This month, I posted a series of blogs counting down my top 20 quilts of the year. All the quilts were acquired by the collection in 2017, and they represent four centuries of American quilts. 

I thought it would be a slow year for collecting, but it turned out to be fast-paced and phenomenal. Several quilts in the countdown could have landed in the top spot, but at the end of an amazing year one quilt stood out-- a one-of-a-kind original, antique pictorial quilt from Pennsylvania, made of hexagon shaped patches. This pictorial hexagon quilt came from an auction house near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The first time I saw it, I was stunned. I'd never seen anything like it, and it's not just my favorite acquisition of the year, it's one of my all-time favorites. To read more about it, click here and here.

Top 20 Quilts of 2017: #2, Magnificent Floral Appliqué

Merry Christmas! This month, I am posting a series of blogs counting down my top 20 quilts of the year. All the quilts were acquired by the collection in 2017, and they represent four centuries of American quilts. Stay tuned for #1...

Something unusual happened when I brought this mid-19th century floral appliqué quilt to the December Portland Modern Quilt Guild Meeting for Show & Tell. Before I could say a word, the audience erupted in applause. I was a little surprised, but the quilt deserved the ovation. This best-of-kind applique quilt was offered in a sleepy eBay Live event held by a California auction house on a Sunday evening. An absence of competitive bidders made it a remarkable bargain. To read more about the quilt, click here.
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Top 20 Quilts of 2017: #3, Carolyn Mazloomi's Quilt

"Spirit of Forgiveness" by Carolyn Mazloomi 

This month, I am posting a series of blogs counting down my top 20 quilts of the year. All the quilts were acquired by the collection in 2017, and they represent four centuries of American quilts. 

Most of my Top 20 Quilts of 2017 are antique or vintage, but Carolyn Mazloomi made this masterpiece in 2014. This very special quilt tells the story of Adriaan Johannes Vlok, who was the Minister of Law and Order in South Africa from 1986 to 1991 during the final years of the apartheid era. As atonement for his despicable acts, he asked to wash the feet of mothers of some of the black men he ordered killed. Carolyn Mazloomi's stunning quilt. "Spirit of Forgiveness" is one of my favorite acquisitions of 2017. To read more about it, click here.
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Top 20 Quilts of 2017: #4, The Cooke Family Quilt

Did Lili'uokalani know about the Cooke Family quilt
 before making The Queen's Quilt?

This month, I am posting a series of blogs counting down my top 20 quilts of the year. All the quilts were acquired by the collection in 2017, and they represent four centuries of American quilts. 

If you look for Victorian crazy quilts in Hawaii, you won't find much. This quilt came from the Cooke Family, and it raised some very interesting questions related to Queen Lili'uokalani and The Queen's Quilt. Does the Cooke Family Quilt shed any light on Lili'uokalani's knowledge of crazy quilts? To read more about it, click here.
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