what's not to love?

An outstanding 1970s Dresden Plate. What's not to love?

In 2010, I bought my first vintage, 1970s quilt. By 2011, I was actively collecting 1970s quilts. I was head-over-heels in love with the quilts, and really...what's not to love?

In 2013, American Quilter Magazine published my first article about the quilts of the 1970s. The same year, Tracy Mooney of Generation Q Magazine called Victoria Findlay Wolfe and I "The Double Knit Twins" for collecting the quilts nobody else wanted. After that point, it was safe to say people wanted 1970s quilts, but there were still some skeptics and even a few critics.

2015: QuiltCon in Austin, Texas

2015: Exhibition at the Benton County Museum in Oregon

In 2015, I exhibited 1970s quilts at QuiltCon in Austin, Texas and had an exhibition of quilts from the 1970s at the Benton County Museum in Oregon. The same year, Quilters Newsletter published an article I wrote about the quilts of the 1970s. The critics were starting to take notice and acknowledge the quilts as part of quilt history, even if they didn't like polyester fabrics.

Last year (2017), I had an exhibit of 1970s polyester quilts at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum.

After all these important milestones, it seemed like everyone was on board. The world was finally showing an appreciation for the quilts of the 1970s. These quilts were the products of the great American quiltmaking revival of the 1970s, which revolved around the 1976 American Bicentennial. They occupied a very important space in quilt history and American history.

There are so many 1970s quilts in my collection now, I produced a self-published catalogue to keep track of them. It was a simple thing to show to anyone who might be interested in the quilts, particularly publishers and curators. Most of them are interested, but recently I met with the directors of the big quilt festival in Houston, and they told me I didn't need to take the book out of my bag. They didn't want to look at it. They also said I could show the quilts in other venues, but not theirs.

"no matter how far you go in life, never forget your roots."

Of course, I laughed. It was funny, even though it was terribly ironic. When it comes to the global quilt industry, a multi-billion-dollar industry involving tens of millions of Americans, all roads lead back to the 1970s. Had there not been a great American quiltmaking revival in the 1970s, there would be no big quilt festivals.

The moral of the story is: no matter how far you go in life, never forget your roots. The quilts of the 1970s are important cultural objects, speaking to an unprecedented surge in quiltmaking activity that led to a thriving, female-dominated industry. As we approach the 2026 Sestercentennial, we will have a unique opportunity to revisit this history. In my opinion, glancing back at the 1976 Bicentennial and celebrating the quilts of the 1970s will be the ultimate way of celebrating the rich heritage of American quiltmaking. 

Maine: Lobster Rolls & Whoopie Pies

Beautiful lobster roll at Morse's Cribstone Grill on Bailey Island, Maine 

Last week, Linda and I traveled to Maine to see Mom and my sister, Libby, who came up on Sunday to spend the day with us. We sampled as many lobster rolls and whoopie pies as we could manage. We also got some excellent clam chowder and fresh, local oysters.

Another amazing lobster roll at Schooner Landing in Damariscotta

Each lobster roll was a little different. The first one we got, from Morse's Cribstone Grill on Bailey Island, Maine, was very traditional-- chunks of succulent lobster tossed with a dollop of mayonnaise, served on a perfectly toasted, buttered, flat-sided hot dog roll with potato chips and a dill pickle on the side.

Our second lobster roll, from Schooner Landing Restaurant, was "clear meat" (not dressed) with butter and mayonnaise on the side. There was so much lobster, it was best to eat the large pieces of tail meat first, dipping them in the clarified butter, before diving in to the sandwich. Before we even got to the lobster rolls, we enjoyed some of the best New England clam chowder any of us ever had.

Our third lobster roll was at the Maine Lobster Shack in Portland. We enjoyed some beautiful Damariscotta River Oysters before the lobster roll arrived. The lobster roll was packed with claw meat, lightly dressed with an added sprinkling of chive, and served on a buttered, toasted roll. The batter dipped fries on the side were delicious, too.

Damariscotta River Oysters at the Maine Lobster Shack in Portland

Lobster roll at the Maine Lobster Shack in Portland, Maine

At the Sea Dog Brew Pub in Topsham, Maine

Lobster rolls #4 and #5 were made in Topsham and Brunswick, close to where Mom lives. #4 was at the Sea Dog Brew Pub. I've had their lobster rolls many times, and they are always delicious. The same is true for the lobster rolls made at Libby's Market in Brunswick. We got ours with lettuce, but the lettuce is optional. So is the mayo.

Libby's Market lobster roll-- it's simply delicious

We found another treat at Libby's. Whoopie pies! The whole time we were in Maine, we searched for the ultimate whoopie pie. There were many varieties, but I wanted the homemade ones-- the kind wrapped in Saran wrap, found in a little basket on the counter near the register at a mom and pop store. Libby's had two kinds, traditional chocolate and oatmeal, made by Heidi's Sweet Treats of Maine. They were perfect in every way.

OK, so we may have gained a few pounds on the trip to Maine, but we had a great time. Linda and I will be dreaming of lobster rolls and whoopie pies until our next visit.

vintage Hawaiian crazy patch bedspread

this crazy patch bedspread is approximately 88" x 93"

A fabulous vintage Hawaiian crazy patch bedspread just arrived from an eBay seller in Washington. It looks like something that could've migrated here from Hawaii because it has several of the attributes seen in other Hawaiian scrap quilts, such as foundation piecing on cloth, Hawaiian garment fabrics and an applied edge finish.

The patches are loosely feather stitched to cloth foundation, and a few pieces are coming loose. It shouldn't be too difficult to repair.

The fabrics include printed words and word fragments in several places. Wouldn't it be neat to find a large piece of it to see what it says?

Even though I think it's from Hawaii, I will probably say "found in Washington" and use the piece to discuss methods of construction seen in scrap quilts from Hawaii. The feather stitch seems a little unusual based on the objects I have collected, but I have seen it in more than one other quilt.

Coming Soon: 1970s Dresden Plate

This wildly colorful 1970s Dresden Plate quilt is something special.

Dresden Plate is an applique block pattern that became popular around the early 20th century, particularly in the 1930s. It is not a rare pattern by any stretch of the imagination. It is in fact one of the most popular 20th century quilt patterns, along with Double Wedding Ring and Grandmother's Flower Garden.

Several years ago, when I was doing photography for the statewide quilt documentation project here in Oregon we saw so many Dresden Plates, I almost wished I would never see another one.

Last night, I was glad I never really made that wish. I was looking around on eBay to pass the time before picking up my girlfriend from work, and discovered this wildly colorful, 1970s Dresden Plate quilt.

If it took more than five seconds to hit the "Buy It Now" button, I'd be surprised. This quilt is a head-turner. I wanted it the moment I saw it.

Dresden Plates are usually made of scrappy fabrics in a variety of mostly pastel colors and prints on a white background. If you search eBay and other places for Dresden Plates, you'll see a lot of them.

This example is a little outside the box. It was made during another prolific period in American quiltmaking-- the 1970s-- but rather than white, each block has a bright color as the background fabric.

Using colors in the background makes the quilt very lively. It's an eye dazzler. That's why I stopped in my tracks when I saw it.

The quilt includes a lot of handwork, such as hand quilted circles running through the intersecting points of each group of four blocks, and blanket stitching around the perimeter of each appliqued plate.

The wild use of color is very 1970s. I love seeing lime green, bright orange, royal blue and hot pink together.

The maker of the quilt must have had a lot of fun making it. No two blocks are the same, and that's part of the reason why it stands out.

I do not have a lot of Dresden Plate quilts in my collection. Years ago, when eBay first started and I was looking at thousands of images of quilts each day, Dresden Plates seemed like they were a dime a dozen.

I was looking for things that were much more unusual, rather than the same quilt thousands of people made.

The quilt is 74" x 88" and is coming from a seller in Florida. Looks like it is in very good condition. I can't wait to see it in person!

Eighteenth Century Fabrics

This fanciful copperplate-printed floral fabric is from the late 18th century.

It is certainly something to crow about when you've got an object with fabrics seen in "Printed Textiles: English and American Cottons and Linens, 1700-1850" by Florence Montgomery. The seminal textile history book, first published in 1970 by the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum was revised by Winterthur curator Linda Eaton and re-released four years ago.

I have copies of both editions in my library, but it is not often that I get to use them to learn about quilts in my collection.

Yesterday a new acquisition arrived. It is a quilt found in Connecticut with fabrics from the 1770s and 1780s. The quilt is blue and white, now yellowed from age, and it has large pieces of figural, copperplate printed toile with chinoiserie imagery.

The print appears in Florence Montgomery's book, in a quilt on page 266 (figure 275).

Plate 275, page 266, Florence Montgomery's book

The description reads as follows:

"Chinoiserie scenes and pagodas, center of a quilt with two late-eighteenth-century, block printed polychrome floral borders. Center: Plate-printed in red at Bromley Hall, 1760-1775. Paper impression inscribed "Pagoda."
   
Edwards and Darly's New Book of Chinese Designs, London, 1754, provided the designer with most of the vignettes. "Pagoda" may have appeared first about 1760, but this fabric, with blue threads in the selvedges, was probably printed after 1774. The pattern is known printed in blue, and at least one copy of it was made."

Plate 75, page 193 of Linda Eaton's revised edition of the book

A colorplate showing the print in red and white appears in Linda Eaton's revised edition of the book, plate 75, page 193. The description includes some of the original text from Montgomery, but there is additional information about the print:

"Mary and Matthew Darly were important artists, engravers, and printsellers in London; George Edwards was a well-known artist and ornithographer who entered into a partnership with Darly to produce their design book. This fabric serves as the central panel of a quilt made between 1790 and 1825 from older fabrics. This cloth was probably once part of a set of bed hangings. Although the selvedges cannot be seen, an almost identical piece in the Winterthur collection has blue threads in the selvedges."

Also:

Printed at Bromley Hall; about 1775
Cotton
Selvedge width greater than 27 inches
(quilted), probably blue threads
Design repeat 32 7/8 inches
1961.1759c Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont

The other print in the quilt is a fanciful floral along the upper left and upper center edge of the quilt. It appears in Montgomery's book, Plate XXIV on page 227 and Figure 240 on page 247. It is described as Exotic flowers. Plate-printed in blue, 1775-1785. A bedspread of this pattern printed in brown was acquired by the Museum from Mary Means Huber, who inherited it from the Bradley family of North Haven, Connecticut.

It also appears in Eaton's revised edition of the book as colorplate 110 on page 212, with the following additional information:

"Plate-printed furniture with a design of exotic flowers, feathers and pineapples. The fanciful designer used peacock feathers for leaves and included stars in the petals of some of the flowers. A bedcover with this design printed in purple (now brown) is also in the Winterthur collection.

Also:

Printed in Britain; about 1780
Cotton
Selvedge width 27 1/2 inches, blue threads
Design repeat 34 1/8 inches
1969.3241 Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont

The recent acquisition from Connecticut is not in the best condition. It is backed in wool, and the fabric is worn away in places. The quilt's value is really in what it can teach us, and it's amazing what we can learn when we have resources as great as Montgomery's and Eaton's books.
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Learning from the experts: New York Beauty

The history of Design "X" - New York Beauty - continues to unfold

At Spring Quilt Market I met Linda Pumphrey, author of Mountain Mist Historical Quilts: 14 Mid-Century Quilts Made New (2016 / Fons & Porter). Linda is an expert on all things related to Mountain Mist and its history, and she had a couple very interesting tidbits to offer me about Design "X" - New York Beauty.

First, the inaccurate historical account accompanying the pattern did not come from the pattern designer. It came from the owner of the inspiration quilt The designer just wrote down what the family said, rather than making it all up.

The quilt, now in the collection of the International Quilt Study Center & Museum at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, was part of an exhibition of quilts guest curated by Pumphrey at IQSCM, called "Inside the Wrapper: The True Tales of the Mountain Mist Quilt Patterns" from July 1 to October 23, 2016.

It was interesting to learn the story came from the family. We all know the game of "telephone operator" in which players stand in a line whispering a word or phrase to each other going down the line, and when the last person says it out loud, they all find out how much it changed. Family histories about quilts are often like that.

Somehow, the family that owned the quilt arrived at the outlandish story about the quilt being made in 1776. It wasn't. More likely the late 1800s, and the IQSCM circa date of 1870-1890 is spot-on. One clue is the fugitive dye, which now appears to be a greenish tan.

a 1930s Mountain Mist New York Beauty in patriotic colors

That fugitive dye was part of the second tidbit Linda Pumphrey had to offer. I always thought it was a green, making it a red, white and green quilt. She told me she tugged at the seam slightly to see if there was any of the original color remaining, and she saw blue! So, it was a red, white and blue quilt. That could be why the family thought it was from 1776. It was patriotic, red, white and blue.

So, now I wonder...given the circa date of 1870-1890 and the dye's original blue color, if the family somehow got the date confused and it was really from 1876. That date is plausible, and would make it a Centennial quilt, but the world may never know for sure. Thank you to Linda Pumphrey for the valuable clues to this complex and enigmatic traditional design.
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