Learn how bestselling and critically acclaimed author Frances O'Roark Dowell was inspired by another artist to make her quilt, Sit-In. See how her work changed as she began to explore different design options in this "Go Tell It" video from the Quilt Alliance.
This weekend the first part of the third season of Bridgerton, the period costume drama depicting the romantic lives of the eight Bridgerton siblings, debuted on Netflix. While taking place in the 1800s, the costumes that designers John Glaser, George Sayer, and Dougie Hawkes have created don't always adhere to the time that they are portraying. Get an in-depth look at these breathtaking costumes and how they came to life in this insightful video from InStyle.
Artist Faith Ringgold, well known for her story quilts depicting African-American experiences, has died. She was 93. Her influence spread across all creative and cultural boundaries and she will be missed. You can learn more about this amazing artist in this story from CBS Sunday Morning.
From The National Gallery of Art: "This transformative exhibition explores how abstract art and woven textiles have intertwined over the past hundred years. In the 20th century, textiles have often been considered lesser—as applied art, women’s work, or domestic craft. Woven Histories challenges the hierarchies that often separate textiles from fine arts. Putting into dialogue some 160 works by more than 50 creators from across generations and continents, the exhibition explores the contributions of weaving and related techniques to abstraction, modernism’s preeminent art form."
From the Victoria and Albert Museum: "Discover changing silhouettes and key fashion developments across 100 years of British and French womenswear: from a Victorian wedding dress inspired by Indian textile motifs, to an Edwardian lace day dress, and a 1930s silk evening gown designed by Charles James. Assistant Curator Claire Allen-Johnstone unpacks the fascinating details of these different garments, revealing how fashions can be cyclical, often referencing the past, but with a modern twist."
From the Daughters of the American Revolution National Headquarters: "This groundbreaking exhibit combines sewn items from all textile sections of the DAR Museum’s collection, including garments, quilts, and embroideries. Textiles from the 18th century to today are juxtaposed to show how women of diverse backgrounds have used their needles to express emotions and identity and as a force for benevolence and justice. Trust us, you won’t want to miss it!"
From Blue Box Auction: "Join us as we unveil the Kaye England Quilt Collection in our Featured Quilt Auction on March 9, 2024 at 12:00pm EST. This exclusive event presents a remarkable selection of 20 antique quilts from Kaye’s collection, and 20 additional quilts created by Kaye in honor of some of the most important women in history including: First Ladies Washington, Taft and Coolidge, and others including Amelia Earhart, Helen Keller and Lucille Ball. The collection also includes photos and autographs of some of the featured women in the collection."
Last week we featured an exhibit of Gee's Bend quilts that were on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In the same gallery was a collection of furniture covered with digitally reproduced designs of those quilts. Learn about this exclusive furniture collection celebrating the work of Mary Lee Bendolph, Delia Bennett, Annie E. Pettway, Loretta Petway, and Magdalene Wilson of Gee's Bend.
The Quilt Show recently visited Philadelphia and ran across this exhibit featuring the quilts of Gee's Bend at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (there through July 7, 2024) that we wanted to share with you. Of the quilts on display, the museum said, "The 13 quilts on view were acquired in 2017 through the Souls Grown Deep Foundation and were selected to tell the history of quilt-making in Gee's Bend (Alabama) from the mid-1920s to 2005. The significance of these quilts to their makers is expressed in the quilters' own words gathered from contemporary interviews."
Take a sneak peek at the DAR Museum's upcoming exhibit, Sewn in America: Making - Meaning - Memory, which "will examine dressmaking innovations from 1770 to the 1920s."
From the DAR Museum: "Our costume curator and some of her colleagues are going to try some 19th century dressmaking methods in preparation for next year’s exhibition, “Sewn in America: Making, Meaning, Memory,” which will look (among other things) at the evolution of home dressmaking."
The curator of costumes at the DAR Museum, and her summer intern Bella, have been dressing mannequins in storage to prepare for a photo shoot for an upcoming exhibition and catalog. In this post, they share some of the tips for getting the shape of the dresses just right. Between you and me, I don't know how they managed to wear this much clothing and tolerate the heat and humidity. It's an interesting look at the fashion of the past.
A quilt that is almost 220 years old has been added to the collection of the Maine State Museum. Inscribed in the fabric with the year 1804, this quilt by an anonymous quilter makes it the oldest known dated quilt in their collection. Click through to find out more about this fascinating piece of history.
NATRA Restoration discovered a SINGER Sewing Machine from 1894 out in the wild disregarded and ravaged by time. They took it upon themselves to restore it back to its former glory. "The machine, which was left in the henhouse, rusted and worn out, was restored and put into working condition. It was completed after 2 months of long work. Enjoy watching!" Click through and see a video of the restoration process which produced a stunning machine that looked like it came off the shelf yesterday.
This wallet from the DAR museum looks brand new. The colors are amazing, as is the handwork, but embroidered on the wallet is the date 1776. Do you think your work will survive for over 200 years?
What is the most delicate thing you have worked with? Silk, lace, antique fabric? Well, how about STRAW!?!? That's right, this dress made in 1865 was embroidered with straw and is part of the collection of the Weinmuseum in Italy. Find out how the straw was used to create this stunning ball gown that has lasted for over 150 years!
From the DAR Museum, "Quilting, and sewing and crafts more generally, are known to have therapeutic effects. Many invalids take up knitting or sewing projects not just to pass the time, but because the meditative repetitiveness is soothing. Surely too, a sense of accomplishment while physically limited, has a beneficial effect. Occupational therapists use sewing and other needlework in their toolkit." See how Nellie Everhart of Jennings, Indiana in 1879 took the repetitive quilting therapy process to new heights to create a quilt that is 60" by 79", but all of the pieces are just 2/3 of an inch square!
From the BBC News, "A scrap of fabric found in a Highland peat bog 40 years ago is likely to be the oldest tartan ever discovered in Scotland, new tests have established. The fabric is believed to have been created in about the 16th Century, making it more than 400 years old."
Congratulations to Michael A. Cummings, who was just named a 2023 NEA Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts. Michael, who was previously featured on The Quilt Show in a field piece, brings his quilts to life with a rich level of artistry and history. In this Go Tell It at the Quilt Show! interview from the Quilt Alliance, you'll be able to see both on display as he talks about his Frida Kahlo quilt.
From George Washington's Mount Vernon, "In 1766, Martha Washington acquired from London upholsterer Philip Bell the materials needed to create "one dozn. Chair bottoms." Over the next thirty-six years, she carefully cross-stitched a scallop-shell design she herself possibly created. This cushion is one of six in Mount Vernon's collection."