From the Victoria and Albert Museum: "Follow Senior Textile Conservator Susana Fajardo as she works on the dress worn by Sandie Shaw for her performance of ‘Puppet on a String’ at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1967."
From George Washington's Mount Vernon: "Martha Washington is best known for being the loving and supporting wife of George Washington. But did you know one of her personal interests was making quilts? In this video, executive director of historic preservation and collections Susan Schoelwer talks about one of Martha's quilts, and its intricate design. We are lucky to have such an item, as it reveals a more personal side of Martha Washington."
From the Victoria and Albert Museum: "Join dressmaking expert Sue Clark as she examines a luxurious, sparkly CHANEL trouser suit, made in 1937 – 38 for American Fashion Magazine Editor, Diana Vreeland.
This week we return to the Go Tell It at the Quilt Show series from the Quilt Alliance and are introduced to Kathy York's quilt, i Quilt, which took home Best in Show at QuiltCon 2015. It is a two-sided quilt, and both sides have a story of why they were constructed the way they were.
From the Victoria and Albert Museum: "Join dressmaking expert Sue Clark as she takes a close-up look at an elegant CHANEL suit, made in 1959 for actress Lauren Bacall. Comprised of a rose-pink tweed skirt and jacket paired with a delicate silk blouse, the pieces were made exactly to fit Bacall's measurements and have been finished to the very highest standard."
Find out why Quilters Hall of Fame member Merikay Waldvogel found this quilt so interesting as Michele Muska talks about the quilt her Aunt Sadie made in the 1930s in another "Go Tell It" interview from the Quilt Alliance.
It's always interesting when a quilter talks about her quilt, and in this "Go Tell It" interview from the Quilt Alliance, Linda M. Roy talks about Redbud Ramble, a very "decorated quilt", including a NACQJ award in 2019, Best of Show AQS Knoxville 2011, and more.
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.