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."

We found these fabulous antique quilts lining the wall in the ballroom at Road to California 2023. Enjoy quilts featuring Carolina Lilies, Grandmother's Flower, Cross Stitch, and more. This exhibition highlights traditional quilts and quilting from the past that just might inspire what you make in the future.

Join the DAR Museum, February 14, 2023 at 12pm (Eastern) for their Virtual Tuesday Talk, Sheets Don't Sew Themselves: Calculating the Sewing in Pre-Industrial Women's Lives.

Lilo Bowman, Editor-in-Chief and Production Manager for The Quilt Show, has made a Go Tell It video for the Quilt Alliance to preserve the story of her quilt, Looking at the Stars and Thinking of You, which she made in honor of her sons when they lived and worked overseas. It is a perfect story for this holiday season, especially when we can't be with the ones we love.

From the de Young Museum: "Produced on the occasion of the exhibition “Faith Ringgold: American People” at the de Young museum, and directed by LeRon Lee, this film tells the story of Black artist and activist Faith Ringgold, who has dedicated her life and artistic practice to amplifying the struggle for justice and equity of Black people in the United States and particularly of Black women."

The AIDS Memorial Quilt marked its 35th anniversary with its largest display ever in San Francisco in Golden Gate Park. This was also the largest version of the quilt on view anywhere within the last decade. Take a look and learn the history of one of the most important quilts to have been made, and "considered the largest community arts project in the world, has more than 50,000 individually sewn panels with more than 110,000 names."

"Numerous Louis Vuitton steamer trunks sat abandoned for decades in a forgotten storeroom in a fifteenth-century Florentine villa. When a painting conservator eventually stumbled upon the trunks, what she found inside were not only 38 beautiful gowns, but a lost piece of fashion history was also unpacked, along with the life of Hortense Mitchell Acton, the wealthy American banking heiress who owned them." - Antique Trader

In 2010 the American Folk Art Museum in New York City featured an exhibit entitled Quilts: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum, collecting some of the most stunning quilts of the 19th and early 20th centuries, and we sure wish we had been there to see it. But you can sample some of the amazing quilts that were on display in this retrospective of the exhibit.

You may have watched the video we recently featured all about the fashions of the Gilded Age. Now, see how the real was interpreted for the small screen in HBO's television series, The Gilded Age. Watch and see as "the cast and crew discuss the intricately designed costumes and recreating the New York City streets and homes from the late 1800s."

In 2011 Mrs. Rose’s husband, Daniel, proposed a special gift for her 80th birthday – a celebration of the Joanna S. Rose Red and White Collection in an exhibition at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City. “Infinite Variety: Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts,” coordinated by the American Folk Art Museum, featured 651 extraordinary quilts. Now you can take a virtual tour of that exhibit!

Join SAQA and the Quilt Alliance for a Quilters’ Save Our Stories (QSOS) interview with Pat Sloan and Frances O’Roark Dowell for the historic QSOS oral history collection. This Textile Talks takes place TODAY, Wednesday, March 30, 2022 at 2:00 PM Eastern Time and will be recorded for later viewing.

March is Women’s History Month and C&T Publishing is celebrating with its staff and authors! They asked the women of C&T to reflect on their careers in the publishing industry, dreams, and aspirations, and what Women’s History Month meant to them. And someone you may have heard of is participating. Yes, our very own Alex Anderson talks about what Women’s History Month means to her and so much more.

Have you been watching The Gilded Age on HBO? Here's a presentation from the DAR museum that gives you an accurate historical perspective on the time and the clothing of the era.