Textiles and the Triplett Sisters

  An incredible exhibition at the Bowers Museum featured 40 of China’s “Queen of Couture” Guo Pei’s garments. Although clothing and costumes are closely related to the skills of quilting, these garments seemed even more related through the ancient techniques. Clothing that was quilted, embroidered, and blinged out filled the exhibition. Guo Pei was responsible for bringing some of the older techniques back to life in China. She went house to house looking at curtains in the window to see if a sewing skill was demonstrated. From those selected artisans, she trained new artisans who took the old techniques into new horizons. Many of the garments show a nod to Chinese culture and couture history, while acknowledging the modern woman. She seems to be a designer aware of the duality of the cultures as she finds...

I recently attended a lecture given by Barbara Brackman at the MOKA Quilt study group on the links between Kentucky and Missouri quilts. Shortly after, I attended an exhibition curated by Leah Zieber and Arlene Stevens at the Pasadena Museum of History which featured a group of quilts made of fancy goods (silk, satin, and velvet.) It was wonderful to see the actual textiles, to see in person some of the lessons learned from Brackman’s and others’ research. Fancy Goods Quilts can be made in a typical pattern such as log cabin or in a disorganized collection of shapes known as a crazy quilt. Crazy quilts frequently have embroidered details, which some have commented, the quilter went crazy with all the embroidered designs. However, that may not have been the case. Instead, she may have simply...

The fabric is coming, the fabric is coming!!! I received the tracking number from Robert Kaufman on Monday and have followed our reproduction Bird in a Basket Pillar Print fabric diligently every day. Plans are for it to be delivered tomorrow. Kay and I can’t wait! We’ll be thrilled to have it in hand with the pre-orders going out. Thanks to everyone who ordered. If you didn’t get it ordered, now is the time to get your yardage of the Bird in a Basket Pillar Print at this link. Also don’t forget to mark your calendar June 15-17 for the Kansas City Regional Quilt Festival. This quilt festival has grown even larger this year and will of course feature a special exhibit of the 2020 Triplett Sisters Block of the Month The Wedding Album Quilt. The...

Earth Day is approaching soon and since textiles lovers are big material consumables, we should try to do our part to save the earth. Most of us have the condition Stable Syndrome or “stash accumulated beyond life expectancy.” As you know, to aid the world the first rule is to reduce. So, to celebrate Earth Day, why not see how much fabric you can use from your stash. That’s right, sew away for the day! (If you need to buy a few pieces of new fabric to make use of the stash, no worries, it was already made and needs a place too.) The second rule is to reuse. Kudos to all those vintage textile lovers that are purchasing 20th century feed sacks, blocks or quilt tops to create a quilt. This last weekend, I attended...

I’m always interested in learning more about historical patchwork and natural dyes. Sometimes when you are researching one thing, you are fortunate enough to find something unexpected, which of course for me, means learning more about it. My discovery was a Huari textile from about 600-1000 that was made of patchwork. So far, it is the oldest piece of patchwork I’ve seen, and it was tied dyed with indigo! (A double score on the interest scale for me!) Huari (Wari) was a Middle Horizon civilization that flourished in the south-central Andes from 500-1000 AD. It is the coastal area of modern-day Peru where a series of Huari archaeological ruins is located. They had an extensive history of artistic expression in metalwork, ceramics, and particularly textiles. The surviving textile examples are primarily tapestries, hats, and tunics. All...