Textiles and the Triplett Sisters

The blue and white display towering down from the ceiling at the International Quilt Festival-Houston was spectacular. As I continue to think about exhibition months later, it dawned on me I hadn’t written about the nearby antique quilt exhibit, also in blue and white. The quilts were on loan from the collection of the International Quilt Festival. So, I thought I’d share a few with you. The “Ohio Stars with Vine Border” is like one in the Poos Collection and featured in the Indigo Quilts Book. However, this version added a frame in blue that really separated the stars and border adding to the graphic nature of the design. Instead of the traditional “Oak Leaf and Reel” quilt, this exhibit had “Oak Leaves and Indigo birds.” Yes! Sweet little birds in the border with grapes for...

In 2017, The Triplett Sisters embarked on an adventure to see an amazing chintz exhibition at the Fries Museum in the Netherlands. Because of the Dutch long held love of chintz fabric, as well as the millions of yards of chintz imported into the county by the Dutch East India Company, the Fries Museum has a wealth of fabric available to create an exhibit. If you’d like to see more of the Chintz in Bloom exhibition, be sure to check out the Feb 13th vlog which will feature more than 25 images from the event. Don't forget to subscribe and like the blog, so you can see future exhibitions too. Several “tree of life” textiles were selected for the exhibition, including one in an antique quilt owned by Joes Meester of the Netherlands. The tree of...

Today I have some exciting news to share that has been a huge secret. Multiple years ago, to launch our book Chintz Quilts from the Poos Collection, we presented an exhibition of these amazing quilts at Carrefour European Patchwork in Saint Marie Aux Mines, France. It is a wonderful quilt show spread out between little villages in the mountains. My sister Kay and I had a great time at our Chintz Quilts from the Poos Collection exhibition signing our new book and giving a gallery talk. We were joined by co-author Xenia Cord who also sat with us to sign books. Our book included a detailed history section, as well as fabulous full quilt photos and detail shots. There are 36 quilts in the book and to learn more about the quilt photos in the blog,...

Miniature Quilts don’t seem to get the acknowledgement they deserve. Any work of art should be appreciated, but I’ve noticed miniatures are rarely featured in magazines or blogs. In fact, I’m guilty too, I’ve never written a blog about miniature quilts. So now is the time to make up my deficit with a showcase of the miniature quilts from the Houston International Quilt Festival. Now, I agree that making full size quilts is an amazing feat, but so is making quilts that look full-size in a photo yet smaller than a ruler. Blocks in full size quilts that are 12 inches can be the entire size of a mini. If you think paper piecing with an inch size is a tiny block, try a ½ inch. Smaller is not easier, except maybe in the basting process....

We are pleased to announce the first in our Jewelry of the Month series: Golden Amour. This jewelry project uses paper piecing which in England and America is sometimes called English Paper Piecing. It really should be known as Italian paper piecing, since this oldest known example of this technique is an Italian pillow known as the Impruneta Cushion which dates from the 15th century. If you’d like to join us on the Jewelry of the Month journey and make your own version of this necklace, bracelet, or earrings, then check out our YouTube video to see instructions. Or we have detailed instructions and kits available in our Etsy shop at this link. I’ve love to see the pieces of jewelry that you make, so please post photos in the comments on our Facebook and YouTube...