Textiles and the Triplett Sisters

Seneca Falls!


As I write this, it was 100 years ago today August 18, 1920 that women got the right to vote in the US. The 19th Amendment was ratified by enough states, the three-fourths required. However, the push for women’s right to vote started about 100 years before the right to vote was passed. It wasn’t until the 1848 Women’s Right Convention in Seneca Falls that a coalition was formed. The Seneca Falls Convention also known as the first women’s rights convention advertised the event “to discuss social, civil, and religious condition and rights of woman.” After worship on Sunday July 9th, 1848 Lucretia Coffin Mott (a well-known orator), Mary Ann M’Clintock, Martha Coffin Wright (Mott’s sister), Jane Hunt, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton met for tea and began discussions about the convention. The convention would be held...

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Happy New Year!


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...

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LACMA Collections


I was all set to continue the open access discussion with a look at the Los Angeles County Museum of Arts. They have more than 20,000 images available, with hundreds of quilts from 16th century on to the 21st century. The majority of these quilt images are available for free use in either publication quality or presentation quality. However in the middle of my exploration of these quilt images came several revelations. For those who have a bias toward the east coast for quilts, you may be astonished to see the early indigo resist quilt, not only one, but yes a matched set. The quilt originated in Connecticut, but clearly has found a home at LACMA. LACMA houses the Betty Horton Collection from a woman who wanted a comprehensive collection of American and European quilts. In...

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Winterthur: Galleries


If you’ll recall, The Triplett Sisters were fortunate enough to have research time at Winterthur Textiles. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot to see just by visiting the Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library. The Galleries showcase the permanent collection as well as highlight themed exhibitions. The textiles in the galleries were amazing and are worthy of multiple blogs. I’ll try to restrain myself to two articles. One Chintz quilt is worthy of a blog by itself, simply filled with wonderful fabrics. You’ll notice this article is filled with multiple images from the quilt. Sadly, neither my sister nor I took photos of the title card. We were simply captivated by the fabric contained in the quilt. However, to learn more about it, here is the link to the info about the quilt made by...

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Penn Dry Goods Market


Our first glimpse of the fun about to come was before breakfast, where Kay noticed a local newspaper called "The Fishwrapper", a salute to history even in the title. Think back, or if you don't have first hand knowledge, research what items would have been sold at an old dry goods store. That is the focus of the Penn Dry Goods Market held annually at the Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center. The market itself is a glimpse of treasures brought by various vendors selling their wares of quilts, books, buttons, and bows. Vendors are required to have a majority of their wares in the textile category. Besides the antique vendor show, there are two days of special lectures on textiles as well as the history of textiles. This year I was honored to present the trunk...

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