Textiles and the Triplett Sisters

The 45th anniversary of the Houston Quilt Festival occurred this year and was very memorable for multiple reasons. The multi-level display of beautiful blue and white quilts was an amazing way to honor the accomplishments of all those workers, vendors, and quilt artists who have contributed to this event for 45 years. The two founders of the festival Karey Patterson Bresenhan and Nancy O’Bryant Puentes continue to be involved in the festival and share their love of quilts. I was pleased to teach 8 classes, 2 demos, and provided 3 gallery talks for our special exhibition. “Antique Quilts from the Poos Collection” exhibited 25 quilts from our newest book “Hidden Treasures, Quilts from 1600 to 1860.” Besides our special exhibition, there were many other special exhibitions, which will be our focus in an upcoming series of...

What do you do with a treasured petticoat, cloak, or dress? Make a quilt, of course! Frequently we think of clothing being cutup into small pieces to re-use the fabric in pieced patterns to create a quilt, such as the center of this mathematical star made of dress taffeta. This method creates art from what fabric you have available or to preserve the legacy of a lost loved one through their clothing. Sometimes coats or other pieces are used to create stuffed animals to pass onto children in the family. However, there are other reasons and ways to use clothing in a quilt. In the case of the Revolutionary War Cloak, the cloak had a long time meaning to the family. Family lore stated that the ancestor had killed a British soldier and claimed the cloak...

Our first adventure in October was a trip to Lincoln, Nebraska for the American Quilt Study Group Seminar. While attending the seminar we visited the International Quilt Museum (now IQM< formerly the International Quilt Study Center and Museum.) Shapeshifters was a new exhibition which showcased acquisitions that had never been exhibited at the museum before. This first in a series of exhibitions focused on applique and the center medallion format is heavily represented. Each quilt uses a different approach to make the design original in the quilt artists own way. The quilts in this exhibition range in date from 1830’s – 1930’s. The gazelle quilt was made by Bertha Stenge, dubbed “Chicago’s Quilting Queen” by the Chicago Daily News. The quilt was originally purchased from the Chicago Art Institute, then later it was donated to IQM....

The history of Dutch Costume includes chintz. The costumes of the Netherlands vary by region, but the folk costumes have an explosion of colors and designs. Did I also mention that it includes wearing chintz? Bright beautiful bold prints, perfect for interior décor or quilts or clothes. Chintz that can’t be missed and should never be forgotten. The costume museum also preserved the stories told through the costumes worn. For example, the fisherman sweaters in which each village knitted a pattern common to the town. Then, when a man went overboard and washed up on shore, they knew in which village the man had resided. In Spakenburg, each woman makes her own the handmade bonnet, creating a self-invented pattern. The crocheting of these bonnets is very labor intensive requiring about a hundred hours to create a...

Prior to the Van Loon family settling in Amsterdam, the family (one of the founders of the VOC known in the US as Dutch East India Company) traces their origins to a small village in the Netherlands. In the middle of the 17c part of the family moved to Amsterdam where the family would become “regents of the city.” The canal house turned into a museum was bought by the family in 1884 and it is still owned by the family. For those quilters who enjoy Dutch Heritage fabrics or glories of Chintz in quilts, you will certainly understand the fascination of our visit to the family house turned museum. The family had access and dare I say the pick of the crop of the fabrics they imported to the Netherlands and the house remains decorated...