With a quilt show premiere on July 29, 2011, the Billings Farm and Museum in Woodstock, Vermont celebrated their 25th year of such an undertaking. Quilts from Windsor County were gathered together in 1985 for the first quilt show that showcased local talent. Tonight, a handful of the original quilters who entered that show were in the audience to hear remarks by the curator, several jurors, and a former museum staff member.
Susan Damone Balch won two awards for an outstanding fish quilt.
Several other awards were presented.
As usual, the gala opening attracted the many quilters whose quilts are on display. This post shares a few of my favorites in photos taken by James Cummings.
A quilt titled “150th Civil War Commemorative Quilt” by Sandra S. Palmer caught my attention. The quilter lists 65 battles of the war that are considered to be the most “decisive” ones. On a basic Log Cabin format, she includes an image of President Lincoln and President Obama.
Quilt designed by Sandra S. Palmer
This sign seems to be inaccurate,according to the site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_military_casualties_of_war
which lists a total of 625,000 deaths. I’d previously seen the statistic that 1.4 million soldiers served in the war. That may be where the confusion came in. Of course, many soldiers died because of medical conditions like malaria, smallpox, dysentery, etc.
Additionally, it should be pointed out for the unknowing that President Obama’s father was Nigerian; his mother, an American. His heritage is not that of a descendant from the Negro slave tradition and therefore, he is not directly linked in any way to the American Civil War. He is our first “Black” president, a milestone in American History. Just sayin’.
A delightful appliquéd folk art quilt by Susan Hall was made from a pattern found to purchase at the Vermont Quilt Festival.
An appliqued quilt by Susan Hall
A third quilt I really enjoyed has flowers constructed with felted wool. Susan Sahler made this quilt while dreaming of spring during last year’s cold Vermont winter. She calls the quilt, “Inspiration and Anticipation.”
Congratulations to all involved in creating another lovely display of quilts that is sure to delight museum visitors during the next seven weeks! Happy Anniversary and many more!
Patricia Cummings
