quiltersmuse.com Blog

Here are a few more quilt photos of quilts we truly enjoyed seeing at the quilt show in Chester, Vermont last week. The first is a quilt owned by a local resident who inherited it from someone whose mother lived in Durham County, United Kingdom. The label that describes the quilt says that it is believed to have been made in the late 1800s. It is completely hand-quilted in typical quilting line patterns of the area. “Amy Em” is a much celebrated quilter whom I often think about when looking at a quilt like this one. At the same time, I recall the many studies by Dorothy Osler, a quilt historian who has written books and taught for the University of Nebraska graduate program in quilt studies in Lincoln, NE, where I studied quilt history via a long-distance learning class (their first class in 2001). These kinds of quilts also represent the Welsh wholecloth tradition. It is not that the whole top is composed on only one piece of fabric. They did not have looms that large to make such a cloth in those days. Long pieces of cloth are conjoined. See our many files on our main website that show examples of wholecloth quilts and explain their traditions. Just key in “Wholecloth North Country Quilts” in the search bar at Quilter’s Muse Publications’ website.

North Country quilt from UK

Another exceptionally rare type of quilt, most often seen in Maine and Massachusetts, is this example. It is a Log Cabin quilt that is finished by completing each block with a separate binding and then conjoining them by whipstitching from the back. This Log Cabin has red center blocks, sometimes thought to represent the “hearth” of the home in current folklore. Pam Weeks of New Hampshire presented a paper at the 2010 American Quilt Study Group Seminar about these unusual quilts and at the present time, she has curated an exhibit of collected “potholder” quilts, as they are sometimes called, and these can be viewed at the New England Quilt Museum until July 2011.

Log Cabin Quilt, “potholder” style

Another treasure is a Civil War quilt thought to have been made in the 1860s. Two members of Ellen Rowe-Levesque’s family who lived on Main St., Chester, VT served in the Civil War: Levesque’s great grandfather and his father (born in 1814). A chance meeting with the person who bought this quilt at auction has led to a long term friendship between the two women, both avid fans of quilts.

Looks like the “Streak of Lightening” pattern, if turned in another direction. Double pink fabrics bespeak of the 19th century. This is actually a “tied” comfort or comforter. I did not see any actual quilt stitches on this quilt, although I did not view it at great length, only in passing.

Another quilt was located on a clothes drying rack in the hallway of the building. I recognized as a quilt block that I have reproduced myself. It is called “Caesar’s Crown” and I made an example of a similar block to publish in an article about the many Bibilical Quilt Blocks I have discovered. There is a very large file about this topic on our main website: Quilter’s Muse Publications.

Caesar’s Crown Quilt seen in Chester, Vermont, May 2011

All of the quilts in this show were an inspiration and a total delight. I have published some exceptional examples and I am so thankful that owners of old quilts continue to bring them before the public eye. This increases awareness of their importance and calls to mind the work of our ancestors within a context. Thanks again to all who participated in this event. By no means have I published all the photos I might have shared, but did want you to see a smattering of them. Perhaps you will plan on attending this great event next year!

Patricia Cummings, quilt historian, pat@quiltersmuse.com
Photos courtesy of James Cummings, copyright 2011, All Rights Reserved.