Beth Davis spends her weekends demonstrating the art of quilting, with a hexagon project of her own, off to the side, to show visitors.
Beth Davis of Rush, New York, is an avid quilt history enthusiast and quilt appraiser. She wrote a book, Stitches in Time, about the quilts owned by the Genesee Country Village Museum, where she has served as a volunteer for years.
Since the museum re-opened for the summer and fall season 2009, Beth has been greeting visitors and discussing quilting with them. Many who visit the historic house, where she sits and quilts, remember a grandmother or aunt as enjoying quilting and then, there is an instant rapport.
Beth in her period attire. The quilt on the bed is a reproduction quilt in a “Strippy Quilt/ Flying Geese” style, one of two of this type in the museum’s collection.
Dressed in simulated 1836 attire, Beth wears a Colonial cap while indoors, and points out that at that time, a lady would have worn a straw hat outdoors. The pink drape called a “pelease” (sp?) is just the right touch to wear with the full length, full style, paisley, cotton dress.
Beth is quite slim and would like her friends to know that she has not suddenly gained a lot of weight. She is actually wearing layers of clothing under the museum-owned dress!
The Foster-Tufts home is a lovely old Federal style home built by a wheat farmer who moved to the area and had eight children. The family occupied a log cabin for a decade before moving into more stately surrounds.
The Foster-Tufts historic home is where one can find Beth every Saturday and Sunday and holiday, between 10 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Copies of Beth’s book are available through the museum store.
Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications
