Saturdays at the Quilt Museum - Baskets

UPDATE:

Friends,

Over the weekend, in talking with some folks about this idea for the blog, I realized I had "spaced" on the necessity of obtaining permissions for the use of the images I had originally included with this post.  In this increasingly "social" age with all the sharing of information on Facebook, Pinterest and the like, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that I need to ask, as I would want to be asked, for the use of others' photographs.  So, I am on a quest to obtain the permissions I need.  In the meantime, I'll be doing two things.  One, I'll be creating a facsimile of as many of the quilts as I can in EQ7 so you at least have an idea of what they look like right here on the blog. Two, I will be linking to the original photographs and posts, which makes an extra step for you in looking at these beauties, but well worth the effort. Thanks for understanding!

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10/18/14

Okay, so I had this idea yesterday.

I love antique quilts.  I look at them online and have found inspiration for my designs among those I've found at the Quilt Index and other sites.  I've also looked at online museums, and even gone to see Civil War era quilts that are housed at the Latimer Quilt and Textile Center in Tillamook, Oregon.  Wow, was that amazing.  The history represented in such works of art just stops me in my tracks.  My favorite reading has always been historical fiction, the history of our country being foremost.  And here in front of me were quilts made during the early years of our republic.  Amazing to me.

So my idea is this: "Saturdays at the Quilt Museum!"

On Saturdays, I'll take us on an excursion to see quilts from a variety of museums and private collections, focusing on either a particular era, quilt pattern, type of fabric, or technique employed.  And who knows what else as we explore what is out there!  I am so grateful for the Internet which enables us to see things we would never get to see otherwise.

So, on this week's jaunt, we're off to see Basket Quilts.  For those of you who know me, it will come as no surprise!


Basket - 1858

This one was the inspiration for my Little Blue Baskets.
It was love at first look. ☺

Click here for the original picture on the Quilt Index. When you're finished, click your "back" button to come back to this page.

Hand-pieced and hand-quilted by Mary A. Morgan
Dated November 22, 1858
Made in Buchanan, Michigan
73 x 83
Cotton Fabrics

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Baskets & 1000s of Triangles - c.1870

Did you count the triangles?? 1075 is what I came up with!
What a palette of fabrics from the period!  It kind of makes me
wonder what's up with that blue block....

This one is in the works, but rather complex.  Coming soon!

Click here for the picture on the Quilt Index.  When you're finished, click your "back" button to come back to this page.

Unknown Maker
Hand-pieced and hand-quilted
c. 1870
77 x 77
Cotton Fabrics

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Madder Basket - 1874

This one has the most beautiful madder paisley fabric used to great effect.
If you follow the link to more information about it, you'll be able to zoom in
and see the fabric in more detail.

Click here for the original picture on the Quilt Index.  When you're finished, click your "back" button to come back to this page.

Hand- & machine-pieced, and hand-appliqued by Harriet Bowerman
Wonderful information about the quilt-maker at the above link.
1850 - 1874
Made in Como, Colorado
74 x 84

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Basket Design - 1870-1880

The simplicity of this is striking to me, and the inscription is interesting.
So much history wrapped up in these gems.

Click here for the original picture on the Quilt Index.  When you're finished, click your "back" button to come back to this page.

Hand-pieced, machine appliqued, hand quilted by Delia Birdsey Crocker
1870-1880
79.5 x 80
Cotton fabrics
Inscribed:
For John R. Reese
Bed quilt made by Delia Birdsey Crocker
Born 1812, sister of Eli Coe Birdsey I, Squire
Gift of Lillian Birdsey Frost

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More than 150 years have passed since the pink and green basket quilt was made.  It makes me wonder what it's seen in that time.  It has lived through the Civil War, the Industrial Age, two World Wars, the onset of the information age and the quilting revival of our time.

"If these quilts could speak....."