100 Years of Quilting, Part 1

Yesterday, I was at the 2013 Quilt Show, 100 Years of Quilting, for the International Plowing Match, in Mitchell, Ontario. This year is the 100th anniversary of the Plowing Match.  All of the competition quilts are previewed every August, before the actual Plowing Match in September. Yes, it is an actual plowing match, of the old sort with ancient plows pulled by teams of horses. It's held in farmers' fields and travels around southern Ontario every year. I have yet to attend, but have heard it is quite an event. The quilt show is only a small part of this much larger rural expo. See the link here, and the video, here.

There were so many wonderful quilts to see, I hardly know where to begin!  I am sure, dear readers, that you will be interested in much of what I saw.

There was a stunning display of quilts through each decade of the last 100 years, beginning with an exquisite Log Cabin (1/2" logs) made in 1916, by Shirley Russell of Mitchell, a beautiful Sawtooth Square made in the 1920's, with an unknown origin, and a scrappy Double Wedding Ring made in the 1930's by Linda Bartlett of Exeter.


Many of these old quilts had a photo of the original quiltmaker, along with a bit of their story. This crazy quilt was one of many crazy quilts on display, pieced by Fanny Townsend Johns in 1890, and finished by Gertie Johns.

And this English Paper Pieced (1" hexies)
quilt was hand pieced over the years by Muriel Scherbarth dated 1892, and has been handed down through the generations.  All of these quilts are in remarkably excellent condition, brought out of closets and cedar chests, and off of beds to show at this show, and rival any I have seen anywhere else, including museums.

These next two photos will give you an idea of the variety of the other fabulous old quilts from the community that were on display.

I was completely in awe, and had not expected to see such a show. I have heard many people around here speak of quilts in their families. Everyone has a quilt story to tell. Quilting is so prevalent in this area that everyone has a grandmother or mother or aunt or sister or neighbour or cousin that does some quilting!  It would not be an exaggeration to say that every house has a handmade quilt in it, but to see so many brought out to be seen at one time was truly amazing to me.  These are seemingly everyday quilts, made with love and used to keep the family warm, and are exceptional to be on display like this.

There was one other textile piece that really captured my attention. It was this Counter Pane, made by 18 year old Christena Hart Colquhoun from Mitchell in 1892, for her wedding trousseau.  It is a technique of pulling thread and then embroidering around the hole to form a pattern in the cloth.  It would have been a slow process, and carefully planned so the design was well placed.  Many hours by candlelight during the long winter nights would have been spent on this treasure.  Have you ever seen anything more exquisite?  And I have to wonder how much it has been actually used, since it is in such excellent condition.

It seems I cannot load any more photos on this post, so I will continue with another one!  The story of the International Plowing Match 2013 Quilt Show, 100 Years in the Making, is not yet finished.

St. Jacob's Quilt Festival 2012, Part 3 Market Road Antiques

Grandmother's Fan Quilt
1930's maker unknown

I was out and about on Saturday, shopping and errands and such, and stopped at Market Road Antiques near St. Jacob's. This venue is on the list for the Waterloo Region Quilt and Fibre Art Festival. You have to understand that this is an Antiques Market, and not a quilt venue or quilt store. But you must also understand that this area is the unofficial quilt capital of Canada, along with being the centre of Mennonite country.  As a result, many local stores are quilt friendly. Market Road Antiques is no exception.

Dresden Plate Detail

I saw a number of quilted and other textile items scattered throughout the store, and in fact, purchased a few very pretty embroidered hankies.  One of the best quilts for sale was a Dresden Plate quilt from the 1930's, looked to be handstitched and hand quilted. These quilts done in white and scraps are always so attractive, with such a feeling from the past.

Ohio Star Quilt
Date and Maker unknown

The other quilt that I really liked was still in a bag, and had just come into the store. Opening it up revealed a very striking two-colour Ohio star quilt, very nicely made, date and other information unknown.

I'm not in antique stores very often, and it might be fun to poke around in there one rainy afternoon, to really look at all the other antique stuff, as well as any other quilts they happen to have on hand.

St. Jacobs Quilt Festival 2012

I had a taste today of the Waterloo Region Quilt & Fiber Art Festival, link here. 16 events in 7 communities! I have learned in previous years that it is nearly impossible to take in all of the events in one or two days, so this year, I have started early.

Part of the whole festival is the Mennonite Relief Sale in New Hamburg. Over 200 quilts and many other items are generously donated and auctioned to provide funds for the Mennonite Central Committee. I greatly admire their work. 100% of funds raised goes towards funding projects around the world. Not many (any?) other charities can make this 100% claim. In addition, many other quilts and blankets are made here to be shipped overseas for use in times of crisis. And to think that different individuals and groups are spending these vast number of hours making beautiful quilts to be donated. It is quite wonderous. With Mennonite country just minutes away from our fine city, and such a large part of our local culture, it is a heritage worthy of mentioning. These three caught my eye.

Quilt Maker Unknown

Night & Day by Erika Isaac

Amish Courtyard by Ester Alexy

There are three public places that display a preview of these quilts, for most of May. Kitchener City Hall, Waterloo City Hall, and Joseph Schneider Haus showed about 75 of these amazing quilts, which will go on to be auctioned the last Saturday in May. These venues are all only a few minutes away, so it is easy to cover them in one afternoon. Both City Halls have great atriums with natural light, and show off the quilts very well. And Joseph Schneider Haus is a local heritage museum of the first Mennonite settlers in the community. It has an impressive collection of old quilts, which I have seen before, and great respect generally for the contemporary and ancient quilting arts.

Isn't it wonderful to be able to see so many quilts so very close to home?  I don't get much done in the quilting department at home, but I thrive also on these visual delights, so it is worthwhile for me to go out and see what else is happening in the quilt world.

New York: 300 Years of Red & White Quilts

I've been wanting to write about a trip I did to New York City, specifically to see quilts, in March 2011. I've had the photos on my computer for all this time, and I was just looking over them, after my Houston experience, and realize now that it was an amazing journey that changed me forever.

I found out about this Red and White display when I was looking around on the internet one day.         It was put on by the American Folk Art Museum. Check out the link here.  Once I knew about the show, I had to go, I knew I would forever regret not going. All these quilts, 650 of them, had been collected by one quilt fan, and she generously decided to share them with the public all in one display. She had collected more quilts, but these are her red and white ones.  Many of them are very old, dating up to 300 years old, and some are more modern.

The amazing thing about this display was the way the quilts were displayed.  Many quilts you see in a variety of displays are hung all on one level, and you walk around to see them one at time.  In this display, the building was vastly huge and dark, and a professional stage lighting company had been hired to set up lighting specifically to highlight the quilts.  The other amazing thing about this display was that the quilts were hung on many levels, sometimes three or four layers up, with an intense circular spiral thing going on in the centre. 

So when I entered the huge vast room full of quilts, it took my breath away. It was stunning to stand inside the entryway and take in the enormity of the project. Wow. I was just in awe. People walked softly and spoke in hushed tones, and for the most part moved around in near darkness, because it was only the quilts that were lit. It felt somewhat surreal, but very effective.  It took some time, taking in each quilt, giving each piece its due.  I spent most of a day there, taking in the quilts, taking photos of nearly all of them, absorbing as much as I could, since I was aware that this was a once in a lifetime experience.  

There were other quilt things going that same weekend in New York, which I will write about in other posts.