On the Road - Grand Island/Lincoln to Carbondale, KS 05-25-11

Rain pretty much all night and into the morning - lightning and thunder, but no tornadoes!

Sometimes the clouds looked like they were pleated - all in black - grey - white.  The  pods are something I cut near Ogallala hoping I can identify the plant when I get to the computer or a book on plants.

Rain continued and it became darker and darker.

Before we arrived in Lincoln, NE., which was less than a hundred miles, things looked a little brighter, but the wind was very strong.

This building houses the International Quilt Study Center and Museum.  Personally I think they could have done better, but I know that some people love it. 

The major exhibit ended on Sunday and the staff is busy installing the next one, Mosaic quilts from England and the USA.  But there is a smaller exhibit of Nebraska quilts which are quite wonderful.  Ruth and I both liked this one the best.  Pictures are allowed without a flash.  The label that accompanied the quilt is below.

Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

We did see another sandhill crane!  It is on this imaginative quilt made about 1864.  The label says the quilt was made in Germany, but I don't think that sandhill cranes or blue jays (in the adjacent block) live in Germany.  I'll do a little more research. 

Sorry for the quality of this image - I usually take two and keep the best one, but I slipped up on this.

We arrived at Ruth Power's house about 7:30pm, at the dinner Ruth's husband Charlie had ready for us and then hauled all our stuff out of the car.  They are already in bed and I am going as soon as I post this Blog. The weather is supposed to improve tomorrow. 

Red & White Quilts in New York 04-27-11

I don't know how many times I have looked at these images. There are so many quilts (651) that I have to spend a lot of time looking at each slide. There are "famous" quilts that we have seen in magazines and books, it is nice to know that they are cherished and cared for, but there are also quilts I imagine have rarely been displayed. Maybe because they are not spectacular, but more likely because there are limited venues for displaying quilts. I draw your attention to a few I think are special: the red and white "stripy" in slide #4; the airplane quilt on the upper left of slide #3; the interesting combination of stars, bars and hearts in the center of slide #2. I'd love to know more about the redwork embroidery quilt in slide #5 - labels from flour? chicken feed? derived from fruit packing boxes? - history in thread. I wonder about the anonymous (mostly) women who imagined these designs and wielded their needles and sewing machines to create such beauty; they worked with poor light and limited time and, sometimes, had hopes of recognition, probably at the county fair. It is particularly wonderful that the collector, Joanna Rose, had the desire, the eye and the money to assemble such a fabulous view of quilts in red and white. I wish I could have seen this exhibit - all those wonderful quilts "in-the-fabric", but I wonder if I might not just have swooned away at the sight.



http://www.dnainfo.com/20110324/upper-east-side/quilts-take-over-park-avenue-armory

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Quilt Festival - Long Beach #7 07-27-10

I enjoyed the special exhibit "America Collects Quilts: Int'l Quilt Festival's Antique Quilts". There were 36 quilts, so it was hard to choose just one to post here. I have no idea why I chose this one, the colors?, the design?, the details? The quilting was not fine, in fact a little quirky.

"Four Block Rose and Coxcomb" Circa 1880 by an unknown maker. Hand pieced, appliqued and quilted. The color in the quilt is much more even than in the photo - those strategically placed spot lights are great for seeing the quilts, but not so great for photography.

Just think about it, she was undoubtedly working by candle light or kerosene lamps.

"Horned Puffins of the Pacific" Emilie M. Belak - Danville, Washington

Machine applique, pieced and quilted. Couching, painting, dyeing [also scrunching of fabric. Del] Inspired by the late Joan Colvin's painterly art quilts. "My favorite Province, British Columbia, has everything to please one's heart: oceans and mountains, fields and waves, beaches and snow avalanches, singing birds, lumbering grizzlies, and playful Orcas. Horned puffins, attractive and charming sea birds, lay a single egg in a deep crevice on cliff or hillside. A hinged bill enables these expert fishers to snap up fresh prey while keeping a firm grip on those already caught." Emilie

I chose this closeup because the fish made me laugh - I find it very witty with its glassy eye!

Antique Quilts at Bowers Museum......... 02-14-09

Today I went to Bowers Museum in Santa Ana to see their current exhibit of antique quilts from their collection. They have some wonderful pieces, but the designs are somewhat limited. But I may be jaded after all these years. It is always interesting to see quilts with others who are not quilters and I am sometimes challenged by the questions they ask. Carol Bednar has heard me expound about all sorts of quilting things, but it is all new to Dick Bednar. Interestingly, Carol does not sew, but Dick does - not habitually, but when necessary. I think they both enjoyed the exhibit and the part of the "famous quilt makers" film we saw.

We visited the quilts after we had lunch at the museum's restaurant, Tangata - a delicious meal which we ended with an excellent creme brulee. No flash pictures allowed in the museum so I did not take any pictures, however you can see some taken by my friend Patty Mayer on her blog:

http://patty-j-m.blogspot.com/2009/02/bowers-museum-quilts.html