I’ve always loved the artistry found in hand-made quilts. Thinking of each piece being stitched together is amazing and the colourful and bold geometric designs never go out of style. Whether you layer them up or use just one as an accent, quilts add rich colour and lots of warmth.
The American Folk Art Museum currently has a beautiful exhibition on right now in New York featuring hundreds of antique red and white quilts. The exhibit features over 600 quilts from Joanna Rose, a New York collector’s collection of 1500 antique quilts. Martha Stewart recently taped a segment for her tv show and blogged about the exhibit with some great photos that I wanted to share with you.
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Apparently red and white quilt design was one of the most popular colour combinations because the special Turkey red dye was especially colour fast and wouldn’t fade or run. Since the early 1800′s, red and white quilts reigned supreme and showcased the quilter’s incredibly creative imaginations. Quilts like these were often created by women in sewing circles or quilting bees and were sometimes used as fund raisers.
You can read more about this exposition on 1stdibs.com
Maybe it’ll leave you dreaming of a red and white quilt on a bed in a sunny bedroom like me…
sarahrichardsondesign.com
Cottage bedroom by Sarah Richardson Design.
amazing quilts, reminds me to check the date on Calgarys Hertiage Park … cover the park in quilts weekend… so much fun…
I haven’t heard of this before – is it a quilt fair sort of thing?
Michael
Oh, my…how wonderful!
Thanks for featuring these which I’m sure I would have otherwise missed.
No problem, I figured if it was so interesting to me, others might want to check it out too! Thanks Marji!
Michael
i’ve never had a quilt….but these are gorgeous..
They can be really expensive. I found a really nice tattered one at Aberfoyle flea market last summer though for $20. I’m sure it will make it’s way onto the blog soon…
Michael
Can’t wait to get working on the cottage. Thanks Michael, for the inspiration and ideas!
Oh! Thanks for reminding me!
Michael
Wow, the quilts seem to take on a life of their own displayed all together like that against a dark background. Thanks for sharing.
I was in a Dallas, Texas, antique mall today (Forestwood) and looking at quilts. A gentleman walked up and told me about your red and white quilts….said it gave him chills just thinking about your wonderful display. I Googled it to find it and I am amazed. What an incredible collection and what an amazing collector you are!!