DECEMBER 24, 2019
This quilt has such a beautiful radiance. It is hard to take your eyes off of it.
What at first looks like a scrappy quilt actually has quite a bit of intention behind it. It almost mirrors from side to side, save the black and red patches. Vertically, there is a repetition of sorts. It is this search for predictability that draws the viewer in, engaging them in a exploration of what matches and what doesn’t. There is a tremendous amount of thought that was put into the composition of this quilt.
The quilting is subtle and well planned. Simple grid quilting alternates with a circle design in the alternating blocks. The border is defined by uncomplicated triple diagonal lines of quilting.
But it is the colours that grip me. Those magenta patches. Those puce green patches. Those orangey-red patches. They are juicy in their intensity. Saturated. Vibrant. Gutsy. Bold. Unexpected. All tempered by the pumpkin-rust colour and blacks acting as neutrals to tame all the other colours in the quilt.
Again we see the subtle variations in colours to create cohesiveness. This time in the borders; golden pumpkin on two opposing sides and the puce green on the other opposing sides. Both of these colours acting as neutrals and a calming influence to the other colours, but read fundamentally as the same colour until closer examination.
Gazing at it intently and contentedly, it is easy to not immediately notice the black inner border. Have you noticed how many of the Amish quilts include a narrow inner border in their quilts. If feels so artistic, but as we have learned it also serves such an important design function.
Do you think this quilt would be as successful if that narrow inner black border was not there? Why?
DECEMBER 23, 2019
Rolling Stone, LaGrange County, Indiana, c. 1925, 42″ x 50″, Maker Unknown. Indicated as from the collection of Pat and Kemp Beall.
I love this variation on the rolling stone block. The square within a square in the middle. The larger proportions of the side squares. And the delight of it all on point. All of these together make for a splendid interpretation. Sometimes I look at it and it feels flower like in a graphic way. Other times I look at it and see a snowflake.
We saw similar colour combinations in the quilts on day 6 and yesterday, but those quilts had extra bits of zip and zing. Here the colours are more clearly and simply presented. It is this straightforwardness of the colours that really enhances this lovely block and makes the whole quilt visually enticing.
In the layout of the quilt, the black rolling stone blocks mirror the red rolling stone blocks. There is something wonderful and calming about this arrangement even though the colour combination is rather vibrant.
The fact that the borders are not of equal width on all sides emphasizes the orientation and presentation of the composition and visually helps expand the quilt horizontally. The quilt on day 5 also used this technique with the borders to do the same thing.
I look at this quilt and see not only the beauty in it’s current design execution, but I also see loads of potential.
What do you think of this one?
DECEMBER 22, 2019
Unnamed Pattern … uh … I think we can fix that. How about “Holy Cow” or “Oh Wow”. I think those might do. Oh where to start. Focusing on the details is so hard with this quilt as the pattern is so mesmerizing and the chevron setting of the blocks so energetic! Even with all this liveliness, there is continuity created by the repetition of the same block and the tight colour palette. As is often seen in Amish quilts, the border colour is repeated in the “body” of the quilt, but in slightly different shades. This happens repeatedly in this quilt with great success with the different shades of blue that were used. Add to that how interest is created with the purples that range from lilac to greyed purples. Do you see how some of those shifts in shade happen within a single block? The red blocks without a doubt add zing to the quilt. The secret ingredient though is the peachy-pink which adds so much to the overall success of these colours together! And don’t forget the alternating black pieces in the blocks. That element adds a wonderful rhythm to the whole composition. Now let’s look at that thin inner border. You might think that if you were making this quilt, that maybe it wouldn’t be necessary to have that border, but it is such a vital element. (I might just be speaking from experience). It’s job is to keep all the busyness of the middle controlled or “fenced” in. I wonder if the centre design was done in prints and the hard edges of the design softened a bit, of maybe then that inner border wouldn’t be necessary. Since it is there though, in the design, well I have to comment that the colour choice for it is perfect. It speaks to both the red in the centre and the purple. And if all that is not enough … it shines. This quilt just really shines. What would you name this quilt pattern?
DECEMBER 21, 2019
Wagon Wheel, Location unknown, c. 1920, 66″ x 79″, Maker Unknown. From the collection of Nancy Ray.
Darwin Bearley, antique quilt dealer and renowned Amish Quilt expert (you really should find his book on Amish Quilts, it’s superb) sent me a Facebook message saying that this quilt is not Amish. He would know. Prompted by his messaged I contacted Julie Silber to get more information about the quilt and clear up for me why I thought it was Amish. Why did I contact Julie Silber? She was the antique quilt dealer who sold the quilt to Nancy Ray, and since the quilt was identified in the sales listing as being ex-Esprit Collection and Julie was the curator of the Esprit Collection, if anyone would have information on the quilt and know more details it would be her.
Here is what Julie wrote back to me when I messaged her and asked for more info on the origins of this quilt:
“Not Amish, but it was part of the Esprit Collection. After Doug (Tompkins) left, having sold his half of the business to Susie (Tompkins), the collection broadened. Susie added non- Amish quilts, starting with very High Style examples like Baltimore Album Quilts, and then onto this kind of more everyday, but no less wonderful kind of quilt. Rule of Thumb — Amish quilts made during hte classic period (when they were making quilts for themselves, 1880 – about 1960) do not have printed fabrics. There are exceptions, but not very many. This quilt is Southern — and I can not remember more about its history — but it is not an Amish quilt. It’s a simple and completely understandable error. Esprit was known for SO many years as having Amish quilts exclusively. That change came very late in the game.”
So there you have it. With egg on my face, lesson learned. Don’t assume. Which I did. I assumed that because this quilt was ex-Esprit collection that it was Amish. If I had put aside the “ex-Espirit Collection” history of the quilt and thought about it, I should have realized that because of the printed fabrics it was not Amish.
I love this quilting community we belong to and their generosity. A huge thank you to Darwin Bearley and Julie Silber for clarifying things. I most sincerely apologize for this error. It is still a lovely quilt and I will leave the description below. And on the 26th I will have one final quilt to make it up to 12.
Here is the original comments about this quilt (which is NOT Amish!!!!)
This quilt (which we now know is not Amish) appreared in the second book that I co-authored,
Small Pieces, Spectacular Quilts. I had limited room for captions. I have all the space I need here. Grab a cup of tea. I’ll wait for you! This quilt’s graphic and bold re-proportioning of a Nine Patch block, is one of the details that make this quilt spectacular. I love how the block background of the corner wheels overlaps with the block background of the centre wheel, giving them more connection than if the corners had just been touching as in a traditional Nine Patch. The concentric rings emphasize the movement created by the piecing of the wheels. And all of this circular movement is tempered by the calming straight diagonal quilting lines in the setting blocks … such a lovely way to create balance.
The deep blue background, of the pieced blocks, really lets the colours in the piecing shine bright, making the lights in the piecing pop as well as emphasizing the reds and blacks. The colour palette is fairly tight in this quilt: clarets, indigos, shirtings, red, browns, taupes, some double pinks, and morning prints (black prints) and no yellows or purples. The consistency of this colour story adds tranquility into a quilt that is otherwise very busy visually. Well … that colour story is consistent except for that lower right block where some cheddar was added and some wonderful greens too. Notice how the greens are balanced out in that one block, between outer rings and the inner ring, and between one side and the other … well sort of. It works. It adds a bit of punch and again if you took the cheddar and green away you would miss them.
And you don’t notice right away the different proportions of the setting rectangles, but their difference just adds more visual delight.
I have a deep fondness for this quilt. It is as spectacular in person as it is in the photo.
DECEMBER 20, 2019
Split Bars Quilt, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. c. 1925, 82″ x 78″, Maker Unknown. Was in the collection of American Hurrah Antiques.
Isn’t. This. Just. Beyond. Gorgeous?
Two things about this quilt.
First the bars are running sideways. It is more common to see Amish Bar quilts with the bars running vertically not horizontally. And they are split bars. Love the split. So many opportunities open up because of it! (sorry bad pun! Couldn’t help myself.)
Second. This quilt is all about colour. Just bask in it. Soak it up. It’s phenomenal. And glowy. And I never would have thought to put this combination together. Ever. And every single one of the five colours is essential to the design. Just as they are. No one colour over powers the others. They create depth and highlight. They make space for the eye to rest. They create movement. No subtlety here of three different reds used or a dozen different pinks. Nope! It is just all the same colours, placed exquisitely, for maximum effect.
I. Wouldn’t. Change. A. Thing.
What do you think?
