DECEMBER 23, 2017
Military Quilt, Corporal Thomas Noonan, Melville Island, Halifax, Nova Scotia, c. 1870, wool (no back or batt), 215 cm x 230 cm, from the collection of the Nova Scotia Museum.
After seeing the exhibit “War and Pieced: The Annette Gero Collection of Quilts from Military Fabrics” at the American Folk Art Museum this fall (it is on until January 7th and if you can’t get to the museum to see it, there is a book available), I wanted to include this spectacular piece in this year’s celebration.
We are fortunate to know who was the maker of this quilt. Corporal Noonan fought with the British Army during the Crimean War. This technique and quilt style has a strong British heritage and this is likely where he learned about it. Making a quilt like this is incredibly hard work as the fabric is thick and it would take strong hands to draw a needle and thread through it. There is no batt or back and the nature of the fabric and the technique means there is virtually no visible seam allowance.
Scott Robson and Sharon MacDonald write in their book Old Nova Scotia Quilts, “Corporal Noonan never completed his quilt. He died on February 1, 1874, aged 38, as a result of exposure after rescuing a boy who had fallen through the ice of the North-West Arm.”
This quilt is magnificent and sobering on many levels. It is an honour to be able to share it here with you.
DECEMBER 22, 2017
Triple Nine Patch, Ada Maria Walfield, Mosher’s Island, Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, c. 1900, cotton, 151 cm x 202 cm, from the collection of the Nova Scotia Museum.
Look at this sweet quilt. If I was at the museum where it lives, you would have to frisk me on the way out … I’d be the one wearing the lumpy oversized raincoat!
I know I should not covet it, but there are so many things to like about it. The colours in this one make me sigh in deep appreciation. Look at those two denimy-blue nine patches … if you took those out, you would definitely miss them. And that red in the quilt, it makes the whole thing squeal worthy!
The quilt has a natural divide down the middle and both sides beautifully balance the other off. Don’t you love how the pink sashing goes up and down on the left and from side to side on the right. This treatment gives the composition lots of visual interest; your eye just keeps wandering around the quilt taking it all in. She has also deftly used striped fabric to create movement.
Sigh … this one is on my to make list now too!
DECEMBER 21, 2017
Mennonite Quilt of Illusion, Maker Unknown, Ontario, c. 1940, cotton, 72” x 87”, Private Collection.
There is only one word for this quilt … masterful. Okay there is another word … stunning. Okay, maybe one more … mesmerizing.
There is not a single mis-step in the design of this quilt. It deserves a long session of study just to understand why the values work as well as they do together. Careful placement of lights and darks and mediums together create a wonderful sense of depth. And the piecing is so beautifully executed.
As I look at it I am reminded of how unforgiving working with solids can be. This quilter was not deterred by that. I think she deserves a standing ovation for this one. What about you, what do you like about this one?
DECEMBER 20, 2017
Tree of Life, Mrs. John McCullock, Campbellford, Ontario, c. 1875 – 1900, cotton, 63” x 72”, from the collection of Country Heritage Park.
This quilt is charming. And it is quietly graphic … not the “in your face” kind, but the “yeah, you are going to want to look at me for a long time” kind! And look at those arches in the quilting … double lines too … I see them on the left side and then when I look at the right side, it looks like she did more of a baptist fan, but that might just be the lighting. I would definitely like to spend some in person time studying this one.
Then let’s talk colour. Pale blue/grey and pale pink and black/navy, brown and red. Yup it works. Definitely works.
Would you try that colour combination?
DECEMBER 19, 2017
McCrum Quilt, Margaret Ann McCrum, Leeds and Grenville County, Ontario, c. 1860-1881, wool and linen, 172 cm x 194 cm, from the collection of Canadian Museum of History.
While the first quilt this year was light and airy, this one is rich, lush and dramatic on that black ground. Notice how in the outer border she turns the corner differently in each one, and how the right side of the outer border is not as dense as the one on the left. There are birds in flight and birds resting on branches. There is spectacular detail in the compositions. I look at this quilt and I am in awe. And I wonder to myself, how long did it take her to make it? Is this how she spent some of her long winter days making this?
If you could ask her a question, what would you ask her?
