Let me first share curator Stacy C. Hollander’s label notes from the American Folk Art Museum exhibition “QUILTS: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum” when this quilt was displayed at in 2010.

 

“Wool, probably from military uniforms, with embroidery thread, rickrack, and velvet binding; inlaid, layered-appliqué, hand-embroidered.

 

This textile belongs to a group of bedcovers that are also known as military quilts or, sometimes, Crimean quilts. Most of the known examples were found in Great Britain, where they were traditionally made from wool fabric used in the production of military uniforms. During the second half of the nineteenth century, soldiers were encouraged to take up sewing as a useful alternative to the less salubrious pursuits of drinking and gambling. Sewing was also used as a form of therapy for soldiers injured in conflict and recuperating in hospitals.”

 

It is not surprise then, knowing the background of this quilt, that the notion of military precision comes to mind when I look at the skillful execution of this design.  Aside from the amazing discipline to so masterfully put this quilt together, the maker also had an extraordinary eye for composition.  This genre of soldier’s quilts reminds me of inlaid marquetry work, popular during the same period.  

 

This quilt sparkles with energy, due in part to the placement of value, and to the motifs that have been used.  The maker created wonderful relationships between the various elements.  The large motifs in the fourth border are almost identically mirrored if the quilt was folded from lower left corner to upper right.  In the second border, the small circle motifs are mirrored somewhat on the diagonal opposite, working across or down the border.  And the simple choice to make the first row of half diamonds white, on the inside of the first border, creates a delicate sawtooth border that stands out because of the value choices in the next four rows, and allows that element to easily relate to the diamond border around the outer edge of the inner circle motif.  

 

The diamonds in the third border share a similar situation to quilt #4 from this year.  A shortage of green fabric has left the right side of that border bereft of this colour. Visually this does allow the eye to wander a little more easily off the composition, a respite from the complexity of the design, but the overall composition quickly draws you right back in.  

 

Visually for me the first, second and third borders almost read as one, as my eye jumps between the centre area of interest and the fourth border of larger circle motifs. 

 

Where do your eyes travel to with this quilt?  What do you see that contributes to the stunning success of this quilt?