Vermont Quilt Festival.... Partie 2

Today I thought I would show a bit of the antique exhibit. Many of the quilts were stunning. I don't know if I was allowed to photograph the quilts. I did not see any signs. However, I limited my photography to two quilts.

I could not but stand in aw when I looked at quilts made by various women more than a hundred years ago. Who would have known that their work would have lived to be part of her story. I will say that I am pleased that today we are striving to include more and more women in history. History is much too androcentric and it it time that we move away from the male perspective. What is unfortunate is that many of these beautiful quilts do not have the name of the individual who made it. Hence, the importance of labelling quilts and perhaps even keeping a journal about it.



When I saw this quilt numbered A6, I couldn't help but think of Libby from A Simple Girl and her love for small pieces.

This quilt is called Broken Dishes, circa 1840. It has more than 4,700 1 1/2 inch blocks. It came from the home of an individual in western Massachusetts. I was intrigued by the number of small pieces in the quilt.

It is quite a majestic quilt to view in person. The work that went into this quilt is phenomenal. Could you imagine collecting an enormous amount of small pieces of fabric and hand sewing them together to make the number of 1 1/2 inch blocks required to make such a large quilt? Here I am lamenting about my Corn and Bean block quilt, which has a mere 2, 112 pieces that are machine pieced . lol

It's hard to imagine that during that period, rarely was fabric purchased for the sole purpose of making a quilt. An individual would use pieces of fabric left over from dresses and what not. They didn't discard much during that time. It's hard to believe that the pieces I throw away would have been perfect for this quilt.

This is quilt A61 and is a Sampler Medallion, circa 1825. The center is crewel embroidery and does have the name "Jane Hodgson, Aged 11, 1825". Historians believe that is may have been the work of that particular individual, as it was common for young girls to be taught needle work. Of course there's always the possibility that this was commemorative piece.

It is unfortunate that nothing else is know about this quilt and many others. I'm sure the creator of this quilt did not imagine that her work would live to be part of history.

My historical reference is from the guide book issued by the VQF.

Thanks for stopping by!