“Live” Blog: AQSG 1

Jan and Merikay discussing an

English medallion quilt (about 1810)

at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

I am at the American Quilt Study Group’s annual seminar, this year in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, right across the Delaware River from Philadelphia.

Philadelphia from the Museum steps

I am going to do an “almost live” blog with lots of posts over the weekend, showing you highlights of the seminar and my trip.

We’ll start with a visit to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which has a fabulous quilt collection (fabulous everything collection---the curators told us they have 30,000 textiles.)

Barbara and Kristina

I asked to see Sophonisba Peale's star (in foreground),

one of my top ten favorite quilts.

We made an appointment  in the Museum's textile study center before the seminar. Curatorial staff Kristina Haughland and Barbara Darlin were very helpful. We asked to see a few examples of our current obsessions----Mine: John Hewson fabrics, Merikay: imported English panels.

They permit photos for personal use.

I asked for permission to show pictures of our visit.

The Museum also had a lovely public exhibit of toiles, both plate printed and roller printed. Love Stories: Romance and Tragedy in 18th- and 19th-Century Textiles and Costume Accessories gave us a chance to compare the two techniques with much information about the romance behind the imagery.

A roller-printed toile

What is romance without a dog?

Curators are often glad to make appointments to study quilts in their collections. Do an online search to find out how to apply for an appointment and choose some quilts from the catalog. The Philadelphia Museum of Art does not charge a fee for this service, but we each donated $50 to the textile acquisition fund. It was a wonderful afternoon.

Merikay too this arty picture of me reflected in the glass covering the toile.

 Didn't turn out as arty as one would hope.

See more pictures of the textiles we studied by clicking on the museum links.

Sophonisba Peale's quilt:

http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/108225.html?mulR=24712|142

Zebiah Hewson’s Quilt:

http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/108224.html?mulR=27263|4

Hewson print spread:

http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/43814.html?mulR=16815|1

Crib quilt with panels

http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/93693.html?mulR=2127|101

Here's more about the current exhibit in the museum's textile gallery.

Love Stories: Romance and Tragedy in 18th- and 19th-Century Textiles and Costume Accessories

http://www.philamuseum.org/galleries/CostumeTextiles

And more about the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

http://www.philamuseum.org/visit/