Thursday, April 11, 2019

Past Perfect: Mimi Dietrich

Mimi Dietrich has been teaching people to applique in the Baltimore style
for decades.

Chesapeake Rose is her interpretation of a Smithsonian applique

Mimi's quilts are up the rest of this year at the Maryland Historical Society in her hometown Baltimore for the rest of this year.

 “Hometown Girl: Contemporary Quilts of Mimi Dietrich features one-of-a-kind applique quilts created by Baltimore-native Mimi Dietrich."
Mimi's quilts may be contemporary but many of them are based on traditional applique.
The quilt at the top of the page is drawn from one in the collection of the Smithsonian's
National Museum of American History.


The pattern is in her out-of-print book Quilts from the Smithsonian.

In the best sense of being inspired by an antique, she takes the
design ideas and changes things. Her design  is tighter and denser with
less white space. In the original all that white space was filled up
with stuffed work.

See the original here:

Mimi's Welcome Pineapple (right) and the original.



All American Eagle by Mimi Dietrich and Friends

She simplifies the shapes and makes it all more
appealing to contemporary tastes.

The original Maryland eagle from the Smithsonian
from the Dove/Cator families, 1800-1825.

Quilt Baltimore Circa 2008




See Teri & Kara's post on the opening: They cover things quite well at their blog Through the Needle's Eye.
http://needleseyestories.blogspot.com/2019/03/mimi-dietrich-honoring-baltimores.html


Barbara's graduate class quilt under Mimi's tutorage

See an interview with Mimi here:
http://thequiltershalloffame.blogspot.com/2015/06/mimi-dietrich-interveiw-2015-tqhf.html

2 comments:

  1. Oh yes, cheers for Mimi! And, Kara and Teri's post this week was a true inspiration.

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  2. Mimi's interpretations of the Smithsonian quilts are wonderful. Thanks for sharing. I hope to make a trip to Baltimore before the end of the year.

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