Floral Design

Editor's Note: "Getting to Know You" is on display at Quilt House through February 6. To celebrate this show's run, International Quilt Study Center & Museum team members are sharing their impressions on select pieces from the exhibition. 

Witch Hazel: Jelena, made by Ruth B. McDowell in
Winchester, Massachusetts, dated 2005.
IQSCM 2006.011.0001.

By Dean Young
Operations Manager

My career choices have always centered on creativity – whether it involved culinary art or crafts in general. A true hobby of mine is floral design. This quilt is an awesome explosion of great color and style in the form of an unusual floral centerpiece focus, something I like doing anytime I get to play with fresh flowers in creating beautiful arrangements.

The quilter mastered it in fabric and thread!

Star

Editor's Note: "Getting to Know You" is on display at Quilt House through February 6. To celebrate this show's run, International Quilt Study Center & Museum team members are sharing their impressions on select pieces from the exhibition. 

Lone Star, Sioux maker, circa 1900-1925. IQSCM 2010.047.0001.

By Kim Taylor
Collections Manager

This star quilt isn’t actually a quilt and that is one of the most interesting things about it! It might appear as if it is an unfinished quilt top, but lo and behold – the edges are finished so that tells me that it was intended to be one layer of fabric with a giant appliqued patchwork star in the center.

I did research with the Sioux and Assiniboine star quilters in Montana during the 1990s and I never saw a quilt quite like this one. This quilt is one of the earliest surviving examples of a Native American star quilt. It was gifted to prominent photographer Frank Fiske sometime between 1900 and 1920 from someone on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota.

What makes this star quilt so interesting is that it was decorated like a buffalo robe with the beaded rosettes and the feathers. A similar star-like pattern of radiating diamonds was seen on painted buffalo robes on the Northern Plains known as the “Black War Bonnet” design which only warriors were allowed to use, like in this Bodmer painting.

The Fiske star quilt has blood smeared on the upper center part of the blanket and that really adds some intrigue. Maybe Frank Fiske received this star blanket as a warrior’s gift on his return from serving in WWI or maybe after some dangerous and daring feat. Mr. Fiske lived near or on the Standing Rock Reservation for most of his life and was married to a Sioux woman.

Thousand Pyramids of the Past and Present

Editor's Note: "Getting to Know You" is on display at Quilt House through February 6. To celebrate this show's run, International Quilt Study Center & Museum team members are sharing their impressions on select pieces from the exhibition. 

Thousand Pyramids, maker unknown, possibly made in Pennsylvania,
circa 1890-1910. Jonathan Holstein Collection IQSCM 2003.003.0137.

By Leslie Levy
Executive Director of Quilt House

I love the Thousand Pyramid pattern; I never tire of looking at its quiet and soothing pattern. In fact, I debated a long time whether I would hang a Thousand Pyramid quilt in my office. It is a timeless and classic pattern as evidenced by a trip to QuiltCon in Austin, Texas.

I was absolutely delighted by these pieces and the quilter’s unique twist or interpretation of a classic pattern to make it fresh and modern for today’s audience.

I love the splash of color coupled with the soft greys!

I think this is a sweet, versatile quilt. Its color pallet makes it the perfect addition to a child’s room, a casual living  room or one’s favorite reading spot.

This quilt echoes the Thousand Pyramids pattern but with a fresh, modern twist. The colors are fantastic!

Traditionally, the myriad of fabrics in a Thousand Pyramids quilt give the quilt interest and color as evidenced by the quilt in our exhibition, but at the same time, there is a subtlety to the quilt. Not this one! I love the bold, bright pyramids at the bottom, and the contrasting black and white at the top. This quilt makes me want to have a room done in shades of grey with this bright, bold, beautiful quilt hanging on the wall for all to admire.

January 2016 Quilt of the Month: 'Witch-Hazel Jelena'

With winter settling into the Midwest, we selected Witch-Hazel Jelena by Ruth B. McDowell as the International Quilt Study Center & Museum's January 2016 Quilt of the Month. McDowell’s love of nature plays a significant role in her art quilts. Witch Hazel-Jelena captures the beautiful resilience of this early-blooming shrub against the backdrop of a bleak winter day.

“While normal witch hazel has yellow flowers, Jelenas are coppery colored. Last February mine were just glorious blooming in the snow. I incorporated both the flowers, greatly enlarged, and the branches which have a wonderful shape.”
- Ruth B. McDowell

McDowell holds a degree in art and design from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and spent several years working as an illustrator before beginning her quilting career in 1972. Her first book, “Pattern on Pattern” was published in 1991, and she has since published several additional works.

Witch Hazel-Jelena currently appears in “Getting to Know You,” which is showing at Quilt House through February 6. During its run, some of our visitors have shared their impressions of the quilt. You can view their comments in this video:

Tush Kiiz Envy

Editor's Note: To celebrate the grand opening of the newly expanded Quilt House gallery, International Quilt Study Center & Museum team members are blogging about pieces in the gallery's inaugural exhibition, "Getting to Know You."

IQSCM 2011.040.0039

By Marin Hanson
Curator of Exhibitions

As I thought about why I love this Kyrgyz tush kiiz so much, I looked around my house. And it suddenly became obvious: I have tush kiiz envy.

When I travel internationally, I always bring home something to hang in my house – on the wall, sometimes, but particularly on the ceiling or in a doorway. I love the concept of welcoming people into your home space(s) with beautiful textiles or other decorations. I also like passing under them myself on a daily basis – they serve as a reminder that beauty is everywhere, even in our most commonplace spaces.

These pieces are mostly from India – which undeniably has some of the most beautiful textiles in the world. At top left is a mango and chile pepper fabric ornament that is a quintessential symbol of Mumbai; at top right is a toran, or Indian door decoration with symbolism rooted in both Buddhism and Hinduism; and at bottom right is a beaded hanging from Kutch, in Gujarat. At bottom left are two pieces from China. They were made by a famous artisan from rural Shaanxi Province and they are both loaded with auspiciousness (on the right-hand piece, stacked from top to bottom, are the symbols for fu (a bat), good luck, lu (coins), wealth, and shou, longevity – for those of you who love your Chinese symbology!).

So I guess this just means that I now have to go to Kyrgyzstan and get my own tush kiiz – I have the perfect spot for it: the dramatic portal between my living room and dining room!

Bold Design

Editor's Note: To celebrate the grand opening of the newly expanded Quilt House gallery, International Quilt Study Center & Museum team members are blogging about pieces in the gallery's inaugural exhibition, "Getting to Know You."

IQSCM 2014.027.0012

By Dean Young
Operations Manager

Blocks of bold and colorful designs, arranged in perfect symmetry have great appeal to me in the form of this quilt.

I can envision a quilter conceptualizing each block and putting them joyfully together to form a beautiful collection of texture and design!

Purple Love

Editor's Note: To celebrate the grand opening of the newly expanded Quilt House gallery, International Quilt Study Center & Museum team members are blogging about pieces in the gallery's inaugural exhibition, "Getting to Know You."

Center Diamond, made by Melinda King,
United States, circa 1910-1930. Ardis and Robert
James Collection IQSCM 1997.007.0063.

By Joy Shalla Glenna
Membership and Public Programs Assistant

Red + Blue = Purple! Purple is my favorite color. I love this quilt. I look at it and see purple. It draws me – the straight lines, the simplicity, how austere and clean it is. It is comforting and yet hard.

I wonder about its maker. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a chat with her? What was her life like? What was her family like? I doubt it was simple. This makes me want to know more!