Studio Quilt Study Group meeting, Tuesday, November 21, 2006, held at the home of Dana Balsamo in Princeton NJ .

Present were Dana Balsamo, Janet McKnight, Rachel Cochran, Dawn Hayes, Helene Kusnitz, Judy Leopold, Judy Grow, Mary Jo Gimber, Nancy Kerns, Karen Dever.

Our theme for the month was red and green, but members were invited to bring anything else they wanted to share.

Before we got to looking at quilts we had two items of interest to discuss with the group:

1. We are overdue for a field trip and so Sue Reich is planning a doozy of a field trip for us for our July 2007 meeting. She is putting together an overnight trip to Connecticut for us to see the quilts in the small museums whose quilts were part of the study tours for the national seminar of AQSG this past October. Even many of us who were there for the seminar elected to take in-house study centers instead of the tours, so this will be new for almost all of us. More information will be forthcoming. Save the dates – July 17-18.

Cost for the 3 sites we will visit will total $75.00. Meals and lodging will be on our own, but Sue is seeing if she can make arrangements with the same Marriott where Seminar was held so we can get a better room rate.

2. Judy G. has suggested, and the group meeting today agreed, that we should do a regional quilt study day as the New England and Midwest Study Groups have done and are planning anew. This day is to increase membership in and make a donation to the American Quilt Study Group. This study day will be open to the general public who will be charged a fee, and will be a day-long seminar. The fee will include lunch. A site has been chosen, http://www.howellfarm.com/information/   and now dates are being investigated, most likely Spring or Fall of 2007. 

For this Regional Study Day we will concentrate on different time periods. We will set up 4 or 5 stations, each centering on a single time period, and each having up to 10 quilts to turn back typical of the period. The quilts will come from our own collections. The location will be the Howell Living History Farm. The Volunteers at the Farm will make our lunch and will take their profit from the $10.00 we will charge for lunch. The Farm will not want any site fee from us. As plans move along I will keep everyone informed. Dana Balsamo has agreed to co-chair the day.

Photos from our study group are at:

http://www1.snapfish.com/

If you can’t make the link write to Judy Grow who will facilitate.

First to show quilts was Nancy Kerns. In October, at her first AQSG Seminar she purchased, her very first antique quilt, a Le Moyne Star circa 1850, which she bought because of the glorious Blue Ombre sashing fabric also used in some Balitmore Album quilts.

Nancy also showed us the applique border she is doing for her Mary Simon quilt reproduction, and sample blocks from Elly Sienkiewitz’s new book.

Janet showed a red/green/blue and white Hole In The Barn Door quilt using shirting fabrics that she bought at an antique show in PA. It was from the 4th quarter of the 19th century.

Dana showed a primitive red/gold/green floral applique, dated to the first quarter of the 20th century.

She also showed the “oooh, aaah” quilt of the day -- a brown, green, yellow and cheddar applique sampler quilt from the 3rd quarter of the 19th century with Baltimore style blocks. There was much discussion about the brown used instead of red, and the background fabric which was tan, not white. The beautiful border was also tan, although a different color. The quilt had been folded in storage somewhere and was mouse chewed through all four layers, but there was little damage to the center of the quilt – only to the border. We also discussed how Dana could go about repairing, restoring, or conserving the quilt. Dana was given the quilt by a friend who knew that Dana was the proper owner for such a treasure.

Rachel showed a Rose of Sharon Variation from 1851 done by a family member, a Dr. Hess, one of the earliest female dentists in the country. The quilt is from Westfield NY . The applique buds surrounding the large central motif are highlighted with embroidery.

Dawn showed an early (1840’s) Broderie Perse, purchased from an antique dealer. It has a lovely serpentine inner border of Broderie Perse which we thought might have been cut from circular motifs, and a wide straight–cut outer border. It had blocks of large bouquets and other blocks of smaller scattered motifs, some looking like they were purposely printed to form corners around Broderie Perse motifs, although they were not used that way in this quilt.

Dawn also showed a chintz strip pieced quilt with the glaze still intact on the three different chintzes used. This was bought at an estate sale.

She also showed a red and green pieced quilt she made to give to her sister in Cambridge , England . The quilting was exquisite. Her sister will have to wait until Dawn can hand carry the quilt to her – Dawn has already lost one quilt in the mails.

Dana surprised us by making dishes of baked ziti and a large bowl of fresh salad for lunch – we didn’t have to order out at all!

After lunch Helene showed a 4-block red and green appliqué Harrison rose quilt top with interlocking, swirling flower buds in a swag border. Very bright and cheerful.

Judy G. showed a turkey-red-on-white appliqué quilt of what was probably a simple oak leaf variation. Bought as an unfinished quilt top with the blocks set on point, it was taken apart and re-set straight with a couple of blocks left over. It was hand quilted by Judy. The sashing was all original except for the outer borders. The difference in color just barely shows.

Judy G. also showed an 1880’s Irish chain variation top bought from our own Judy K. The transaction took place in a parking lot, but there was nothing criminal about it! (grin). There were 8 changes of color with the open space (green) pieced entirely in strips. Browns and blacks were used but the colors you remember were yellow, green, red, and that Lancaster blue.

Most likely from the same area in Lancaster County as the Irish Chain was a late 19th century Bowmansville star top, purchased from a quilt dealer in Texas who bought it from a quilt dealer in New Orleans , who bought it from…..??

Also shown was a red and green on white 9-block quilt with the block designs in the shape of a lyre with red bell-shaped motifs hanging from it. The border alternated strips of red and white, both fabrics a different color than the background of the blocks. It was made in Washington County Pa. Judy calls the quilt “Tintinnabulation” because the motif reminds her of an instrument with bells sometimes carried in religious ceremonies.

Mary Jo showed a pathetic red and green fragment, possibly 1/4 of a 4-square quilt. There was one large rose block and 6 smaller blocks around the outside.

Borrowed from the Schwenkfelder Museum , she showed a stripy quilt which used 2 types of roller printed chintz, probably English. The backing was a blue ombre stripe which shaded to tan, and the same color blue was used heavily in one of the chintzes on the top. It was held together with primitive tying, and came from Reiglesville Pa.

Mary Jo also showed a red and green appliqué quilt with on-point blocks of large and small roses set in a tiny triangular “vase.” The border had almost pomegranate looking flowers set on short stems centered in swags that looked like rockers. The blocks were turned so that from all angles the quilt looked right and the setting triangles around the edge had single carnation-like flowers. The quilt was made by a Mrs. Terrell.

Karen showed a 9-block on-point red and green circular rose appliqué quilt with a saw tooth border which alternated red and green. It had feather-wreath quilting in the alternate squares.

She also showed another red and green on-point 16-block appliqué quilt of an oak leaf variation. The large green leaves had a reverse appliqué slit through the middle. A curving vine was quilted in the border, with possible grape clusters quilted too. The alternate blocks were quilted in about a ½” crosshatch.

Last of the day was an early 1900’s 20 block Carolina Lily quilt, with pieced and appliquéd blocks of red and a faded green. The border was an appliqué swag, around 3 sides with the top having straight strips of read and green. The binding was very light, almost a pale yellow. The backing looked slightly greenish, and the red showed through from the front due to possible dye fading or leaching, or simply because the backing was thin. The alternate blocks were quilted with feathered wreaths with cross-hatch centers.

Judy Grow, November 27, 2006, from notes taken by Karen Dever