Crazy Quilt at the Homestead
April 20, 2011
This Crazy Quilt is considered a “mourning quilt. It consists of nine center squares featuring brocade, silk, & velvet fabrics connected by more than 50 different types of stitching. The border is of velvet with native flowers made of chenille threads. The quilt is backed in a red silk fabric. The total measurement of the quilt is 65 inches in width by 72.5 inches in length. It was hand stitched by various ladies in the White and Allison families around 1877. The center panel has the “AAW” monogram of Addie Alison White. Aunt Addie, as she was affectionately known, was the wife of John M. White of Fort Mill, South Carolina. John passed away in May of 1877, and the ladies of the family gathered with Aunt Addie to quilt during her year of mourning.
Particularly interesting are the monograms of “GW” below the daises, which is that of Grace White, future wife of Leroy Springs, & “EPW,” Esther Phifer White. Esther is wife of Samuel Elliott White who founded Fort Mill Manufacturing - today’s Springs Industries. Esther is also the mother of Grace White, and sister of Addie Allison White.
Early quilts made in the crazy style were more show pieces than functional and were often made as smaller non-quilted “lap robes” that were used to decorate the parlor. Commonly made objects included piano covers, small quilts that could be placed kitty-corner on top of a counterpane or Marseilles spread, antimacassars to place on furniture, and heavily embroidered and embellished quilts made of silks, satins, brocades and other “fancy” fabrics for display on the parlor sofa. Some were friendship quilts, while others served as mourning quilts.
Using silk thread, the ladies of the family have placed lovely decorative stitches on each seam. Intriguing names like feather, herringbone, stem stitch, buttonhole wheels, fan, fly, Holbein, fern & chain describe just a few of the intricate stitches.
The inspiration for crazy quilts came from the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. One of the most popular exhibits was the Japanese pavilion with its fascinating crazed ceramics and asymmetrical art. To the Victorians the word “crazy” not only meant wild but also broken or crazed into splinters; a good description of the look the various triangles and other odd shapes gave to these quilts. The term “crazy quilting” is often used to refer to the textile art of crazy patchwork and is sometimes used interchangeably with that term. Crazy quilts rarely have the internal layer of batting that is part of what defines quilting as a textile technique.
Although crazy style quilts may appear haphazard they were carefully planned. Hours were spent cutting shapes and trying out various arrangements of the pieces before sewing.
As time passed quilters began to make simpler quilts in the crazy quilt style. Thrifty housewives used everyday fabrics like wool or cotton and little or no embellishment to create more serviceable quilts than the original fancy crazy quilts with the added benefit of using up small or odd-shaped scraps left over from making clothing for the family or other household sewing projects.
This particular quilt is a beautiful addition to the décor of the White Homestead, the Close family home that dates back through many generations.
Womenfolk.com
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Patricia L. Cummings, HYPERLINK “http://www.quiltersmuse.com/crazy_quilts_in_America.htm” Crazy HYPERLINK “http://www.quiltersmuse.com/crazy_quilts_in_America.htm” Quilts in America
Betty Pillsbury in Collaboration with Rita Vainius, HYPERLINK “http://www.caron-net.com/featurefiles/featmay.html” The History of Crazy Quilts
Back to Blog Entries Index
Enjoy this post? Share it with others.
by piftavervetam on 01/16/2012 at 7:19
<a ><img>http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/5174/ladypro.jpg</img></a>
Хочешь измениться? <a >Женский журнал</a> для интересных девушек, которые в теме происходяшего вокруг.