Thursday, October 26, 2017

Manchester New Hampshire AQSG 2017


I am back from a wonderful trip to the east coast.

I took my hand sewing, and stitched on the plane.  I was too busy to stitch much in between!

On the way out I had a delightful embroiderer seated next to me.  She had just finished a crib quilt, all by hand, for her first great grandchild.  She was most intrigued by my project.  Not sure if I persuaded her, but I tried.






I always get questions about my little scissors.  I gift from a thoughtful friend!

These are all plastic for trimming baby finger nails.  Inexpensive in the baby department of many stores.

I have never had TSA question them. The plastic blades are great for threads and in a pinch I have cut small fabric hex's. They fit in my tiny purse tote for on the go sewing.



My travel group and I met up in Boston.

We wanted a very large car for the four of us and luggage.  Knowing we would be adding many purchases along the way!

We stopped at quilt shops, antique malls and shops as well as museums and our ultimate destination - American Quilt Study Group in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Lots of fun everyday - oh! the laughs...
Sturbridge Village the staff didn't have much to cut fabric with.  It was all dull, nicked and worn. We were all helping the poor clerk. Then she asked us what we were making and we tried to explain a stash of fabric.  "You are buying fabric just to have it?"
I think she probably needed a break after we left.


The American Quilt Study Group annual seminar offers so many scholarly activities it is always impossible to sign up for everything.  For us, we decided to do the tours before seminar.  We miss the behind the scenes portion of the tours, but it allows us to take four study centers.
Choices!!
We went to Lowell to The New England Quilt Museum and were fortunate to be the only ones there. I took so many photos, we were able to get close and examine every detail.




In addition to quilts from NEQM, we saw, "Guilding The Lily".   On through December 30, 2017.  I highly recommend it.

This is a circa 1963 piece by Violet Conners, wool embroidery on linen.  A revival piece in the manner of the later 18th and early 19th centuries.

Every stitch was amazing and a joy to see.

I took 100's of photos, so if there is anything you want to see, just let me know.  I shared more on my Instagram account.


This Sun Medallion with Variable Star Crib quilt is a c. 1850 treasure.

Hand pieced and hand quilted.
It was a gift to the museum by The Binney Family in 2007.  (2007.1)

It includes Prussian blues and Turkey red-dyed fabrics.

A beautiful little quilt!




When visiting an exhibit I appreciate being able to see the quilts in detail.

These tiny details give the quilt personality and make it extra special.  The details are sometimes lost at a distance or when viewing through a crowd.

This is the lower edge of one of the medallion quilts.  Inspired?  I was.

Fire buckets hanging in the foyer - Read More HERE



The incriminating photo of our shopping was posted to Instagram - we were unable to capture a photo of the priceless look on the hotel clerks face when we checked into our second hotel.

The young man was very helpful, although not quite as entertained as we pushed and pulled our carts onto the elevators.

We worked up an appetite and his dinner recommendation was spot on!






Another museum visit included Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

The docents were marvelous in period with the houses restoration dates, they entertained and educated us as we made our way house to house.

This room included information on 19th century bathing practices as well as the beautifully dressed bed.

The chamber pot is visible at the foot of the bed. The bathing tin vessel and pitcher were in front of the fireplace.  In the winter the bedrooms were often below freezing.





This photo shows the trundle pull out bed.

By storing in under another bed, there was much more floor space for daily actives in the room.

There are three types of bed coverings shown here; coverlet, tufted spread and whole cloth quilt.

This bedroom was shared by three sisters.




Seminar is always so good.
As always it is hard to select which study centers to take. I always take the max I can. Read about them HERE.
The chintz study center didn't allow photos.  I was asked to hold quilts at the front of the room so I got to see them up close.
Ann Hermes did Small Treasures and it was really great, she also signed her book at the sale.
Gerald Roy showed several quilts at the COLOR study center and the bed turning. Historic Fabrics was also very interesting.
This is all before the excellent paper presentations!

Future Seminars:
2018 Bethesda, Maryland  October 3-7
2019 Lincoln, Nebraska October 9-13
2020 Virginia details to follow

Have a great week,
Dawn

20 comments:

  1. That sounds like the perfect holiday! What a marvellous time! I just love that crib quilt - the sharp yellow points and the gorgeous red prints. I can't figure out how they pieced that center - it's fabulous! I enjoyed all of your photos - I love your detail shots too. Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us - next time take me too please :0)

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  2. Sounds like you all had a wonderful time at the show and exploring the area. I have not gone to the museum yet, maybe a trip this year, be fun in the winter. I have not been to Sturbridge in years, was tempted to go last week, wish I had known you were there.

    Debbie

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    1. I would love to meet you. Maybe when I'm out east again.

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  3. Oh my goodness, being in the same room with such reknown people in the field of quilting...Gerald Roy and Ann Hermes and being up close to all those exquisite quilts...you must have been in heaven! Will have to join Instagram to see more of your photos and all that fabulous shopping!

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  4. What a exciting and educational opportunity plus all the shopping. Thank you for sharing all your photos and details of your trip. You've had a fabulous fall.

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    1. We are coming up on our first year back in Minnesota, what a year!

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  5. What a great time you must have had on this trip with your friends, and so many quilty pleasures! Seeing all the beautiful antique quilts in detail... thank you for allowing us to join in the pleasure and share your photos. New England quilt museum and the seminar must have been superb! Have a nice weekend too!

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  6. Oh yes, we did have fun! Good for you for taking pictures. I need lessons in "remembering to photograph" what I see. I so enjoyed meeting you in person. And your friends were simply delightful. I'm looking forward to next year already.

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    1. It's a good sign you stayed "in the moment". Sometimes taking photos gets in the way and is over rated. We all enjoyed meeting you and seeing your lovely work!

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  7. Thank you for sharing pictures of your trip and Seminar.
    I love the New England Quilt Museum and Guilding the Lily sounds like an amazing exhibit. (love that wool embroidery close up) Happy to hear you had an amazing time!

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  8. Looks like a wonderful trip filled with so many beautiful quilts. Like the little scissors. I take one small one with blades of 4 centimeters (less than 2 inch) never had a problem.

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  9. I always love hearing about seminar. Sounds like a fun filled trip with friends. I keep looking at the sun medallion crib quilt. love it! Thanks for sharing.

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  10. What a fantastic trip this must have been!

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  11. Looks like a wonderful trip and this was such an interesting post, but how amazing that your seat on the plane was next to another seamstress ! / slow stitcher :)

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  12. Wow - what a fun and educational trip. Thank you for sharing!

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  13. Very cool! Boston is such a fun city to visit too. Thanks for sharing -- I belonged to AQSG back when it first started. it's amazing to see how it's grown and evolved.

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  14. I so wish I'd gotten to meet you at the Seminar! These are great photos - and summary - such an amazing few days.

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Thanks for your comments!