Tuesday, July 19, 2011

The 30" by 70" question!

Determining the quilt size for the Great Lakes Seaway Trail War of 1812 Quilt Challenge was a long thought out decision for us to make.  This exhibit will be our 12th annual quilt show and we had the input and opinions of many quilters (including published quilters, quilt historians and historic re-enactors) as we planned this challenge.  So with that being said, here are the reasons we decided the Cot to Coffin size (30” by 70”) would be the best choice for our quilt challenge:

  • Documentation verifies the making of Cot to Coffin size quilts for soldiers during the Civil War (1861 to 1865) and we are assuming that making quilts for soldiers during the War of 1812 may have happened also.  However, in that earlier time period there is no documentation or standard size for us to replicate and 70 inches is about the size of a man (from cot to coffin.)  This size would have been small enough to roll into a backpack while on the march (armies moved on foot) and may well have served as a burial shroud also. 

  • This smaller size quilt is much less of a commitment for makers (and particularly new quilters) than a large piece.  There are few opportunities for folks to participate in activities commemorating the War of 1812 and we thought this small size would encourage more people to participate.  We hope to get at least 200 entries for the 200th bicentennial of the War of 1812.

  • More quilts will be able to be hung in our available space.  Our headquarters are in an historic 1817 limestone building listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has usage limitations.  Therefore, with this smaller quilt size, we will be able to accommodate all entries in our building and two additional historic buildings from the 1812 period here in the village of Sackets Harbor (which was a headquarters of the Northern Army of the United States during the War of 1812.)  

  • In our travels we have noticed many decorative pieces about 30” x 70” draped across the foot of beds in hotels so our 1812 reproduction quilts might be a good size for over the foot of our beds.

In summary we think this size quilt will make a very dramatic display. We picture the exhibit as soldiers’ standing at attention to commemorate those who fought in the War of 1812 and also honoring 200 years of peace between the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.


This quilt-in-progress, which will be entered in our 1812 quilt challenge upon completion, has been designed to honor an ancestor who fought in the War of 1812. 

The quilt measures 30" by 70" and was created using reproduction prints in indigos and browns.  

The quilt artist selected 23 different fabrics and each fabric has no more than three colors in any print. 

In discussing her design and choice of fabrics she said her regret is that she did not include more large-scale floral prints that would have been popular in 1812.  She is also considering tea dying the quilt as she feels it has much higher contrast than would have been seen in quilts of the era.  What say you?


Thursday, July 14, 2011

Women's Fashion in the Era of the New Republic

Every era has its own individual sense of fashion style even when that style is clearly influenced by the past.  One of the most unique eras in women's fashion occurred during the early years of the American republic and continued through the War of 1812 (and Regency) period.  Elegant Grecian inspired gowns of gossamer silk, ethereal sheer cotton and linen, in white, creme and pastels were the height of sophisticated fashion. 

Please enjoy these fashion plates from "Incroyables et merveilleuses de 1814."   Truly the "Paris Vogue" of the day! 

Will you be so bold as to join with the staff of the Great Lake Seaway Trail Discovery Center and dress in period correct fashion for our 1812 Quilt Challenge? 

(Click on each fashion plate and then click again to see a super-high resolution image.)













What would your ideal 1812 / Regency era outfit look like



Rare 1812 era quilts

Quilts from the War of 1812 / Regency period are very rare finds indeed but we have located a few more quilts in various museum collections.    We hope these images will inspire you in the design of your quilt for our 1812 Quilt Challenge at the Seaway Trail Discovery Center in Sackets Harbor next March. 

The following quilts are from the collections of the Michigan State University Museum:

Photo by KEVA

Whitework Quilt
Circa 1810
86" x 88"
 
A whitework quilt with stuffed trapunto details, provenance unknown. The back is probably homespun.  Incredible quilting!


Chintz counterpane
Circa 1820   New York State provenance     
120" x 108"

This counterpane is made of five panels of fabric, each 24" wide. The four-poster flap is 32" long.  The fabric is printed in a repeating floral print, within the window pane checks.  Mostly brown with green and white. The fabric is still very shiny.  The counterpane has a narrow hem all the way around.

Closeup detail of the fabric



Photo by Fumio Ichikawa

Bars  circa 1800
Provenance unknown   
73" x 89"

This bar quilt made from English chintz is one of the earliest quilts in the Michigan State University Museum collection. These fabrics, manufactured for home furnishings, have all the indicators of early block-printing techniques; poor registration, overlapping dyes, and pin registration marks.  The large fabric pieces showcase floral, bird, and fruit designs.  The quilt is tacked, not quilted.

Monday, June 27, 2011

War of 1812 / Regency Era Quilts from Museum Collections

We have located a few more quilts from the War of 1812 / Regency Era in museum collections.  Quilts from this period are very rare finds.  We hope these images will help you in the design of your quilt for our 1812 Quilt Challenge at the Seaway Trail Discovery Center in Sackets Harbor next March.


 Michagan State University Museum Accession 1998:53.37.  Photo by Pearl Yee Wong.

 Four Patch
1800-1820
99 1/2" x 104"  Cotton with cotton filling

This Massachusetts   quilt contains copperplate prints, probably of English manufacture, some calicos, glazed chintz and India prints.   


 Michagan State University Museum Accession  1998:53.39.  Photo by KEVA.

Framed Square
1800-1820
95" x 100"  Cotton with cotton filling

This early New England quilt seems to have been made with random scraps, but, as can be seen here, was carefully organized. The cut-out corners indicate that it was made for a four poster bed.


Michagan State University Museum Accession 2007:107.1.   Photo by Pearl Yee Wong, 
 
Wholecloth
Provenance unknown - circa 1800
79 1/2" x 91"  Cotton, wool filling

Very little is know about this wholecloth quilt but wouldn't it look great in some of the reproduction fabric lines coming out for the War of 1812 bicentennial like Moda's Lately Arrived from London by Barbara Brackman or some of the new Andover reproduction prints.



Michagan State University Museum Accession 1998:53.99.  Photo by KEVA.
 


Sunburst with Mariner's Compass
Circa 1800-1830 
86" x 86" 

Within this New England quilt can be found a wonderful collection of early printed cotton fabrics.


Please feel free to email us and share any museum collection quilts or other quilts from the War of 1812 / Regency Era that you have researched.    


Fashion Plates of the War of 1812 / Regency Era

The fashion era spanning of the War of 1812 was also the Regency era of British novelist Jane Austen, it’s focus was on elegance and simplicity. 

Women’s fashions of the period were inspired by the democratic ideals of the new French Republic - which in turn took it’s inspiration from classical Greece. Waists were high and diaphanous light coloured fabrics were at the height of fashion. 

Such a contrast to fashions of the previous and following eras with their multiple layers of dark and heavy fabric. 

The following fashion plates were published in Incroyables et merveilleuses de 1814.  Click on the plate and then click again to see a high resolution large image.
  







Wonderful inspiration for the gowns we will all wear to the Seaway Trail 2012 Quilt Show in March.  Hope you will plan to join us in costume too!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Our 1812 Quilt blog posted on Barbara Brackman's blog

Quilt Historiann Barbara Brackman has mentioned us on her blog! 

Check it out at:     http://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/2011/05/war-piecing-1812-2012.html.   







In other news, while researching for our 1812 quilt challenge project I've come across some great quilts to use for inspiration for fabrics and patterns in various museum collections include this circa 1790-1810 Winterthur medallion quilt:

And this medallion quilt from the International Quilt Study Center and Museum:

Also from the International Quilt Study Center and Museum is this bar/stripey quilt with chintz and nine patch blocks circa 1800 to 1820.

 
Plus this double Irish chain possibly from Pennsylvania between 1800 - 1820 from the International Quilt Study Center and Museum

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Or how about a circa 1800-1820 quilt possibly made in Eastern Pennsylvania also from the collections of the International Quilt Study Center and Museum.

So many quilts to use for reference to the 1812 era!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Playing "Dress-up" for the War of 1812 Quilt Show?

War of 1812 Period Costume Dress Up 

One of the things I love about the War of 1812 period as portrayed in classic films like Pride and Prejudice and Emma by Jane Austen are the gorgeous costumes!  The ladies at the Great Lakes Seaway Trail will be attired in period correct fashions for the 2012 quilt show - and maybe even sooner!  We’ve just ordered Regency Era patterns from one of my favorite re-enactor fashion designers Jennie Chancey.   





(and undies too!)

Hope to see many of you dressed in period costume too, in the interim you can check out her patterns at:  http://sensibility.com/about/