World Quilt Show New England - August 16 -19

On August 16 -19 the Great Lakes Seaway Trail War of 1812 Bicentennial Quilts Traveling and Educational Exhibit will be at World Quilt Show New England in Manchester, New Hampshire. 

The 30-piece exhibit includes 26 quilts made in 1812-true style by McCarthy, other quilters, quilt guilds and historical societies in three Canadian provinces and 11 U.S. states.  New Hampshire resident Martha McCarthy is among the quilters whose work was selected for the international traveling exhibit.

Much of the war was fought in the freshwater shoreline region that is now recognized as the 518-mile Great Lakes Seaway Trail National Scenic Byway in New York and Pennsylvania. McCarthy, who grew up in Buffalo, NY, on the byway, now lives in Londonderry,  just 12 miles from Manchester, NH.

“The War of 1812 was emphasized in our school history classes and we were familiar with the (Buffalo) area attacked by the British. Through the Great Lakes Seaway Trail 1812 quilt challenge I could be involved in commemorating the war even though I now live in New Hampshire,” McCarthy says. 

McCarthy’s quilt titled “For Thomas” is made in the unique “cot-to-coffin” size,
30 inches wide and 70 inches tall, meant to cover a sleeping
or deceased soldier, sailor or militiaman. 

 “I was thrilled to have my quilt selected for the traveling exhibit and it’s an honor to have it displayed at such a highly-rated show as the World Quilt Show in Manchester,” McCarthy says.

Great Lakes Seaway Trail “Storyteller” cards displayed with each quilt share true facts about the quiltmaker’s family history; others are creative imaginations about a woman sending her man off to war with a quilt made of scraps of fabric from her apron, his son’s coat, his mother’s dress, etc.

Quilt Show Hits the Road - Off to World Quilt Show New England

The Great Lakes Seaway Trail War of 1812 Bicentennial Quilts Traveling and Educational Exhibit is on the road to the World Quilt Show New England in Manchester, New Hampshire August 16-19, 2012.

The exhibit includes 26 quilts made in 1812-true style plus educational interpretive panels, designed by artist Bob McNamara, which depict various aspects of the war, including the civilian effort.

The Great Lakes Seaway Trail War of 1812 Bicentennial exhibit will travel from now through 1814 in recognition of the War’s Bicentennial. It has already visited historic sites in Canada, including Upper Canada Village, and Fort Wellington in Prescott, Ontario.

The traveling exhibit is supported by a grant from the New York Council on the Humanities.

1812 ½ - War of 1812 Quilt Challenge – Part Two?

• Did you have so much fun making your quilt for the Great Lakes Seaway Trail War of 1812 Quilt Challenge that you’d like to do it again? 

• Perhaps you didn’t quite get your 1812 quilt finished in time for the show, maybe you only had the top pieced by the show date?

• Maybe you bought your fabric and had incredible plans for an 1812 quilt - but life got in the way and you couldn’t even start your quilt

Well, we can fix all those problems!  Of course, you have to do the work.

Due to the incredible popularity of our Traveling Exhibit of the War of 1812 quilts we have decided to do it again!  We are planning to have an “1812 ½ Quilt Show" this September!

Mary with the Markham Quilt Guild enjoyed the 1812 Quilt Challenge!

On September 29 and 30 (the official New York State day of Commemoration for the War of 1812) we are going to hang the 26 quilts and the story panels from the traveling exhibit here in Sackets Harbor for one more viewing! 

If you would like to enter another 1812 quilt or finish up the one you started (or even just enter your quilt top is that’s all you had time to do) we would be proud to hang it for this special show.

Enter a quilt or just come to view the 26 winners. 

Plus, we have been in touch with some of our wonderful long term vendors and they are excited about coming back this fall so you could even just come to shop!

We still plan to have our big annual quilt show March 16 and 17 next year with the “Beauty of the Byways” theme but we thought it would be fun to get together again this fall.

Send me an email (lynette@seawaytrail.com) or give me a phone call (315-646-1000 ext. 203) let me know what you think and we can talk about the details.

The Underhill Tree of Life Quilt Story Continues

From a letter from Jill Meszaros dated June 12, 2012:

Yesterday, the Underhill Tree of Life quilt had one more piece of its story written. 

As you know, I created my Underhill Wholecloth Quilt to honor my Underhill ancestors.  I wanted to update you on my Underhill family. 

My grandfather, Donald Underhill, at the age of 99 and 10 months, died yesterday at 12:35 pm.  His only living sibling, Aunt Mary Lou, age 86 and 10 months died yesterday at 8:20 am. 

They were both very proud of their family heritage and it was in his books that I found a great deal of the family history I used in my quilt's story.  He loved history, especially his family’s. 

My quilt was really for him more than anyone else.  This is not a sad story....99 years is something to celebrate - especially since he died peacefully, at home with family, simply from old age. 

Major David Underhill would have been my grandfather's (Donald Underhill) Great-Great-Grandfather.  Aunt Mary Lou was still living on a piece of David's original homestead.  She will rest in Norwalk, Ohio with many other Underhills that came before her.

I just wanted to share this piece of my quilts continuing story with you.

                   Jill Meszaros

You can see this incredible quilt up close when you view the Seaway Trail War of 1812 Traveling Exhibit which is on the road for the next two years.

Not Much Actually Happened DURING 1812

If you put the name of the War of 1812 aside, not much actually happened during 1812.

1 - Most of the fighting took place in 1813.

2 - The peace treaty was ratified in 1814.

3 - The deciding battle was fought in 1815.

So, be prepared to stretch this War of 1812 Bicentennial Commemoration out for a while. 

That means you still have lots of time to borrow the Seaway Trail War of 1812 traveling quilt exhibit if you have a suitable venue that would be interested in the display.

Last weekend the exhibit was hung in the Anglican Christ Church - on site at Upper Canada Village.  The exhibit has now traveled to Fort Wellington in Prescott where it will be on display June 29 thru July 1. 

Send me an email if your interested in borrowing it and we will look at the travel schedule.

May is Quilting month in Canada!

We are reminded by AQS Certified Quilt Appraiser Diane Shink that May is Quilting month in Canada!  

Diane hosted an old fashioned quilting bee with Montreal West quilting friends to entirely hand quilt her entry in our 2012 War of 1812 Quilt Challenge.  This quilt and 25 others will be displayed in our Traveling War of 1812 Quilt Challenge Exhibit.  

Diane transferred the image below to the label of her quilt. She sent a note with the photo telling us that her fingers were sore after all the hand quilting including the historically accurate knife edge finish. 

See this stunning quilt in person and the rest when our Traveling Exhibit comes to a venue near you. 

Quilt Display at the Fort La Presentation War of 1812 Symposium

A selection of the Great Lakes Seaway Trail War of 1812 quilts will be on display as part of our exhibit at the upcoming Fourth Annual War of 1812 Symposium in Ogdensburg, NY on April 27-28, 2012.  We will also have a preview of some of our new War of 1812 theme interpretive panels on exhibit.  

For all the details and to register for the event visit the Fort La Presentation website at: www.fort1749.org 

Stop by and say hello at our booth at the Freight House Restaurant on Saturday.

The events seminars and presenters include:

Research leading to the discovery of Col. Zebulon Pike's encampment on the Saranac River:   Keith Herkalo is an 1812-era re-enactor and a founding member and current president of the Battle of Plattsburgh Association. As an amateur historian, his research is the catalyst behind the archaeological discovery of “Cantonment Saranac” and the location of the Grab Island graves. Mr. Heraklo edited The Journal of H.K. Averill, Sr.: An Account of the Battle of Plattsburgh and Early North Country Community and is the author of September 11th, 1814: The Battles of Plattsburgh. He is involved in restoration projects as the City Clerk for Plattsburgh.

The archaeology confirming the site of Col. Zebulon Pike's encampment on the Saranac River:   Timothy Abel, PhD, has interests spanning the prehistoric and early historic archaeology of the Great Lakes. Since 2003, he has conducted more than a dozen projects related to the military and domestic archaeology of the War of 1812 in northern New York. Recently his archaeological investigations have produced conclusive evidence in Plattsburgh of the encampment named “Cantonment Saranac” by its commanding officer Col. Zebulon Pike. Dr. Abel is an instructor at Jefferson Community College in Watertown, New York.

Medical practices during the War of 1812:   Gregory Baran, MD, a private practitioner and medical consultant in Kingston, Ontario since 1992, is the regimental surgeon for the re-enacted Regiment of Canadian Fencible Infantry and King's Royal Regiment of New York. He regularly presents on War of 1812 medical practices at Upper Canada Village and continues to consult as a medical historian with various bicentennial projects and productions related to the War of 1812. Dr. Baran collects antique medical equipment.

The discovery, investigation and the preservation of the Schooners Hamilton and the Scourge:   Nancy Binnie, MSc, is a Senior Conservation Scientist with Canadian Conservation Institute in Ottawa, Ontario. Her career began in 1988, and she has had a long association with the wrecks of the Hamilton and Scourge. An experienced scuba diver, her scientific interests have also taken her on the recovery of historic aircraft, such as the Fokker Universal from Lake Charron in northern Manitoba, and the search for Avro Arrow models in Lake Ontario. Ms. Binnie is the author or co-author of many papers related to artefact conservation and preservation.  

The Battle of Queenston Heights and the role of Fort George in the War of 1812:   Ronald Dale served as the Superintendent of Niagara National Historic Sites, including Fort George and Brock's Monument for 14 years, before being appointed the 1812 Bicentennial Project Manager for Parks Canada to develop a strategic plan for federal bicentennial commemorations.  As an historian he is the author of The Invasion of Canada: Battles of the War of 1812, The Fall of New France: How the French lost a North American Empire 1754-1763 and Niagara-on-the-Lake: Its Heritage and Its Festival. He resides in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. (Featured in the PBS War of 1812 production.)

Planning for and conducting of War in North America, 1808-1815:   Major John Grodzinski is an assistant professor of history at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. His doctoral thesis is The Constraints of Strategy: Lieutenant-General Sir George Prevost as Commander-in-Chief of British North America during the War of 1812. His MA discussed the War of 1812 on the Upper St Lawrence River. Since joining the army in 1983, he has held several appointments with his regiment, Lord Strathcona’s Horse, and various staff positions. Major Grodzinski conducts War of 1812 battlefield tours for the Canadian military. (Featured in the PBS War of 1812 production.)

Teaching the War of 1812 as a civil war:   Melissane Schrems, PhD, is an assistant professor of history at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, where she is a member of the Native American Studies Advisory Board and teaches courses focused on Native American and Colonial American history. Dr. Schrems doctoral dissertation was on the Mashpee Wampanoag Indians on Cape Cod, and her minor fields were Native American history, the history of Colonial America and Comparative Slavery. She is on the board of the Fort La Présentation Association.

Abbé Piquet and the legacy of Indigenous/Mohawk alliances during the War of 1812:   Scott Stevens, PhD, is the Director of the Newberry Library’s D’Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies in Chicago. His research interests concern the diplomatic and cultural strategies of resistance among North American Indians in the face of colonialism, as well as the political and aesthetic issues surrounding museums and the indigenous cultures they display. Dr. Stevens is currently working on a book-length research project entitled Indian Collectibles: Encounters, Appropriations, and Resistance in Native North America. He is a member of the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation.