Textiles and the Triplett Sisters

Triplett Sisters Block of the Month! Our first Block of the Month: “1856 Huguenot Friendship Quilt” just completed an exhibition at the Houston Quilt Festival. We had the original antique quilt, plus seven different versions of the quilt hanging for all to see. It was wonderful to view the variety of methods and approaches next to each other. We’ve worked on creating a video of the exhibition and when it is available, we will post on our YouTube page. Until then, I’ve included photos of the quilts in this blog.   We also plan to have an exhibition of our second Block of the Month: "The Wedding Album Quilt." (Don’t worry, if you haven’t started yet, everyone works at their own pace.) In fact, I hadn’t started yet either, because as a single person I was...

Continuing our exploration of Geometric military textiles, we’ll start with the Wool In-laid Patchwork Quilt Top composed of wool broadcloth, printed wools, cotton corduroy, silk plush, and other wools used in men’s clothing, with the red and blue fabrics are thought to be from military uniforms. Barnet Kobler, who served in the Ninth Pennsylvania Regiment, stated in his application for pension that he made uniforms for the troops during the American Revolution and some fabrics could be from revolutionary uniforms. However, since most of these fabrics date from the 1790s, many of the military fabrics are more likely militia not from the Revolutionary War. Additionally, even though the quilt top is called an “inlaid patchwork,” also known as intarsia, on closer examination the quilt is constructed using a variety of techniques. Traditional piecing and applique are...

As you may have noticed, my sister Kay and I recently returned from a trip to Greece and some of the islands. We did all of the regular tourist things: seeing the Acropolis/Parthenon, the archeological museum, the Acropolis/Parthenon Museum. We also had to visit folk art museums and history museums to find textiles. As always when visiting a new country, we have much to learn about the textiles of the area. We didn’t expect to find quilts in such a toasty climate, but we were thrilled to see all the different types of handwork…lots of amazing, detailed handwork! Each island and/or tribe had their own traditional costume filled with decoration. I have no idea how many hours of handwork went into making the clothing, sheets or bedding, but it was a joy to see. Greece is...

Curtis was born in 1847 in Montpelier, Vermont. He joined the 104th Regiment New York Infantry as a drummer at the young age of fourteen. He became a career soldier and served in Alaska to maintain the peace during the Gold Rush. No one knows when he was introduced to quilt making, although one theory is that he learned the art from British soldiers while in Alaska. This is presumed to be the first bed cover made by Jewett Washington Curtis (1847-1927) because the diamonds are a larger size than the pieces in the other two bed covers he made. Additionally, the design is not as complex as the later bed covers (the other two follows.) Jewett Curtis kept his masterpiece until before 1925 when it was given to his sister Julia Wilkinson in upstate New York....

While at the recent AQSG Seminar, the Poos Collection added a new acquisition. At this point with the collection as large as it is, there must be a specific reason to add a quilt to the collection. In this case, there were three solid reasons, plus bonuses. First, the quilt had a bird print in it. As I’ve mentioned before, if it has a bird in it, it is likely coming home. This fabric is what is known as a “Portuguese Print” during the 19th century which came to mean a bright furnishing fabric with wide stripes usually floral but alternating with birds or other wonders. Second the quilt had a center medallion known as Trophy of Arms with a tan background, which the Poos Collection didn’t have. The medallion is #3 in the Waldvogel Chintz...