Textiles and the Triplett Sisters

Last fall we saw the Whimsy Exhibition at the International Quilt Museum and it was a fun reminder of unique approaches and the use of unusual items in quilts. As we are fighting this pandemic as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) it is easy to forget that sense of creative joy or whimsy. Yet, this might be the time we need those creative juices most. It is vital to help others by; sewing masks, providing food to the starving, or sending cards to those who need encouragement. In the quilting industry with very small profit margins, it is important to support non-profits and businesses by making purchases, posting/sharing links for others to see, and donating to preserve our treasured museums and businesses. (Experts estimate 21 % of businesses will close in 30 days of...

Although quilting is currently dominated by women, guys have been quilting and sewing longer than they are sometimes given credit. Throughout historical periods, tailors were much more commonly male and sometimes the costume artists ventured into quilting. A prime example is Joe the Quilter, (no, not Joe Cunningham another talented quilter) this Joseph Hedley died in 1826. Joseph Hedley was a horrible tailor, but a gifted internationally known quilter. To overcome the lack of awareness of the talented male quilters, The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum for many years has offered a biennial juried exhibition of their work. “Boys Just Wanna Have Fun Too!” received nearly 100 entries which were juried by Luana Rubin (what no male judge?). She selected forty-one quilts which were on exhibit from Feb 5 – May 26, 2018 and a few selections...

The Coronavirus as a pandemic is impacting most of the people in the world. Sadly, it has impacted Quilt & Textile Collections through cancelation of all the programs for the next 8 weeks. Instead we will offer new reproduction fabrics, medallions, and patterns in our Etsy shop at this link. Stay tuned for some antique quilts offered for sale online. We will also continue to provide access to some amazing contemporary or antique quilts through our blog and our vlog. Therefore, we’d like to share with you this exhibition of Antique Paper Pieced Quilts from the Rocky Mountain Quilt Collection (RMQM.) The exhibition ran from October 21- January 18, 2020 in conjunction with the contemporary English paper pieces quilts. The “In the British Style: English Paper Pieced Quilts” was a juried contest held by the RMQM....

The blue and white display towering down from the ceiling at the International Quilt Festival-Houston was spectacular. As I continue to think about exhibition months later, it dawned on me I hadn’t written about the nearby antique quilt exhibit, also in blue and white. The quilts were on loan from the collection of the International Quilt Festival. So, I thought I’d share a few with you. The “Ohio Stars with Vine Border” is like one in the Poos Collection and featured in the Indigo Quilts Book. However, this version added a frame in blue that really separated the stars and border adding to the graphic nature of the design. Instead of the traditional “Oak Leaf and Reel” quilt, this exhibit had “Oak Leaves and Indigo birds.” Yes! Sweet little birds in the border with grapes for...

In 2017, The Triplett Sisters embarked on an adventure to see an amazing chintz exhibition at the Fries Museum in the Netherlands. Because of the Dutch long held love of chintz fabric, as well as the millions of yards of chintz imported into the county by the Dutch East India Company, the Fries Museum has a wealth of fabric available to create an exhibit. If you’d like to see more of the Chintz in Bloom exhibition, be sure to check out the Feb 13th vlog which will feature more than 25 images from the event. Don't forget to subscribe and like the blog, so you can see future exhibitions too. Several “tree of life” textiles were selected for the exhibition, including one in an antique quilt owned by Joes Meester of the Netherlands. The tree of...