Textiles and the Triplett Sisters

I was interested to attend the Kauai Quilt Show sponsored by Kauai Quilt Guild and the Nene Quilters to see if the traditional “Hawaiian” style of quilts was represented. As early as 1820 the Hawaiians learned to quilt from missionaries. The distinctive style is usually created using applique of a botanical nature, frequently in one or two bold solid colors. One early written record of the traditional style Hawaiian quilt is “Six Months in the Sandwich Islands” by Isabella Bird who visited Hawaii in 1870 and described a “floral center with surrounding arabesque.” During the westernization of Hawaii, cotton fabric had become available and as the resurgence in applique mid-nineteenth century occured, it also reached Hawaii. A second traditional Hawaiian style of quilts is known as a “flag quilt” which uses the flag and or royalty,...

It has been a while since I’ve written a blog, but I thought you might need a breather after the four days in a row with our new book Hidden Treasures Blog Tour. It is hard to believe that we are halfway through the year, which made me wonder if I’d left out any amazing quilts from previous articles. Because I can only have 4-5 photos in each blog, sometimes I must make hard choices on which gems to include. However, a review of the year revealed that I’d not only left out antique quilt gems, but some exhibitions. One such exhibition was from the Mark Dunn Collection at the International Quilt Museum (formerly known as International Quilt Study Center & Museum.) In 1966 he started his career in the textile industry as a third-generation sales...

It is the final stop in the tour and I really appreciate everyone that came along for the trip to announce the release of the Triplett Sisters fifth book, “Hidden Treasures, Quilts from 1600 to 1860, Rarely Seen Pre-Civil War Textiles from the Poos Collection.” If you missed any of the earlier stops in the tour, check the bottom of the blog for web addresses so you can visit those stops too. The Chintz Coverlets and Quilts chapter of our book was a “must be included” with our love of chintz. We also managed to squeeze in some birds into this section. Maybe instead of a where’s waldo, we should have a where’s birdie challenge? It was also our honor to include a mezzaro re-purposed as a quilt. If you’d like to learn about a mezzaro,...

Fabric plays an important role in our society. It provides protection from the elements through blankets, tents, and clothing. Textiles allow us to create our persona by what we wear or how we decorate our home. Unfortunately, fabric and construction allow others to judge or define us by how much money we choose to spend on clothing or décor or our stash. As quilters fabric plays a doubly important role in our lives. It is used for our art form. Fiber art is how we express ourselves, even communicate. Quilting is a way that we provide gifts or donate to charity. Although it is usually cotton, it can be wool, silk, velvet or any fabric of choice. Each of us has a fabric that is our passion or speaks to us. It can be the technique...

The exhibition was held at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum showcasing quilts made by two people. According to the dictionary the phrase “it takes two to tango.” means, a situation or argument involving two people, both of them responsible for it. Certainly, in the case of these quilts, both parties are responsible, but there is no way it was an argument. Or if an argument occurred, it was clearly resolved. Instead we see true partnerships in quilt artistry. I expected to see all the quilts pieced or appliqued by one party and then quilted by the second party. However, in many cases the division of labor wasn’t clear cut…which definitely could lead to an argument. These quilts as a finished product were so copasetic, that clearly if a dance of discussion took place, it was resolved...