Textiles and the Triplett Sisters

  Although initially our focus was drawn to the amazing quilts in the gallery, the other textiles displayed couldn’t be ignored, especially with an indigo resist taking up a large part of the display. This amazing linen textile was made in Berks County, Pennsylvania approximately 1780 – 1830. Hanging beside the indigo resist was dress fabric from the Coromandal Coast, 1775-1800. The design was created by hand instead of being block printed. The fabric bears the mark on the back of United East India Company. Additional fabrics, including one printed by Bromley Hall in this Banyan held my attention. Needlework on display was also an important contribution to the collections. Both men and women were employed in professional workshops creating amazing clothing and furnishings. A sample of whitework from New York was also included. All of...

If you’ll recall, The Triplett Sisters were fortunate enough to have research time at Winterthur Textiles. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot to see just by visiting the Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library. The Galleries showcase the permanent collection as well as highlight themed exhibitions. The textiles in the galleries were amazing and are worthy of multiple blogs. I’ll try to restrain myself to two articles. One Chintz quilt is worthy of a blog by itself, simply filled with wonderful fabrics. You’ll notice this article is filled with multiple images from the quilt. Sadly, neither my sister nor I took photos of the title card. We were simply captivated by the fabric contained in the quilt. However, to learn more about it, here is the link to the info about the quilt made by...

Our first glimpse of the fun about to come was before breakfast, where Kay noticed a local newspaper called "The Fishwrapper", a salute to history even in the title. Think back, or if you don't have first hand knowledge, research what items would have been sold at an old dry goods store. That is the focus of the Penn Dry Goods Market held annually at the Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center. The market itself is a glimpse of treasures brought by various vendors selling their wares of quilts, books, buttons, and bows. Vendors are required to have a majority of their wares in the textile category. Besides the antique vendor show, there are two days of special lectures on textiles as well as the history of textiles. This year I was honored to present the trunk...

“We are Africans NOT because we are born in Africa but because Africa is born in us.” The first time I saw that quote with an image of the African continent posted on my sister’s page, I was surprised. After all, we grew up in Kansas. However, Kay Triplett spent about 10 years of her non-textile career living, working, or being connected to Africa. Kay’s living in Africa is the reason I learned how to dye adire or indigo resist. She learned to love the people, the culture, and the artists. Being a textile lover, she particularly learned to love the African textiles, which she personally collected. She helped struggling African artists by supporting their art through purchases. She took lessons from experts in the field to learn the craft and purchased treasures from art centers...

It is no surprise that our recent visit to Pennsylvania provided many opportunities to explore quilts. The visit to Lancaster County Historical Society to specificly research their quilts offered several treasures and revelations. I expected to see a lot of red and green quilts from the area. However, the number of Chintz quilts preserved from the area was a wonderful surprise. I expected to see fabrics with Lancaster Blue, a fabric with two blues present in the style of “double pink,” popular during the 1860-1880 period. With the name derived from the location, also known as Pennsylvania Blue, it was natural to think it would be in the quilts. Instead, I left in awe of a chrome yellow found in an antique quilt.   The element chromium was discovered in 1797 by Louis Vauquelin and used...