I made this one - 11' x 12" |
An elderly New York quilt collector got me into blogging fourteen years ago!
You may remember hearing about Joanna S. Rose. When her
husband asked what she wanted for her upcoming 80th birthday she
said she wanted two things. Something she’d never seen before and a gift to
New York.
She loved red and white quilts. She’d been collecting them
for many years. (She calls it ‘accumulating.’) What she wanted was to see those quilts all together on public
display. She figured she had about 70.
Her husband agreed to make it happen. Joanna began searching—gathering quilts from closets and boxes and who knows where. She’d been wrong. When she (thought) she was done she had 651 red and white quilts! She thought of another one as the exhibit was hung and located it making it 652 quilts.
The American Folk Art Museum coordinated the show
which transformed the Armory (the only place large enough) in a most spectacular
display. No admission – her gift to the city.
You must see the pictures. Here are two (of many) links to the story and photos of the display:
A quilting buddy in Arizona had sent me a link to this story. It included an invitation to share photos of your own red and white vintage quilts on a blog and link it to that blog . . . Huh? I don’t have a blog! But . . . I love two-color quilts—especially red and white. I wanted to share the treasures of my vintage collection and see what others posted. I wanted to get in on the fun! Desire drives motivation. Thus began my ‘Blogging Period’.
My blog title, Quilts Etc!, gives me the latitude to write about the wider textile/sewing world from antiques to my own work.
https://quiltsetcetera.blogspot.com/
As the years went by my posts-per-month dwindled gradually, then drastically, when I became very involved in writing a novel. By then I’d written 184 posts.
In 2023, I returned to the blog. I need to downsize my vintage quilt collection, so I posted a few photos but didn't have time to pay attention to that idea.
Then, recently, I started to wonder if members of the WOW quilt guild would enjoy the blog so I updated with an ‘I’m Back’ post and hope to continue with Etceteras whenever possible.
If you’re interested, and especially if you want to see a bunch of red and whites, I suggest you start at March 2011 - at the bottom of the dated list on the right column. After that just browse and enjoy! Most entries are ‘stand-alone’.Please note the Comments section and add your thoughts.
Also, check out the Quilt Project Links below my image on the blog. They are all about the quilt donation project - 70 quilts delivered to The Gift of Life Transplant house in Rochester, MN the year after my husband's kidney transplant.
'til next time . . .
What an amazing story! Thanks so much for sharing. I remember seeing pictures of that red and white quilt display but I don't remember reading that it was free! What a gift! I am thinking of all the hearts and souls that were lifted after going to see that beautiful quilt display. Those memories are certainly still in so many hearts today.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely phrase - hearts and souls lifted...indeed. Quilts do that to me. I stood in front of Petit Point Basket by Grace Snyder and tears rolled down my cheeks! Jean
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ReplyDeleteAgree! thanks for reading (jean)
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