What's Going On

Event:A Century of African-American Quilts
Date(s):January 30, 2017 - January 2, 2018
Location:The Foster and Muriel McCarl Gallery, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, Colonial Williamsburg
Description:This exhibit showcases twelve colorful and stunning quilts, half of which have never before been seen by the public, spanning more than a century after 1875. The quilts of African Americans varied widely, depending on the date, location or community, the purpose for which the quilt was made, and the personal artistic vision of the quilt maker. The bold designs and brilliant colors of the quilts speak to a longstanding cultural and artistic tradition within which the women designed and created their quilts. Although none of the quilts were made during the era of slavery in America, several of the quilters represented were born into slavery and others descended from enslaved families. Each quilt maker used the humble materials of fabric and thread to create a bedcover that was warm and practical as well as brilliant in color and artistry. This exhibition was made possible thanks to gifts from Cindy and Sheldon Stone of Los Angeles, California, and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation c/o Cynthia and Robert Milligan of Lincoln, Nebraska.
Contact:For more information, please visit The Colonial Williamsburg website.

Links & Info

Name:A Mystery Solved in the NMAH Textile Collection
Link:http://blog.americanhistory.si.edu/osaycanyousee/2012/07/a-mystery-solved-in-the-textile-collection.html
Description:Blog post by Sheryl De Jong for the National Museum of American History (July 3, 2012) describing the events that led to reuniting two early 19th century girlhood embroideries by Rachel Breck (1792-1879) from Northampton, MA. Rachel's distinctively Northampton sampler (stitched when she was 11) has joined her silk embroidery of "Charity" (stitched when she was 18) in the NMAH textile collection. Her sampler was stitched in Northampton, based on the existence of nearly identical samplers stitched by other Northampton girls. Based on information from a similar silk embroidery of Charity in the DAR collection, the second piece was most likely stitched at the Misses Patten school in Hartford, CT. Rachel Breck's two embroideries are the only pair in the NMAH Textile Collection that illustrate the technical growth in needlework skill by the same girl over time.
Name:Beeton's Book of Needlework by Isabella Beeton
Link:http://beetonsbookofneedlework.com/
Description:Online vintage needlework book
Name:Bordados Da Madeira - For lovers of Madeira embroidery!
Link:http://bordal.pt/
Description:This is a fascinating website for one of the leading manufacturers and exporters of famous Madeira embroidery. There are wonderful embroideries and a map of Madeira embroidery history which is an online look at the process of creating the embroideries.
Name:DAR Museum Samplers Online
Link:http://www.dar.org/museum/samplers/default.cfm
Description:This presentation is based on the original DAR Museum exhibition, Telling Their Stories: Nineteenth- Century Samplers and Silk Embroideries, April 11- August 30, 2008. The exhibition celebrated the lives of girls and women by placing their needlework within the context of changing nineteenth-century American life.
Name:Designs & illustrations by Florence Caulfield for print and use
Link:http://www.vam.ac.uk/users/node/4268
Description:For those of you who love embroidery and Art Nouveau, you may want to check out these downloadable patterns on the V&A Museum website. They are designs by Florence Caulfield in the Art Nouveau style and include not only line drawings, but also some wonderful examples of wool embroidery. Enjoy!
Name:Designs for embroidered fashion: Lady Middleton's pattern
Link:http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/d/lady-middletons-pattern
Description:Article from the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Name:Elizabeth Parker's Sampler
Link:http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/s/sampler
Description:Article from the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Name:Embroidered Samplers in the Collection of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum
Link:http://www.cooperhewitt.org/publications/embroidered-samplers-collection-cooper-hewitt-museum
Description:One of several publications that the Cooper-Hewitt Museum has made available to view online.
Name:Embroidery in the Archive of Art & Design
Link:http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/e/embroidery-in-the-archive-of-art-and-design
Description:Article from the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Name:Embroidery pattern books 1523-1700
Link:http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/e/embroidery-pattern-books/
Description:An article from the Victoria & Albert Museum on embroidery pattern books.
Name:Embroidery Reading List
Link:http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/e/reading-list-embroidery
Description:An interesting list of embroidery-related books from the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Name:Encyclopedia of Needlework by Therese de Dillmont
Link:http://encyclopediaofneedlework.com/index.htm
Description:Online vintage needlework book
Name:Florence Caulfield and 'The Illustrated Needlework Book'
Link:http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/f/florence-caulfield
Description:Article from the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Name:Flowers of the Needle
Link:http://flowersoftheneedle.com/
Description:This wonderful website, authored by Kathryn Newell, includes a superb article on Assisi embroidery, a free downloadable copy of her book, Needlework Patterns from Renaissance Germany, and a free downloadable copy of Flowers of the Needle, a compendium of seven Italian needlework books of the 16th century, from 1531 to 1567. My sincerest gratitude to Ms. Newell who graciously gave her permission to share this information on the website.
Name:Fukusa
Link:http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/f/fukusa
Description:Article from the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Name:Gothic Embroidery
Link:http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/g/gothic-embroidery
Description:An article from the Victoria & Albert Museum on Gothic embroidery.
Name:History of Samplers: 14th & 15th Centuries
Link:http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/h/history-of-samplers-14th-and-15th-century
Description:Article from the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Name:History of Samplers: 16th Century
Link:http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/h/history-of-samplers-16th-century
Description:Article from the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Name:History of Samplers: 17th Century
Link:http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/h/history-of-samplers-17th-century
Description:An article from the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Name:History of Samplers: 18th Century
Link:http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/h/history-of-samplers-18th-century
Description:Article from the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Name:History of Samplers: 19th Century
Link:http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/h/history-of-samplers-19th-century
Description:Article from the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Name:I've Never Seen A Red Sampler
Link:http://antiquesandthearts.com/Antiques/AuctionWatch/2012-07-10__11-40-26.html
Description:Article in Antiques and the Arts Online about the auction of an unusual sampler stitched in 1821 on bright red linen. Found when cleaning out one of the oldest houses in Essex, MA, the sampler was stitched by Mary B. Danforth at the age of 14. When auctioned by Withington Auctions on June 30, 2012 the unusual red and teal sampler brought $35,200, including the buyer's premium.
Name:Introduction to English Embroidery
Link:http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/i/english-embroidery-introduction
Description:Article from the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Name:Jacobean Crewel Bed Hangings at the EGA
Link:http://www.egausa.org/component/content/article/40-blog/157-jacobean-crewel-bed-hangings.html
Description:On exhibit at the Embroiderers' Guild of America in Louisville, KY are a set of four crewel-embroidered bed hangings from the EGA's collection. Acquired by the EGA in 1987, the panels were created in England during the first quarter of the 17th century. Each is about 87 inches tall and 40 inches wide and features a flourishing tree surrounded by diverse flowers, fruit, birds, and animals stitched in wool on twill fabric. Close up photographs reveal strong colors and a variety of interesting filling stitches. The EGA was established in New York in 1958 for the purpose of fostering the art of needlework. It has 340 chapters across the US and Canada and nearly 16,000 members.
Name:Martha Edlin's Casket
Link:http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/videos/m/video-martha-edlins-casket
Description:Video from the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Name:Mary Corbet's Needle 'n Thread
Link:http://www.needlenthread.com/
Description:A very informative and interesting blog featuring tips, tricks and great resources for hand embroidery.
Name:Must-Read: A Sampling of Hunterdon County Needlework
Link:http://livingblog.marthastewart.com/2013/09/must-read-samplers-hunterdon-county-needlework.html#more-20779
Description:Recently, Lindsey Mather posted a book review of Dan and Marty Campanelli's new book, A Sampling of Hunterdon County Needlework, on the Martha Stewart Living blog. The article features color photos of some of the samplers as well as a link to an upcoming exhibit featuring the some of the samplers.
Name:Needlework Development Scheme
Link:http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/n/needlework-development-scheme
Description:Article from the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Name:Needlework patterns, home craft & women’s magazines in the 1920s and 1930s
Link:http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/n/needlework-patterns-home-craft-and-womens-magazines-in-the-1920s-and-1930s
Description:Article from the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Name:Sampler Archive Project
Link:http://samplerarchive.org/
Description:The University of Delaware, the University of Oregon, and the Sampler Consortium are pleased to announce the 2011 launch of the Sampler Archive Project. Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the mission of the Sampler Archive Project is to create an online searchable database of information and images for all known American samplers and related girlhood embroideries.
Name:Samplers & Childhood
Link:http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/s/samplers-and-childhood
Description:Article from the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Name:Samplers, Stitches & Techniques
Link:http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/s/samplers-stitches-techniques
Description:Article from the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Name:Schoolgirl Art from the Misses Martin's School for Young Ladies in Portland, Maine by Laura Fecych S
Link:http://www.afanews.com/articles/articles/schoolgirl-art-from-the-misses-martins-school-for-young-ladies-in-portland-maine#.UOS0Am9ZWSo
Description:Article from Antiques & Fine Art Magazine.
Name:Stitch Guide: A Study of the Stitches on the Embroidered Samplers in the Collection of the Cooper-He
Link:http://www.cooperhewitt.org/publications/stitch-guide-study-stitches-embroidered-samplers-collection-cooper-hewitt-museum
Description:One of several publications that the Cooper-Hewitt Museum has made available to view online.
Name:Stitches in Time: An Exhibition of Embroideries and Needlework Techniques
Link:http://www.cooperhewitt.org/publications/stitches-time-exhibition-embroideries-and-needlework-techniques
Description:One of several publications that the Cooper-Hewitt Museum has made available to view online.
Name:The Embroidery from Stoke Edith House
Link:http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/the-embroidery-from-stoke-edith-house
Description:Article from the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Name:Western European Embroidery in the Collection of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum
Link:http://www.cooperhewitt.org/publications/western-european-embroidery-collection-cooper-hewitt-museum
Description:One of several publications that the Cooper-Hewitt Museum has made available to view online.