Virginia Quilt Talk Upcoming

At the historical society we received a press release from the Handley Library this week.  They're announcing that Paula Golden will be there at the Bowman Library Meeting Room in the Handley (Winchester, VA) on Tuesday evening, November 15 at 6:30PM.

Paula Golden is a co-author of the book Quilts of Virginia 1607-1899 The birth of America Through the Eye of a Needle.  She will give a presentation on the quilts in the book.  Interestingly it turns out that I purchased this book at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley when I went to see the Daughters of the Stars exhibit last week.  Many of the quilts that are in the exhibit are in the book - but there are so many more in the book!

Click on the title - available at Amazon

The state of Virginia is divided in the book into areas like North, East, Central, Highlands, etc.  And quilts from these areas are featured in those particular chapters.  But again, there is SO MUCH MORE.  I can't tell you what a delight it was to open and begin perusing this book.  For example - the Northern Region featured in Chapter Two features quilts made by Martha Dandridge Custis Washington as well as pincushions made by Dolly Todd Madison.  This chapter also has photographs of a staggeringly beautiful hexi-quilt and talks about how English paper piecing papers are from newspapers dating from 1790 in some of these quilts.  Fascinating!

Photos of old homes, sewing boxes, sewing tables, and needlework accessories and tools also dot through the book.  This chapter also held a surprise for me.  There is a section about Quaker quilts.  Most of these are applique quilts and the section talks about how some of the fabrics are featured in different quilts from different Quaker communities.  One quilt, from Abram's Delight from the Hollingsworth family has a block on each corner that is called the Apple Pie Ridge Star.  Well, it just so happens I live on Apple Pie Ridge and I thought, oh, my goodness, I HAVE to make that block!  The area was settled by Quakers from Pennsylvania who planted our apple orchards.  The apples grown in the orchards along the ridge (the elevation protects the blossoms from frost in the spring) made the best Apple Pie and that's how the ridge became known as Apple Pie Ridge.  It stretches from Martinsburg down south of Winchester; and where the ridge goes, our orchards go. 

Apple trees on Apple Pie Ridge - looking across to North Mountain

I don't know exactly what the presentation is going to comprise, but I'm hoping for a slideshow and Q&A session; cause I'd sure like to know more about that block.  Oh, there is a picture of a quilt in the back of the book called Farmer's Delight/Farmer's Fancy and they have provided traceable templates to make the block and appliqued border.  It is derived from a pattern thought to have originated in the Shenandoah Valley.   Just so you know, I'm not affiliated with the book publisher or authors in any way.  I just think it's a really nice book and thought you all would like to hear about it.  Hope you enjoyed!