The Beauty of New York Via Denver

As we had mentioned in previous posts, Teri and I have been traipsing around various parts of the country over the last six to eight months--sometimes together and sometimes not. This October, I had a chance to visit my daughter in Denver, Colorado. Denver in the fall is absolutely amazing, and we had wonderful weather to enjoy as we spent time together.

Sampling some of Denver's great beers

A gorgeous day at the downtown farmers market

When Kaitlin had to work, I planned a field trip for myself, doing some of my favorite things: looking at antique quilts, shopping in an antique mall, and visiting a new quilt shop. How convenient that I was able to do all three things within 30 miles of Denver. 

My first stop was the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum. The day I stopped by was the last day of the New York Beauty quilt exhibit, and it did not disappoint. The collection is owned by Bill Volckening, who began collecting quilts in 1989 and hasn't stopped yet. You can read more about Bill on his blog, Wonky World, and on his website, here.

Golden, Colorado, has a quaint little downtown, and the museum is situated right in the midst. I was warmly greeted at the door and paid my admission fee. While the museum is not very large, the $6 admission fee was reasonable, as they are able to beautifully display many quilts. 

The volunteer docent was kind, helpful, and a wealth of information about the current exhibit. I am not a very good piecer of quilts, so the tiny pieces used to make these quilts was impressive. It is amazing how one pattern can be interpreted in so many different ways. I will let these lovely quilts—and their makers' interpretations—speak for themselves.

This was my favorite

I could write more about the origin of the New York Beauty pattern, but this blog post has such great information, I thought I would direct you there. If you would like to see more of this collection and find out more information about each quilt, you can purchase the book New York Beauty Quilts from the Volckening Collection from Quiltmania here.

The next stop was the Brass Armadillo Antique Mall. This is a vast antique mall with so many aisles! I walked away with some vintage trim, but I really should have purchased these two gems.

Someone had quite the sense of humor when they stitched this.

A whole new look for trapunto

An interesting take on Grandmother's Flower Garden

A sweet doll quilt

This would not have fit in the overhead compartment

These would be beautiful additions to someone's chatelaine

The Victorians sure loved beautiful sewing tools!

The last stop on my field trip was Harriet's Treadle Arts in Wheatfield, Colorado. This is an amazing quilt shop, and should be a must-stop if you are in the area. They have a huge selection of reproduction fabrics, and that is just in one section!

The reproduction section

Some of these went home with me

The book section

A spacious classroom

I hope you have enjoyed this little field trip, and that someday you will be able to stop in to some of these places and enjoy them as much as I did. Have you been on a fun quilting field trip? Let us know, so that we and our readers can visit too!