Album Quilts: Honoring Sue Garman and Esther Blair Matthews

There is so much to share from International Quilt Market that I (Teri) will have to do so in several posts. If you've followed our blog for any time, you may have noticed that we love appliqué, and being members of the Baltimore Appliqué Society, our eyes are always drawn to the album style quilts. And there were plenty of those in Houston this year. 

The first exhibit I visited was the Texas Guilds' Award-Winning Traditional Quilts, with quilts from the Lone Star State that had previously won awards in their guild competitions. A few jumped out at me; all were album quilts with patterns by Sue Garman. 

  

I love Kathleen's use of color in this quilt, and her workmanship is incredible! If you aren't blown away by each of the blocks, just study that border. Wow.

  

But wait, there's more by the team of Kathleen and Angela. All those perfect  little circles and tiny quilted feathers!

I never tire of studying these Baltimore Album replicas. The charm they hold equals the love that is stitched into each block. A perfect example of history repeating itself, even in our art. Baltimore Album Quilts will continue to live on into the future—an amazing connection with the women who originally stitched these works of art some 170 years ago.

Probably one of my favorite special exhibits was Beyond the Valley—A Tribute to Esther Blair Matthews (1776-1866). 

Esther lived in the Shenandoah Valley with her daughter's family when she made this quilt. It is the only of her quilts known to have survived, and it belongs to the collection of the Virginia Quilt Museum. I encourage you to check out the blog by the Shenandoah Valley Botanical Album Quilt of 1858 blog to read more about this Sew Along project, to see her original quilt, and to find out more about the quilt and Esther herself. It will give you a deeper appreciation of the beautiful quilts made in her honor. I was enthralled by the variety of techniques used to replicate her original beauty, while not compromising its theme and overall message. Enjoy!

  

I love the way Gail fussy-cut the fabrics in a broderie perse style for her flowers.

Krista achieved a much different look with wool.

  

Harolyn's version is in the redwork style of embroidery, though colorful and embellished.

 

  

Carolyn used crayons to color the flowers and outline-embroidered them in this miniature reproduction.

  

Suzanne machine-appliquéd her blocks, using hand embroidery and fabric paint for embellishment.

  

Karen's use of the dark background really sets it apart.

  

And a totally different look and feel on Wendy's cheddar background. She used the potholder method, quilting one block at a time. I love her quilt name!

  

Annie's use of pastels creates a softer impression. Her fabric choices remind me of my great-grandmother's quilt made with aprons and dress scraps in the 1930s.

What a creative way that Laurie stitched her connection with Esther!

  

Nancy used Civil War reproduction fabrics, most appropriate to Esther's story.

  

Doreen's color choices make my heart sing!

 

 Kay, fellow Marylander and BAS member, did a spectacular job of reproducing Esther's quilt!

Can you see why this was one of my favorite exhibits? It was fascinating to study how different fabric choices, techniques, and colorways changed the look of the quilt—never straying too far from the original. I believe Esther would be delighted to know that she inspired such a group of talented needle artists to stitch her quilt pattern, and I wish that I had taken photos of each and every one. I'm sorry I missed this Sew Along. It must have been fun to meet new stitchers on this journey together.

There are more appliqué and album quilts, but I think that is enough for today. Even though you aren't standing on concrete floors for hours looking at them, I still don't want you to get too tired. Looking at them makes me want to sit down and do some appliqué. How about you?

I hope you enjoyed these lovely quilts as much as we did. Keep checking back for more.