Patchwork Quilts and Textile Art Exhibition Part 1

Hello Everyone,

I've not been around much this weekend though I'm not sure what took up all my time, it just did! We, that's the EM, my daughter and I, did go to the Dalgarven Mill Museum of Country Life and Costume on Saturday to view Rosalie (Rosie) Furlong's Retrospective Exhibition of Quilts and Textile Art and it was fabulous. Warning! What follows is a tad photo heavy because there was so many stunning quilts it was hard to put a limit on what to show here. Descriptions taken from the the  information notes attached to the quilts and everything in quotes are Rosie's own words.

First up, a quilt entitled Starring Ringo. Rosie found this photo of a young Ringo on the Internet, downloaded it, pixilated it and then colour-matched the pixils. The quilting group she belongs to donated many of the pieces of brown and flesh coloured fabric for this piece. Rosie was on the ferry to Norway when she planned this quilt and so the blue border was inspired by a mirrored display seen on the boat.

This quilt is called De Ora Leonis ... I could be wrong but I think that translates as Golden Lion. This quilt was made to illustrate how to use up all those pieces of brown fabric which the serious/addicted patchworker/quilter can amass over the years.

Moon Rising, Leaves Falling: This is possibly my favourite quilt in the exhibition ... for the colour mix, cheerful and bright, and the varied applique. Rosie took a magazine advert for back issues as her inspiration and then tried to complete a block a day. Each block has been "very simply quilted by machine-appliqueing the image of some object that attracted my attention that day." The many falling leaves appliqued on the quilt are an indication as to the season itwas created.

Dancing Queen: This stunning quilt was inspired by a Scandinavian tapestry which depicts the biblical story of the wise and foolish virgins. The two queens depicted here are decorated with buttons and beads and "there is a simplified use of light and shade to give a sense of form". The quilting is all done by hand, "and the title is a wee nod to its northern inspiration."

I totally forgot to take a close-up of the information note attached to this and the following quilt but they are just too wonderful to exclude.

I think this one has something to do with the stars and space but can't be sure from what can be seen of the information note.

This patchworked American Flag has an interesting history of its own ... at the request of Senator John Warner of Virginia it was flown on the Capitol Building to honour the Fergusons, owners of Dalgarven Mill, and the Museum they have created there, for their work for Scotland's heritage.

And because it was Robert Burns birthday on the day we visited, I could not omit this gorgeous quilt entitled My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose - the title of one of the bard's most popular love songs. The design is based on an illustration from a plant catalogue which was then transferred to squared paper. To make the quilt Rosie "used every red she had!" And the inspiration for the green border couldn't have been more different ... it was from a pattern on a Sorrento ware box seen on an antiques programme on television!!

There was about 60 quilts in all on display, everyone a work of art. My daughter and I took away ideas for our patchwork projects. Juli enjoys sewing tiny squares together by hand so took away the ideas for pixilating photographs and transferring patterns to squared paper to help in the making of her quilts. Me, I'm nowhere as ambitious as Juli and much prefer machine sewing to hand sewing so I won't be tackling a full-sized quilt any day soon. But what did appeal to me was the appliqued pieces like those seen in the Rising Moon, Falling Leaves, quilt. And these cushions, also made by Rosie.

They are much more my kind of project ... small enough to get right :)

Scattered throughout the exhibition were examples of Rosie's crochet pieces too - there's no end to her talents - and on a further two floors were displays of tools, machinery, photographs, furniture and clothes - so Dalgarven Mill is well worth a visit if you are at all interested in rural life as it was in Scotland going back through the centuries. I took over 90 photos in all - too many to show today but I hope to put together a couple of more posts showing the crochet work and other items on display that might interest you.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed the photos of the fantastic quilts on display.

Happy crafting