The Southeast Region Quilt Study Group visited Montgomery recently. As this group discovered, Montgomery offers decades of history, from Civil War to Civil Rights, to Hank Williams.
Several of the group stopped by the First White House of the Confederacy to see our textiles. Our famous Gunboat quilt, recently conserved, is currently touring the country with a show from the prestigious American Textile History Museum in Lowell, MA. titled "Homefront and Battlefield: Quilts and Context in the Civil War". At the moment our quilt is being shown at the New York Historical Society. It will be returned to the First White House in July of 2015.
The Quilt Study Group was able to see our Baby Quilt, made by the same person as the Gunboat Quilt and also recently conserved. The difference in this quilt before restoration and after is absolutely amazing as it had been badly stained from extensive water damage. Much of the damage has been miraculously corrected.
It was almost dusk and the quilt is upstairs in the hall where there is very little light, but we procured flashlights for the ladies to use. Another quilt that caught their eye was a handsome 19th century American quilt in the Star of Texas pattern. The Quilt aficionados were also quite taken with a rare antique American linen coverlet of deep blue and natural coloring, woven in geometric patterns. This piece is thought to have been hand-woven from flax on a plantation in North Carolina about 1815.
We enjoyed having these knowledgeable guests and hope they will return to visit us again when the Gunboat Quilt comes home or even before!
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