babysitting...

I've been babysitting the most beautiful antique silk Tumbling Block quilt. It was given to my friend Karen by a client who found it in a trunk in her father's house in Poughkeepsie NY. It was probably bought by her mother who liked to go antiquing and to auctions. Her client doesn't know anything more about it and doesn't recall seeing it around the house growing up. When she emailed my friend and said she'd found a quilt and would she like to have it, Karen imagined something quite different like a more common one from the depression era. Needless to say, she was absolutely astonished!

The quilt is very fragile and K. would like to find a home for it in a museum perhaps back in the States. Best guess is that it is from the late 1800's. Any suggestions as to where this beauty might find a place to live???

Each side is less than an inch...

 

The variety of silks is extraordinary...

The quilting is beautiful too...

happy mother's day...

 

This quilt is called "The Mothers" 1983 and was made by the incomparable Faith Ringgold. Faith is a lauded African-American artist most famous for her story quilts. She has exhibited world wide and her work is in the permanent collections of many museums. She's also a superb illustrator well into her 80's. She seems a fitting artist to feature today as she always claims in interviews that the greatest influence in her life was her own mother...

To all the Moms, Mamas and in my case Mum, thank you so much for everything- We love you!