Sunday, August 14, 2016

American Museum, Bath

This post is for my sister, Deborah, an expert quilter who makes magic with fabric and needle.

One of many museums in Bath is the American Museum in Britain

 I love the clean lines and elegance of Georgian architecture and the museum is in a manor house that is typical of the style. 


Even better, it is in the middle of the countryside with lovely grounds and views out over the Limpley Stoke Valley - views that probably have not changed much in the past few hundred years.




I cycled from Bristol to Bath and back, enough for one day, so I took the option of the free shuttle bus ride up that hill.

Meet the driver - lets call him Bill. He was brimming over with enthusiasm, doing his bit to further the goal of the founders of the museum which is to bring American history and cultures to the people of Britain and Europe. As I was the only passenger going up I got the full benefit. He says most people are amazed when he tells them that the American people don't actually get to vote for the president, the Electoral College votes on their behalf.

The museum is a series of period rooms that showcase the crafts and folk art from colonial times through to the Civil War.
Bring back weathervanes!

And as always (yay!), there's a cafe with a selection of tempting food. With views like these and the Saturday edition of the Guardian, who needs a museum at all?

But I came to see the quilts. There are over 200 quilts in the collection but only around 50 are displayed at a time.




Not quilted, pieced

Traditional motif, fine quilting

The scalloped binding is impressive 

One inch squares, finely pieced and quilted
This is made from the ribbons
on Cigar Boxes. Featherstitched together.











If you love quilts, there are some more examples on the Museum website, or borrow this from your local library.

And this Pinterest board has some images of many of the quilts in the collection (plenty of inspiration here).



Personal favorite? I still love the Baltimore block style, like the quilt that Deb made me for my 50th birthday.

From the days when I used to have a home 

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