Quilt, T2011.5.17
Our Object of the Week is a staff pick from Susan Fohr, our Educations Programs Coordinator!
“One of my favourite textiles in the collection is this quilt, which was included in the exhibition Kaleidoscope: Antique Quilts from the Collection of Carole and Howard Tanenbaum in 2009/2010.
I am attracted to this quilt as a maker; I first saw the quilt at a time when I was learning how to sew, and I was mystified as to how so many small pieces could be sewn together so precisely to create the design. An English paper piecing class that I took at the Workroom, a sewing studio and fabric shop in Toronto, helped me to appreciate the work involved in making such a piece and allowed me to better explain the process to the many visitors and students that I toured through the exhibition.
Having begun my museum career in historic interpretation, working at sites that depict 19th century life in Canada, I was drawn to this quilt as an artifact from a period where new meanings were associated with handwork as so many textiles were being mass-produced.”
This framed medallion quilt, made from silk and cotton, was made in England in the early to mid 1800s.
