Comparing Quilting of Old to Today

At the end of August I went to Toronto. Since I "liked" the ad on Instagram for the ROM's (Royal Ontario Museum) exhibition, Quilts: Made in Canada, it kept coming up so I just had to see it! It was a great exhibit and I highly recommend it.

As a quilter and history buff, there wasn't much that was new, but it was great to see these old (and new) quilts and read about how they were made. My conclusion - things haven't changed that much in the last two centuries. Let me explain.

A Group Made Quilt

Northern Lights quilt designed by Ada Bruce Torrance 1956

Northern Lights is the quilt that was used in most of the promotion for this exhibit. Isn't it stunning? It was designed by Ada Bruce Torrance of Orillia Ontario in 1956. The quilt was appliquéd, pieced and quilted by twenty-six women. The quilt won top prize in a Canada-wide quilt contest that was sponsored by the Toronto Daily Star.  

Today we don't generally make quilts as a group, but it does happen, especially for special quilts. I participated in a group project and did my first foundation paper piecing (FPP) for a double wedding ring quilt. I learned FPP and I was told that they didn't have to re-do my blocks. There are also many guilds and organisations that have many members working on parts of charity quilts. It may not be quite the same, but it is still done 😊. Let me know in the comments if you've ever participated in making a group quilt.

Re-using and keeping fabric

This is the quilt that made me decide to write a post about things not changing so much! 

Using fabrics from your stash

Using decades old 
fabric from our stash!

This quilt was likely made by Mary "Ester" Hall between 1945 and 1948 for her marriage in 1848. Because of the changes in making textiles during that period, historians can figure roughly when each fabric was made. They write "The age of the textiles shows that quilters could keep fabric for decades before using them in a quilt". Wow - how unusual 😁😂

As an example of this, my mother made a dress for herself, probably in the early 2000's. I am presently using her scraps in my Floral Fusion blocks. The third and fourth fabrics from the top of the pile are some of these.

In my scrappy quilting, I often use fabric that I bought when I was first married. It's still great and sometimes you can't even tell that it's that old! Do you use "old" fabric in your quilts? 

Making do

Many quilters and textile artists sew with what ever fabric they can get their hands on - like the scraps of fabric used in the above quilt. However, women who loved fabric but were not in a position to purchase them also made do. In this extreme case, Kinu Murakami, a dressmaker from Vancouver BC sewed this cloth while imprisoned in a Japanese internment camp in the 1940s. The cloth is made up from kimono fabric as well as silky patches that came free with cigarettes. I find it even sadder that Kinu had to use fabric printed with pictures of soldiers. I wonder how she felt about that.

Making do - Kinu Murakami's sewn cloth

Made of silky patches from cigarettes

Appliqué Patterns

Amazingly enough, we still make Sunbonnet Sue blocks today. I love that the patterns have been adapted to reflect the fashions of the time. This appliqué quilt was made by Laura May Love. The pattern appeared in ladies' magazines around 1910. When I first started quilting, I bought many quilting magazines for patterns. Now of course we can get our patterns online, either free or purchased PDFs. We can also go to our local quilt shop to purchase the printed versions. Have you ever made a Sunbonnet Sue block?

Sun Bonnet Sue quilt. Hand quilted, appliquéd and embroidered.

Crazy Quilts

Quilters who love embroidery have been combining both of these to make amazing quilts since the 1880s. This crazy quilt was made in 1884 by Mrs. Thomas Murray of Hamilton, Ontario. It includes silks, brocade, velvet, photography and embroidery.

These quilts were showpieces, not to be used as everyday quilts. They would also have been made by women who had access to these fine fabrics. This quilt is actually a multi media art piece and includes photos in the centre. Things really have not changed!  Have you ever included embroidery or photography in your quilts? 

A Crazy quilt made by Mrs. Thomas Murray in 1884

Border have amazing embroidery
inspired by Japanese art

Adding photos to the middle of the quilt

Social Activism

The last two quilts were made more recently by Canadian First Nations quilters. The Tree of Peace Saves the Earth was created by Minaajimo-Kwe/Alice Olsen Williams in 1994 after the 1990 Kanesatà:ke Resistance (Oka Crisis).

The Tree of Peace Saves the Earth

This quilt, Haudenosaunee Passport, was created by Carla Hemlock of the Kahnawa:ke Mohawk Territory (Quebec) in 2010. It includes hand-pieces and quilted cotton as well as ribbon appliqué, glass beading, photo transfer, cotton and nylon thread. It represents our government's lack of recognition of the First Nations sovereignty.

Haudenosaunee Passport 

Have you made any social activism quilts?

Tools for quilting

One of the displays in the exhibition was of tools used in the making of quilts. This included scissors, rulers, paper and tin templates, as well as the journal of one of the quilters. The journal had been photographed and the many patterns were displayed on a screen. Did you know that as well as using paper templates, there were tin templates made by local blacksmiths? 

Unfortunately I didn't photograph this part of the exhibit but I couldn't leave it out. Check in Related links below for images of tin quilting templates and the history of templates.

Modern quilting tools - acrylic templates,
rulers and rotary cutters

If you get a chance to see it, the exhibit is on until November 17, 2024.

What I learned

• I didn't go into this exhibition thinking that I would write a post about it - so unfortunately there are a couple of images that I wish I had taken.
• These are my photos of the exhibit. Most were a little dark so I used the editor to lighten them. That's all I did. No technology magic here 😊!
• It really is amazing how quilting has evolved, but not really, over the years. We may have acrylic templates, fancy tools and access to an unbelievable amount of fabric, but quilting remains essentially the same...cutting up fabric into tiny pieces and putting them back together again to make quilts that will be loved.

Related links

• Quilts: Made in Canada at the Royal Museum of Ontario
• Minaajimo-Kwe/Alice Olsen Williams - The Tree of Peace Saves the Earth
• Carla Hemlock - Wikipedia article
• Tin quilting templates on Pinterest
• Article: The History of Quilting Templates

Linking parties

I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. You may want to check them out! Free Motion Mavericks, Monday Musings, Design Wall Monday, Sew & Tell, Put your foot down, Needle & Thread Thursday, Off The Wall Friday, Finished (or not) Friday, Beauties Pageant, TGIFF, Patchwork & Quilts,