quiltersmuse.com Blog

Press Release

Thanks to the generosity and vision of Toronto collectors Alvin and Gloria Rosenberg, the University of Alberta has been gifted with a breathtaking assortment of 677 North American quilts worth almost half a million dollars.

The Rosenberg Quilt Collection is a vibrant, world class addition to the University of Alberta’s existing Clothing and Textiles Colleciton, the only university teaching collection in Canada. “The breadth and depth of the Rosenberg collection ensures that the art of quilting not only pays heed to the artisans of the past, but extends to future generations,” said Beverly Lemire, Henry Marshall Tory Chair in Human Ecology at the University of Alberta.

Some of these exquisite quilts are on display at the McMullen Gallery in the University of Alberta Hospital from October 26 to December 9, 2007. Some of the collection will also be exhibited in the main foyer of the Human Ecology Building on the University of Alberta campus during this time.

Crafted from materials as diverse as homespun wool, men’s suits and flour sacks, these patchwork wonders span more than 100 years; the oldest quilt is believed to date to about 1840. Mrs. Rosenberg, a Toronto based dealer for many years, began collecting quilts in 1958 and purchased her last one in 1990. Gathered from the United States and Canada, the varied collection reflects a kaleidoscope of pattern and form; from Victorian silk ‘crazy’ quilts to subdued, work-a-day versions handcrafted by Amish and Mennonite women.

The Rosenbergs chose to donate their extensive collection to the University of Alberta for the valuable use it will have in a teaching environment. “A quilt can fill many needs. It can provide warmth and comfort. It can satisfy the desire for beauty. A quilt creates an opportunity for social interaction, and the university can help ensure that through its classroom programs, the legacy of this beautiful and functional art form is preserved,” said Mrs. Rosenberg.

The one-of-a-kind collection will be used as a teaching tool of U of A students, but will also be open to the public and to other academics as a resource for research and inspiration.

The University of Alberta Clothing and Textiles Collection, located in the Department of Human Ecology in the Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Home Economics, houses more than 16,000 textiles, garments, and related artifacts. The collection spans 250 years of fashions for women, men, and children as well as artifacts such as looms, spindles, and clothing patterns.

The University of Alberta in Edmonton is one of the top 100 teaching and research universities in the world, serving some 36,000 students with more than 11,000 faculty and staff. Founded almost a century ago, the university has an annual budget in excess of $1 billion and attracts more than $480 million in external research funding. It offers close to 400 undergraduate and graduate programs in 18 faculties.

For more information contact:

Beverly Lemire
Professor and Henry Marshall Tory Chair
Department of History & Classics
Department of Human Ecology
780-492-3327

Julia Petrov
Exhibitions Coordinator
University of Alberta
Department of Human Ecology
780-492-2528

This information provided courtesy of Quilter’s Muse Publications.

Covered Bridges fascinate us! Many of them were built at the turn of the century. They served to keep the wooden bridges themselves from rotting away due to exposure to the elements. New Hampshire has some particularly nice old bridges of this type. We added an article about a few of them, to our website, this week.

Just now, I discovered a really nice vocal mp3 file about the covered bridges of New Brunswick, Canada, where we spent our October vacation last year. I thought you might enjoy hearing the song, too. If so, click here. Then, select “The Place That I Call Home.”

Pat

Whenever I hear from Pedro Oliveros, who lives in Peru, it is a special day. He has an uncanny knack of contacting me just when I need a pick up from the floor. I savor his words of wisdom. I have publish some of his works on my website, and I am sure that he would not mind my sharing his letter of this evening with you.

Gracias, Pedro, por ser un amigo especial. ~ Pat ~

Pat,

How are you? I suppose busy, as always.

Time really flies. This year is almost gone from our hands, like water, like air; and we are unable to stop it. Who could stop it?

Once, I saw a movie (of the James Bond’s era) in which the villainous character does not sleep. Instead, he wore a “dream machine.” So, in a very short period of time, he could rest and recover energy. His principal reason was “not to waste time”.

I know it is fiction, but I think that man, if he could, would invent something like that, in order to avoid the inexorable pass of the “silent tyrant,” whose mission is to be the watchman of the road which leads to Immortality. It is the black (or “white”?) herald who makes us remember that life is short and both our life and our works will really end some day, and we absolutely can do anything to avoid it.

So, we have to live, putting all our weight into whatever we do.

Good thoughts. Thanks so much for sharing them, Pedro.

Patricia

Photos are probably most meaningful when they introduce someone to us, to whom we are related, but whom we have never met. While I never had the chance to know any of my grandparents, I am lucky to have photos of everyone except my mother’s father. For some reason, he doesn’t appear in any known photo. Perhaps I should check with other family members.

Below are photos of my father’s mother and father.

My father’s mother, according to family oral history, once worked as a pastry chef in the White House.

My grandfather, a descendant of Irish immigrants, was a trolley car driver in Manchester, NH.

My grandmother, standing next to her mother. My father is standing in the foreground. In all, Grammy would have seven children.

The picture above is one of only two images I have of my paternal great-grandmother.

Time moves along faster than we can ever imagine. Many of us who are “baby boomers” are grandmothers already! It’s fun to experience the joy of seeing a grandchild growing, at the touch of a button that connects me to photos, like the one below, and which I conveniently “lift” to show you. Just shoot me!

Our grandson, Patrick, amid the pumpkins at Schartner’s Farm. Eventually, he ended up with a Patrick-size pumpkin!

The challenge in the future will be how to store digital images so that they don’t get corrupted or lost, over time. Luckily, I hear that there are new archival “gold” discs for saving photos. They are most costly, but are said to store information for 100 years. That could be worth investigating, not that I plan to still be here then!

Patricia Cummings

The most intriguing photos in the family album represent people whom I have never met. Just a few of these images exist but are precious to me. They show just a glimpse of my mother’s grandparents, her uncle and his wife, and a few cousins, one of whom can be seen in a posed photo because he was a professional boxer.

Eddie Moad, my mother’s cousin.

All of those people were left behind when my mother, her siblings, and her parents left the poverty of Georgia and migrated north to Manchester, New Hampshire, in search of work in the mills.

My mother’s grandfather is seen here holding his son’s son, in Georgia. My great grandfather stayed behind when some of the family came to New Hampshire, and he later died in Tampa, Florida.

I am fond of the photo above because I remember the love my mother was given throughout her life, by her grandfather. He was crushed when the family moved north, yet felt too old to make any geographical changes. I wondered why he always wrote notes to my mother, in pencil. Just recently, my son remembered being told by his grandmother that her grandfather’s brother had worked at the National Pencil factory in Atlanta!

Her grandfather always called my mother “weency scrap” – that is how he wrote the words, in the short letters he mailed, scrawled on scrap paper. Later, my mother’s uncle would pick up the habit of addressing her in this manner, but by then she had children, so he would add … “and all the little weensey scraps.”

Another photo which I think is just “grand” is that of my mother’s grandmother.

This photo was obviously black and white, and was later touched up with color. I think she is beautiful.

My mother’s grandfather, when he was younger. Now I know where my brother’s red hair and blue eyes originated!

Without these images, I would have no clue whatsoever as to what my ancestors looked like. Photos can say so much more than words. Photo images tell it all. They capture “the moments of our lives.”

Rebecca Gorham and her son, Patrick, enjoy some fun at the seashore. photo by James Gorham. The two photos above are five generations removed from Patrick.

Just last year, at this time, we were expecting a new member of the family. Now, our grandson, Patrick, has stolen our hearts and is a healthy, growing boy, with bright blue eyes and a happy smile.

Yes, for those who were “there,” photos recall an event. For others, they are a chance to share the moment.

Patricia Cummings