Friday, October 16, 2009

Dear Jane!

Dear Jane
The other day I mentioned that I'd seen something very special in Vermont, and here it is! We decided months ago to take a trip to Vermont when my folks made their yearly visit, and it just so happened that the Jane Stickle quilt was on display at the Bennington Museum in Bennington, VT at the same time! The quilt is only on display for a limited time each year, so it was fabulous (for me) that it coincided with our trip. (NOTE: They had it turned 90* clockwise from how it's shown in the book.)

me with the Dear Jane quilt
When I first saw it, I was struck by how small the quilt looked. It's 80" square, which is the same size as this quilt of mine, but for whatever reason it looked small to me. And flat, laid out on a sloped display board (but not under glass). The colors are pretty amazing (still!), but they only allow photography in the museum if you don't use a flash, so the lighting is low and I haven't done any retouching to my photos because I don't want to mess with the colors.

Dear Jane signature
It was pretty amazing to be in the presence of something like that--so old, and inspirational, and beautiful. I don't think the experience has really sunken in yet. I did do some work on my own Dear Jane quilt over the weekend--one block done, another started. I hope to have pictures of those up here soon. In the meantime, for more of my Dear Jane pictures, check my Flickr page HERE. Special thanks to my parents for driving us there and back, and to my brother, for being patient. He actually took a few photos of it, including one of the signature block. I gave him a *look*, and he said, "What? It's in the book!" So, there you go.

3 comments:

Four O'Clock Quilt Company said...

Oh, to see it in person! I don't even have the ambition to make my own, although I've thought of it. It's much smaller than I thought, I just never did the math in my head about how many blocks and the size of them. I may have to start one yet! I love her soft browns, I think the colors are fabulous.

Betsy said...

stunning

Terrie Sandelin said...

It's so beautiful -- how wonderful to see the original as you are working on your own version!