Adirondack Museum

From QuiltIndex

"Blue Mountain Lake and the Adirondack Museum are not on the way to anywhere. John with his kayak and I made a special trip so that I could see "Common Thread: 150 Years of Adirondack Quilts and Comforters" (thanks Greta for telling me about this). I didn't have high expectations figuring that the Adirondack tradition would be heavy on utility quilts. There were quite a few of those, many of them tied. There were also several quite wonderful and exciting pieces. A whitework quilt signed and dated in the quilting was made by Sarah M. Gelman in 1853 when she was 15 years old. Edna Ober Burpee, a milliner, made a Lily in orange and green on white about 1870. The samll (8") blocks made it especially delicate. A Double Irish Chain by Martha Jane Maxim in 1862 contained a huge variety of 1840-1860 fabrics (buff and blue,orange on indigo, plaids).

One of my favorites combined two characteristics that I associate with Central and northern NY, idiosyncratic sampler and pieced letters. It combines Album blocks with Chimney Sweep, Baskets, Geese in Flight with a central Feathered Star and a single row of small Evening Stars. The best part is the maker's (Huldah Harrington) monogram and the date 1868 pieced at the top. I think the prize for interest must go to an Album Sampler summer spread made for Joseph Bruno when he retired as cook at one of the mountain resorts in 1894. His co-workers presented him with a unique gift. The blocks are such fun! A string of fish, a whiskey jug, a soup tureen, croquet mallet, wicket and ball, a fishing rod and gun, tennis raquet. Most interesting is a block with the figures of two African American women labeled the "Heavenly Twins." The label said that this was the title of a novel published in 1893. Does anyone know anything about that?"

--Cinda in Central NY