Quilt Symposium

Greenwich Historical Society
Vanderbilt Education Center
39 Strickland Road
Cos Cob
March 27, 2010
9:00am-4:00pm

QUILT SYMPOSIUM

The Greenwich Historical Society will host a daylong historic quilt symposium on March 27 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Held in conjunction with the Historical Society’s recently opened exhibition “A Stitch in Time: Quilts from the Collection,” the symposium will feature leading experts in textile documentation and will focus on new research and discoveries in American and Connecticut quilt history. The symposium is structured so that attendees will participate in each of three sessions and will conclude with a behind-the-scenes tour of the exhibition hosted by guest curator Sue Reich and local historian Davidde Strackbein.

Alden O’Brien, Curator of Textiles for the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum, Washington, DC, will speak on “Quilts and Quilting in the Connecticut Diary of Sylvia Lewis.” Lewis’ diary, kept from 1801 to 1821, provides a window on the domestic and social life of a Federal-era woman, with needlework as the leitmotif. Follow Lewis (and her quilt) as they travel from Connecticut to the Western Reserve and back again.

Stephanie Hatch and Pam Weeks, independent quilt historians, will conduct a hands-on exploration of the writing implements and methods used to sign quilts, with a focus on how signature quilts serve as historical “documents.” The session will explain how to organize, undertake and analyze a research project based on a single quilt. Learn how much fascinating historical information can be gleaned from such a supposedly humble object.

Susan P. Schoelwer, former Director of Museum Collections at the Connecticut Historical Society, will deliver the keynote lecture, Hidden Ties: Family History and Connecticut Needlework. Using Hartford’s Patten family who operated a long-lived female academy renowned for its needlework as a case study, Dr. Schoelwer will trace the stylistic ties that run throughout their work to illustrate how Connecticut’s early quilters drew upon and passed along a rich heritage of needlework traditions.

Quilters and history buffs alike will enjoy seeing these beautiful and useful objects with new eyes and learn to appreciate their historical significance in the context of a time when the daily activities and accomplishments of women were rarely formally noted.

Fee including box lunch: $45 for members and $60 for nonmembers

For more information or to reserve, go to www.hstg.org or call 203.869.6899, Ext. 32