Blue Hill Fabrics™ is pleased to present the first series of new fabric collections born from our allliance with the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum. A true gem from the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum archives, the original Birds in the Air quilt comes from the collection of Lydia Skinner.
Lydia Mitchell was born in Maine, somewhere around 1820, and became the second wife of William Skinner, a mariner who ferried timber harvested in Maine to New Jersey. William was prosperous at the time of their marriage and went on to become quite wealthy. The couple moved to New Jersey and had 12 children. One of their sons was killed in the Civil War, at the battle of Williamsburg.
Lydia was an ardent abolitionist, and she was known to have made several quilts that were sold to raise money for the anti-slavery movement and later for the Union Army. William’s wealth enabled Lydia to purchase the finest chintz fabrics to combine with dressmaking scraps for her quilts.
The Skinners had a magnificent brick home in Woodbridge, New Jersey. The house remained in the Skinner family until it was demolished in 1929 to make way for the highway that would ultimately become the New Jersey Turnpike. Sadly, the Skinner’s family’s fortune was lost during the Depression. It was at this time that Lydia’s Birds in the Air, clearly one of her favorite quilts she had never used, was sold to a collector who eventually bequeathed them to the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum.
The large-scale paisley border print in brown, tan, and green is very unusual and probably pre-1830, according to the experts of the RMQM, as are the chrome yellows and multicolored prints on turkey red. The overdyed and dark teal greens are more characteristic of fabrics of the mid-19th century.
Free Projects:
SKUs:
7864-2, 7864-7, 7864-13, 7865-2, 7865-3, 7865-7, 7866-3, 7866-8, 7866-26, 7867-2, 7867-5, 7867-7, 7868-2, 7868-3, 7868-8, 7869-2, 7869-3, 7869-7, 7870-2, 7870-3, 7870-7
The mission of the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum is to collect, preserve, exhibit, and educate the public about quilts; honor quiltmaking traditions; and embrace the evolution of the art and craft of quilting.
When you visit the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum, you will explore the scope of quilting, from bedcoverings of the 1800’s to contemporary art pieces. The museum hosts quarterly exhibits, tailored tours, and programs for adults and youth. For the researcher and quilt enthusiast, the Sandra Dallas Library contains over 3000 volumes featuring out-of-print literature, technique resources, historic patterns and research documents.
Founder Eugenia Mitchell, an 80-year-old Golden, CO resident of humble means, had a generous spirit and a passion for quilts. Her vision for a quilt museum was accomplished in 1990. Since then, the museum continues to serve as a trusted repository for treasured family heirlooms, historically significant quilts and cutting-edge contemporary quilts.
www.rmqm.org
