Pink Fusion, c. 1930 by Sara Morgan

Often referred to as the “Renaissance of Quilting, the 1930s brought a great quilt revival, a result of the hard times of The Great Depression. All across America, activities devoted to the home arts became popular. Quilting groups, shows and newspaper gained popularity, bringing women from California to New England together around their quilting frames. Eleanor Roosevelt's campaign for American Arts and Crafts further helped propel quilting to the forefront of activity. Although times were tough for Americans, quilts of this era were usually bright and cheerful.

Vintage textile enthusiasts and collectors will find this group very exciting!

Fabrics from the Boussac of France mill are very rare and unique finds - Blue Hill Fabrics has been lucky enough, through their association with Sara Morgan, to present this beautiful collection of exclusive designs and motifs from that famous mill. . These treasures are just a sampling from the most incredible collection of mill samples from from the Boussac of France mill book.

The delicate background netting, the interesting color combinations and the wonderful handwriting motifs are straight out of mid 1800s textile history. Delicate flowers and intricate designs are just part of the appeal - once you see the collection, you’ll understand why it so special

Historically, reed pens, quill pens, and dip pens were used with a nib of some sort to be dipped in the ink. The writing instrument that dominated for the longest period in history (over a thousand years) was the quill pen, introduced around 700 A.D.

The quill was a pen made from a bird feather. The strongest quills were those taken from living birds in the spring from the five outer left wing feathers. The left wing was favored because the feathers curved outward and away when used by a right-handed writer. Goose feathers were most common; swan feathers were of a premium grade being scarcer and more expensive. For making fine lines, crow feathers were the best, and then came the feathers of the eagle, owl, hawk and turkey.

We tend to think of quilts from the Civil War era as full of blues, grays, blacks - generally dark colors. These fabrics, reproduced from a quilt of the same name in the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum collections, is a cheerful exception.  Most of the fabrics in this quilt date back to 1860-1880, although RMQM believes the black ombre may have been a little earlier. The vibrant green color in the small-scale prints was obtained by an overdyeing process popular at that time. The other prints, although typical of the time period, are somewhat rare finds: the dark red with blue and brown, the double pink with machine ground, turkey red with chrome yellow, and brilliant Prussian blue. It is these beautiful fabrics that inspired Blue Hill Fabrics™ to re-create a vintage collection that would appeal to both traditionalists and contemporary quilt artists.

Although "dry goods" as a term for textiles, ready-to-wear clothing, and sundries has been dated back to 1742 in England, the term was actually more popular here in the United States.  Dry Goods were usually found in stores during the Civil War specializing only in those products - consumer goods that were distinct from those carried by hardware stores and grocery stores – a type of specialty store. General Stores began to carry dry goods as well when they realized the money-making potential of the items.With fashion magazines emphasizing mourning attire,the demand for mourning veils and black yard goods increased. Not just the “fashionably attired” women were concerned with matters related to dress and textiles; dry goods had a prominent part in every sector of the war from the battlefield to the homefront.  Uniforms had a dramatic impact on the war effort. When the war broke out, state volunteer regiments on both sides marched into battle wearing an array of colorful uniforms which, although impressive to look at, resulted in great tragedies of mistaken identity.