Roberta Benvin
Roberta's interests focus almost entirely on antique quilts. She avidly collects, restores, lectures, and teaches about Nineteenth Century quilts and enjoys making reproductions of them. Since 1998, she has been an ongoing participant in the York County (Pa) Quilt Documentation Project which has examined more than 2000 quilts. Her American Quilters' Society's publications, Antique Quilting Designs (2001) and More Antique Quilting Designs (2006), as well as her line of quilting stencils (manufactured by Quilting Creations International, Inc.), consist of designs she has traced directly from pre-Civil War quilts. In 2003, she curated an exhibit of antique Pennsylvania quilts for the Paducah Rotary Club; and in 2007, was on the teaching staff of the AQS Quilt Show and Quilt Odyssey. This is Roberta's second collection for Blue Hill Fabrics. The first, Early Elegance, was one of our all-time best selling collections.
Certain colors, certain prints, certain styles...together, they give us what is known as fashion. These trends in fashion make it possible to date not only the clothing that was worn, but also quilts that were made from fabrics that were popular at a given time. Each decade or, at least, each quarter-century can be identified by specific fabrics that were in demand by fashion-conscious ladies.
My collection of antique quilts dates, primarily, from the early 1800's and, as such, I am used to seeing a particular palette. Every now and again, I find examples of colors or prints that do not seem to fit the typical mold. Although accurate to the time period, they are not seen as frequently as the more familiar color schemes. Such is the case with this collection.
Early Finery, c. 1845 by Roberta Benvin
Several decades subsequent to the declaration of our nation’s independence, we were still reliant upon France and Great Britain for many of our commodities, most certainly for the majority of the textiles that were available to women for their household needs. Only the affluent could afford to purchase quantities of quality material; others had to make do with smaller amounts and either cut up or recycle them to maximize their usefulness.
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