Monday, March 13, 2023

Pieces Connecting the Past

At least once a year 
I try to dig into my collection 
of Dutch Heritage fabrics designed by
Petra Prins of the Netherlands.
I love the colors and the traditional floral designs 
inspired by antique Dutch prints.

Anneke Van Leuvan
1747 -1785
My 5th Great Grandmother

This quilt really began with the center background fabric.
I was gifted a fat quarter of this historical 18th century reproduction,
Trails and Leaves,
from the fabric collection at Colonial Williamsburg.
It was just calling to be used for as a
background for some applique


I found the perfect design in the book,
Quilts from the Colonies, 
by Australian Quilt designer,  Margaret Mew.

From there it was pure fun.
Using my Dutch fabrics and some other
fabrics that wanted to play along,
I made lots of hst's and appliqued
melon shaped leaves.


The machine quilting was kept simple
as to not distract from the fabric's patterns.
I even had a large piece that I could use for the backing.

When it came time for the binding,
it took a bit of hunting to find the right piece.


I finally chose one of my favorite fabrics.
It was part of a group of reproduction  fabrics 
from Smithsonian's quilt collection printed in the
mid 1990's.


It's almost gone. 😢

Recently, I had been playing around on
Ancestry and rediscovered a family 
line that was located in Saugerties, New York
 along the Hudson River, which was an area
colonized by the Dutch.


I wanted to honor my family
that originally found their way 
from Oosterhout, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands 
to the America's sometime between the 1630's and 1650's.

*****
A photo shoot.

The weather was warm so
 I headed to the perennial gardens 
at Colorado State University.
Most plants are still hibernating from
the winter weather,
but the ornamental grasses add
texture to the dormant garden.



My quilt added some color to these barren branches 
that will eventually change to green once spring arrives.



In September, 1981 Andy Warhol came to the CSU campus


and was commissioned for one of his iconic soup can sculptures. 


My quilt and Andy's Soup Can
are visually very different.



But maybe we both 
have found a sense of fulfillment in being creative.



Until Next Time-
Kyle

18 comments:

  1. What a beautiful quilt. I love it.

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  2. I LOVE it! I have Dutch heritage too! Love your photo shoot day!

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  3. Kyle que bonito edredón, me encanta cuando cuentas tu historia familiar ¡¡felicidades!!

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  4. Wonderful! You are so lucky to have all those Dutch prints. And you brought them together in such a lovely way. I have ancestors that came to America in the 1600's and I just can't imagine what it must have been like for them to travel so long at sea and then arrive in a place where everything is new, even the climate. It just makes me shake my head in amazement. What a great way to honor your heritage.

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  5. This is another beautiful quilt, Kyle. Thank you for sharing your ancestory. What a lovely way to honor your family heritage and your 5th Great Grandmother.

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  6. You honoured your 5th great grandmother very well and your quilt is lovely! I wonder what else you will create when you dip your hands into those Dutch fabrics!

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  7. Beautiful quilt Kyle, and the outdoor photo shoot was a perfect setting!

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  8. Lucky you to have Dutch chintz. The quilt has a wonderful European look. My ancestors came to New York in the 1600s as well. That’s good enough reason for me to purchase Dutch fabric. The binding on your grandmother’s quilt is very well done!

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  9. Another beauty, Kyle! You have a knack for making "Dutch-style" quilts! Such a lovely background in your appliqued center block. I had some of that Smithsonian fabric you used for the binding but in a different colorway. Fun to see the "creative contrasts" in your photos. I love that you are honoring your 5th gr-grandmother, Anneke Van Leuvan. My Dutch ancestors also lived in Ulster County, NY--not Saugerties but Wawarsing, Rochester and Marbletown :)

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  10. As always a masterpiece Gayle. And such a beautiful memory quilt, not only by te Dutch fabric but also by your Dutch heritage. I am sure Anneke would be so proud if she could see it!

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  11. Absolutely delightful--the creation and the post. You have the magic touch with your Dutch prints. This is a beauty.
    And you also have such clever photo shoots. Those last two shots really made me smile. :)

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  12. That is a lovely result. Lovely fabric selection and a special way to honour family.

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  13. Oh how beautiful! I adore those wonderful Dutch fabrics and you do such wonderful things with them. As for Andy, he should be proud to have your quilt beside his soup! He was pretty popular in Maine during the time that Jamie Wyeth and he were doing each other's portraits. The Wyeth's are Maine's only royalty - LOL. Thanks for posting such a gorgeous quilt!

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  14. Such a beautiful quilt and I love that it celebrates your Dutch ancestry. It was very interesting to read about your ancestors as my ancestors on my dad's side also came from Holland on the ship called De Trouw in 1659 and settled in the Hudson River area. Most of my relatives lived in various locations in New York State their entire lives. Who knows, Kyle, perhaps our ancestors even knew each other back then :)

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  15. Wow, you've really used those lovely Dutch fabrics so beautifully. And what a neat connection with your family history. It's always fun to see your "photo shoots" too!

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  16. I thought for sure that I had commented on this post. Such an incredibly lovely quilt! I really, really like how you've blended these prints together and the colors are fantastic!:)

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  17. Dutch Heritage fabrics are really beautiful! Your quilt is such a treasure: honoring your family tree and using all those luscious fabrics! I plan on going to Petra's shop one of the coming years (just to feast my eyes ... and shop of course). Loved your photo shoot b.t.w.! :-)

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  18. Your work is lovely and your photo shoot is inspired; lots of creative energy flowing! What a beautiful and lasting tribute to your lineage. Believe it or not, I still have a few small pieces of that navy RJR fabric from the Smithsonian's "Little Sister's Quilt" collection (I may or may not be hoarding every last scrap from that line). Thank you for explaining the process that you used in designing this piece.

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