“Crazy About Crazy Quilts!” – The district museum shows a new perspective on the historical textile art people

GREEN RIVER – The word “crazy” is usually not associated with vibrant colors – let alone passion, memories and energy.

In the world of quilting, “crazy” is associated with all of these, according to Amanda Benson, curator at Sweetwater County Historical Museum. The term defines a decades-long Victorian quilting movement that produced lavish and beautiful creations. This historic fad is making a comeback today.

Crazy quilts from the past and present are now on display at the museum in Green River. Most are made by current members of the Sweetwater County Quilt Guild for the exhibition they hold each year in association with the museum.

The “Crazy for Crazy Quilts!” The exhibit opened on March 2nd and will run through April 30th at the museum at 3 E. Flaming Gorge Way in Green River. The museum’s winter hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.

Even children can take part in the museum’s exhibition. You will have the opportunity to make your own crazy quilt during a craft activity in April. A date has not yet been set.

Members of the Quilting Guild came up with the crazy quilting theme for this year’s exhibition after having the chance to see some of the museum’s collection with Benson.

Each quilt displayed includes a plaque with information about its creative influences. A quilt consists of men’s ties. In another case, “modern meets old world”. All of them have vivid colors, detailed threadwork, creative (if irregular) compositions, and interesting embellishments.

The exhibit even features crazy quilted clothing – a jacket and vest.

Unfortunately, the expensive silk that was originally used to make crazy quilts degrades easily, making them difficult to preserve and virtually impossible to renovate. The Sweetwater Count Museum has more than one crazy quilt in its collection, but only one was in good shape to be on display. It’s a crazy kids’ blanket from 1907 made by an unknown person in Pinedale.

As she worked on creating the exhibit and learned more about the crazy quilting phenomenon, Benson was so excited that she decided to make her own. It will be her first quilt.

Before the exhibition opened, Benson explained more about the origins and history of crazy quilts.

CRAZY QUILT STORY

The 1876 World’s Fair in Philadelphia was a major event in Victorian society. One of the most popular exhibits was the Japanese pavilion with its abstract and asymmetrical ceramics and artwork. Inspired by the uniqueness of the arts, Victorian upper-class women wanted to recreate this style in the form of quilting. They relied heavily on East Asian motifs and styles, and often adorned their creations with peacocks, fans, and flowers. However, the seams were influenced by English embroidery.

They used expensive fabrics – lots of silks, as well as velvets and brocades. Silk thread was also often used. The resulting quilts were more of a showpiece than a functional one.

These quilts did not have an actual pattern but were carefully designed and sewn. It can take up to 1,500 hours to create just one of the quilts. The most time consuming part was the embroidery. According to Benson, this led to criticism from men in daily newspapers. Some men said the women were going crazy and that their efforts were a waste of time.

Criticism hasn’t stopped the trend. The crazy quilting craze eventually even got into the middle class. They often used scraps of cotton, jeans, or flannel fabrics.

The crazy quilting fad lasted from 1876 to about 1910.

“Today, exciting new looks and textures in fabrics, threads and embellishments are asking women to rediscover crazy quilting,” says allpeoplequilt.com.

Come to the museum to see the results of this rediscovery and enjoy the crazy quilts made by local women.

For more information about the Crazy Quilts Exhibition, call 307-872-6435, email [email protected], or visit www.sweetwatermuseum.org or www.Facebook.com/SWCHM.

Comments are closed.