Fabric Diary

Some of my fabric scraps I throw into a wicker laundry basket and others I have "catalogued" by decade and stored in ziplocs. Sounds crazy, I know. So when I decided to make a quilt to celebrate the Millennium in 2000, I thought it would be a great way to use some of the fabrics in my collection. It took me seven months to make Fabric Diary.   

In 1999, I had repaired a quilt for a friend and really liked the design. I was so inspired that I decided to make a quilt that featured rows of 25-patch blocks with fabrics from different decades. The sashing is Millennium fabric which I purchased and the strips in the border are scraps from a quilt that I made for my daughter in 1995. 

 

The earliest fabrics are in the top row. They are ones that were given to me by a friend of my grandmother's when I was a sophomore in high school. Alice worked in the fabric department at Macy's in NYC and one day she dropped off a big box of samples because she knew I liked to sew. Now these fabrics are considered VINTAGE :) Oh, my!

 These '70s fabrics seem to multiply. I still have some, just in case.

The last block in the lower right has reproduction conversational prints and Millennium fabrics from my dear friend, Natalie Hart. We used to swap fabrics.

 

I'd been saving orphan blocks and rejects from other projects and decided to put them all together for the back of the quilt. It really is a conglomeration. Note the hanging sleeve at the bottom of the back. I sent the quilt out to be quilted and it was returned to me with the back on upside down.

I made this block at a workshop years ago. I never could figure out what to do with it.

And, here's a row of Album blocks that were totally rejected for another project.

There are fabrics in this quilt that will always remind me of the days when I was the family seamstress: a blouse or two I made for my mother; dresses, skirts, and tops for me, and coordinated outfits for my daughter.

18th c. Ledger-style Gravestones and Epitaphs

The Hanover Presbyterian Church Burial Ground in E. Hanover, NJ, has some very interesting ledger-style gravestones dating to the late 1700s. Each is set on its own base and each contains an interesting epitaph.

In Memory of

Mrs. Katharine Eckley

who, by a sudden Accident

died August ye 18th A.D. 1772.

Anno AEtat 46.

To this sad Shrine the Reliques we commend,

Of once the tender Mother, Wife & Friend,

Too soon, alas those tender Tyes were broke,

Friends, Husband, Children, felt ye fatal Stroke:

Yet cease fond Grief--no murmring Sigh arise,

Heav'n struck ye Blow--and Heav'n is just & wise.

Think dying Passenger: Life's final Date

Steals on thee, heedless of impending Fate,

While Pleasure courts thee with her smiling Charms

Prepare to meet thy God--the Tomb alarms:

Man cometh forth like a flower and is cut down.

                                                      Job. 14. 2.

The incised signature in the lower right corner of the stone is that of Ebenezer Price, a prominent carver from Elizabethtown, NJ. 

Next to Katherine lies her husband, Thomas Eckley, Esq., and their daughter, Susannah who died in 1791. Katherine and Thomas had emigrated from London to East Hanover by 1767.  

 

In Memory of
Thomas Eckley Esqr
who departed this life
the 15th July 1793
AE 72
We shall not all sleep
We shall all be changed
Then shall be brought to
pass the saying that is written
Death is swallowed up in Victory.

Reverend Jacob Green was the pastor of the church from 1746 to 1796.

Under this stone are deposited the

remains of the Rev,d

Jacob Green A. M.

First Pastor of this Church; who

died May 24th 1790 Aged 68 Years

of which 44 were Spent in the

Gospel Ministry in this Place.

He was a man

Of temper even, firm and resolute;

Of affections temperate, steady,

And benevolent;

Of genius solid, inquisitive

And penetrating;

Of industry, active and unwearied;

Of learning, various and accurate;

Of manners, simple and reserved;

Of piety, humble, enlightened,

Fervent, eminent.

As a preacher he was

instructive, plain, searching, 

Practical;

As a pastor, watchful

Laborious: ever intent

On some plan for the

Glory of God & the

Salvation of his flock.

And by the divine blessing

Happily & eminently

Successful.

 

Captain Robert Troup gained a reputation during King George's War in the 1740s and later during the French and Indian War.  

Here lies Interr'd the Body 

of Capt Robert Troup

Who died Dec'br 28, 1760

aged 60 Years

Tho Boreas Blast & Neptunes Waves

Have cast me to & fro,

Yet in spite of all by Gods Decree

I anchor here below.

Where I do here at anchor ride

With many of our Fleet

Yet once again I must set sail

My Admiral Christ to meet. 

 

The Rev'd 

Mr. John Pierson 

died Aug. 23d 1770 

AEtat 81

Who was a Minister of the

Gospel about 57 Years.

He was an eminent Divine

An excellent Casuist;

A Faithful searching Preacher,

A devout steadfast christian,

An undaunted Reprover,

A peculiar Oeconomist,

Stern in his Behaviour,

Yet benevolent & kind.

He past the meny Scenes of Life,

Without a Blemish in his Character.

The Memory of the Just is Blessed.

Abigail Green was born c. 1750, married Hezekiah Broadwell when she was about 19 years old, and died at the age of 31.

  Her gravestone has floral and tree motifs as well as a soul effigy with folded wings in the shape of a heart.

Here lie's ye Body of Abi

gail Broadwell, Wife of 

Hezekiah Broadwell

who departed this Life 

July ye 18th A.D. 1781

Anno AEtat 31 & 4 Mon's.

Love to her God her Friends her Country shon

In her, who lies entombed beneath this stone

Go passenger like her your utmost try

To live to some good end for you must die.

At some point I hope to do another blog or two showing more early gravestones in this cemetery. 

A Christmas Quilt, A Gravestone, and an Elusive Ancestor

As Christmas is almost here I thought it would be fun to feature one of each: a quilt, a gravestone, and an elusive ancestor. In 1979 I made a Christmas quilt inspired by a Christmas card that I received. For years, I've been placing greens on the graves of my parents, grandparents, and other relatives, and my featured elusive ancestor is my 3rd great grandmother, Clarissa Vermont Miller.

In 1979 I received a "quilty-looking" Christmas card and immediately went to work making a quilt based on its design. Appropriately, I named my quilt A Christmas Card. Many of the fabrics I purchased at a local fabric outlet, especially the Ely and Walker prints that I used for the fruits, birds, and leaves. When it came time to put the first green and white border on, I miscalculated the measurement. So after sewing it all together I had to then take it all apart and re-cut some of the triangles or widen the seam allowance where necessary. I quilted around the motifs and in diagonal rows in all the blocks, 1/4" inside the seams of the triangles, scallops in the red borders, and hearts in the solid white borders. The quilt is shown here in 1980 at the American Field Service Quilt Show in Allendale, NJ, where it won Best in Show. The same year it won 1st place at the Quilt Show in West Orange, NJ. I consider this quilt "my applique masterpiece." At Christmas time I put it on the bed or drape it over the settle bench in the hallway.

For years, my aunt Midge and I would make our annual trip to the cemetery where our relatives are buried and place bouquets of greenery in front of all the graves. We'd also put a grave blanket in between her husband's grave and my parents' as they are buried next to each other. Now that my aunt is no longer with us, I am the one to continue this tradition. It's a feel-good thing to do during the holiday season.

T

My elusive ancestor is my 3rd great-grandmother, Clarissa Vermont/Vermount Miller. My great-aunt Leila once told me Clarissa was "lost at sea going back to France" to visit family. Interestingly, census records indicate Clara was born c. 1809 in NY, not France. She married Abraham Miller of West Farms, Westchester, NY, about 1827 and they had the following children: Edward, James, Clarissa, Abraham, Aaron, Ellen, Charlotte, Amelia, Caroline, Maria (my gr-gr-grandmother), and Mary Elizabeth. Abraham died between 1870 and 1880 as Clara, 72, was enumerated in 1880 living with her son Aaron in Brooklyn, NY. If she made this doomed voyage to France my guess is it had to have been after June 9, 1880, the date she was enumerated. I hope someday to find out what really happened to her but, in the meantime, she will remain one of my elusive ancestors.

Morgan's Farm and Museum

The last house I visited on the Essex County Historic House tour was Morgan's Farm and Museum in Cedar Grove, NJ. In 1985 it was the last operating farm in Cedar Grove and is listed in the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places because of its agricultural history. The 14-acre site consists of open fields, a garden, a well-house, barns, ski-tow shed, Canfield Cemetery, and the Canfield-Morgan House which was built c. 1845.

The Morgans sold their vegetables and fruits from their front porch.

A typical traditional farmhouse with French windows in the front parlor.

A bedroom on the second floor with a small silk quilt.

A small desk with a lovely scrapbook in the corner of the bedroom.

 

Patterns, thread, laces, and a mesh bag are displayed on a small table in the same bedroom. 

Also in the bedroom is this early sewing machine on a table in front of the window.

 

Vintage hats and books at the top of the staircase. Other rooms on the second floor are used for exhibits and office space. 

Thanks for coming on this tour of Essex County NJ's historic houses with me. Hope you enjoyed it! 

Force Homestead & Museum

The Force Homestead & Museum in Livingston, NJ, was also part of Essex County's Historic House Tour last weekend. Built in 1745, it is named for the Force family who lived in the house in the early 1800s. There is a fireplace in every room and an exhibit of wedding gowns on the second floor that are on loan from the Edison Foundation.

 

In 1777 Samuel Force purchased the house for his son, Thomas, who operated a sawmill across the street. 

This room has a lovely calimanco bedcover.  

 Unfortunately, I missed the story about the spread on this bed--I was chatting with a longtime friend :)

Here is a close-up of the little dress you see in the corner of the bedroom in the previous picture. 

The museum room houses this display of wedding gowns dating from abt. 1790 to 1944.

Livingston's Bicentennial quilt hangs in the stairwell of the Force Home between the first and second floor. It is currently covered with a layer of vinyl to protect it from sunlight. 

This is the block of the Force Home that I made for the quilt. It's in the lower right corner. You can see the vinyl in this picture.

I'll be posting photos of the Canfield-Morgan House & Museum in Cedar Grove, NJ, soon!  

Grover Cleveland Birthplace

One of the houses on the Essex County NJ's Historic House Tour this weekend was the birthplace of Grover Cleveland, the 22nd & 24th President of the United States. Four rooms on the first floor were open to the public: kitchen, rear parlor, birthroom, and exhibit gallery.

 

When the house was built in 1832 it served as the Parsonage for the First Presbyterian Church in Caldwell, NJ. Grover Cleveland's father, Reverend Richard Falley Cleveland, was the minister of this church from 1834-1841.  The house is a designated State Historic Site and is the leading repository of Cleveland artifacts and political memorabilia. It has been maintained as a museum since 1913.

Grover Cleveland was delivered by a local midwife in this room on March 18, 1837.  

  

The quaint kitchen with its original wood floors was used for cooking, weekly baths, and children's parties. The cast iron pot by the fireplace had been used by Grover Cleveland's mother, Ann.

This 1850 sampler was made by Grover Cleveland's cousin, Anna P. Cleveland when she was 7 years old. It is displayed in the Rear Parlor.

Glass cases in the Exhibit Gallery contain Cleveland memorabilia from 1884 when he was elected President.

Memorabilia from his re-election in 1892.

An avid fisherman, Grover Cleveland often traveled to the Adirondacks in upstate New York. In 1886 the President passed through the small town of Ausable Forks, NY, stopping at The Graves Mansion on his way to Paul Smith's, one of the great 19th century Adirondack hotels.       

Grover Cleveland is buried in Princeton, NJ. 

A Colonial Christmas at The Jacobus Vanderveer House

Today a couple of friends and I went to A Colonial Christmas at The Jacobus Vanderveer House in Bedminster, NJ. This lovely Dutch house was built c. 1772 and c. 1813. During the Revolutionary War it was used by General Henry Knox who established a military encampment and training center on a nearby hillside.
  

This is the front of the house with its original windows.

 

Visitors were greeted by candle luminaries that were suspended from the tree in the driveway.

 

The main bedroom featured blue and white bedhangings with a fringed canopy. A pinecone garland decorated the mantel.

All the holiday decor was inspired by nature using materials found on the property and in nearby orchards. The mantel in the dining room was covered with dried leaves--and dates. 

Here is a date tree centerpiece on the table. 

I was in awe of the apple garlands decorating the staircase. The apples were strung with jute.

I can't imagine how heavy these garlands were to work with but they sure are beautiful.

The Federal Room fireplace was decorated with garlands of dried fruits.

Here's a close-up. There were raisins, cranberries, chestnuts, apricots and--you guessed it--more dates.

 

Driving home on one of New Jersey's country roads, we found these Osage Oranges and Bittersweet. We gathered a bunch and when I got home I promptly put them in a wooden bowl for a holiday decoration in our  house which was built in 1730.