Skip to main content

Amish Quilts in Ste.Marie-Aux-Mines, France

Tucked away in the picturesque Val d'Argent in Alsace France, Ste. Marie-Aux-Mines hosts the annual European Patchwork Meeting. As the name suggests, Ste. Marie-Aux-Mines was established as a mining town, however, it also had a thriving textile industry that was famous worldwide.  And it was in this unpretentious little town, hidden away in the valley of the Vosges Massif, led by Jacob Amman, that the Amish movement was born in 1693. In view of this history, this is the perfect place for a quilt show, which celebrates artistry with fabrics, and in particular, for an exhibition of Amish Quilts.

Driving towards Ste. Marie-Aux-Mines in the foothills of the Vosges Massif.

A quiet little village church on the outskirts of town.

A profusion of  brightly coloured flowers burst out of window boxes, adding colour and charm to these medieval buildings.

Throughout the town, a variety of buildings had been transformed into galleries for the week. Walking into town, towards the main venue, the first exhibit that we came upon was the Amish exhibit. Here, a church acted as "gallery", which seemed a very fitting venue for Amish quilts.

To attract and welcome guests, an Amish clothesline had been hung in the yard of the church. Referring to themselves as "plain people", the Amish dress in simple, plain clothing and often, it would be these worn out clothes that were used to make the early quilts.


The church provided the perfect backdrop for the quilts.

"Diamond in the Square"
 An Amish wool wedding quilt made in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in 1920 by Rebecca Z. Huyard. It was described as "perfect simplicity".

"Broken Star"
The wedding quilt of Elsie Otto. Made of cotton in 1960 in Topeka, Indiana.

"Bars"
A wool wedding quilt made by Sarah Hayward King in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in 1943.

"Log Cabin - Barn Raising"
Made by Clara Bontrager in Indiana in 1998 using antique wool and crepe.

"Trip Around the World"
1880 - Pennsylvania.

Special events, like this horse and buggy ride, were available for visitors to explore the town.


My next blog will feature some of the other exhibits at the European Patchwork Meeting in Ste. Marie-aux-Mines, including the Canadian Exhibition, and artists such as Libby Lehman, Di Ford, Kathy Doughty, etc.
Labels:

Comments

  1. MonicaSeptember 25, 2012 at 1:20 PM

    Wow, I did not know that the Amish movement originated in France. I guess it is pretty close to the Swiss and German borders there. And the borders were probably all different back then anyway.

    Thank you for the beautiful photos! I love the "Bars" quilt. Something to aspire to. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. needle and nestSeptember 25, 2012 at 7:11 PM

    I too had no idea that theAmish got their start in France. Each of those quilts is exquisite. I can only imagine what it must have been like to see them in person.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Seams FrenchSeptember 27, 2012 at 8:01 AM

    I was surprised as well that there are Amish in northern France. At their quilt exhibit, a number of their members were there to talk about the quilts and about the Amish history. It was very informative and interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  4. cinziaFebruary 10, 2013 at 5:00 AM

    I will be going there in september of this year! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Seams FrenchFebruary 11, 2013 at 7:50 PM

    Hi Cinzia. Thanks for checking in. You will have a wonderful time in Ste. Marie-Aux-Mines. I will not be able to be there in 2013, but I will be back at some point. Make sure you leave a little time to enjoy the area around Ste. Marie and enjoy!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Boutis: Traditional French Needlework

" Piqûre de Marseilles" or "Boutis" is a traditional French hand stitched and corded needlework technique, which uses embroidery stitches to create intricate channels that will later be stuffed with yarn, thereby creating a raised design with three layers. It's origins, and it's name, can be traced to the port of Marseilles in southern France to the 15th century. Traditional boutis was a technique invented to embellish otherwise plain white cotton with intricately patterned channels that would later be stuffed with a plump white yarn to give it relief. The resulting corded whitework created an elegant, embossed textile that was much sought after. Not only was it aesthetically appealing, but it also provided warmth and absorbency, so could be used for bed coverings, toilette linens (like towels), clothing items, home decor, etc. The first two photos below are from the collection of Mme. Monique Alphand, a well known French expert and collector of antique t...
3 comments
Read more

Amish Hand Quilting in France with Esther Miller

Esther Miller, was born into an Amish family in the U.S., and now lives in Germany where she has for many years taught the techniques and methods of Amish hand quilting to anyone interested in learning these skills. As a child, she would closely watch as the women of her community worked together on a quilt, and eventually she was rewarded with a needle of her own and encouraged to join the group. Through the years, she has mastered these skills and techniques and now generously shares them with anyone who has a genuine desire to learn. Esther Miller in Ste. Marie-aux-Mines in Alsace France. An example of her own work, Esther brings this intricately and perfectly hand stitched wall quilt to class as inspiration for her students.  Last week, at the "European Meeting of Patchwork" in Ste. Marie-aux-Mines, in Alsace France, www.patchwork-europe.com , I had the privilege of taking a 2 day workshop with Esther. The Amish...
1 comment
Read more

Blocking and Squaring Boutis

The door of her cage has been opened. She is free to fly off and find her destiny. After many months of hand stitching and then many more months of cording, my little "colibri" is ready to set off on her own. As this was my first attempt at designing so large a boutis piece, it was a learning curve. All of the tight swirls, curls and circles are a great deal more difficult and time consuming to cord then are the longer more gentle channels. Maintaining an even tension is absolutely necessary throughout the process, so patience comes in very handy when doing the cording. The process of stitching and cording a work of boutis subjects the fabric to a lot of handling and manipulation that can distort the design. For this reason, once all of the stitching and cording is complete, the boutis must be washed, blocked and squared.  The first step of washing is to remove all traces of the marking pencil as well as any soil that may have collected over the many months of working w...
17 comments
Read more