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Conservation of Historically Significant Quilt

In 2007, I was hired to conserve a museum quality, historically significant quilt. Embroidery dates it 1853 and places it in "Phelps", a town in upstate New York along the relatively new Erie Canal. Its design and embroidered mottoes celebrate the growth of the country and the economy.

 

Phelps Eagle Quilt 

eagle before

Before

 

eagle after

After

 

Most of my work was on the brown fabrics of the eagle. They were very weak and had split open in several places. I placed a piece of new fabric below and couched threads across each hole to hold everything in place. I also reconstructed the arrows, which had almost totally disintegrated, with woven ribbon and silk, reproducing as closely as possible what was indicated by the remaining shreds and outlined by the quilting stitches.

 

Phelps Eagle Quilt Conservation

arrows before              arrows after
Before
After
reconstructed arrows


before after
Before
After
body


before after
Before
After
left wing


before after
Before
After
body


before after
Before
After
neck
 

 
before after
Before
After
scallop border


   


             

 

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