Last Saturday, while we were away, John and I planned to visit the American Museum. We had been there before and enjoyed looking round their exhibits. On our previous visit we didn't walk around the gardens due to the rain but Saturday was dry and very warm. We decided to walk around the gardens first.
We looked back at the house before setting off down hill to visit the gardens. There were a lot of different coloured foxgloves but the white are native to the UK. I've grown some foxgloves from seed this year and they will be ready to flower next summer.
Walking down hill we came to the ampitheatre. It would be delightful to come to see a play and sit on the terraced grass, eating your picnic whilst watching the play.
We then moved on to the area called the Mount Vernon Garden. This area is a replica garden of George Washinton's Upper Garden in Virginia but it is about two thirds the size of the original. The design was based on the design of the original garden in the late 1950's Recently the staff had found that the design no longer reflected the garden design from when George Washington died in 1799. The gardeners in Virginia and at the Mount Vernon garden have now completely redesigned and replanted the gardens including Washington's fleur de lys tribute in the parterre to the Marquis de Lafayette whose contribution enabled the Continental Army to win the American War of Independence.
In the main part of this garden the flowers are planted round the edge and the beds in the centre are used for vegetables. The information told me that George Washington hated any space to be wasted.
We walked around the vegetable garden and then went up some steps so we could look down on the Mount Vernon Garden. There were a lot of butterflies and bees flying around.
We took the path to the coach house which I was told, is now used as a conference centre.
Just past the coach house we found this little cobbled area and we had a short rest.
These steps , profuse with daisies took us down towards the entrance to the aboretum
We had a good view across the local area.
At the bottom of the hill we found a lot of sheep all following the same path. They were all walking in a neat line and they all baaaed as they walked past us.
Near the bottom of the hill there was a small stream. The photo looks like there wasn't any water but it was flowing well.
As we returned to the gardens there were busts of people such as Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill. We also stopped to take a photo across the valley.
before heading towards the house and the cafe. Following our walk we needed coffee and a cake.
Once refreshed we walked to the exhibition area. We had previously visited the main museum and on this occassion we were visiting the exhibition of quilts from Gees Bend. There was information about the women whose quilts were on display. I have uploaded the information of two of the women involved.
I am posting the information given on each quilt rather than putting it into my words.
We enjoyed our visit to the American Museum in Bath and it was great to see the quilts from Gee's Bend. There was a ten minute film about the women who had made the quilts. Many preferred to hand stitch the quilts together rather than use a machine. My own experience of hand piecing is that it takes me far too long so I have a lot of admiration for those women who do.
Reading the information about these women and where they got the fabrics is inspiring and it also made me think back to my childhood in the 1950's when jumble sales were a thing. My mother and several of her friends would be there to buy old or 'pre loved' jumpers cardigans and clothes. They reworked the yarn into jumpers for the various children and the dresses and skirts were also used to refashion new items for themselves or children. Fabric that had gone too far to be reused for clothing was made into hearth mats. I expect some of the fabric also ended up in quilts that folks made. My mother wasn't a quilter so I never saw this as a craft until I was an adult. Using preloved items as they came or reworked was a great way to recycle and the cost of the items from the sale raised some money for the church or a charity.
I have used old fabrics in a couple of quilts at the request of the people I was making them for. My older daughter wanted fabric from her favourite top she wore as a child. She'd kept it carefully and only gave it to me to use when I started the 'Votes for women' quilt I made her in 2013.
This week has been a bit up and down with just too much to do but I have managed some sewing and therefore have things to share. Hopefully I'll have time tomorrow to write another post,
Take care
Lyndsey.
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