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The Brandywine River Museum hosts
For the Joy of It: Appliqued Quilts from the Judy Roche Collection
(January 2006, #002)

For Immediate Release

CHADDS FORD, PA—Kaleidoscopic floral arrangements, a pineapple that Dr. Seuss might have designed, angels in long johns. These and other wonderful images are featured in a special collection of appliqued quilts on view at the Brandywine River Museum from January 21 to March 19, 2006.

Over three decades, Solebury, Pennsylvania resident Judy Roche has collected 19th- and early 20th-century appliqued quilts and quilt tops that appeal to her sense of design and whimsy. For Roche, quilt making is about joy and creativity. According to Roche, the colors, motifs, border and corner treatments, and combinations of traditional applique designs and energetic quilting patterns reveal how early folk artists expressed with cloth their individual tastes and personalities.

For the Joy of It: Appliqued Quilts from the Judy Roche Collection marks the Pennsylvania debut of Roche's internationally celebrated collection. More than half of the 23 quilts in the exhibition originated in and around Pennsylvania. The exhibition features motifs and designs, such as Whig Rose, Oak Leaf and Reel, and Four Block, that Roche finds particularly appealing.

The quilts demonstrate the innovation and creativity of the Victorian era. The fabric colors, most notably red and green, are historically significant because they represent scientific advancements in dyes of the period. Victorian quilters eagerly embraced the new dyes for their clarity, fastness and affordability. The wide dissemination of appliqued patterns also reflects the exciting advancements in transportation during this era.

Vibrant and imaginative designs reflect the Victorian woman's challenge to be a stabilizing force during industrial expansion and social unrest. In a period when creating a loving, beautiful and serene home for her family's pleasure and ease was a woman's societal role, a Victorian woman's quilt work provided comfort and beauty. Appliqued quilts, with their freedom of design, were among the most admired of this craft. They are examples of American folk art at its delightful best.

The exhibition features an extensive selection of sewing tools also from Judy Roche's collection. For generations, elegant sewing tools have been a source of pride for women who stitched while entertaining company. Highlights include carved ivory needle cases, inlaid wooden sewing boxes, and an assortment of clever and practical tools designed to amuse, delight and aid the seamstress.

For the Joy of It: Appliqued Quilts from the Judy Roche Collection is co-curated by Deborah E. Kraak and Lynne Z. Bassett. Kraak, a former textile curator with Winterthur Museum and Library, has written extensively about textiles and owns a consulting company, Historic Textiles, Costumes and Interiors, in Wilmington, Delaware. Bassett, a well-known quilt and costume specialist, most recently authored Modesty Died When Clothes Were Born: Costume in the Life and Literature of Mark Twain for the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut, and a ground-breaking article on whole-cloth wool quilts for the September 2005 issue of The Magazine Antiques.

Following its showing at the Brandywine River Museum from January 21 to March 19, 2006, the exhibition will travel to the Honolulu Academy of Arts from May 24 to August 27, 2006.

Located on U.S. Route 1 in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, the Brandywine River Museum is open daily, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except Christmas Day. Admission is $8 for adults; $5 for seniors ages 65 and over, students with I.D., and children; and free for children under six and Brandywine Conservancy members. For more information, call 610-388-2700 or visit the museums web site at www.brandywinemuseum.org.

For digital photography of works appearing in the exhibition,
please call 610-388-8337 or email jmaguire@brandywine.org.

Family Workshop: "Warm Up with Quilts"
Discover colorful quilt patterns and shapes during the Warm Up with Quilts family workshop on Sunday, January 29, 2006 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Participants will learn about traditional and unusual quilt designs featured in the museum's special exhibition, For the Joy of It: Appliqued Quilts from the Judy Roche Collection. After a guided tour of the exhibition, each participant will create a paper quilt. Cocoa and cookies will be served at the workshop's conclusion.

The workshop is designed for families with children ages three to ten and is free with regular museum admission of $8 for adults, $5 for children and seniors and free for children under six and Conservancy members. Reservations are required. Please contact the education office at 610-388-8382 or education@brandywine.org with your name, number of children and adults attending, and home telephone number.


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Brandywine River Museum, U.S. Route 1 and PA Route 100
P.O. Box 141, Chadds Ford, PA 19317