Quilters and Hikers

Wednesday, August 24, 2011 9:35 am


SACKETS HARBOR — It’s “a once-in-200-years” opportunity. The Seaway Trail Foundation is asking quilters and nonquilters to make quilts with War of 1812-era colors and patterns for the Great Lakes Seaway Trail 2012 War of 1812 Bicentennial Quilt Show and Challenge event.
Organizers are reaching out to American history enthusiasts and re-enactors, children and people of all ages from the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Native nations, and internationally to enter and attend the commemorative event to be held March 17 and 18 at the Great Lakes Seaway Trail Discovery Center in the War of 1812 heritage community of Sackets Harbor.
Guidelines for making “cot to coffin”-size (30 inches by 70 inches) quilts using a variety of fabrics, including cotton, linen, silk, wool and linsey-woolsey, and patterns common to the 1812 period are online at www.seawaytrail.com/quilting.
Jane Austen-style quilts also fit the time period.
Entries must be committed to the show by Jan. 15; quilts must be completed by March 3.
Nearly 175 people or groups have registered to make quilts so far.
The Great Lakes Seaway Trail 2012 War of 1812 Bicentennial Quilt Show and Challenge guidelines suggest studying the research works and books of noted quilt historians Barbara Brackman, Anne Orr and Pepper Cory.
Brackman, of Lawrence, Kansas, suggests that a quilt in medallion or strip format would be a good patchwork design for the historical era. “Patterns that were popular during the 1812 time were simple stars and basic nine-patch and four-patch variations,” Brackman said. “The War cut into fabric imports into America but well-to-do women already had stashes of imported French, English and Indian chintzes and calicoes in a variety of colors, and loved to mix large-scale and small-scale prints. For those thinking of using fabric reflecting the domestic prints of the time, indigo blues, browns and a touch of pink would be among the best colors.”
Brackman has designed a reproduction collection of prints from the era for Moda Fabrics; the “Lately Arrived from London” collection should be available in quilt shops by the end of this summer.
The Seaway Trail Foundation is sponsoring the event as part of a host of War of 1812 Bicentennial commemorative plans  for tourism, cultural heritage and military history programs in 2011-2014. The March 2012 show will be the kickoff for a 2012-14 traveling War of 1812 educational exhibit.
“The Great Lake Seaway Trail 2012 Quilt Show marks our 12th year of shows that celebrate the themes that attract domestic and international visitors to our National Scenic Byway. We are excited about the potential of the 1812 Bicentennial Quilt Challenge cultural and heritage theme to draw diverse interest groups to the Seaway Trail region,” said Seaway Trail Foundation President and CEO Teresa Mitchell.
The 518-mile Great Lakes Seaway Trail along the freshwater coastline of New York and Pennsylvania is a National Scenic Byway offering American travel experiences.