Traditional Arts In Upstate New York

I left the Silas Wright House and the museum of the St. Lawrence County Historical Society with a thank you to the woman at the desk and went back out to my car. But then I realized that the TAUNY Center was right down the street and I shouldn't pass up the chance to pay it another visit. It's a place for local artisans in the traditional arts to display and sell their creations. I'd purchased several Christmas gifts there:

They had tapers, baskets and toys:

Recordings, children's books and lots more toys, including a log truck, something commonly seen on the rural roads of St. Lawrence County:

A violin playing bear, a guitar, Adirondack furniture and CDs of North Country traditional music and story telling:

Model boats, which reminded me of what I'd just learned about the Rushton Boat Works:

Paintings celebrating the family farms of the Tug Hill Plateau:

Amish crafts, clothes and what I assumed was a doll's dress. I especially liked the straw hat which one sees everywhere on Amish men around the North Country:

More arts and crafts, bowls, baskets, doll furniture and balsam filled draft stoppers. I bought one of the latter on my last visit and it has been a wonderful addition to my front door:

Locally hand carved bears and "spirit birds." That photo is of the carver:

Crocheted hats, socks, mittens and scarves:

Pretzels, jams and jellies, honey, spices and of course maple syrup:

Ceramic bowls, cups and tea pots. I didn't buy anything on this trip but I probably should have. Christmas and birthday gift giving times are coming up. Still, I was happy that I stopped for a visit and am pleased to show you a few of the things I saw:

Nineteenth Century Quilts Of St. Lawrence County - Part 3

This is the final installment of my exploration of the nineteenth century quilt exhibit. I was hooked on quilts by now and fascinated by the personal histories they gave reference to. This was another Crazy Quilt, marked 1884 and embellished with detailed embroidery, a velvet border and lace trim:

Once again, I took a closer look at the intricate hand stitching and details such as this girl, possibly the maker's daughter who wanted to be included and immortalized in this work of art:

Hand stitched moon and stars:

A horseshoe:

Clear evidence of why these were called Crazy Quilts - and why I had become so thoroughly taken by them:

Hand stitched flower, ribbons and the date, 1884:

Of all the quilts I saw that day, I found the Crazy Quilts to be the most magnificently beautiful. But I found this Redwork Embroidery Quilt to be the most touching. It was assembled and hand stitched by Margaret "Maggie" Coloton of North Russell, New York in 1893:

It was the subject matter which I liked most about this quilt, such as "Coming Through The Rye," showing old style farm tools and a crescent moon. Were the images of the maker's daughter and son?:

The family dog, named Lion. He looked like a Boston Terrier to me:

The name of her town and the date, 1893:

Probably a particularly beloved horse. All these personal family details were why I found this quilt so touching:

And the final quilt which I'll include in these posts was this quilt with appliqued leaves. Similar to a Crazy Quilt, this was made of dark colored silk, satin and velvet fabrics and embellished with lots of embroidery. Perhaps I should have taken a few close-ups of the leaf panels, but where would one begin?: