A Little Bit of History

One of the great things about working with fabric is discovering the historical connection to the material we use. Here at Two Thimbles, we've got a couple of new projects utilizing fabric designed with inspiration from John Hewson, an early-American textile printer.

John Hewson

According to Barbara Brackman's blog, Hewson was well known for panels which feature a central vase filled with flowers and accompanied by birds and butterflies. There is more information here - he has a really interesting history of rebellious acts against England during the American Revolutionary War period, through his textile printing activities.

Some of Hewson's work is featured at the Winterthur Museum, including a gorgeous original bedcover. A replica of this quilt was designed by Gail Kessler and featured on the Andover website as a free pattern. 

A replica of an original Hewson design from Gail Kessler

Andover also featured another quilt pattern which showcases their new line of Winterthur John Hewson fabrics. We made up a version and have it displayed in the classroom:

Another of the projects now hanging in the store was designed based on a quilt utilizing Hewson's designs and displayed at the American Folk Art Museum. The artist of the original quilt is unknown, but it's dated between 1790 and 1810. Here is our version (we have kit's and a pattern available), using one of the Andover Hewson panels:

If you are interested, Quilters Newsletter published a three-part historical fiction series about Hewson and his family in their 2010 fall issues. There are also additional patterns inspired by John Hewson's work in those publications.

Hewson-inspired fabrics at Two Thimbles

We've got another project in the works that will use this Hewson panel...and potentially lots of hexagons...so stay tuned for that!

Happy Stitching!