Seamstresses in Fine Art

17 responses to “Seamstresses in Fine Art”

1. What hits me in the eyeballs is the price of the magazine, wayyyy back then…

   1. I dint know if I would have noticed the price if you hadn’t pointed it out, that’s how dazzled I was with the quilting fabrics she’s sewing. The fabrics probably weren’t much more expensive than that either, BUT … NO ROTARY CUTTERS!!!!!

2. When I was a little girl, 68 years ago, my mother subscribed to McCall’s magazine. I would look forward to every issue, because there was always a paper doll named Betsy McCall included in the magazine. I would carefully cut out the paper doll and all her clothes and accessories, play with them, and keep them in a shoe box. McCall’s eventually made an actual doll named Betsy McCall, way before Barbie made her appearance. I still have my Betsy McCall doll.

   1. YES! I loved dolls and cut out dolls so much.

      1. I grew up loving paper crafts, specifically Scherenschnitte.

   2. Yes! I remember them too! They were so cute. I had the first Barbie doll when it came out but my sister got the Betsy McCall. Wish I still had that Barbie (and her clothes, and the original Barbie House, etc., sigh!) I even remember seeing it in the neighborhood 5 & 10 cent store. It had a price tag of $2.98 back then. I had to mop floors or wash the car at least 12 times to earn that much money! Luckily Santa Claus intervened.

   3. My sister and I did the exact same….wow !

3. I too had a Betsy Mcall doll. My sister 8 years younger than me didn’t play with dolls, but she loved to give mine away. Alas my Betsy Mcall was part of her sharing with someone else.

4. I love this modern work of art. My oh my how times have changed.

5. I’m struck by the modern design and colors of the quilt!

6. And isn’t she beautifully turned out for sewing!! I usually look like the creature from the black lagoon, in my sweats, with my finger-in-a-light-socket hairdo, hiding in the basement, wielding my rotary cutter with a wild eye 😜

7. I really enjoyed reading about the artist, a very liberated woman for her time.

8. Lori, estou tentando aperfeiçoar o meu quilting, porém não tenho possibilidade de fazer cursos. Descobri seus tutoriais hoje, e amei todos. Muito obrigada por compartilhar. O mundo precisa de mais pessoas como você.

9. Lori, if I was not waylaid by bronchitis, I would blame you, again, for being behind on my granddaughter’s quilt–for Christmas not less. I had to read about ALL her exploits and then some!!!
   Looks like “she” is making a quilt of satin-or silk, yikes for quilting methods back then!
   (And, Lord knows that I don’t have an extra penny to my name, but I did feel obligated to “donate” to keep Wikipedia keeping on—thanks to Lori Kennedy!
   And now, I will use Wikipedia to look up the word:scherenschitte!!!!

10. ps…..and all these many years, I have called my father’s little black paper picture a simple “silhouette” cutting!!!! Imagine how I can impress my friends who come to visit, by calling that simple little piece of art a SCHERENSCHITTE!”

11. This artist was certainly a bold character for her time!
    The quilt depicted in the painting is very modern for its day, I simply cannot image doing all the cutting and sewing, so many pieces all by hand!

12. I agree that the fabric looks like a silk or satin… maybe too shiny for taffeta.. but exquisite for sure! She was really a character! … and sooo talented in so many areas. Now I want to see all of those back issues of McCalls…!