Quilts of Provence: The Art and Craft of French Quiltmaking - Hardcover

Berenson, Kathryn

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0307345521 ISBN 13: 9780307345523

Publisher: Potter Craft, 2007

Synopsis

In Quilts of Provence Kathryn Berenson—the recognized expert on the subject—lays out a richly woven narrative of these intricately detailed heirlooms. This sumptuous book documents the exceptional beauty of the traditional craft practiced by needlewomen in southern France, covering both history and how-to—from the production of this exquisitely detailed work to techniques and patterns for recreating quilts, throws, and apparel. “This story of the art of corded and stuffed quilted work . . . finally gives Provence its rightful place in history,” writes Michel Biehm in his foreword.

Berenson chronicles the long history of Provençal needlework, highlighting the craft’s players, among them the artisans who created these revered quilts and the queens and average French women who treasured them. Along the way, she reveals the intriguing politics surrounding French textiles—including a seventy-year prohibition outlawing printed cottons during the eighteenth century. Berenson’s extensive knowledge of traditional quilting also leads her to groundbreaking conclusions documenting the influence of Provençal needlework on quilting around the world.

Quilts of Provence provides guidance to readers for creating these artful quilted pieces, with ten projects perfect for intermediate or expert quilters—work sure to inspire beginners as well. Projects include an elegant baby’s bib and an infant lap piece, a comfortable woman’s vest, a quilted pillow sham, and a range of exquisite bedcovers and quilted throws, some of which merit display like the works of art they are. Also included are a detailed resource section, which provides information on how to care for and hang quilts, where to see them displayed, and where to buy antique Provençal quilts. Full-color photographs capture the charm of tiny, hand-stitched infant shirts, the elegance of all-white bedcovers, and the feminine appeal of colorful quilted petticoats.

About this title

About the Author:

Kathryn Berenson is a world-renowned researcher in French and American textiles and a former print and broadcast journalist. Her personal collection of French quilted needlework has been acquired by the International Quilt Study Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She lives in Paris, where she continues her study of Provençal textiles.
michel biehn, who contributed the foreword, is a noted interior designer and dealer in French quilts. He is also author of a history of Provençal costume, as well as Recipes from a Provençal Kitchen, Michel Biehn’s Healthy Recipes, and Home Decoration from the South of France.

Marie-Christine Flocard, who developed the project instructions with the author, lives outside Paris. She is the author of several books on making French quilts published in France and the United States and also teaches classes in both countries

From Library Journal:

The needlework technique of quilting is an ancient art. Born thousands of years ago in Asia, it migrated over the centuries across Europe to the New World, where it blossomed into a uniquely American folk tradition. Yet quilting also flourished in southern France, and by the 18th century Provencal women were creating "confections"-quilted bedcovers, petticoats, and decorative accessories-of such exquisite beauty and elegance that these items were exported throughout Europe and to the North American colonies. (Especially dazzling were the white wedding bedcovers.) In this lavishly illustrated volume, Berenson, a researcher and dealer in antique French and American textiles, traces the evolution of this highly sculptural corded and stuffed needlework (what the French call "embroidery from within") from its 17th-century origins in the ateliers of Marseilles to its decline at the end of the 19th century. Berenson writes with a clarity and passion for her subject that will be understandable to all general readers who appreciate beautiful handicrafts. She includes instructions for making three quilt designs, directions for caring for and displaying quilts, and a directory of French quilting museums and shops. A fine sourcebook for quilters, collectors, and textile designers.
Wilda Williams, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Potter Craft
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0307345521
• ISBN 13: 9780307345523
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 216