“There are many theories regarding the popularity of Indigo quilts. Indigo is colorfast and a woman’s fancy stitches would not be wasted. Blue and white were also the colors of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. Whatever the reasons, blue is a restful, pleasing color used for centuries in decorative work,” Nichols noted.And the use of indigo spanned the world with fabrics displayed in the exhibit coming from such exotic areas as South Africa, Bali and Japan. The carefully selected quilts used in the COM exhibit span a period of 150 years.Nichols noted that the quilts displayed are the result of numerous dye processes - several will be demonstrated - as well as a variety of quilting techniques.Guest Curator Pamela Lindsay is a member of the American Quilt Study Group, who worked with the members of the Camarillo Quilters Association and the Heritage Valley Quilters, who provided many of the quilts displayed in the show.The California Oil Museum is located at the corner of Main and 10th streets in historic downtown Santa Paula. Admission to the exhibit, which will be displayed through Nov. 17th, is $2 for adults, $1 for children; free to museum members.For more information, call COM at 933-0076 or visit the museum Web site at www.oilmuseum.net.
5th Annual Heritage Valley Festival of Quilts debuts Sunday at Museum
October 09, 2002
Santa Paula News
Santa Paula just might be earning a new title: Quilt Capital of the World!
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesSanta Paula just might be earning a new title: Quilt Capital of the World!Although the title might be overly ambitious, you can see for yourself why the city could be on its way to earning that designation with the 5th Annual Heritage Valley Festival of Quilts, opening Sunday at the California Oil Museum. The opening will be held October 6th from 1 to 3 p.m., sponsored by Hozy’s Santa Paula Grill.And there’s even more of a treat in store for those who look forward to this annual exhibit: for the fourth year Pamela Roberts Lindsay is the guest curator of the Heritage Valley Festival of Quilts for the museum.The theme of this year’s exhibit is “True Blue - Indigo Quilts Past and Present,” a display of more than two dozen antique and contemporary quilts made from fabric dyed using various techniques of beautiful indigo dying.According to John Nichols of the Sespe Group, the COM curator who lent technical support to this exhibit, “Indigo, that fascinating and beautiful blue dye, has been used for thousands of years,” by fabric artists that valued its vivid color. In fact, indigo printed fabrics have been popular with quilters for over three centuries, he noted.
