1958 Penney's Fashions and Fabrics

Many years ago I picked up this over-sized booklet of J. C. Penney's Fashions and Fabrics, Spring and Summer 1958. The model looks so cool and well put together. Down to the white gloves!

I loved that it had fabric swatches in it! And all the details about each swatch, down to shrinkage.

Color trends included:

• Nautical Tricolor --Growing out of a world wide interest in boats and ships
• Checks, Stripes and Plaids, and Houndstooth, in blue, gray, brown on sheer fabrics
• Mist and Cloud colors-- muted beige and silver grays, some with tints of pink or green
• Flower Reds--Zinnia tones of red, pink, and orange
• Gold-tinged colors of coral, tangerine, melon, marigold and sulfur yellow
• Blues, especially navy and cadet, as well as turquoise and blue greens, plus French Lilac, grape hyacinth and delphinium blue
• Greens in muted and gray shades of sage and olive but also mint and emerald
• Overprinted white with florals and conversational prints were the' high mark of fashion' that summer
• Glitter--metallic yards with Mylar was used in all fabrics, including denims
• Prints of every sort

Silhouettes and details includes the chemise and relaxed sheaths, a Chinese influence with side slits and neckline, matching coats and dresses, barrel back shaped cutaway suits, dresses with fitted fronts and bloused backs, full skirts with sectional pleats with emphasis on the 'dome shape', wraparound skirts, and the 'short' hemline. Sportswear for all ages and for both sexes had found a new importance. Shorts and sundresses for the ladies and plaid shirts for men, worn untucked. 

"The Bishop instructions" were included in new patterns. In junior high my sewing class used the Bishop Method to teach us how to make an apron and an A-line skirt. I went home and asked for a sewing machine! I did not get one until I married a man whose mom was an obsessive sewer. She even sewed underpants for herself!

"Today's Casual Look is Soft and Easy" notes the head line introducing these patterns.

Really Dressed Up! offers both the full skirt and the sheath dress.

Knits were 'making news' including use in tricot lingerie, double woven white gloves, and casual shirts for me--the Polo shirts that are now the uniform of men 'of a certain age'. 

It is no wonder we love the Mad Men fashions! We have lost the elegance and sophistication of those years. 

Abstract Art... More Quilts from Grand Rapids

I loved the variety of abstract quilt art at the show last month! They are just amazing. By the awards given, it I evident that the judges were also impressed.

The non-representational Allegretto by Katie Pasquini Masopust was so unlike her Fractured Landscape quilts, which I had seen many years ago at a Lansing, MI quilt guild presentation.

Light and Shadow- Colors of Ghana by Carol Fleming Chenoweth used batiks from Ghana, West Africa.

Night Glow by Linda Bachman. I just love the broad areas of vibrant color.

Michigan quilter Deanna Gaudaur's New Beauty is a whole cloth quilt colored with threads and machine quilted designs.

Maria Reuter of Germany's Digital World depicts the digital transmission between the elements fire and water.

Chartreuse, Celadon, Kelly, Fern by Panela Zave explores yellow green.

Prize winning quilt Escuchame by Beth Markel of Michigan represents 'noise' and 'quiet' (dark areas) and how few real connections are made.

Six Fifteen by Tina McCann was so interesting with its layers of silk and wool, a very three-dimensional and textured quilt. The layers represent the layers of time.

Suddenly... by Pan Beal of Michigan started with 3/4 inch squares. it is hand quilted.

Two Mid-Century Quilts

When I went to the AQS quilt show I stayed with a friend who owns a home in Grand Rapids. She showed me three quilts made by her mother-in-law. The fabrics reflect the quilter's time span, some dating from the Depression Era and others from the Mod sixties and early seventies.

I loved the blue sashing on this Lemoyne Star. And the plaid and gingham fabrics! This quilt was folded at the bottom of the guest bed.

On the master bed was a wonderful Grandmother's Flower Garden variation. The 'flowers' were all different hexagons, not arranged in concentric colors as usually found. But each had a yellow center.

My hostess pointed out fabrics that had been dresses she had worn in the 1970s, and other fabrics from clothes worn by her mother-in-law.

There were bits of interesting textured fabrics like the red and green on white print.

I have to love that daisy on brown fabrics, recalls to mind a cute suit I had in 1967.

The third quilt was Trip Around the World, kept in a trunk. Yes, I did recommend she keep it in a pillowcase and on a shelf. The quilt had a lot of gray along with vivid red and lovely Nile green.

AQS Grand Rapids V: Portraits

Here are some quilts from the AQS Grand Rapids show that are portraits of various kinds.

Jan Berg-Rezmer, another Michigan gal, made Ask the Cowboys with photo transfer, fabric paint, and raw edge applique.

 I was in love with this quilt! Little Girl and Dog by Hiroko Miyama of Japan based it on a photo of her granddaughter.

 Ode to Inspiration by Melissa Sobotka was inspired by Pre-Raphaelite paintings.

Alice Aukeman, another Michigander, did this portrait of her daughter Renee.

I really enjoyed the ultimate Guild Challenge quilts. Wish I belonged to a guild! Gone Fishin' by Anita Gogerty was made for the Des Moines Area Quilters Guild challenge of A Small Blessing.

A nice mad working the show let me go inside the rope to be photographed with my quilt, I Will Lift My Voice Like a Trumpet. 

AQS Grand Rapids IV: Traditional Quilts

Here are some of the traditional quilts I saw at the show.

A Woman's Journey by Marsha Molly was inspired by a historical quilt made in 1841 by women convicts on their way to Australia's penal colonies.

The medallion quilt, Spring Time in the Rockies by Patty Girvan, was designed by Susan Garman.

Look at this the HUGE Amazon Star by Jane Reents!

Sedona Sunset by Terri Doyle was designed on EQ6.

A detail of the quilting

The machine quilting award winning Andrew by Kathi Carter has amazing quilting.

Another award winner was Visions of Peppermints by Ruth Ann Henry, another Michigan gal. The quilting was by Beverly Heyworth.

Sadly I can not read all the labels to identify all the quilts. I only had five hours at the show and was not as diligent as I should have been. This was pretty amazing.

Sample the Fruitcake by Sue Hawkes incorporated embroidery, crystals, beads, and coded tab edging!

The detail in this quilt was awesome.

I had to love a quilt that incorporated a handkerchief!!Golden Wedding quilt by Claudia Pfeil .

 In Orbit by Evelyn Evers was so interesting to see. Traditional pushed to Modern!