Replica (designed by Gail Kessler) of a historic quilt from the Winterthur Museum made with Andover's new fabric line

It has been about a month since Fall Quilt Market and I am still getting caught up…but I wanted to share with you this historical fabric line that Andover introduced at Market called Winterthur, inspired by textiles that John Hewson originally created in the late 1760’s which are featured in the Winterthur Museum.

Hewson created Baltimore-type designs; he printed cover lids (bed spreads), handkerchiefs, and other fine linens. He was referred to as a Bromley Hall fabric printer, which meant he did calicos. The calicos were printed in yellows, browns, golds, and reds. The indigo was hand-painted on at the end of the process by his four daughters. It is a special treat to know that Hewson’s wife was a quilter and that he fought in the revolutionary war.  Most calico printers only lasted 10 years because the business was so competitive.  Hewson’s firm lasted 50 years and was one of the highest-quality textile printers.

Imagine my surprise when I was telling Ruthmary Schauer in our Sales department about this fabric collection, then the next day she brought in an article from the July 24, 1921 Fort Wayne Journal Gazette about the fabric printing company in her family’s town where her grandfather worked (you can see that fabric runs in her blood). The article goes on to tell how textile printing is one of the oldest and most difficult fine arts. It is difficult because the colors need to have fastness and be bright, without running or fading. Fabric printing is believed to have begun about 4,000 years ago in Arabia.

So the next time you find some great fabric, take a moment to truly appreciate the art of how it is printed.

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