New York, New York

[ellid]

I just spent two excellent days in New York researching old textiles at the Met. We also walked the High Line (old railroad tracks on the Upper West Side that are now a gorgeous public park), ate at a Chinese place that offered "sauteed loofah," among other delights, and sat out on Betsy's roof deck and watch the lights of Midtown come on.

I have to say that sitting out on a cool night in Midtown, the Empire State Building a few blocks away in one direction, the Chrysler Building a few blocks away in another, all the other skyscrapers surrounding one's building, is one of the most amazing things I've ever done. Just marvelous, and the main thing that will stick with me from this trip to New York.

Comments

[eglantine-br.livejournal.com]

Isn't the highline amazing? i love that it is quite wild, not garden but like being in a meadow.

[ellid.livejournal.com]

It was just beautiful. My friend Cynthia was the one who'd heard about it, and I'm so glad she did. What a fabulous little park!

[stasia]

Wow, you're making me miss NYC. I wonder if I could swing a quick vacation there. I could stay with my uncle and wander around... Hmmm.

Also, I have a quilting question for you! Are tied quilts an older form?

This came up because Geordie, being British, calls our duvet a 'quilt'. Last night he said something about us getting a lighter quilt and I reminded him that I've made several - they're down on the couch. He tried to explain that he meant 'like the one at the foot of the bed' (where we'd thrown it because omg, it was hot last night) and I laughed. I said that it's cute he calls that a quilt, but it's not one. Quilts are layers of fabric and batting, sewn together.

Then he said that he likes the way tied quilts look and we got confused about whether they're simply more 'primitive' in that they're not actually quilted, or if they're really what people did before they started actually quilting the layers together.

... did that make any sense? I've only had half a cup of coffee and I'm not sure I'm speaking English. *facepalm*

Stasia

[ellid.livejournal.com]

Tied quilts are a fairly recent development. *All* the very old ones, without exception, were quilted, not tied. I'm pretty sure that the first evidence of tied (or, as my mother called them, tufted) quilts dates from sometime in the 19th century.