FreeSpirit Fabrics, 2018
Ludlow is a tribute to the old mill towns of central New England where I grew up. Nearly every town developed around a small mill (mostly fabric and trims), housed in red-brick buildings and typically situated on a river. Nearby you will find the ubiquitous factory housing (wooden triple-deckers or side-by-side duplexes) dotting the landscape. Today, the sides of the buildings display layers and decades of faded, painted signage – that aesthetic is part of my fiber.
It's not surprising that my studio is situated in a Bridgeport CT factory that used to make lace trims in the early part of the 20th century, called the American Fabrics Co! Shooting the promotional images for Ludlow in the studio was a no-brainer. I used an empty vintage swatch book to create the image below.
A Merchant & Mills "Factory Dress" pattern, (above) my well-loved Mother jeans, and a borrowed dress form resulted in one of my favorite shots, ever.
My mom sewed clothes for herself and us four kids and she loved fabric shopping. In those days it meant a visit to the mill itself, where we'd wind our way around circuitous halls and dusty rooms with rolls of fabric everywhere. Those childhood visits inspired a deep appreciation of quality workmanship, and an understanding of the time needed to achieve high quality.
At one time, some of the mills wove beautiful, graphic renditions of the early-American hand-woven wool coverlets I love so much. My quilt pattern, Woven, shown here in Ludlow prints, is a nod to those hand-woven coverlets, and a tribute to all the millworkers, their labor, and their contribution to their community.
Ludlow is reminiscent of the grace and beauty of a time that has passed, and perhaps a harbinger of beautiful works yet to come!
"If a thing is worth doing, it’s worth doing well".
