This lecture is part of the History Inspires series, which spotlights the Filson’s collections and how our items are utilized by creative people in the contemporary art world.
Having practiced the fabric arts for decades as a seamstress, an embroiderer, and knitter, Anita Streeter has only recently begun to make quilts, and in particular, garden quilts. During the Covid-19 pandemic, she became obsessed with the idea of bringing garden designs – especially those of historic gardens – to life through the medium of the quilt.
Streeter’s lifelong love and gardens and gardening has taken her to countless gardens of significance in this country and abroad. Seeking a way to combine her love of sewing and her interest in gardens, it occurred to her that there was an almost infinite number of garden plans that could be rendered into quilt patterns. By limiting herself to toile and toile-like fabrics, she was able to transform a static garden plan into a canvas that tells the story of and illuminates the rich reality of the garden.
During the talk, she will show slides of several of her quilts, describing the process from start to finish – from inspiration to drafting and design, and finally to piecing, quilting, and binding. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session.
Anita Streeter spent her career in arts management with such organizations as Louisville Public Media, Walden Theatre (Commonwealth Theatre Center), the Embroiderers’ Guild of America, the Choral Arts Society, the Louisville Bach Society, the Speed Museum and Kentucky Opera. She has served on grants panels for the City of Louisville and the National Endowment for the Arts. She also is a longtime member of the Glenview Garden Club and has served as chair of the Filson Historical Society’s House Tour for the past four years.
Compulsively creative, Anita is an accomplished singer, radio producer, gardener, and former professional seamstress. She conceived the garden quilt project during the Covid pandemic.