On the Prowl in Bennington

Just a few more photos from my trip to Bennington, VT. The quaint motor inn where we stayed. Nothing fancy, but clean and cozy, with better coffee than at the chain hotels...

And, of course, this crazy Russian girl couldn't pass up a chance for a photo op here... (too bad it was closed that day)...

Large cats were on the prowl in downtown Bennington... part of the local "Catamount Prowl". I learned that catamounts are what Vermonters call mountain lions/cougars/pumas/panthers. (When I first saw them, I thought I was back in Pennsylvania -- they look an awful lot like Penn State's Nittany Lions). I didn't take too many pictures of the catamounts because, frankly...how shall I put this...I found most of them to be quite ugly (or should I say, not to my taste). And there were too many of them, too close together.

But this one appealed to me...surprise, surprise...

One of the others...

Here's a YouTube video about their Catamount Prowl...And if you're on Facebook, you can see what all of them look like here. I won't complain too much about how they look since these will be auctioned off to benefit the arts...and that's a good thing.

More of Bennington

(photo-heavy post -- click on photos to enlarge)

Here's a shot of the entire Bennington Museum...part of it was a Catholic church at one time...

The museum has the largest public collection of work by Grandma Moses...I'm not usually much of a primitive-folk-art person, but I found a lot of her paintings had a mysterious appeal that I can't quite explain. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed in the Grandma Moses gallery, so no photos here, but here's a link that shows her work. Note the one called "The Quilting Bee".

There were a few other things to see in and around the museum.

All historical museums seem to have an old sewing machine or two...

Love this foot pedal!...

We came across Robert Frost's grave...complete with lovely red leaf and lots of coins...

The grave is located in the graveyard adjacent to the Old First Church of Bennington...

  And not far away is the Bennington Battle Monument...

 We were told by a local that a 60-something-year-old woman goes up once a year or so to the top (on the outside!) to change the light bulb!

My Visit With Jane Stickle

(photo-heavy post)

(click on photos for a larger view)

Last weekend, my husband and I made a trip up to Bennington, VT to this place...

...to see THIS!....

Jane Stickle's 150-year-old original quilt on display...

The photos are grainy and not very bright, but the quilt is displayed in a very dimly-lit room, so photos with a point-and-shoot camera (and no flash allowed) are not the best. The room is actually dark most of the time and the light only turns on when someone is in the room. And as you can see, the light is not evenly distributed over the quilt.

But it's still a magnificent thing to see and because it's not displayed in a glass case, the museum visitor can get quite close to the quilt. I'm amazed that they have it so close that people can even touch it (but they wouldn't dare!).

Although the fabrics are not very bright, they are actually brighter than I expected. Photos in books and on the computer screen are not quite as vivid as in real life. But then, "vivid" is a very relative term here.

I love the fussy-cutting of the striped fabric below...

I took this next photo from the side, hoping to give an idea of how thin the quilt is. It almost looks like there is no batting or backing. The quilt doesn't look worn (at least not on the front), but I'm sure it's in very delicate condition.

The standard "yes, I was there in person" shot...

If you're able to zoom in on your computer screen, you should be able to read the following few photos. Basically, they say that the museum recently learned that Jane was bedridden at the time she made the quilt (she made it to pass the time) and that in the 1863 Bennington Agricultural Fair, Jane won a $2 prize ($40 in today's value) for a pieced quilt (it doesn't specify what the quilt looked like, but it's assumed that it was this one, since she made it in 1863).

The museum also recently discovered a watercolor painting by Jane, which was also on display...

The quilt is only on display for about six weeks every year, so if you're anywhere near Bennington, Vermont, I highly recommend you make a trip to the Bennington Museum to see it in person.

One more thing checked off my bucket list!