Alsace - cradle of the Amish
Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines,where Carrefour Europeen du Patchwork takes place, is the cradle of the Amish movement. And it was during the 300-th anniversary of the creation of this movement that Carrefour (1993) took place for the first time. Hence, the Amish and Mennonites quilts of Pennsylvania and Indiana in the USA (that's where they moved from Europe) are always present at this show.
The traditional Amish quilts were sewn and quilted by hand using monochrome fabrics in dark colors (cherry, dark green, dark navy ...). But now Amish and Mennonites also use more vivid colors: red, yellow and even patterned fabrics.
In addition to the large quilts on the exhibition, there were also miniatures - a doll's house showing Amish life:
It's a great washing and airing the quilt - according to Amish tradition it's done after the winter. And the above log cabin quilt is the size of a dozen centimeters - each strip has a few millimeters in width. This is a real miniature !
And as a memory of that exhibition I also bought a miniature: a quilt size of 5 inch sewn on the machine this time but by a real Pennsylvanian Mennonite woman:
