The Foster and Muriel McCarl Coverlet Gallery

12/06/2023

Come and join us in the McCarl Gallery TONIGHT from 5:00-8:00 pm for a gallery tour, weaving demonstrations, and Christmas cheer! We hope to see you there!

12/01/2023

The McCarl Gallery will be open for evening hours from 5-8pm on the first three Wednesdays in December. Take a break from Christmas shopping to take in the festive decor, learn a little history, make a paper snowflake, and perhaps come away with a holiday cookie. This is a great opportunity to see the current exhibit, “How People Made Coverlets: A 19th century factory tour inspired by Mister Rogers.” Admission is free!

Open from 5-8pm on 12/6, 12/13, and 12/20.
Regular hours Wed-Fri, 10am-4pm.
The Gallery will be closed during the week of 12/25/23.

11/29/2023

The McCarl Gallery is gearing up for the Christmas season with some festive decorating. It turns out making paper snowflakes is a bit like designing coverlet patterns - it's all about envisioning what an abstract shape will look like when it's mirrored and repeated.

Want to join in the fun? See the images below for a refresher course on folding paper snowflakes, and please share pictures in the comments if you make your own! ❄️

11/22/2023

11/09/2023

"Distelfink" is the term for a Pennsylvania Dutch ornamental bird design. It translates from the German to "thistle-finch," so named because the bird feeds on thistle seeds.

The distelfink pattern is extremely common in the borders of Pennsylvania and Ohio coverlets, with all sorts of subtle variations. Can you spot all the differences?

11/01/2023

Rebuilt yesterday, this loom is our latest addition to the gallery space. It is a prime example Pennsylvania German style construction, although it originally comes from Harper's Ferry, WV. In great condition overall, it needs just a few new pegs and small parts and it will soon be ready to weave again!

10/27/2023

"Four Roses" (or "Double Roses") may be the single most common pattern motif in 19th century coverlets. It's easy to start thinking that when you've seen one, you've seen them all. But the variations are nearly infinite.

From subtle changes in the leaves & stems to radically different combinations with other pattern elements, there's always something new to see and appreciate.

10/26/2023

Two large Pennsylvania Dutch looms came out of storage today, where they've been since they were transferred from the American Textile History Museum. Over the next few days they will be documented, photographed, and perhaps even reassembled.

10/20/2023

Very few weavers today have looms capable of reproducing figured & fancy coverlet patterns, but for modern hobby weavers many geometric patterns are within reach.

By analyzing a geometric coverlet thread-by-thread, we can generate the weaving pattern (called a draft). This coverlet features in the McCarl Gallery's current exhibit "How People Made Coverlets," open through February 2024. If you are a weaver with a 4-shaft loom, you can recreate it today using the draft below!

10/18/2023

Three coverlets in the McCarl Collection all feature the same mysterious pattern motif. What do you think it is - some kind of cactus? A very strange species of oak? Let us know in the comments below!

10/17/2023

Join the curator on Tuesday evening at 7:00 pm for a talk about coverlets hosted by the Chestnut Ridge Historical Society in Stahlstown. Bring a coverlet for show & tell, if you have one!

10/13/2023

Are you interested in local history? Do you have a family coverlet that you'd like to know more about?

On Tuesday, October 17th at 7:00 pm come out to the Chestnut Ridge Historical Society meeting for a crash course in coverlets from Emily Barth, curator of the McCarl Gallery. Feel free to bring your own coverlet(s) for a show & tell session afterward!

The meeting will be held in the Cook Township community center in Stahlstown.
For more information, visit http://chestnutridgehistoricalsociety.org/. We hope to see you there. 🕷🎃👻

10/12/2023

What do music boxes and player pianos have to do with coverlets?

Two new devices came on the scene in the 1820's for weaving figured & fancy coverlet patterns. The Jacquard machine used a stack of punched cards to "program" the pattern, inspired by the perforated paper music used for organs. The barrel loom, also inspired by organ makers, used a cylinder and pegs much like a music box.

This is a diagram of a barrel loom from Gilroy's _The Art of Weaving_, published in 1844.

10/09/2023

Foster & Muriel McCarl's passion for American history and antiques encompassed more than just handwoven coverlets. Last week started out with a trip to the McCarl Industrial Museum in Beaver County, PA, which also bears their name. These old musical devices in their collection caught my eye - can you guess what they have to do with weaving coverlets?

10/06/2023

Thank you to everyone who came out to last week's opening reception in the McCarl Gallery. The coverlet scavenger hunt was a hit!

If you missed it, don't worry. "How People Made Coverlets" will remain on display through February 29th, 2024. The Gallery is open Wed-Fri, 10-4 and by appointment.

09/26/2023

Come along to the McCarl Gallery this Thursday, 9/28 from 5-7 PM for the opening reception of the new exhibit "How People Made Coverlets: A 19th century factory tour inspired by Mister Rogers"! The event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided.

09/25/2023

The factory tour was a perennial favorite feature on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. In his words, “When we show factories, they certainly have fascinating machines, but I always emphasize that it takes people to make machines and to make them work.”

The new exhibit in the McCarl Gallery explores the 19th-century transition from cottage industry to factory automation through the people who made and used the beautiful antique coverlets in the McCarl Collection. The exhibit consists of 24 coverlets, 19th century textile equipment, and excerpts from Mister Roger’s Neighborhood. It will run through February 29, 2024.

08/25/2023

The McCarl Coverlet Gallery is a TV star! Watch the video clip to see our coverlets get a prominent background role in a recent Steelers interview on KDKA.

Featured in the clip are an 1852 Tied Beiderwand coverlet woven by F. Yearous, an 1868 coverlet by Philp Rassweiler, and an undated doubleweave coverlet woven by Philip Anschutz. All are part of the recent "Old Glories" exhibit of red, white, & blue coverlets.

Missi Matthews sits down with Kwon Alexander to talk about joining the Steelers, his physicality, and more our content? Want more...

08/18/2023

The 20-shaft loom is up and running in the McCarl Gallery! The pattern replicates a Tied Beiderwand coverlet in the collection of Ron Walter, but it will be a quarter-size throw blanket instead of a full coverlet. The border is finished, and now it's time to start the main pattern.

The original can be seen here: http://coverletguildofamerica.org/contactus.htm

08/15/2023

Unexpected happenings today in the Gallery - interviews with the Pittsburgh Steelers! Watch the first game of the preseason on KDKA, and you may see a coverlet cameo.

07/29/2023

07/19/2023

The curator will be away on 7/20 and 7/21 to attend the 2023 Textile History Forum. To access the gallery during this time, contact Andrew Julo in the Verostko Center at (724) 805-2107.

07/18/2023

Compass Inn Museum in Laughlintown, PA has a gorgeous collection of about 25 coverlets that's well worth a visit. Tours of the historic stagecoach inn run Tuesday-Sunday from May through October. Admission is $14/adults, $12/seniors, $10/youth.

07/04/2023

Wishing you a Happy from the McCarl Gallery!
This handwoven red, white & blue coverlet was made in Lehigh Co., PA in 1849.

06/30/2023

Exciting things are happening at the McCarl Gallery! This 20-shaft Macomber loom has been out of commission for years, but it will be back in action before you know it.

06/23/2023

The Colonial Coverlet Guild of America had its annual meeting last weekend in historic Palmyra, New York. A big thank you to the Alling Coverlet Museum for hosting this great event!

06/16/2023

The McCarl Gallery curator will be traveling on Friday, 6/16.

If you need to access the Gallery today, contact Andrew Julo at (724) 805-2107.

06/15/2023

The nickname "Old Glory" for the American flag first gained widespread popularity in 1831, when Captain William Driver made the news for transporting the descendants of the HMS Bounty mutineers from Tahiti to Pitcairn Island. He himself had given the name "Old Glory" to the flag that flew on his mercantile brig, the Charles Doggett. When the name made the papers, it quickly caught on with the public.

Image: "HMS Bounty" by Robert Dodd
National Maritime Museum

06/12/2023

06/09/2023

The original Old Glory flag was sewn for Captain Driver in 1824 by his mother and several other women from his hometown of Salem, Massachusetts. It had just 24 stars. In that year James Monroe was president, it was the "Era of Good Feelings," and the Jacquard loom was introduced to America.

Image from Le Tour de la France par deux enfants (1877), p152.

06/07/2023

"Old Glories: All-American Coverlets in Red, White, & Blue" is the title of our summer exhibit at the McCarl Gallery. Explore the history of 19th century handwoven coverlets through the story of American merchant seaman Captain William Driver, who first coined the name "Old Glory" in reference to the maritime flag on his ship, the Charles Doggett.

https://www.coverletgallery.org/current-exhibit

Painting by F. Muller, ca. 1900
USS LEXINGTON, 1776.
'Raising the Stars and Stripes for the First Time in Home Waters.'

06/06/2023

New to me very cool combination in float work circa 1830

04/01/2022

We are developing a podcast series through our PA Sharp grant on the history and culture of masking? Have an idea and want to participate?

03/29/2022

Natural dye your eggs this year!

With so many lovely and vibrant colors found in nature, why dye your Easter eggs with anything but beets, onions, cabbage, and berries? When used to dye our brown-shelled eggs, natural egg dyes yield deep, earthy tones in just about every color of the rainbow.

03/22/2022

Help out our neighbors in the Ukraine by donating items today!

LATROBE, PA – As the world watches the devastating attacks on the sovereign country of Ukraine, the Saint Vincent College Education Department began offering a means to allow western Pennsylvanians to help. Currently, it is estimated that two million refugees have entered Poland with only the clot...

03/09/2022

What is Spring? The Equinox? Listen live to stories of the creation of Spring from the Greeks, the Celts and the Ukrainians
Blauvelt Free Public Library.

02/14/2022

Call For Podcast Proposals - $400 Stipend Available

In conjunction with PA SHARP, The Foster and Muriel McCarl Gallery and the Public History and Digital Humanities Programs of Saint Vincent are developing a podcast series that examines the impacts of masks and masking on people as reflected in history, culture, science, and daily life. The joint programming effort, tentatively titled “Through the Mask” aims to explore historical, cultural, and scientific uses and meanings of masks in many different contexts. The podcast series will be complemented by two exhibits, one digital and one physical, that will look at the uses of textiles and other materials in masks and mask-making and the history of their uses through multiple cultures and time periods. The digital exhibit will also house this five-part limited series of podcasts developed through input from multidisciplinary scholars, students, and groups with a focus on humanities.

We are looking for proposals for podcast development around topics related to masking. A $400 stipend is available for individuals or groups to develop and produce a podcast for the series. Individuals from all disciplines and backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Funding is provided by PA SHARP and can be used in any way to support podcast development. Proposals for podcasts will be accepted until February 25, 2022 and are open to any applicant or group. Applicants will be notified of acceptance by March 11, 2022. A release schedule will be developed once all individuals/groups have been notified and accepted. All proposals must include:

Introduction of podcast developers and the topic they wish to explore

Points they want to discuss about the topic

Main takeaways or conclusion

The names of any guest speakers

Possible topics (please note that this is not an exhaustive list and that applicants are encouraged to submit creative ideas)

History and culture of masks and fashion

Masking and the professionalization of medicine

Face Masks: Their History and the Values They Communicate

Masking and the sacred

Religious underpinnings of face coverings

Masquerade

Non-western traditions of masking

Indigenous culture

Power structures and cultural connotations

Masking in art and theatre

Psychology of the mask

Costume and performance in the history of racial violence







All proposals and questions should be sent directly to [email protected]