Common Threads: Peanuts in Stitches

October 1, 2005 to January 30, 2006
Creativity in cloth is what you'll see in when you step into the Museum's downstairs Changing Gallery. Common Threads: Peanuts in Stitches, is a testament to Charles Schulz's international appeal. This exhibition features twenty-two hand-made quilts by Japanese fabric artists who have found inspiration in Charles Schulz's famous strip—the "common thread" linking different cultures and distant countries. Fabric artist Keiko Miyamoto found inspiration for her four-panel quilt in the strip from January 9, 1987.

January 9, 1987

The quilts are made of a variety of international fabrics, as well as traditional Japanese textiles, such as kasuri and yukata. Japanese cultural motifs add to the appeal of some of the quilts, as does the unique interpretation of the Peanuts characters, such as Lucy and Snoopy dressed in kimonos to fly kites. Conversely, traditional American quilting patterns and styles can be found in the quilts, such as the "Rose of Sharon" pattern that surrounds Peppermint Patty in one of the quilts or the "Postage Stamp" quilt block pattern used in another.

Common Threads: Peanuts in Stitches was guest curated by Inez Brooks-Myers, Curator of Costume and Textiles at the Oakland Museum of California.

A larger version of the exhibit, organized by Nihon Vogue, Ltd., a Japanese publishing company specializing in textile arts, traveled in Japan for more than two years.

Click on the thumbnails to see larger images!

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