Open 365 days a year, Mount Vernon is located just 15 miles south of Washington DC.
From the mansion to lush gardens and grounds, intriguing museum galleries, immersive programs, and the distillery and gristmill. Spend the day with us!
Discover what made Washington "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen".
The Mount Vernon Ladies Association has been maintaining the Mount Vernon Estate since they acquired it from the Washington family in 1858.
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The Washington Library is open to all researchers and scholars, by appointment only.
Expert quilter Cecil Marzulli will show and discuss the technique of broderie perse on a cherry blossom themed quilt, hand-pieced in the 18th-century manner.
Broderie perse, French for “Persian embroidery,” is a modern term used to describe a historic appliqué technique. This technique can be found in extant quilts such as the Frances Washington Ball Peyton Quilt.
Frances Washington Ball Peyton (1763-1815), a niece of George Washington living in western Virginia, worked on this quilt in the early 1800s.
Using a combination of techniques, she created an exceptional display of her needle skills. A silk embroidered bouquet decorates the center while bold geometric borders outline the whole, made from pieced squares of white and dark purple printed cotton. Chintz appliqué or broderie perse designs ornament the corners of the quilt.
This quilt top is one of three surviving quilt tops pieced by Martha Washington in her late 60s, dating to c. 1800-1802. It was preserved and cared for by Martha Washington’s granddaughter, Eliza Parke Custis Law. The vivid colors and glossy finishes on its printed cottons remain intact more than 200 years later.
This type of quilt is known as a medallion style quilt, a type popular in the eighteenth century, which features a central large square or diamond, and which is constructed from the center outward, piecing the center first, and then each surrounding border.
Some of the fabrics used in these quilts were taken from garments worn by the Washingtons and their extended family. In this quilt, Mrs. Washington used pieces of a delicate, hand-painted Indian chintz fabric, c. 1770-1775, that had previously been worn by herself or another member of the family. Other pieces of this same fabric were remade into a dress for one of her great-granddaughters.
The creative re-use of these textiles affirms not only the economic value they retained, but the emotional value they held for Mrs. Washington and her granddaughters.
Frances Washington Ball Peyton (1763-1815), a niece of George Washington living in western Virginia, worked on this quilt in the early 1800s.
Using a combination of techniques, she created an exceptional display of her needle skills. A silk embroidered bouquet decorates the center while bold geometric borders outline the whole, made from pieced squares of white and dark purple printed cotton. Chintz appliqué or broderie perse designs ornament the corners of the quilt.
Broderie perse, French for “Persian embroidery,” is a modern term used to describe a historic appliqué technique in which printed designs were cut out from fabric and repositioned onto another fabric to create a design of the quilter’s creation. Decorative embroidery stitches were then used to anchor the cut-out pieces to the ground of the quilt top.
This quilt top is one of three surviving quilt tops pieced by Martha Washington in her late 60s, dating to c. 1800-1802. It was preserved and cared for by Martha Washington’s granddaughter, Eliza Parke Custis Law. The vivid colors and glossy finishes on its printed cottons remain intact more than 200 years later.
This type of quilt is known as a medallion style quilt, a type popular in the eighteenth century, which features a central large square or diamond, and which is constructed from the center outward, piecing the center first, and then each surrounding border.
Some of the fabrics used in these quilts were taken from garments worn by the Washingtons and their extended family. In this quilt, Mrs. Washington used pieces of a delicate, hand-painted Indian chintz fabric, c. 1770-1775, that had previously been worn by herself or another member of the family. Other pieces of this same fabric were remade into a dress for one of her great-granddaughters.
The creative re-use of these textiles affirms not only the economic value they retained, but the emotional value they held for Mrs. Washington and her granddaughters.
In this video, executive director of historic preservation and collections Susan Schoelwer talks about one of Martha's quilts, and its intricate design.
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