Spring Break!

Looking for something to do besides donning your bikini and hitting the beach this spring break?  (Hahahahaha) Check out these current quilt exhibitions!

Probably the most talked about current show is at the International Quilt Study Center in Lincoln, Nebraska—Uncovered: The Ken Burns Collection. That’s right—famed documentary filmmaker  Ken Burns loves and collects quilts. (You can read why in this New York Times interview, here.) If you have three minutes, check out this YouTube clip—it’ll whet your appetite for more.

You can also visit the IQSCM web site to see the individual quilts from the exhibition here. (And there are plenty of other pieces on display at the IQSCM, too. Check this listing for more information.)

Current exhibitions at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky includes New Quilts from an Old Favorite: Bow Tie.

Caribbean Ties by Nancy Lambert

Ingenious uses for the very traditional bow tie block will inspire you to think of variations on tried-and-true designs. Other exhibitions are listed here.

The Texas Quilt Museum in LaGrange, Texas has three diverse exhibitions (but just through April 1, so hurry)!  Twenty-five blue-and-white, 19th-century quilts are included in Antique Indigo Quilts from the Poos Collection.

Medallion, c. 1830, artist unknown from Antique Quilts from the Poos Collection

Fifteen prizewinners from the 2017 International Quilt Association’s juried show are on display in Quilts: A World of Beauty.

At the Waterhole by Sheila Finzer

You can read about all three exhibitions, including one featuring Jane Dunnewold,  here.

The New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts has 35 award-winning quilts on display as part of Quilts Japan: The 13th Quilt Nihon Exhibition.

Ring by Yuko Maekawa

And finally, my ulterior motive for this post…encouraging you to visit the Iowa Quilt Museum in Winterset, Iowa, before the exhibition Feed Sacks closes on April 15. The quilts are drawn largely from some outstanding Iowa collections, but also include quilts from Roderick Kiracofe’s collection that were featured in his book Unconventional and Unexpected: American Quilts Below the Radar . Here are a few examples of what you’ll see when you visit. 

In addition to quilts, a case displays artist-bound copies of the book Feed Sacks: The Colorful History of a Frugal Fabric.
While most of the quilts in the exhibition are older and sewn by unknown makers, the quilt on the left, made entirely of feed sacks, was stitched just a few years ago by feed sack collector and expert Judy Prohaska.

So there you have it…bikinis or quilt museums? Only you can decide…

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9 thoughts on “Spring Break!”

  2. The quilts are awesome!! My favorite is the log cabin quilt that has sashing and cornerstones between the blocks….I love the way it changes the whole look of the log cabin blocks!
    Thanks for sharing!

    1. Agreed about the log cabin. The print in the sashing is really unusual…so much to like about that quilt!

  3. I think my bikini days are behind me, I’ll take the quilts thank you. I’m lucky enough to live close to La Grange so I’m hoping to arrange a trip for me and my quilting buds.

    1. Lucky you! Have fun—LaGrange is a nice town and the museum is lovely. And check and see whether there’s a quilt exhibition at Winedale, too. It’d make a great day trip!

  5. At my age, friends would be grabbing quilts to cover me up if I was wearing a bikini! Hahaha! Thanks for sharing the quilt exhibits.

    1. It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Judy labeled it Square in a Square—A traditional block, I believe.

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