Past Exhibits


Quilts of the South Central US
January 17 to April 2, 2013 The National Quilt Museum invited members of quilt guilds in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas to submit quilts that represent their best work for a special juried exhibit titled Quilts of the South Central US. This exhibit highlights the work of quiltmakers who are the mainstream of quiltmaking today.

	True North, detail, by Cathy Raines

School Block Challenge 2013
January 17 to April 2, 2013 See the creativity that children bring to quilting with our annual nationwide challenge. Sponsored by MODA Fabrics, School Block Challenge is a yearly contest for children. Participating schools, youth groups and parents are given packets with three fabrics from MODA, and students are required to incorporate all three fabrics in their block. Click here to see all the winners and honorable mentions.

Themes & Variations in Judy Martin's Quilts
December 12, 2012 to March 11, 2013 Exploring a theme over time in quilts provides a look at how style matures. Judy Martin designs and pieces original quilts that are clearly influenced by traditional quilts but she also takes inspiration from her own previous quilts, with specific themes weaving through her work. Some of these themes were subjects of her books first, and they became enduring interests and hallmarks of her style. Scrap Quilts and Pieced Borders are two themes that frequently appear in her quilts. Judy has also designed patterns for 63 Log Cabins to date. Stars embellish more basic patterns and pieced picture blocks, such as leaves and flowers, also appear in Judy's quilts. Click on image for larger view.


	Capistrano
Kentucky Log Cabin	Kentucky Log Cabin, detail
Fanfare for Heros	Snake River Log Cabin

My Accidental Quilt Collection
October 19, 2012 -January 14, 2013 Antique quilts from the Alan Luger Collection.



Material Witnesses & Priscilla Sage
September 14 - December 10, 2012 See the Innovative quilts by the Manhattan Quilters Guild and Priscilla Sage's exciting three dimensional fabric sculptures.









The Exquisite Stitch: 200 Years of Hand Quilting
June 15 to September 11, 2012 Honoring hand workmanship yesterday and today. If you love fine quilting and trapunto, this is the exhibit for you!






New Quilts from an Old Favorite 2012: Baskets
April 6 to July 10, 2012 Winners and finalists from our annual contest challenging quiltmakers to create original quilts based on a classic block pattern. See the innovative, imaginative new quilts along side antique baskets quilts. See the Winning quilts here.







acCent! Art Quilts of the UK March 16 to June 12, 2012 Here's your chance to see the innovative quilts from some of UK's finest quiltmakers. The only time they will be on exhibit in America, so don't miss your chance to see these exceptional quilts. The American quiltmaking tradition has its roots in English quilting. The craft was brought to America by English settlers and cloth for the colonies came from Britain as well. Quilting flowered in America, becoming the means of expression of millions of quilters over the centuries, until what we have in the United States today is a $3.58 billion dollar industry. Quilts range from simple block crib quilts to elaborate king-size appliqué quilts to embellished and custom-dyed innovative quilts. And their roots all go back to England, where quiltmaking continues today. Today's quiltmakers in the United Kingdom aren't all creating historically accurate classical quilts. Many are exploring new avenues of materials, techniques, and expression. This is immediately evident in acCENT! This exhibit features the work of 30 of the most talented innovative quilt artists from the United Kingdom who are continually pushing the envelope of what a quilt is and what it can say. The quiltmakers of long ago were creating decorative bedcovers as a way to claim status and display their wealth. The quiltmakers in this exhibit have used the medium of quilting to communicate. What they have to say might be about a challenge in their lives, or about a location they enjoy. It might simply be about a historical technique of piecing quilts, but with a fresh insight. I worked with Hilary Gooding in the UK to bring together this extraordinary group of quilts. It was difficult to select what would be included in the exhibit. The talent evident is phenomenal, and the quilts express so much. It is very important to know what is happening in other parts of the quilting world, so we can learn from other quilting cultures. This exhibit provides that opportunity. Judy Schwender, Curator/Registrar National Quilt Museum This exhibit is sponsored by AT&T, YP.com the Real Yellow Pages. Some photos from the exhibit:


	"Seaside Town" by Alicia Merrett
"Family" by Marlene Cohen	"Toward Loch Maree, Wester Ross, Scotland" by Effie Galletly
Quilts of the Appalachian East
January 20 to April 3, 2012 Last year The National Quilt Museum invited members of quilt guilds in Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia to submit quilts that represent their best work for a special juried exhibit titled Quilts of the Appalachian East. This exhibit highlights the work of quiltmakers who are the mainstream of quiltmaking today. Essentially this exhibit asks, "Who is the American quilter?" She- or he- is one of 27 million Americans who call quiltmaking a pastime, a hobby, a passion, or a necessity. Many, if not most, of these quilters belong to a quilt guild. Membership in a quilt guild provides friendship, education, support, and a framework for community service for the individual quilter. If you are a quilter and move to a new community, the quickest way to make friends is to join a local quilt guild. The 11 quilts in this exhibit include hand- and machine-pieced and quilted work; the machine quilting includes both regular and long-arm work. The quiltmakers were eager to learn new techniques and try new materials. Some of the quilts reflect a love of community and nature or are tributes to people and places. We see a love of the art of quilting, and a sense of accomplishment and beauty throughoutthe exhibit. The National Quilt Museum is a non-profit institution established to educate the local, national, and international public about the art, history, and heritage of quilt making, including the diversity of quilts and their makers. This exhibit is supported in part by the Kentucky Arts Council and AT&T Yellow Pages. This exhibit is sponsored by AT&T, YP.com the Real Yellow Pages. This exhibit was sponsored by AT&T, YP.com the Real Yellow Pages.
Quilt Journeys: Three Quilters
December 9, 2011 to March 13, 2012 In cooperation with Murray State University's Journey Stories Project, we will present the story of three quilter's journey into quilting. The exhibit tells the story of three quilters. This is not a journey from point A to point B, but rather a spiritual, emotional journey from one's first step into the world created by quilting. Like most journeys, it isn't the destination that is the story, it is the process of getting there that is interesting. We follow three quilters, Diane Gaudynski (right, a sample of her "feather" stitching), the late Dorris McManis and the late Doreen Speckmann. Each issued themselves a quilt challenge, and this exhibit explores how they responded to that challenge. We follow them as they find their "voice" during their journey. Planning a task (Grades K - 6) Writting a Feature Story (Grades 6 - 12) Writing Ekphrasic Poetry (Grades 3 - 12)
"Footies" from Dorris McManis' year long challenge
(Click on images for closeups) In Fields of Gold, Diane Gaudynski 2001	(Click on images for closeups) Shadows of Umbria, Diane Gaudynsi, 2008
July, by Doreen Speckman	St. Thomas: Spinning Fish, by Doreen Speckman
Quilting Reinvented: Longarm Quilters of the 21st Century
On Exhibit October 7, 2011 to January 17, 2012 The use of the longarm quilting machine has revolutionized the art of quiltmaking. See the work of top practitioners Marilyn Badger, Rene Haddadin, Richard Larson, Linda McCuean, Sharon Schamber and Linda Taylor.
"Geisha and the Serving Girl" by Marilyn Badger	"Birds In Paradise" by Linda Taylor This exhibit is sponsored by AT&T The Real Yellow Pages.
Thanks to APQS and Irene Reising, you can see Longarm quilting demonstrations most Wednesdays 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. until January 13th.
For 2011 exhibits and earlier, click here.