In 2013, American Quilter Magazine published my first article on the quilts of the 1970s. Kathie Kerler was working as one of the contributing editors around that time. We met several months earlier to discuss story ideas, looking at quilts from all periods. We landed squarely in the 1970s, and it was an apt reflection of my activities.
At that point, I had a couple years of collecting 1970s quilts under my belt. I was coming up with exciting finds, and learning about what quiltmaking was like in the 1970s. The article was a progress report. There would be others.
It was a good idea to speak with people who made quilts in the 1970s. Their voices were clear and unambiguous. Not enough time had passed for romanticism to invade the accounts of what happened, and it was refreshing.
Around the time I started making noise about the quilts of the 1970s, there was a period when things seemed to dry up. Fewer quilts were turning up on eBay and Etsy, and prices were climbing. Maybe I'd made a little too much noise about these quilts. Ultimately I realized the benefit in having a head start. It made me very decisive and focused, even though I was certainly open to whatever quilts surfaced.
The Hexagon Diamonds quilt is the only one from the article that made it to Nebraska. It is part of my exhibition, "Off the Grid" and will be on display until the end of August at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum. The museum is part of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln and is located at
1523 N. 33rd St.
Lincoln, NE 68583.
For more information including hours and events, click here.
The Quilt Study Center is awesome! And it is great that your quilts will be on display there. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your collection & process...will there be a publication to go along with your show?
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