"Modern Materials, Quilts of the 1970s" opens Aug. 21 at Benton County Museum

"Modern Materials, Quilts of the 1970s" opens August 21st at the Benton County Museum in Philomath, Oregon. The exhibition is one of 22 quilt displays taking place during Quilt County 2015.

Every two years since 1991, Benton County has transformed itself into Quilt County in the Fall. Quilt County 2015 once again honors the art and craft of quilt making with 22 diverse exhibits. Quilt County is sponsored by the Marys River Quilt Guild and the Benton County Historical Museum, in cooperation with other Benton County cultural agencies, churches, shops and galleries.

My exhibition will showcase a select group of quilts from the 1970s. These quilts are full of whimsy, bold and bright as the day they were made, and full of great vintage fabrics. My collection currently includes 300 quilts made between 1760 and present day. More than 100 of those are from the 1970s. I began collecting 1970s quilts in 2010 around Halloween, when I found a magnificent crazy quilt at the big Antiques Expo in Portland. During the next four years, this part of my collection grew rapidly.

The upcoming exhibition will be the museum debut of my 1970s quilts. It will also be my second exhibition at the Benton County Museum. The first was "Beauty Secrets, 150 Years of History in One Quilt Pattern"  in 2011. That year, a record number of visitors came to the Benton County Museum during Quilt County.

Previously, my 1970s quilts were featured in a special exhibit at QuiltCon 2015; and in feature articles in American Quilter Magazine, Generation Q, Patchwork Professional (Germany) and Quilters Newsletter. Recently, a research article about polyester quilts was published in Blanket Statements, newsletter of the American Quilt Study Group.

"Modern Materials, Quilts of the 1970s" will be on display from August 21st to October 3rd at the Benton County Museum in Philomath, Oregon. There will be a full-color gallery guide available with pictures and information about the quilts, in print and electronic editions. Stay tuned for more details.

Quilt County 2015 - More Information

Marys River Quilt Guild: www.marysriverquiltguild.org. 

Benton County Historical Museum: www.bentoncountymuseum.org

Map of the sites

www.quiltcounty.org