Highlights Archives
Historical Museum's Quilts Featured in New Book
A little more than a year ago Maggi McCormick Gordon, a Milwaukee author who specializes in quilting and needlecraft books, had the idea to use one Wisconsin museum's collection to illustrate her next book, American Folk Art Quilts. After a few false starts, she eventually discovered the quilt collection at the Wisconsin Historical Museum and realized its depth and quality would easily fulfill her needs. After making the difficult decision of which quilts to highlight, Maggi worked with Costume and Textiles Curator Leslie Bellais to photograph them flat and in period rooms at Old World Wisconsin. The result of all this hard work is finally available and ready for purchase ($26.95) in the museum gift shop and online just in time for the holidays.
 Cover of American Folk Art QuiltsThe book uses 35 quilts, most made by Wisconsinites or brought by early settlers and ranging in date from 1800 to 1950, to represent the genre of American folk art quilts. Basing her six chapters on the strengths of the collection, Maggi decided to look at floral, wholecloth, embellished, signature, and small quilts in depth. In fact the extent of the doll and quilt collection surprised and charmed her. On the book's front flap she even writes that they "are folk art at its most basic."
The book not only highlights the quilts with full-page, four-color photographs and lengthy descriptions and histories, but also provides a how-to section at the end. The workbook includes step-by-step illustrated instructions to make blocks from six of the quilts — one example from each chapter. These blocks have been specifically selected because they feature patterns that are unusual and that may introduce readers to ideas and techniques they have not tried before.
Come see author Maggi Gordon speak at the museum on Sunday, December 9, at 1 p.m. when Maggi will share what she has learned about the European influence on American quilts. A book signing for American Folk Art Quilts will follow. Six of the quilts featured in the book will also be on display. The suggested program donation will be $2 per person.
The Wisconsin Historical Museum has more than 160 quilts in its collections, and all of them can now be viewed online.
:: Posted October 17, 2007
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