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Virginia Quilt Museum

If you happen to find yourself in Virginia this year as that state celebrates the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, you might also find your way to the Virginia Quilt Museum. Yes, the museum is located in Harrisonburg, and Jamestown is located…well, in Jamestown. But, the connection between these two towns is fairly strong this year, especially with the “Jamestown Challenge Quilts, Come Home to Virginia Quilts from the VQM” show.

The “Jamestown Challenge Quilts” part of this show consists of 35 quilts that celebrate the 400th Anniversary of the founding of Jamestown. You can view Powhatan, Pocahontas, Capt. John Smith, the early settlers, the ships that brought them to the new world, the fort - all depicted in fabric. Reaching across the ocean, see the celebration quilt made by members of the Reedsville Fishermen’s Museum Quilt Guild and their counterparts from Uppington, Rutland County, England. This quilt has been invited to be displayed at the Smithsonian Fold Festival in July - be the first to see it here!

The “Come Home to Virginia” portion of the show is the contemporary theme for the Jamestown Celebration. This show provides the perfect opportunity to view quilts from the museum’s permanent collection whose prior owners donated them with the purpose of bringing those quilts “home to Virginia.”

Both shows are running concurrently until 28 May 2007.

The Museum’s Permanent Collection consists of over 150 quilts dating from 1810 to the present. The quilts represent the many styles found throughout quilting history: whole cloth, Baltimore Album, friendship, crazy quilts, redwork, appliqué, traditional pieced patterns, feedsack quilts and contemporary art quilts. Each quilt is an important part of Virginia’s quilting heritage and each has its own story to tell.

Learn more about the Virginia Quilt Museum and the many opportunities that this organization provides for quilters and for quilt lovers.

© 2007 QuiltsHome.