When was the last time you wrote your signature? What does your signature say about you? If in the digital age we don’t use signatures, how will we authentically represent ourselves? 

Right now, you are surrounded by “Signature Cloths,” quilts covered with distinctive, hand-written and embroidered autographs of ordinary people. These signatures illustrate shared purposes, new communities, individuality, and—at the most basic level—evidence of the signer’s existence.

Since the American Revolution, when men marched off to war women mobilized at home. They raised money for relief, fed their families on limited rations, rallied patriotic spirits, celebrated victory, advocated for peace, built weapons, rolled bandages, comforted the wounded and mourned the dead: Women “covered” many of these activities with quilts. 

On many levels, we get to know others—and ourselves—better through quilts.

Antique quilts provide windows into the past. And in understanding them, we gain greater insight into our own heritage.

Global quilts help us appreciate other cultures. From India to Indiana, domestic textiles like quilts reveal the diversity of the world’s people and remind us of our common humanity.

“You can find joy in anything you do. It makes me feel so good to make a pretty quilt and have someone enjoy it.” 
—Nora Ezell

African-American quilts are a critical segment of quilt history. They reflect the diverse traditions that merge to form our American quilt heritage. African-American quilts come in every imaginable style: traditional patterns and original patterns, bold colors and subdued colors, and pieced quilts and story quilts. Like all American quilts, they vary from region to region, from era to era, and from person to person.

“Everything begins with the fabric.”

Shimmering, floating, expanding, receding—Shizuko Kuroha’s quilts resonate with an ethereal energy. Antique Japanese indigo-dyed textiles give her work depth, suggesting the expanse of sky and cosmos. Traditional sarasa fabrics—block prints in a lighter palette of beiges, grays, reds, and indigos—provide counterpoint, creating synergy between dark and light, figure and ground, tangible and intangible.

MAN-MADE: Contemporary Male Quilters examines the unique aesthetics and techniques that male artists bring to a craft long-associated with feminine arts and labor. Though a minority in the field of quilting, the number of male quilters is increasing worldwide. The eight exhibiting artists are part of a loose-knit community of male quilters whose quilts utilize striking contemporary imagery and compositions that navigate their personal interests often related to painting, film, and popular culture.

The Byron and Sara Rhodes Dillow Collection of quilts and fabrics includes historically significant and dynamic American quilts and unique international pieces. Sara, a collector and maker, loved flowers and birds—particularly the ones printed on early-nineteenth century fabrics found in the quilts she and Byron collected.  

Textiles are material evidence of history and culture and can tell us much about trade, religion, traditions, migration, communities, and individuals. The intangible characteristics—the uses, meanings, stories, skills and knowledge about production—associated with these textiles are often integral to the identity and cultural heritage of individuals and communities. 

Every quilt tells a story. 

The Mountain Mist quilt patterns are at the heart of this story.

Beginning in 1929, the Stearns & Foster Company printed a free quilt pattern inside the paper wrapper of each roll of Mountain Mist batting. Some patterns were copied from old quilts and popular new designs of the day. Others were original modern Mountain Mist designs or inspired by current events.

The company had a quilt made from each new pattern. These quilts became the centerpiece of advertisements and the stars in quilt shows and department store windows.

The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, took more lives than any other single human-engineered event before on United States soil. News media broadcast the sights, sounds, and voices of the day, inscribing the tragedy into the memory of viewers. The human process of collectively mourning our losses and sharing our comfort began immediately.