19 Stars: Quilts of Indiana's Past and Present

I had the opportunity to do a little sneak peek of the 19 Stars: Quilts of Indiana’s Present and Past at the Indiana State Museum this last weekend.  I took Jonesy with me because Babies Love Quilts yes?   

Anyhow the exhibit is part of Indiana’s Bicentennial celebration (did you know Indiana will be 200 next year?).   It features vintage quilts as well as contemporary (sadly no Indianapolis Modern Quilt Guild members had quilts in the exhibit).  The exhibit features 19 stars as Indiana was the 19th State of the Union.  

Let’s start first with the contemporary side of the exhibit – these quilts while they are masterpieces in their own right.  Surprisingly most of these were not my cup of tea.  I prefer quilts that can be functional in my home rather than hung solely on a wall.   Many of these were what I would call art quilts with very intricate piecing and unique fabrics and detailed quilting.  Regardless they were still beautiful and you can appreciate the craftsmanship and artistic ability of their creators.   Here are a few snaps I captured of the Contemporary  Side of the exhibit.

The vintage quilts however were amazing!  I was surprised at how much I was drawn to the Vintage pieces.  I could see similarities to these quilts and quilts shown at show and tell and IMQG Meetings.  A few of them I said to myself  “Rachael will want to hack this” (Rachael being an IMQG member who often likes to hack patterns).  They were beautiful, intricately pieced, many by hand.  And they are persevered so beautifully that you can’t really tell they are 100+ years old.    Anyhow here are some snaps from the Vintage side of the exhibit.

 Check out this feathering?  And quilting.  Holy Cow!

 Ombre Anyone?

 And what about some of these vintage prints?  

Shout out for Indy Modern Quilt Guild - Indiana State Museum if you want to have an exhibit of AMAZING Indiana Modern quilts anytime soon get in touch – I know so people. LOL.

The exhibit is on the 3rd floor of the Indiana State Museum and is included with museum admission.  I think admission $12 or $13/person (Jones sized babies are free) but the first Tuesday of the Month is ½ Price if you are a deal finder.  It’s also worth taking a peek at the Bill Foley Exhibit which I also loved.