Our quilt collection contains almost 400 pieces (actually 373 but we’re optimistic)! Most of these Nebraska-made quilts date from the 1950s and earlier, so while we’re always open to collecting wonderful quilts from all decades, we’re really hungry for quilts from the last 60 years.
We’ve spent a lot of time in the last few years sharing these quilts through online and on-site exhibits. Here’s a few links:
Nebraska Gone Crazy! Crazy Quilts from Nebraska Museums
We just finished photographing, fully cataloging, and vacuuming all of our quilts (yes—it took a while). The photographing and cataloging will be greatly beneficial when our collection becomes searchable online, and the vacuuming helps with preservation and our allergies.
And,we are excited that with the support of many very generous donors we have recently purchased over 200 archival boxes to use for quilt storage. These boxes will protect the quilts from the damaging effects of light and dust and make retrieving the quilts from storage a breeze. We are so thankful for the financial help we received and are thoroughly enjoying boxing the quilts (at least those not on exhibit) until they’re needed in the future.
Laura Mooney, Museum Registrar, getting ready to box a quilt
–Deb Arenz, Senior Museum Curator
Hi Deb, I realize this is kind of an old post but I just came across it and noticed those awesome quilt drawers! They would be perfect for displaying my wife’s quilts and quilting patterns at trunk shows and trade shows. Did you have them custom made?
Tim
Thanks Julie. I’ll take a look and get back to you soon.