Experience quilting from the earth to the last stitch
As you may know, quilting has a long history dating back centuries around the globe. However, it wasn’t until relatively recent years that quilting began to be seen as an actual art form. Today, these textile pieces of artwork can be found on display in museums all over the world!
The first time I heard there was such a thing as a museum for quilts was when Master Quilter Mark Sherman came to visit the Charlotte Quilter’s Guild. It was also my first visit to a Quilters Guild and my first time seeing art quilts of that nature in person.
During his lecture, Mark talked about having some of his quilts being added to the National Quilt Museum collection in Paducah, Kentucky. I remember thinking at the time how great it was to have an entire museum dedicated to quilts! Then I went to Virginia.
Did you know…
The very first museum to recognize quilts as art was the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont!
My first trip to the Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival in Virginia Beach there was a booth set up in the main lobby for the Virginia Quilt Museum in Harrisburg. Well that got my brain going. How many quilt museums are there?
So far, I’ve found more actual quilt museums here in the United States (stretching from coast to coast) then worldwide. How lucky are we? But I’ve also found some pretty amazing international textile museums as well!
I will continually be updating this list as I get new information. So, be sure to bookmark this page or Pin it to Pinterest so you can check back when you’re ready to plan your next trip!
If I’ve missed a Quilt Museum that you feel should be included in the list, please let me know HERE or in the comments below.
Quilt & Textile Museums around the United states
qUILT & Textile mUSEUMS around THE wORLD
Now, after I put together the list of all the quilt museums I found here in the US. It got me thinking, are there quilt museums in other countries? And the answer was a very exciting ‘yes’! In fact, there are Quilt Museums and art museums that include quilt exhibits all over the world!
Sadly, I wasn’t able to find as many quilting museums as I’d hoped. However, when I expanded my search to include ‘textiles’ I was rewarded with a grand list everywhere from Europe to eastern Asia!
The fun thing about visiting Textile museums is you get to see how the fabrics get made, including old mills and looms that are no longer in use today. Also, you’ll find a few Museums on this list in India and Indonesia that have some fantastic exhibits on how batiks are made!
So, if you’re planning an international trip, be sure to check if there’s a quilt museum and/or textile museum nearby!
Have you been to any of these Quilt Museums yet? Because it’s on my big Quilters Bucket List to visit them all!!
HOW MANY ITEMS CAN YOU CHECK OFF OF THE BIG QUILTER’S BUCKET LIST CHALLENGE?
If you know of a Quilt Museum that is opening soon or one that I’ve missed, please let me know in the comments!
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- How many items have you checked off the BIG Quilters Bucket List?
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Kalona Quilt Museum, Kalona, IA – two galleries, one with Amish quilts on display at all times and one with “English” quilts (non-Amish) on display usually to a curated theme.
Thank you Virginia for letting me know! I have added the Kalona Museum to the list.
‘Threads of Life’ textile centre in Ubud, Bali should be on your list – so interesting!!
Thank you so much for the heads up. The textile gallery looks amazing! Definitely adding it to my bucket list for my next trip to Bali! 😀
While not exactly a quilt museum, the Bennington (VT) Museum has the Jane Stickle on display from Labor Day weekend to Columbus/Native People’s Day every year. Absolutely awesome.