History Under the Covers

Come see spectacular quilts and coverlets from the East Tennessee Historical Society’s collection. Merikay Waldvogel will share why these particular quilts are so special. If you're new to collecting quilts and other textiles, you'll learn what to look for in regional quilts and how to care for them. Everyone is welcome. Knoxville's quilt heritage is particularly rich with fancy and everyday quilts being made in our region as early as 1800. Quilts by Lillie Harvey and Helen Rose-Fleenor will be on view in addition to popular quilts “Yellow Ribbons,” the “Knoxville Crazy Quilt,” and more. To view quilts featured in this workshop, visit https://hub.catalogit.app/8508/folder/5ae9ab20-3512-11ed-8e03-2b3397ab8f9c .

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Merikay Waldvogel has made a career of quilt research. Growing up in post-World War II suburban St. Louis, she did not have any quilts in her family. One quilt collected in Chicago, where she was teaching at the time, changed her life and work. When she moved to Knoxville in 1977, she began collecting quilts and quilt stories in earnest. With Bets Ramsey, she co-directed the Tennessee quilt survey and wrote Quilts of Tennessee: Images of Domestic Life Prior to 1930. In 1990, she wrote Soft Covers for Hard Times: Quiltmaking and the Great Depression, the first book devoted to mid-20^th century quiltmaking. With Barbara Brackman, she researched quilts in the 1933 Sears National Quilt Contest and wrote a highly regarded book Patchwork Souvenirs of the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. She has written for quilt magazines, lectured widely, and advises on dating and care of antique quilts.