On March 20, National Quilting Day, the Virginia Quilt Museum will welcome Merikay Waldvogel, a nationally recognized quilt historian. Waldvogel is coming virtually to the Virginia Quilt Museum to present her talk, “Soft Covers for Hard Times: Quiltmaking and the Great Depression.”
In this talk, participants will hear the stories of the quilt revival fueled by women’s magazines, newspapers, mail order companies and the Sears National Quilt Contest of 1933. Also included are excerpts from interviews of quiltmakers who recall using feed sack cloth in dresses and quilts. The lecture is highlighted by slides of 1930s quilts, kits and patterns.
Merikay Waldvogel is recognized as an expert on quilts of the mid-20th century quilt revival. Her book Soft Covers for Hard Times: Quiltmaking and the Great Depression is the key work on mid-20th century quilts and quiltmaking. She also co-directed the Quilts of Tennessee project in the 1980s and served on the Board of Directors of American Quilt Study Group and the Quilt Alliance. In 2009, she was inducted into the Quilters Hall of Fame.
The Virginia Quilt Museum is the Official Quilt Museum of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Founded in 1995, the museum’s mission is to “cultivate and preserve the quilting arts in Virginia.” The museum’s three floors of rotating exhibits are open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am – 4 pm. The museum is located at 301 S. Main St. Harrisonburg, VA.
For more information about the Virginia Quilt Museum, please visit http://www.vaquiltmuseum.org
