6/30/2006

Filed under: Alliance Member News, The Quilt World by site admin

In 2001, the Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin, agreed to be the depostiory for Kathleen McCrady’s Quilt History Study Hall contents. The study hall was established in 1995 for the purpose of sharing quilt history with visual examples. A classroom in her backyard was used to exhibit the contents that included examples from about 1800 to 1970.

After teaching for almost ten years at no charge to students, the contents were donated in March 2006. The contents included: 54 quilts and quilt tops, 90 block examples, 77 vintage fabric samples, over 90 quilt related items such as pattern books, published newspaper patterns, batting wrappers and over 80 sewing notions and ephemera. Vintage feed sacks and six notebooks of four-inch feedsack swatches were included. Kathleen’s interest in quilts goes back more than 40 years and include items donated by students.

Donations of four family quilts included a 1950s Diamond Field, the 2002 Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine cover quilt, Traveling Stars with Sunbursts made by Kathleen, her mother’s 1932 Friendship quilt and her mother-in-law’s 1960′s Opt Art quilt. These quilts represent three native Texans.

For more information, contact Kathleen McCrady at kjmccrady@sbcglobal.net.