Shaping a Quilt Exhibit

Event Details

The Charleston Museum presents an original exhibition, Geometric Quilts, from May 5 to December 9, 2012 in its Historic Textiles Gallery. Pieced (or patchwork) quilts consist of geometric shapes sewn together to form a pattern. Popular throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, these quilts display a myriad of designs created from just a few distinct shapes. Geometric Quilts looks at how these simple shapes are transformed into intricate and delightful patterns. For more information, please visit http://www.charlestonmuseum.org/exhibits-geometric-quilts or call (843) 722-2996.

Exhibition Highlights
Geometric Quilts features a dramatic silk and velvet Log Cabin quilt (pictured above), made by Jane Susan Basinger of Savannah in 1880. The center of each block is a black velvet square surrounded by vibrant silk rectangles or "logs." The arrangement of colors creates a dark and light pattern. A Lone Star or Star of Bethlehem quilt (pictured left), made in the mid 19th century, took prizes at the state and county fairs. Created of approximately 800 diamonds, this stunning eight-pointed star is bordered by lovely blue plaid and wide floral chintz borders.

Paper-template pieced hexagons are pieced together to form a tessellated pattern of Stars and Rosettes in this eye-catching quilt top (pictured right) from about 1860-1880. It is a delightful compilation of 19th century calicoes. Pink and blue triangles combine to create a playful Flutter Wheel pattern in this little crib quilt, c. 1845 (pictured bottom). The blue pieces are a subtle ombré print while the double pink dot pattern adds even more movement to the pinwheels.