News & Archives

The Kentucky Quilt Project

Louisville, KY

In her article "Affairs of State - Documenting the Past for the Future," Shelly Zegart describes how The Kentucky Quilt Project was conceived:

"The Kentucky Quilt Project, Inc., was formed in early 1981 and took two years to bring to fruition. To gather the quilts, we took The Project to the people by developing Quilt Days as an event. Twelve of them were held in Kentucky. No one had to travel more than fifty miles to participate in a Quilt Day. They were heavily advertised with the help of a network of local organizations. The volunteer effort was assisted by the newly formed Kentucky Heritage Quilt Society. Quilt Days became magical happenings as quilts that had been 'hiding' in closets, trunks, and cupboards were raised to a hanging position-many seen on the wall for the first time. Talks were given about preservation and donation of quilts to Kentucky museums. Excitement filled the air at each Quilt Day. People didn't want to go home until the very last quilt had been raised and discussed. The Kentucky Sun, the cover quilt of our book, turned up at the Somerset Quilt Day, as did some wonderful 19th-century examples of quilting and applique. Many women were perplexed and surprised to see us make such a fuss over the poorly quilted and roughly pieced wool everyday quilt. To this day, it remains my personal favorite from that Kentucky search."

To learn more about The Kentucky Quilt Project, please read Shelly's article "Affairs of State - Documenting the Past for the Future" and visit the The Quilt Index Website for additional materials on the subject.

The book "Kentucky Quilts 1800-1900: The Kentucky Quilt Project" is also an invaluable resource for exploring the origins and growth of this significant project.

The Kentucky Quilt Project archive materials are available at the University of Louisville, Kentucky: The Kentucky Quilt Project Records 1980-1997: Scope, Content and Series Description