Antique Quilts for a Cause

It has been a while since I’ve written a blog, but I thought you might need a breather after the four days in a row with our new book Hidden Treasures Blog Tour. It is hard to believe that we are halfway through the year, which made me wonder if I’d left out any amazing quilts from previous articles. Because I can only have 4-5 photos in each blog, sometimes I must make hard choices on which gems to include.

However, a review of the year revealed that I’d not only left out antique quilt gems, but some exhibitions. One such exhibition was from the Mark Dunn Collection at the International Quilt Museum (formerly known as International Quilt Study Center & Museum.) In 1966 he started his career in the textile industry as a third-generation sales rep in threads and yarns. In 1975 Mark Dunn founded Moda Fabrics which is a United Notions company geared for quilters.

In 2008, Dunn created a series called “Collections for a Cause” which is a reproduction fabric line based on antique quilts or fabrics with the proceeds each year benefiting an appropriate charity. Previous charities have included: American Quilt Study Group, International Quilt Study Center (now IQM) and others. The exhibition featured quilts used to create the line that benefited IQM.

These quilts together created a cross section of 19th century quilts with a wholecloth, signature quilt, medallion style star, and mosaic. Of course, I would have appreciated a whole line designed from the indigo wholecloth, but the fact that Dunn included a medallion panel in this year’s collection was a bonus. More “missed exhibitions” that are no longer available for viewing except through our blog articles coming your way.