President’s Message - The Quilt Index: Actively Preserving Our Quilting Heritage

Dear Quilting Friends & Colleagues,

Have you ever “inherited” a quilt from your family or friends and marveled at its beauty? Typically the quilt comes with a brief albeit somewhat sketchy oral history such as, it was made by my grandmother’s mother Martha, from scraps in her rag bag. Such quilts often do not have labels, and although we may yearn for more complete information about the maker, the occasion, and the purpose of the quilt, such details are often lost forever. I recently resuscitated a family quilt like this, made entirely from men’s suiting materials and filled with a heavy wool red and black buffalo check blanket carefully concealed, used instead of batting.

Textiles tell us so much about history, art, culture, varied resources, and include many secrets about math, science, and the times in which they were made. Because weaving, sewing, stitching, and quilt-making were typically “women’s work”; often they were undervalued, and regretfully unsigned, so we do not who to attribute the work to. These works of art were treated like utilitarian objects and at the time we failed to take credit for, and/or fully appreciate the artistry and skill involved in their creation.

Modern quilters and makers remain guilty of this error of omission. After hours of dreaming, designing, piecing and often hand or machine quilting, or paying others to do so, we often run out of steam. The result? We fail to label and document the quilt.

I am guilty of deferring this critical task until “later” although “later” rarely happens. I know from individual conversations that some of our members have methods to documenting the quilts they make. It would be fun to share these in future quilt clinics. That said, those of you who do not track your quilts might benefit from a free on-line resource available as a downloadable zip file courtesy of Moda Fabrics.

MODA FABRICS: Preserving the Stories Behind Our Quilts: Start Your Own Quilt Archive

Why Document Your Quilts?

Every quilt has a story that often includes the inspiration, the occasion and weaves in both the nature of the designer, the maker, and the recipient of the quilt. These stories are both historically important and cherished by loved ones. The journey of each quilt is worthy of documentation, which will help us preserve the quilt’s history for future generations. Documentation also allows you to track the location of your quilts, understand their journey, and keep the legacy of your quilting art alive. The provenance of a quilt makes it both more interesting, and also adds sentimental, historical, and real monetary value to every quilt you make.

Documenting Quilts on a National Scale

I was inspired by one of our guild presenters – Meg Cox – who taught us a bit about The Quilt Index (QI). Launched in 2003, the QI is an open access, digital repository of thousands of images, stories and information about quilts and their makers drawn from hundreds of public and private collections around the world. The Quilt Index was created through a series of grants as a digital humanities research and education project of the Matrix: The Center for Digital Humanities & Social Sciences at Michigan State University. It has received ongoing support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as various foundations and many individual donations. The Quilt Index is a compilation of the work of thousands of communitybased and independent scholars, digital humanists and library, archival and museum professionals who are dedicated to preserving quilt history, and making it easily accessible to all. To date 97,330 quilts have been indexed.

Who Can Document a Quilt in the Quilt Index?

Any individual or quilting organization can add quilts they own or have made. Use the form located at: quiltindex.org/add-quilts/submit-form/. The detailed questions are based upon consistent international indexing requirements. If you don’t have all the answers -skipping in allowed. Once you hit the “Submit” button your information will be processed by QI staff. You will receive an email with a link to each quilt. Whether you submit one quilt or many quilts, you can share the links with friends, family, and other quilters. Indexing is free; however, to cover the real costs of staff time and index maintenance a $10 per quilt donation is suggested.

How to Explore the Quilt Index

You can begin using the quilt index by just poking around. The landing page features a quilt and quilt artist of the month. You can visit galleries or explore quilting lesson plans that others have created. Use the search feature do a more focused search by quilt pattern, type, or artist. For the guild challenge I searched log cabin quilts and found 3879 examples complete with pictures and a quick snapshot of the quilt. Click deeper to see quilt details as well as the bio of the quilt maker. The descriptors provide many of the details you might use to inspire and inform.

Guild Group Registrations

Some guilds are encouraging their members to index their quilts. They host a “guild day” where members bring in their heirloom quilts, as well as their new creations. They set up stations to photograph and measure the quilts and include designated data entry volunteers, who help with data entry. Supporting guilds are able to be entered into a data field, so that guild members can search and track the quilts they are contributing. If you are interested participating in an indexing event locally, reach out to me (Dr.Madge.Buus.Frank@gmail.com.).

Quilt History is Currently in Jeopardy

In writing this piece I learned that on April 2, 2025 the QI’s grant funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities was terminated abruptly by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). As of May 1, DOGE has terminated >1400 grants to organizations and individuals throughout the US and territories including cuts to humanities councils in every state, Washington, and the District of Columbia. Additionally, dozens of the NEH's staff have been fired. Our local Northern Stage’s Vermont Farm Project is another casualty of these cuts felt ocally. If you believe that the history of quilting should be digitally preserved, please let your legislative representatives know that federal funds are critical to preserving and supporting America's cultural heritage https://p2a.co/DdtlGIT. And if you have any means or interest in personally supporting, and/ or making a legacy contribution in honor of quilter you know and love, please consider supporting your local quilt guild. To support the Quilt Index, visit the Quilt Index donation page.

Madge Buus-Frank

References

1. The Quilt Index Video - New Link: https://www.youtube.com/live/9y9zvzzb6Ug?si=OTFBfF9T4fwt5KSg

2. https://artful.substack.com/p/a-father-whispering-northern-stages

3. https://quiltindex.org/