Fell out of October and into November
October Recap from Director Melody Reels
October was a wonderfully full month at the Iowa Quilt Museum! We wrapped up our final Barn Quilt Classes of the year and are already looking forward to bringing them back in the spring. Trick-or-treat night brought a fantastic turnout, and the Covered Bridge Festival kept the museum buzzing with activity—kids especially loved the quilt block coloring pages we offered. Much of our behind-the-scenes focus this month was dedicated to collecting, sorting, and preparing donations for the Share Your Stash Sale on November 7. Thanks to the generosity of our community and the hard work of many volunteers, the sale had our best turnout yet. We’re so grateful to everyone who donated items, contributed time, or joined us for these events—thank you for making October such a successful month at the Iowa Quilt Museum!
Share Your Stash Sale Fun
Our 3rd Annual Share Your Stash Sale was a tremendous success—our best turnout yet! Yarn and fabric were going out by the bagful, and we loved seeing the excitement from everyone who came. A special thank-you to all the quilters who were in town for retreats that weekend and made a point to stop by early—you helped make the morning feel extra lively.
We’re so grateful to everyone who donated items, shopped the sale, or generously gave their time and energy to help us pull it all together. Your support makes this event possible, and we’re already looking forward to making next year even bigger. We’ll begin accepting donations again on December 10th, and our tentative date for the next Share Your Stash Sale is Saturday, November 7, 2026.
Thank you for helping this fundraiser grow year after year!
Something Blue to Something New
A New Exhibit Is Coming to the Iowa Quilt Museum!
As we prepare to say goodbye to our current exhibit, Mama’s Got the Blues, we want to take a moment to appreciate the beauty that has filled our gallery these past months. Featuring indigo-and-white quilts from the early 19th century, this collection has showcased the elegance of traditional hand piecing and quilting—each stitch a reminder of the artistry and history preserved in these timeless works. The final day to view Mama’s Got the Blues is Sunday, November 30; the quilts will be taken down immediately after closing.
Just two days later, we’re thrilled to welcome something completely new and refreshingly contemporary: Rebound, Renew, Reimagine: Manhattan Quilt Guild. This exhibit, featured at the International Quilt Museum in 2024, highlights the work of artists from the Manhattan Quilters Guild as they reflect on life after the pandemic. Each quilt begins with “re”—rebound, renew, reconnect, reimagine—and expresses a personal interpretation of returning to the world, rebuilding community, and rediscovering creativity.
The Manhattan Quilters Guild began in 1980 as a small group brought together by an ad in Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine. Today, it is a dynamic collective of international artists—designers, curators, teachers, writers, bloggers, and entrepreneurs—whose work pushes the boundaries of traditional quilting into the realm of fiber art. We are honored to bring their innovative and deeply expressive quilts to Winterset.
Rebound, Renew, Reimagine officially opens Tuesday, December 2.
To celebrate, we’re opening early and offering free admission from 6:45 a.m. to noon, along with complimentary coffee and donut holes for commuters and early risers. Stop in for a sneak peek of this inspiring new exhibition—and start your day with quilted creativity! We can’t wait to share this exciting transition with you. And, fittingly, our opening day falls on Giving Tuesday. If the Iowa Quilt Museum has inspired you this year, we invite you to consider a gift of support as we continue preserving and celebrating the art of quilting.
Three-Part Virtual Lecture Series
with Diane L. Murtha
Join us online for an engaging lecture series with award-winning quilter, author, and international instructor Diane L. Murtha, hosted by the Iowa Quilt Museum
Challenge Accepted: Expanding Your Creative Boundaries, January 24 | 2:00–3:00 PM
Diane combines her popular “Challenges I & II” into one insightful, humorous session. Discover how quilt challenges can build your skills and spark new creative energy.
Peaceful Stitching, February 21 | 2:00–3:00 PM
Learn how to incorporate slow stitching techniques—like big stitch quilting, embroidery, and decorative darning—into your quilting practice for both creative and meditative benefits.
License to Play, March 21 | 2:00–3:00 PM
From modifying a pattern to designing your own, Diane offers fun, fearless strategies to help you unlock your creative potential.
Cost:
• $20 per session
• Or $50 for all three
This is a virtual event—attend from anywhere!
Your participation directly supports the Iowa Quilt Museum and helps us continue sharing the art and history of quilting.
More to offer this Winter
Tickets are already on sale for Diane L. Murtha’s popular online lecture series, and we’re thrilled to announce that more exciting online classes are coming your way soon with Sujata Shah. Plus, don’t miss our hands-on Featherweight Maintenance class (in-person!) scheduled for March.
Stay tuned—details and registration links will be dropping in upcoming newsletters or on our social media!
Volunteer Opportunity
Calling All Quilt Lovers – We Need YOU in Our Gift Shop!
The Iowa Quilt Museum’s little gift shop is growing, and our wonderful board members can’t quite cover all the shifts anymore. We’re looking for friendly, reliable volunteers who love quilts (and tourists!) to help staff the shop a few hours a week or month—whatever fits your schedule.
In return for your regular help, you’ll receive a complimentary Iowa Quilt Museum membership and the best perk of all: you’ll be the very first to see each new exhibit as it’s installed!
If you’d enjoy greeting visitors, ringing up sales, and being surrounded by beautiful quilt-related treasures, please reach out to us at director@iowaquiltmuseum.org or stop by the museum and ask for the volunteer coordinator. We’d love to welcome you to the team!
Campaign Update
As we look ahead to the Iowa Quilt Museum’s 10th anniversary in 2026, we’re grateful for how far we’ve come—and energized by what’s next. Over the past decade, the museum has welcomed thousands of visitors, curated nationally recognized exhibitions, and celebrated the art and tradition of quilting in meaningful ways.
Our 2025–2026 Capital Campaign focuses on two goals:
(1) Reducing the debt we took on during the Covid-19 pandemic, and
(2) Expanding our capacity by finishing the top floor for classes, clinics, and community events.
We’re excited to share that progress is already underway. A new air exchanger has been installed, and we are now reviewing bids to add additional outlets, improved lighting, and expanded electrical access so the space can support sewing machines, irons, and full workshops.
Thanks to early supporters, we’ve already raised just over 15% of our overall goal, giving us strong momentum as we move forward.
This campaign is about more than reducing debt—it’s about building a sustainable future for the museum and ensuring we can continue to serve quilters, visitors, and our community for decades to come.
If you’d like to support this effort, you can contribute today through our website. Every donation—large or small—helps move us closer to this exciting next chapter.
Swatch Book from Windham Fabrics
If you missed it in our previous newsletter, we’re still over-the-moon excited about our collaboration with Windham Fabrics! It all started with a generous donation: a stunning 100-year-old shirting swatch book that walked through our doors like a time capsule. Thanks to the creativity and persistence of our board, those gorgeous vintage prints are now coming back to life as a brand-new fabric collection—and a portion of every sale supports the Iowa Quilt Museum.
The collection is open for quilt shops to order now and will be landing in stores from late spring through early summer. Look for precut bundles in our Museum Gift Shop and yardage at Piece Works Quilt Shop (and many other shops nationwide!).
Please help us spread the word—ask your favorite local quilt shop to bring in this special line. Every yard sold helps preserve our quilting heritage right here in Iowa. Thank you for being part of this exciting journey!
2025 – 2026 Exhibits
Now through November 30 – Mama’s Got the Blues: Nineteenth Century Indigo Quilts *You’ll be sad if you miss it!*
We’re honored to be working with Julie Silber, respected quilt collector, dealer, and appraiser, to showcase her mother’s antique blue and white quilts,
December 2, 2025 – April 5,2026 – Rebound, Renew, Reimagine
The Manhattan Quilters Guild’s post-COVID exhibit will make a stop here in Iowa at the end of 2025. We were fortunate enough to have 40×40@40 displayed in 2021 and are looking forward to displaying the guild’s amazing work again. We’ve received the quilts, and they are spectacular!
April 7, 2026 – July 5, 2026 – In Flanders Fields The Poppies Grow: Cherrywood Poppy Quilt Challenge & Quilts of Valor
This exhibit showcases quilts from the Cherrywood Poppy Quilt Challenge; the challenge is an annual event inviting quilters from around the world to create 20-inch square quilts using a select palette of Cherrywood’s hand-dyed fabrics. The 2024 challenge theme was “POPPY,” and features a stunning collection of reds, greens, and grays inspired by the symbolic flower. The quilts honor U.S. veterans and their sacrifices, and will be displayed alongside Quilts of Valor, whose motto is “Quilts = Healing.”
2025 Iowa Quilt Museum Events
Look for continued updates on our website and social media about what we have to offer in the coming year
- Stitch In at the Museum – every 2nd Thursday of the month.
- Three-Part Virtual Lecture Series with Diane L. Murtha – January 24, February 21 & March 21
- Featherweight Maintenance Class March 28, 2026
- Barn Quilt Paint Classes will start back up in the Spring
- Save the date for 2026 Iowa Quilt Festival – Kicking off with a bus trip on Tuesday, June 2, to the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska. Wednesday, June 3 – Friday, June 5: Quilt retreat, classes, & lectures. Grand finale on Saturday, June 6: Airing of the Quilts.
- 4rd Annual Share Your Stash Sale on November 7, 2026 (tentatively) – we will start taking donations for the upcoming year on December 10th.
Marianne’s Musings
Founding IQM Board Member Marianne Fons is a member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative, a collection of over 70 professional writers and journalists. She writes a (mostly) weekly Substack column titled “Reporting from Quiltropolis.” (Quiltropolis = Winterset.) Check out Quiltropolis by clicking on the button below, and subscribe if you like.
