Summer Fun!
August & September Recap from Director Melody Reels
First, an apology—this newsletter is a little later than planned, and instead of an August recap, I’m wrapping up both August and September together as we head into October. It’s been a wonderfully busy couple of months here at the Iowa Quilt Museum, and I’m excited to share the highlights with you!
August and September were full of change and excitement at the Iowa Quilt Museum. In August, we said goodbye to Tiny Pieces, Vast Visions and welcomed Mama’s Got the Blues, Julie Silber’s stunning collection of 19th-century indigo quilts. I was honored to share the story of the Iowa Quilt Festival on Textile Talks, and we announced both our upcoming online lecture series with Diane L. Murtha and the launch of our 2025–2026 Capital Campaign. In September we kept the momentum going with a full weekend that combined a Barn Quilt Class, the Mama’s Got the Blues Gallery Reception, and Julie Silber’s lively trunk show. We also rolled out a new interactive series on social media—“Name That Quilt Block”—and celebrated the exciting news of our collaboration with Windham Fabrics on a new line, Swatch Book by the Iowa Quilt Museum, arriving in quilt shops summer 2026.
Read on for more details about these exciting events and announcements!
August Highlights
I’ll admit, I was a little melancholy packing up Tiny Pieces, Vast Visions. It was such a colorful, fun, and exciting exhibit—I fell in love with each piece. But unboxing and hanging Mama’s Got the Blues helped me recover quickly.
I’ve made no secret that I’m not a quilter, but I love and appreciate all that I’m learning. One of my favorite new features is our weekly block guessing game on social media. Every Monday we post a block from one of the quilts in the gallery and invite you to guess its name. Then on Thursdays at 9 a.m., I hop on Facebook Live to reveal the answer and share what I’ve uncovered about the block’s history and origin. Don’t worry if you can’t join us live or don’t have a Facebook account—you can find all the videos on our YouTube channel.
Quilters and non-quilters alike have been in awe of this new exhibit. And speaking of awe, I had the honor (and surprise!) of being asked to speak on Textile Talks with SAQA. At first, I thought the presentation would focus on the artists of Tiny Pieces, Vast Visions. It took Susan Lapham and Deb Cashatt kindly pointing out that it was really the Iowa Quilt Festival being featured! To add to my surprise, I had no idea how many people tune into Textile Talks until I saw the numbers climbing past 100 on the day of. At that point, I decided it was best to stop looking!
I’m so grateful to Martha Sielman for inviting me, and to Deb and Susan for doing the heavy lifting on the presentation. It was great fun and I’m so glad I said yes. If you’d like to watch the talk, you can find it here:
September Highlights
September was a busy and exciting month at the Iowa Quilt Museum!
We hosted another successful Barn Quilt Painting Class with 11 participants having fun with Debbie Simpson and creating beautiful works of art. There’s still one more opportunity this year—our final classes will be held in October, and spots remain open on both days. Details and registration links are included further down in this newsletter.
On September 13, we held a gallery reception for Mama’s Got the Blues. While curator and collector Julie Silber was unable to attend due to illness, we improvised with a FaceTime connection. Marianne Fons and Merikay Waldvogel guided Julie virtually through the gallery, allowing her to share insights about each quilt. The following day, September 14, Julie had planned to host a trunk show. In her absence, Tony Jacobson and Marianne Fons delighted guests with an “unboxing” of quilts Julie shipped to the museum. Although we missed Julie’s presence, both events were wonderful successes.
Did you know Julie also sells quilts through her website? You can explore her collection here:
2025-2026 Capital Campaign
As we prepare to celebrate the Iowa Quilt Museum’s 10th anniversary in 2026, we are proud of how far we’ve come—and excited about what lies ahead. Over the past decade, the museum has grown into a vibrant cultural hub, welcoming thousands of visitors each year, curating nationally recognized exhibitions, and preserving the art and tradition of quilting for generations to come.
To ensure our long-term sustainability, we are launching a 2025–2026 Capital Campaign with two primary goals:
- Paying down our debt. Like many organizations, we took on a loan during the Covid-19 pandemic, in addition to our building mortgage. Reducing this debt will strengthen the museum’s financial foundation for the future.
- Expanding our capacity. We plan to make updates to our top story, allowing us to better host classes, clinics, and community events—spaces where creativity, learning, and connection can flourish.
This campaign is not only about debt reduction—it’s about building a sustainable future for the Iowa Quilt Museum. By strengthening our financial footing and improving our facility, we’ll be ready to serve the quilting community, our town, and our visitors for decades to come.
As we approach our 10th anniversary milestone, we invite you to join us in shaping the next chapter of the museum’s story. Your support will help preserve our mission, expand our impact, and ensure that the Iowa Quilt Museum continues to thrive as a place of art, heritage, and community.
Together, we can stitch a strong future.
A Special Partnership
Not long after I began my role at the Iowa Quilt Museum, a very kind woman stopped by with a treasure—a 100-year-old shirting swatch book. At the time, I carefully set it aside, not yet realizing the incredible gift we’d been given. Months later, when I rediscovered it, I knew it was something truly special.
When I shared the swatch book with our board, the question arose: Could a fabric company help us bring these historic designs back to life and maybe even support the museum in the process? Thanks to the vision of one of our board members, we reached out, and we are thrilled to announce that Windham Fabrics has partnered with us to create a new fabric line inspired by these century-old shirting prints. Even more exciting, Windham is generously sharing a portion of sales with the museum.
Fabric shops can order now, and the line will be arriving in stores late spring to early summer. Our own Museum Gift Shop will carry precut bundles, while our friends at Piece Works Quilt Shop will offer yardage.
We’re beyond excited to see this historic swatch book find new life in today’s quilting world—and we invite you to join us in spreading the word. Be sure to ask your local quilt shop to order the collection!
Barn Quilt Painting
Saturday October 25 & Sunday October 26 , 2025
Barn Quilt Painting Classes—A Creative Year!
Our Barn Quilt Painting classes have been a highlight of 2025! After sold-out sessions in June and July, we added a September 13th class that was another wonderful day of color, creativity, and fun.
If you’ve been waiting to join, don’t miss your chance—our last classes of the year are coming up October 25 and 26. These sessions are taught by the talented Debbie Simpson and always fill quickly.
Reserve your spot today by clicking the button below:
Share Your Stash Sale
November 8, 2025
It’s time for our annual Share Your Stash Sale, a fun fundraiser for the Iowa Quilt Museum! We’re accepting donations now through October 10th of gently used or new items from your sewing room or craft space—fabric, thread, sewing machines, yarn, crochet hooks, embroidery patterns, paints, and more. If it’s craft-related, we’ll take it!
The sale will be held Saturday, November 8 at New Bridge Church in Winterset. Fabric will be sold by the pound, sewing machines will be priced as marked, and most other treasures will be available for a free-will offering. You never know—you might just find that perfect item you’ve been missing!
Donations are being accepted now—help us clear your stash and fill ours for this special event!
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.
Looking ahead to next year!
2026 Iowa Quilt Festival
Bus Trip to International Quilt Museum, Classes, Lectures, Quilt Retreat and Airing of the Quilts
June 2 – June 6, 2026
2026 Iowa Quilt Festival – Celebrating 10 Years!
Our popular annual celebration of all things quilty is just around the corner—and the 2026 Iowa Quilt Festival will be extra special as we mark the museum’s 10th anniversary! We can’t wait to celebrate this milestone with quilts, community, and creativity.
New this year, we’ll be kicking off the festival with a bus trip to the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska on Tuesday, June 2. It’s the perfect way to start the week surrounded by inspiration.
The festival features a three-day retreat with dedicated sewing space, breakfast and lunch each day, prizes, and drop-in demonstrations from instructors. Not joining the retreat but still want to learn something new? You can enjoy three full days of classes, lectures, and evening activities—all woven into a relaxing and inspiring festival experience. Classes and tickets will be available online in January, so keep an eye out!
The featured exhibit during this year’s festival, In Flanders Fields Where The Poppies Grow: Cherrywood Poppy Quilt Challenge & Quilts of Valor, promises to be a moving tribute you won’t want to miss.
Be sure to keep checking iowaquiltmuseum.org for updates as we continue preparing for this milestone celebration!
More Space for Quilting Fun
We’re excited to share that thanks to a local grant and a very generous donation from a local nonprofit, we’ve moved significantly closer to our financial goal for finishing the upstairs space above the gallery—with its beautiful hardwood floors and stunning view of our historic courthouse. This space will be perfect for classes, retreats, and quilting camps once electrical improvements are completed.
We will need to install a second row of track lighting, pendant lights in the center, and additional electrical outlets for sewing machines, irons, and table lamps. And of course, no quilting space would be complete without a design wall setup.
Your support can help us finish this dream! If you’d like to contribute, please click the button below.
2025 – 2026 Exhibits
Now through November 30 – Mama’s Got the Blues: Nineteenth Century Indigo Quilts
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 Modern 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 looking forward to displaying the guild’s amazing work again.
April 7, 2026 – July 5, 2026 – In Flanders Fields Where The Poppies Grow: Cherrywood Poppy Quilt Challenge & Quilts of Valor
This exhibit showcases quilts from the Cherrywood Poppy Quilt Challenge, 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.
- Barn Quilt Paint Classes October 25 & 26.
- 3rd Annual Share Your Stash Sale on November 8, 2025 – we are taking donations now through October 10th for the upcoming year
- Three-Part Virtual Lecture Series with Diane L. Murtha – January 24, February 21 & March 21
- Save the date for 2026 Iowa Quilt Festival – join us Wednesday June 3 through Friday June 5 for an quilt retreat, classes, & lectures. Then our big finale on Saturday June 6 for the Airing of the Quilts
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.
