A Time of Thanksgiving!
Greetings from the Iowa Quilt Museum! It’s been an eventful year here in Winterset, Iowa, and since this is the season for giving thanks, we wanted to take this moment to reflect on 2024!
Welcome Melody Reels
In March of this year, we bid farewell to Carissa Heckathorn, who had served as museum director since fall of 2021, and welcomed Melody Reels to our team. Melody has been a Winterset resident for over 20 years. She has previously worked at the Madison County Chamber of Commerce and the Quilts of Valor Foundation, and now we’re grateful to have her serving as the director at the Iowa Quilt Museum. We’re grateful for Carissa’s leadership during her tenure, and for Melody’s current vision and directorship!
Iowa Quilt Festival
The annual Iowa Quilt Festival took place in early June featuring a quilting retreat, classes, trunk shows and lectures, and culminating with the Airing of the Quilts blanketing the town of Winterset (and beyond) with quilts. During this unique event, quilts are displayed in our famous covered bridges, our historic courthouse, and local churches, businesses and homes.
One of the highlights from this year’s festival was a gallery walk with Mary Kerr through her exhibit titled Twisted, her lecture on ‘Saving our Treasures’ and her book signing event.
Save the Date and make plans to join us for next year’s Iowa Quilt Festival. We’re already working on putting together another great lineup of fun and educational events!
Exhibits by Diane L. Murtha and Linzee Kull McCray
We’re grateful for the talents of Diane L. Murtha and Linzee Kull McCray who curated our two most recent exhibits.
Paper Works is on display through January 5th. This exhibit features historic, traditional, and modern examples of quilts that were pieced using the techniques of English Paper Piecing (EPP) and/or Foundation Paper Piecing (FPP).
WINTER Hours at the IQM
Monday – Saturday • 10:00am – 4:00pm
Sundays • Noon – 4:00pm
Coming in 2025: Iowa Quilts!
On January 7th, we will open a new exhibit featuring the bounty of amazing quilts that are made right here in Iowa. We have scoured the state for quilts that represent the best that Iowa quilters have to offer. These might be quilts that have been made as quilt shop samples or patterns, or just quilts from talented artists right here in our own state.
Tony Jacobson, manager of Winterset’s own quilt shop, Piece Works, is curating this exhibit.
Fun Fact: Iowa has more quilt shops, per capita, than any other state!
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