It’s almost November and you can feel the change along the square of Winterset. We’re sweeping the leaves and turned on our heat!

Even though the tourist season is slowing down, there is much going on here at the Iowa Quilt Museum. Our current exhibit ends November 14. If you haven’t seen the exhibit yet, make sure to schedule some time to come and see the beautiful historical quilts and those made by Mary Pemble Barton and her family.

Read the rest of the newsletter to stay informed on our exhibits and events!


Mary Pemble Barton’s Quilt & Textile Legacy – Virtual Exhibit

We know everyone can’t make it to Winterset to see each of our exhibits, which is why we offer our Virtual Exhibits. It’s almost as good as seeing the quilts in person and Megan Barrett does a beautiful job of narrating.

The video opens with an overview of Mary Pemble Barton and then proceeds to provide details for each of the quilts in the exhibit. It’s a great resource to have if you want to go back and look at the quilts at a later date.

It’s $8 (the same as admission to the exhibit) to get the virtual version.

Guilds, you can have a “watch party” with your members and purchase the video for $75.


Tuesdays @ 12 – Silent Voices, Singing Threads Recording

For those of you who missed our Silent Voices, Singing Threads presentation, you can view it on our IQM YouTube channel. You’ll hear about the different quilts in the exhibit and some fun stories speaker Millie Kehrli learned during her research of Mary Pemble Barton.

We did forget to hit record for about the first five minutes which was more chit chat than anything else. You’ll start with the genealogy chart for the Barton family.


Tuesday@12 – Quilts That Go Bump In The Night

It’s creepy and it’s crawly it’s Quilts That Go…BUMP…In The Night.

Join us on Tuesday, October 26 at 12Pm CT for our Halloween inspired Virtual Iowa Quiltscape with Polly Mello.

Polly will show us her infamous collection of macabre quilts and ephemera from the collection. She is shining a light into the dark cobweb covered corners of quilting. It is Midnight in the Garden of quilts so prepare yourself to walk down the eldritch path where you will see Mourning quilts, Coffin Drapes, quilts of Presidential Assassination. There are Critter quilts and Quilts from the Headlines, “Modern Gothic” quilts and the ever endearing “Creepy Crib Quilts”.

Register today and join us as we delve into the dark unknown corners of quilting.


Take a look at our online gift shop. The perfect place to shop for you or your quilty friends! We rotate our inventory on a regular basis and add new items to the shop often. Below is just a sampling of what we offer.



In addition to keeping you up-to-date on all of the happenings here at the IQM, we also use our Iowa QuiltScape messages to share quilt-related news and events happening across our great state. Check it out!

The Wallace Centers of Iowa – Fall Quilt Show

Our annual Quilt Show returns to the Henry A. Wallace Country Life Center for 2 weeks: October 23 – November 6. Dozens of historic, contemporary and art quilts on loan will hang from the rafters of the Gathering Barn. Open hours are Monday – Saturday, 1 pm – 5 pm daily. Closed Sundays.

Admission to the show is $5/person at the door. Dessert + coffee/tea is available for an additional $5/person.


Thank you for reading Iowa QuiltScape.
Please share us with a friend!

Iowa QuiltScape is a feature of the Iowa Quilt Museum’s periodical e-newsletter, and will highlight quilting events happening all around the state. The goal of Iowa QuiltScape is to provide a central place for Iowa quilting organizations to share upcoming events and help quilters and quilter lovers across Iowa reach a broader audience.

If you have an event you would like to share via Iowa QuiltScape, send your information to
Museum Director Carissa Heckathorn: director@iowaquiltmuseum.org.

If you’re reading this but it didn’t come to your inbox, use the Email Signup form on the top of this page to make sure you’re on the list and don’t miss out on any Iowa QuiltScape news!


2 Responses

  1. Patricia Helmrichs
    | Reply

    I’d like to receive iowa quiltscape. I have so enjoyed the Tuesday @ 12. Will miss Megan’s smiling face but look forward to seeing yours. Best wishes for continued success for IQM.

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