A quilting heaven opens in Nebraska

I have a really big reason to regret that I no longer live on Francis Street in Lincoln, Neb., not far from the University of Nebraska’s East Campus. When the International Quilt Study Center opens its new facility there on March 30, it will be nirvana for quilters and those who love quilts, whether we live in Maine or California.

A few Maine quilters, known and anonymous, already have their work in the collections of this quilting heaven-on-earth facility. They are:

. Elizabeth Busch of Glenburn, art quilt “Imbalance,” created in 2006 and acquired by the center this year.

. Gayle Fraas and Duncan Slade, North Edgecomb, “Precipice,” created in 1985.

. Pam Wegman, Rangeley, “Barnyard,” created in 1992.

. Hannah Larrabee, whose Star of Bethlehem quilt was stitched in 1859, probably in Phippsburg.

To be included in the center’s collections is haute stuff, to say the least.

The new $12 million facility, privately funded through the University of Nebraska Foundation, will house the Robert and Ardis James Collection of antique and contemporary studio art quilts, the Cargo Collection of African American Quilts, and the Jonathan Holstein Collection, which includes the Whitney Collection and a group of Pennsylvania Amish quilts.

Road trip, anyone?

The center was established in 1997 when Robert and Ardis James donated their collection of 950 quilts to the university. It has become the largest public collection of its kind and now encompasses 2,300 quilts valued at $8 million to $9 million.

One of the wonderful things about the center is that it offers traveling exhibitions, shows that quilters would love to have stop in Maine, a boon to those of us who don’t travel much anymore. The traveling exhibitions are varied and a visit to www.quiltstudy.org will supply some of the details about what it takes for a responsible institution to stage such an exhibit.

Traveling exhibits available are “Modern Marvels: Quilts Made from Kits, 1915-1950,” “Indigo Gives America the Blues,” “Design Dynamics: Log Cabin Quilts from the Jonathan Holstein Collection,” “Partisan Pieces: Quilts of Political and Patriotic Persuasion,” “Perfecting the Past: Colonial Revival Quilts,” “Recycling and Resourcefulness: Quilts of the 1930s” and “The Collector’s Eye: Amish Quilts from the International Quilt Study Center Collections.” Call Marin Hanson at 402-472-5418 or e-mail mhanson@unl.edu for more information.

Meanwhile, the rest of us can visit www.quiltstudy.org to view images of quilts in the center’s collections, including the one created by Elizabeth Busch which was the center’s Quilt of the Month for November 2007.

The University of Nebraska now offers a graduate program in textile history with an emphasis on quilt studies – one more reason for quilters to cheer. For more information about the University of Nebraska department of textiles, clothing and design, call 402-472-2911.

Snippets

. Quilting is being taught to the inmates of the Women’s Re-entry Center in Bangor. Teacher Liane Giambalvo is seeking donated supplies for the project, such as sharp scissors, thread, selling supplies, fabric scraps and quilt batting. Patterns also would be welcome. Most of the women at the center knit and crochet, and enjoy other needlecrafts so materials for those projects also are welcome. For information, e-mail Carrie Hart at carrie.hart@voanne.org.

. Get crafty at SAD 22 Adult Education in Hampden where a class in primitive rug hooking and a class in creative scrapbooking are being offered. For information, call 862-6422 noon-4 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Registration forms are available at www.sad22.us.

. The Greater Bangor Stitch and Bitch group meets 6-9 p.m. the third Tuesday of each month at Borders, 116 Bangor Mall Blvd. The next meeting is April 15. The group is open to knitters and fiber artists who would like to get together peacefully for lively conversation, to meet new friends and learn and share new skills. No flat table space is available for large projects so lap-size endeavors will work best. For information call Sue White at 866-2341, or visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/snbgreaterbangor.

. Marge Michaud of Trenton will provide instruction on paper folding and marbling 6-8 p.m. Thursday, March 27, in the River View Room at Ellsworth Public Library. Call 667-6363 for information.

. The Bangor Area Chapter of the American Sewing Guild is offering a class on silk-screen printing 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, April 12, at the Hampden Municipal Building, Western Avenue, Hampden. This is a hands-on workshop. The fee is $10 for guild members, $15 for others. For information, to register and receive a list of what to bring, call Kathy at 941-8815.

. Visit www.modafabrics.com to find wonderful, free quilt patterns. I was especially enchanted by the Pathway Batiks and Up Town designs.

ahamlin@bangordailynews.net

990-8153