Wednesdays – Sundays, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
What Followed Me Home: Collecting Antique Quilts, Fabrics, and Tools, a special exhibition from the personal collection of respected quilt historian Stephanie Hatch, will open at the American Textile History Museum (ATHM) on August 7 in celebration of Lowell’s annual Quilt Festival.
Over the past 30 years, Ms. Hatch has traveled throughout New England, viewing and gathering quilts, fabrics, and tools. What Followed Me Home is a wonderful collection of quilts, from doll-size to full-size, and fabrics from the 18th and 19th centuries. The quilts show a variety of styles and patterns, with fabrics including resist, block, copperplate, and roller prints. Visitors will also see fabric samples and clothing from the ATHM collection that Ms. Hatch has selected to accompany the quilts.
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Each quilt has at least two stories to tell. The first is the result of painstaking research on fabrics, styles and techniques, and the history of the makers. The second is Ms. Hatch’s story of discovery and the reason she wanted to make each piece part of her collection. From a quilter’s color choices to a sale made with nothing more than a corner in view, each quilt has a tale to tell.
In honor of the recent election and inauguration, the exhibition will include a colorful New England political quilt featuring fabrics that show how campaigns were waged on cloth more than 100 years ago. A chintz quilt, displayed as it would have been used by its original owners, on a bed, will amply illustrate Ms. Hatch’s feeling that “Chintz quilts in simple star, 4-patch, and 9-patch patterns are as compelling today as they were originally when, in the glow of a candle, they warmed the body and soul,” Ms. Hatch said.
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Ms. Hatch has also chosen several log cabin quilts from the last half of the 19th century in a variety of configurations including clocks, a streak of lightning, a barn-raising, and a pineapple. As precursors of the 20th-century grandmother’s flower garden quilts, the 19th century English honeycomb or mosaic quilts represent a tour de force of patient and precise piecing. Signature quilts are accompanied by 19th century signing tools, and quilting patterns made from wood, tin and cardboard are also displayed.
“ATHM is delighted to have this opportunity to feature Ms. Hatch’s remarkable collection of antique quilts and artifacts accompanied by a selection of our own fabric samples and clothing from the same period,” said ATHM President and CEO Jim Coleman. “We are excited to join our cultural partners in this citywide celebration of quilts.”
THE MUSEUM IS OPEN!
Come check out the new exhibit 
from Wednesday-Sunday,
10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
We look forward to seeing you!
