New quilt exhibit in Goshen College's Library Gallery showcases floral prints and appliqués

The show will feature quilts made between 1913 and 2009. Some of the quilts are owned by the Mennonite Historical Library, and some are on loan from local quilters and owners. All of the quilts feature floral patterns.
(Image provided)

GOSHEN, Ind. – A new quilt exhibit, titled "Grandmother's Flower Garden: Floral Design in Mennonite and Amish Quilts," will open in the Goshen College Good Library Gallery on Sunday, March 28, with a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. The show will feature quilts made between 1913 and 2009. Some of the quilts are owned by the Mennonite Historical Library, and some are on loan from local quilters and owners. All of the quilts feature floral patterns.

The show will be open from March 28 to July 9, with special open days Aug. 9-13. On May 3, there will be a trunk show, where artists or owners of the displayed quilts will speak, and visitors are invited to bring their own quilts to show and discuss with the group.

The title "Grandmother's Flower Garden" is a reference to a quilt pattern of the same name, which was the most popular quilt pattern among American women after 1925, according to quilt scholar Barbara Brackman. The show features quilts in this pattern, as well as others. Many of the quilts are heirlooms that have been passed down through families since the pattern's vogue during the Great Depression. The sources for quilt patterns for early 20^th century Mennonite and Amish families were newspapers, magazines and mail order patterns that were then shared among family members and neighbors.

"The Grandmother's Flower Garden is about the continuity of giving and receiving from generation to generation," said Rebecca Haarer, the show's curator. "To me it has to do with nostalgia. In reflecting on the past and realizing we have carried that past into the future."

Rebecca Yoder, a prominent local quilter, has several quilts featured in the show, both in classic, geometric floral patterns, and in more contemporary styles and fabrics.

"There'll be Grandmother's Flower Garden and other stylized kinds of flowers," said Ervin Beck, who helped organize the exhibit. "There will also be some more realistic ones that have been appliquéd."

This exhibit is Goshen College's contribution to the Quilt Garden Tour, a tour of gardens that have been specifically planted to resemble quilt patterns, and murals that are quilt related. The Quilt Garden Tour is sponsored by the Elkhart County Visitors and Convention Bureau.

The show was curated by Rebecca Haarer with assistance from Beck, Barbara Smucker and Hannah Sandvold. It was sponsored by the Mennonite-Amish Museum Committee at Goshen College.

– By Chase Snyder

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

###

Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college's Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron's Best Buys in Education, "Colleges of Distinction," "Making a Difference College Guide" and U.S.News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" edition, which named Goshen a "least debt college." Visit www.goshen.edu.