Quilts are so much more than handmade blankets that keep us warm in the winter. They are objects of emotion, and those who know how may read entire family histories in the fabric scraps and needlework.
An event this Saturday, June 8th, at Crosstown Concourse aims to bring quilts and quilt enthusiasts together to explore the creative process and share family heirlooms and heirlooms-to-be.
Memphis Quilts — an event held in conjunction with Crosstown’s ongoing Stitched Festival — invites the public to bring their favorite quilts to Crosstown. “They can get up on stage and tell a one- or two-sentence story about their quilt and have their picture taken to become part of the historical documentation of the event,” textile artist and event organizer Paula Kovarik says. “Also, we have regional quilt guilds coming in to bring in samples of their work.”
Averell Mondie
From the Stitched exhibition of “BLUE”
The afternoon will be greeted with a different kind of “flash mob.” A group of stitchers who have “hot-rodded” vintage sewing machines will turn quilting into performance as they create blocks for a large quilt to be auctioned off for charity.
“There are lime green ones and bright red-orange ones — all these great historic machines that have been rehabilitated,” Kovarik says.
A quilt appraiser will also discuss the value of new and vintage quilts but will not be available for individual appraisals.
“I don’t want this to be just a bunch of guilds,” Kovarik says. “I want to see people come in with quilts their mothers made and quilts their grandmothers made.”