Quilt stories and connections

On November 23, 2024, the Amish-Mennonite Exhibit Committee and the Mennonite History Library (MHL) at Goshen College welcomed 45 members of the Midwest Fabric Study Group, to interact with a number of quilts from the MHL’s museum collection. The Midwest Fabric Study Group is an organization of quilt scholars, researchers, and enthusiasts with expertise in fabric dating and quilt identification.

Quilts have been a powerful medium for storytelling and connection, especially for women in Mennonite and Amish communities in North America. During the group’s visit, Goshen College Professor Emeritus Ervin Beck shared about the MHL’s interest in the stories that quilts tell. Friendship quilts, for example, are not usually valued by collectors, but the ways they map community networks among Amish and Mennonite women make them valuable additions to the MHL’s collection. Individual contributors to these quilts often embroider their name, address, or a special message on pieces that are then stitched into the quilt top. Beck also showed the group a Log Cabin crib quilt that had been used by one Amish family to tuck in their nine children. The worn fabric and stitching of this quilt tell a vibrant story about how it was used and loved.

Members of the Midwest Fabric Study Group viewed eleven quilts from the MHL’s museum collection during their visit and generously shared their expertise in quilt storage and identification.