Quilt show concludes this weekend in Madisonville

This combined image from the Monroe Area Council for the Arts shows two examples of the handiwork featured in "A Story in Stitches: Friendship Quilts & Treasured Quilts" on view in Madisonville, Tenn.
This combined image from the Monroe Area Council for the Arts shows two examples of the handiwork featured in "A Story in Stitches: Friendship Quilts & Treasured Quilts" on view in Madisonville, Tenn.

If you go

› What: “A Story in Stitches: Friendship Quilts & Treasured Quilts.”› When: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. today, April 7; 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, April 8; 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, April 9.› Where: Cora Veal Senior Center, 144 S. College St., Madisonville, Tenn.› Admission: Free.› Phone: 423-442-3210.› Website: monroearts.com.› Note: Lunch will be available for purchase the final day of the show.

A storied exhibition of quilts from Monroe County seamstresses is midway through its brief run in Madisonville, Tenn. "A Story in Stitches: Friendship Quilts & Treasured Quilts" may be viewed today through Saturday, April 7-9, at the Cora Veal Senior Center.

The exhibit totals more than 50 quilts, including contemporary pieces by the Merry Crow Hop Quilters and treasured keepsakes from family collections.

This is the second year the Monroe Area Council for the Arts has exhibited the friendship quilts of Merry Crow Hop Quilters. Over 35 years, members have produced "a remarkable collection of quilts, each one distinctive and every square as unique as the individuals for whom they were made," says a news release from show organizers.

On some quilts, squares commemorate births, milestone birthdays and other major life events. Some assemblages are considered healing quilts, made to comfort someone recovering from illness or injury.

The collection of "treasured quilts" comes from family troves, usually with family lore attached.

"Everybody has a quilt story," says curator Pamela Madden. "That's the amazing thing. Whenever people look at quilts, they start telling their own stories about quilts."

Heather Houvenagle says her contribution to the show, done in a Rocky Mountain Sunset pattern, "was made by my Great-Great-Aunt Myrtle's mother in 1888 when Myrtle moved from Nebraska to Colorado, and it was a parting gift of love. It was given to me in 1988, 100 years later."

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