Quilted Treasures

Good Night: Quilted Treasures from the Witte Museum Collection
September 26, 2007-March 30, 2008

Creating a proper home environment during the Victorian Era, particularly in the bedroom, was a vital role for women. Good Night: Quilted Treasures from the Witte Museum Collection, on view in the Coates Textiles Gallery at the Witte Museum from September 26, 2007 through March 20, 2008, features quilts and needlework from the 1850s to 1880s demonstrating this important responsibility.

While many quilts were created for warmth, particularly on the frontier, they soon became the primary means of bringing beauty into the bedroom. Long before a successful sewing machine was invented, quilting and needlework was done by hand, stitch by stitch. Good Night features beautiful cotton and silk quilts, linens, pillow shams and nightwear—all made by hand. Highlights of the exhibit include a 1846 whole cloth quilt made of hand-woven linen and wool as well as a 1852 pieced silk quilt made in honor of statesman Henry Clay.