The Southeastern Quilt and Textile Museum (SQTM) in Carrollton is hosting “Nineteenth-Century Blues: A Quilt Study,” a biennial traveling exhibition from the American Quilt Study Group (AQSG), Aug. 8 through Sept. 15. The show pairs contemporary quilts from across the country with nine historic pieces from SQTM’s collection.
For each cycle, AQSG selects a theme, then challenges members to reinterpret the design, technique or story of a historical quilt that falls within the theme — in a fresh way. This cycle’s theme was blue, inspired by the regular appearance of blue fabrics in old quilts.
“… blue is a beloved color throughout time that evolved with the dyeing and printing industries in the 19th century,” said Amy Loch, SQTM’s executive director. “During the century, the range of blues on fabrics evolved, making for a fascinating study of time and color.”
Nearly 50 quilters took up AQSG’s challenge. Twenty-five made the 10-city traveling show.
At each stop, Loch explained that the host site incorporates its own pieces. “This allows for different layers of study and visitor enjoyment in each of the exhibition’s 10 host communities,” she said.
In Carrollton, the nine featured pieces from SQTM’s collection span the full range of 19th- and early 20th-century blues. Deep indigos. Prussian blue. Cadet blue. Each carries a specific story: a father’s grief, a mill family’s labor, a maid’s handmade wedding gift, among the many histories.
Nine local quilts, nine Southeastern stories
The oldest is a “Covered Wagon Coverlet,” woven in 1842 from wool, cotton and linen threads dyed in indigo, madder, white and cream. The quilt was made for a baby, who died from cholera, along with its mother, heading west by covered wagon. The piece was donated to SQTM by Elyse Wheeler, Ph.D., descendant of the original weaver. From roughly the same era is “Robbing Peter to Pay Paul,” pieced around 1850 in Spalding County.
“Four Birds Drinking from the Same Vessel” has a Polk County story. Quilted between 1965 and 1966 by Jewel Browder Frederick as a wedding gift for Robert and Nancy Rhodes, the quilt hung in the couple’s bedroom for years before they donated it. Frederick, listed in the time’s census records as “colored,” worked as a maid for the Rhodes family.
“Nine Patch Square in a Square” carries its maker directly in its stitching. Made from cotton dress fabrics and shirting, the Baptist fan pattern quilt is hand-pieced and hand-quilted. Maker Gerthie Rilla Payne hand-embroidered her initials, “GRP,” and the date, May 1882, in yellow chain stitch.
The “Striped Quilt with Feed Sack Backing,” from the 1880s, is one of Loch’s favorites. It, too, features a Baptist fan pattern. The back is pieced from feed sacks, dyed blue to cover the labels. “You can still read the feed sack labels, “ Loch said. “We placed it in the exhibit so visitors can walk around the entire quilt, connecting them to the maker’s mind as they selected scrap fabrics and pieced feed sacks to ‘make do’ for the back. This quilt has at least six different blue fabrics.”
Other pieces from the SQTM collection carry questions.
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“Bluework,” stitched circa 1895 in “penny squares” style, was made by Swedish immigrant Ritarin Petrus Agaton Malin. The quilt’s wide sashing style, a North American trait, suggests it was made in the U.S. after Malin emigrated. Jane Brownlow, the maker’s great-granddaughter, donated the piece.
“Cluster of Lilies or Pond Lily” is crafted of hand-pieced and hand-quilted fabrics in indigo, cobalt, turkey red, and claret, common in the 1880s. Its Brackman pattern 2058B design traditionally includes a maker’s signature stitched at the center of each block. “Cluster” doesn’t, raising the question: Was the quilt finished?
“Crossing Ts,” made in the 1920s, used a flannel sheet as its inner batting. Its cobalt-and-white pattern suggests ties to the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. Its maker is unknown.
The maker of “Spiderweb Scrap Quilt,” circa 1890s, is also unknown. The quilt, made with blue gingham backing and quilted in a 2- to 3-inch Baptist fan pattern, arrived at SQTM with a note tracing it to New Albany, Mississippi.
Common threads
“We selected historic quilts that highlighted different historic blues over time, providing visitors a true look at blue dyes and prints from the 19th and early 20th centuries,” Loch said of the SQTM pieces on display.
That same range carries through the traveling collection. “This exhibit truly highlights the variety of blue dyes and fabrics that were available throughout the 19th century,” Loch said. “For a theme of blue, there is no shortage of variety in this exhibition. These quilts highlight many different patterns and color combinations, helping people explore the range of designs.”
“Nineteenth-Century Blues: A Quilt Study” continues to additional AQSG host communities after its run at the Southeastern Quilt Museum closes Sept. 15, 2026.
