Archival Textile Collection Spotlight

Tompkins County Quilters Guild Collection V-64-1-2
The Tompkins County Quilters Guild was established in 1974, at a time when there were no local, state, or national organizations to support quilting. That year Jeanne Greene, a board member of Ithaca’s City Federation of Women’s Organizations, suggested holding a weekend quilt show to measure local interest, and 500 people came to see quilts on display at the Women’s Community Building. Shortly afterwards the Quilters Guild formed and began planning a major show for August 21-27 in 1976. Their Bicentennial Finger Lakes Quilt Exhibit displayed 600 quilts from 14 area counties, staged many lectures, workshops and demonstrations, attracted 8,200 visitors from 31 states and 10 foreign countries, and was hailed as the largest such show to date in the nation.  

Since that ambitious effort the Guild has focused on smaller scale programming, including educating the public about this traditional and ever-changing art form. Some of their efforts have been on behalf of The History Center in exquisite displays over the years.

Members of the Quilters Guild began donating their records to The History Center's archives in 2011 and we are delighted to keep adding to this rich collection. It contains business records, grant and workshop information, newsletters, correspondence, programs and publicity for quilt shows, and much more.

For more information or to make an appointment to do research in our collections email archives@thehistorycenter.net

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Explore our quilt collection with the Knot Sew Fast: Patchwork of Tompkins County quilt exhibit on display February-August 2023.