Stephanie Croston

    When the International Quilt Study Center and Museum opened its new building at 33rd and Holdrege in Lincoln March 30, Seward was well represented.
     Four members of the Blue Valley Quilt Guild serve as docents at the center, one is in visitor services and one volunteers in collection care.
     "It's a very exciting atmosphere," Gretchen Gebhardt of Seward, one of the docents, said.
     A docent functions like a guide, helping visitors through the center and answering questions along the way. Each was required to take a quilt history class, Gebhardt said.
     They also have to know the collection and be able to give an overview of it, talk about the care of quilts and help in visitors services, Becky Reisinger of Seward, another docent, said. There are 25 people who serve as docents at the center.
     Volunteers may choose the area they'd like to be in, Phyllis Hronik of Seward, a Blue Valley Quilt Guild member, said. She is in visitor services, where volunteers greet visitors, explain the virtual gallery and show the layout of the center.
     "We have to be fairly knowledgeable of what's on display," she said.
     Two exhibits are currently on display at the center-Quilts in Common, which includes quilts from the permanent collection, and a show by Nancy Crow that is on loan, Kriss Moulds of Seward said. Moulds is a docent at the center.
     The Quilts in Common display features quilts from around the world and shows how, although fabrics and techniques may differ, some things are the same no matter where you are. Additional art work complements each quilt grouping, Reisinger said.
     "It combines history and contemporary," Moulds said. "Some are more art pieces."
     All quilts have a top, batting and backing, Hronik said, but each country has its own techniques. Japan, for example, uses traditional techniques and puts its own twist on them.
     Quilts are displayed for no more than nine months and then put into storage for 10 years, Gebhardt said. The virtual gallery allows visitors to see all the quilts in the collection. Pictures of the quilts may also be viewed online at the center's website, quiltstudy.org. Quilt blocks of the month are available, as well.
     The center can display up to 60 quilts at one time, although the Quilts in Common show features just 25 quilts. Other quilts travel around the country and the world in traveling displays. When they return to the center, however, they are put in quarantine for two weeks, Reisinger said.
     "Preservation of textiles can be finicky," Moulds said.
     Patsy Mellen of Davey, another Blue Valley Quilt Guild member, volunteers in collection care. Volunteers wear gloves when they handle the quilts and are not allowed to wear makeup or jewelry while working. They also may not take pens into the work rooms, Mellen said.
     Every two years, each quilt is examined, she said. Quilts are laid out on a table and their quality is assessed. Then they are refolded differently so they don't have the same fold lines. They are wrapped in acid-free tissue paper and stored in acid-free boxes.
     Moulds said the research library is also available, although books may not be checked out. Hronik said volunteers in the library will get the books for the patrons, who may then take the information into a reading room for perusal.
     Reisinger said the collection is being photographed and documented, and a book featuring those pictures and stories will be available in the center's gift shop.
    Center history
     The center actually opened in 1997 with a donation of approximately 700 quilts from Robert and Ardis James of New York. Robert is originally from Ord, while Ardis is from Lincoln, and both graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
     Gebhardt said the Jameses also gave a substantial monetary donation toward the new building. Barbara Pike, another docent from Seward, said 131 quilt guilds from around the state, as well as six different countries, contributed to the center.
     The James family had been collecting quilts from around the world and wanted a place to display the collection without breaking it into smaller groups, Gebhardt said. To date, they have donated approximately 950 quilts to the center, Moulds said.
     They looked at a place in Williamsburg, Va., originally, but the people there said they would need to hire 10 to 15 full-time employees.
     "That was the deal breaker," Gebhardt said.
     Since they knew UNL and the strength of its textile program, the Jameses came to Lincoln. UNL was willing to provide a new building, Reisinger said, and the International Quilt Study Center and Museum was born.
     The center is home to more than 2,300 quilts from 26 countries, Gebhardt said. The oldest quilt is estimated at 1790, but the oldest dated quilt is 1808, Mellen said.
     "It's the largest publicly owned collection in the world," Moulds said.
     The center will accept quilt donations, but "it won't take just any quilt," Gebhardt said. "They're looking for rare, documented quilts."
     "There is a process to go through," Moulds said.
     The history of a quilt should be included with the quilt itself, Gebhardt said. Reisinger said visitors to the center will be able to record information about their quilts in the virtual gallery.
     The center is planning a quilt ID day, where people can bring their quilts to learn more about them. An appointment is required and a fee will be charged for each quilt, Moulds said.
     "A quilt can only be as old as the newest fabric," Gebhardt said.
     Gebhardt said quilts were not only functional, they were an accepted form of creative expression for women. The quilts in the center offer a lot of American history, as well as historical fabrics and techniques, she said.
     "It's neat, seeing quilts as historic and artistic," Hronik said. "They were just for function before."
    Opening and future
     Opening day was an exciting one for everyone involved, the guild members said. Mellen was helping in the library and said the line was out the door.
     "A lot had looked forward to this for so long, they wanted to be there," Gebhardt said.
     "I was waiting for the new center to open," Hronik said.
     The center is staffed by volunteers, including the six from the Blue Valley Quilt Guild. Each is asked to work eight shifts per year, a goal the guild women said would be easy to meet.
     "Seward is near enough, we can volunteer on a regular basis," Moulds said.
     "There are already tours stacked up," Pike said.
     The center is always looking for volunteers to help in all areas, Moulds said. All interest and skill levels are welcome, she said. Training is required, Gebhardt said, and more information is available through the website or by calling any of the current volunteers.
     The center is also planning a variety of activities, including family days. It is available for field trips, as well.
     "It will be a strong destination," Reisinger said.
     The center is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sunday afternoons from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Tours may be scheduled by calling 472-6549. An admission fee is charged.
     Hronik said visitors should allow at least an hour to go through the galleries, virtual gallery and gift shop.