Vintage quilts on display at Meadowlark Gallery

Quilts from the 1800s are on display at Meadowlark Gallery in Grant during the month of May.

The collection is from the International Quilt and Study Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

The center opened in 2008, and houses more than 5,200 quilts.

The museum is part of an academic program of the Department of Textiles, Clothing and Design at UNL. The department is the only in the world to offer a master’s degree in textile history with a quilt studies emphasis.

The quilts on display feature the well-loved log cabin pattern which became very popular in the mid to late 1800s in America. The pattern is made up of strips of fabric originating from a central square, increasing in size to the outer edges of the block. 

Many variations are achieved with the placement of light and dark materials.

Folklore claims that a red center represented the hearth of the home, a yellow center a welcoming light in a window, and a black center signaled a stop on the Underground Railroad, a route that freed slaves in the south.

Visitors are welcome to Meadowlark Gallery Friday and Saturday evenings from 6-8 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday, noon to 1 p.m.