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The Huntsville Museum of Art is presently display a variety of art and talent in its galleries.  For those who have always been fascinated with the art of quilt making, the Museum offers A Stitch in Time: One Family’s Legacy, an exhibition that sews together the fascinating genealogy of one Huntsville family and the art of Victorian Crazy Quilts. The exhibition runs through October 26.

At the center of the exhibition is an extraordinary Victorian Crazy Quilt made in 1887 by Susie Hobbs Fennell Henderson (1861-1944). The quilt maker used brilliantly colored fabric and detailed stitching to tell the story of her family and their lives in Madison County. Over the years, the quilt was given great care. Today the quilt is in pristine condition, silently telling a tale over a century old. When the Museum received the gift last summer a wave of excitement came over the staff and board members. A quest to learn the family’s story and the quilt’s origins took off immediately.

Museum Board Member Dr. John Rison Jones, Jr. has done extensive research on the Hobbs family. His findings will be painted on one of the walls of the McDonnell Douglas Gallery in the form of a family tree, which traces Hobbs’ family back to her grandparents and follows the quilt’s travels through the family. The quilt was bequeathed to the Huntsville Museum of Art by one of Hobbs’ great-great nieces, Adrienne Lynn Allen, who was living in Texas.

Dr. Jones says this is the first time in several years that the Museum has done an exhibition profiling a Madison County artifact. “I really think the public is going to enjoy it,” he said. “The quilt is quite exquisite, the needlework is unreal. She made something so unique.”

Dr. Jones says it’s possible that the quilt was made for Susie’s sister, Leila, Adrienne’s grandmother, as a wedding gift. The date sewn in the quilt is 1887. Leila was married in 1886. “It’s fascinating that Susie put her brother and sister’s initials in the quilt.”

To showcase this magnificent artifact, the Museum has brought additional elements into the exhibition including schematics that translate elements in the quilt to help the viewer understand more about the symbols included in the work and a hands-on center that allows people to form their own version of a crazy quilt and educational information throughout the gallery.

“We’re bringing the past to the present for the future,” said Education Director Deborah Taylor. “The many elements of this exhibition combine to give visitors a history lesson not only on the Hobbs family, but also on crazy quilts and how the century-old techniques are still used today in wearables, toys, and wall hangings.”

The Museum is pleased to be working with Burritt on the Mountain, A Living Museum, as they present Quilters Tell Their Stories. This exhibition will focus on the special meaning quilts have beyond the utilitarian purpose of keeping people warm on cold nights.

The Huntsville Museum of Art is located at 300 Church Street South in Big Spring International Park. Museum hours are 1-5 p.m. Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday with extended hours and Thursday from 5-8 p.m. For more information, call 256-535-4350 or 1-800-786-9095, or visit the Museum’s website at www.hsvmuseum.org.

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		Victorian Crazy Quilt Exhibit

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©2003 Jean Brandau, licensed to About.com
Photo ©2003 Jean Brandau, licensed to About.com