Quilts presented here are contributed by organizations that hold quilt collections or quilt documentation surveys. The Quilt Index aims to be inclusive of formalized quilt documentation projects. Each contributor’s records reflect the information gathered and maintained by their organization. Researchers using the Quilt Index should factor in these differences. Please read about each project to learn about the unique collection parameters and the particular quilts included here in the Index.
The Alliance for American Quilts, MATRIX: Center for Humane Arts, Letters and Social Sciences Online and Michigan State University Museum present the Quilt Index. MSU staff members lead project work, in consultation with the Quilt Index Task Force, the Quilt Index Editorial Board, and representatives from each contributor. Collectively these partners have developed the comprehensive fields, database, search mechanisms and web interfaces.
Contributors use the Quilt Index’s online entry forms to enter and manage their quilt information and images. View sample web entry forms.
We are now accepting applications from new contributors. Download application materials as PDF files here:
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Daughters of the American Revolution Museum +
The DAR Museum, founded in 1890, owns nearly 350 quilts and counterpanes dating from the 18th century to the early 20th century. The records relating to these quilts, including those prepared for the Quilt Index, are housed at the DAR Museum in Washington, D.C.
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Illinois Quilt Research Project quilts owned by Illinois State Museum*
The Illinois Quilt Research Project (IQRP) recorded more than 17,000 quilts at 30 quilt registration days and through mail-in registration. The Illinois State Museum will input the IQRP records for the quilts owned by the museum.
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Quilts |
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The Kentucky Quilt Project at University of Louisville
Archives and Records Center*
The Kentucky Quilt Project, formed in 1981, was the first quilt
documentation project to survey a state's quilts. The records are
now housed at the UARC.
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Quilts
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Michigan Quilt Project at Michigan State University Museum/Great
Lakes Quilt Center*
The Michigan Quilt Project (MQP) was established in 1984 to document,
preserve, and present Michigan's quilting history. Records are housed
at MSU Museum.
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Quilts
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Mountain Heritage Center^
The Mountain Heritage Center, a regional museum located on the campus of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC, has been collecting quilts and related textile tools of the Southern Appalachian region since 1975. Forty quilts included in the Quilt Index, dating from 1830 to 1975, are representative of the museum’s regional collection of over 500 textile-related artifacts.
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View Quilts
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Museum of American Quilter’s Society +
The Museum of the American Quilter’s Society, founded in 1990 in Paducah, Kentucky, owns over 200 quilts representing 182 award-winning contemporary quilt makers.
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Quilts of Tennessee at Tennessee State Library and Archives*
The Quilts of Tennessee survey began in late 1983, focused on documenting
quilts made in Tennessee prior to 1930, and recorded 1,425 quilts.
Continuing documentation has increased the collection. Tennessee
State Library and Archives serves as the public repository for the
physical collection.
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Quilts
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Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum +
The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden, Colorado, is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the art and history of American quilts and quiltmaking, by providing outstanding exhibits and educational resources to the public. The quilts in our permanent collection and all related documentation are housed at the Museum.
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Nebraska Quilt Project of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln +
The Nebraska Quilt Project (NQP) began in 1987 and resulted in registration of over 3,000 quiltmakers and almost 5,000 quilts made in Nebraska or brought to the state by homesteaders or pioneers before the 1920s. Records now reside in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections.
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Texas Quilt Search and the Winedale Quilt Collection at the Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin+
Images and information for the Texas Quilt Search and the
Winedale Quilt Collection will be included in the Quilt Index. The
Texas Quilt Search project documentation will be preserved at the
Center through its Winedale Regional Center for the Quilt.
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* NEH Pilot Phase contributing partners
+ IMLS National Leadership Grant contributing partners
^ NEH Expansion Contributors
The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress
The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, which presents
the online project Quilts and Quiltmaking in America, 1978 - 1996, has
been a valuable consultant throughout the project development.
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American Memory Collection at Library of Congress
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Mosaic 
