By Bill Robinson
A quilt is more than just a wrap to keep you warm on a winter night. They have come to be respected as works of art, but they are much more than that.
They are keepers of family tradition and expressions of faith.
Just as stained glass windows in Medieval churches portrayed biblical stories for illiterate parishioners, quilts tell stories of faith as well as family histories.
The artistry and history of quilting was has been on display throughout Berea this weekend for the city’s annual Quilt Extravaganza.
The exhibition opened Saturday at 23 locations and continues at least 11 locations today.
Saturday, at the WaysMeet Green Space location off Short Street, the biblical quilt collection of the Rev. J. Donald and Nancy Graham was on display.
It featured 17 quilts all with biblical themes. From “Jacob’s Ladder” to “Job’s Troubles,” each tells a biblical story.
There were familiar symbols, such as the cross and crown and others more difficult to decipher, such as “Robbing Peter to Pay Paul.” The “robbing” takes places as rings in the quilts overlap.
The “David and Goliath” quilt also takes some explaining. Look closely and you will see the Goliath’s shield and the smooth stones that David gathered from the brook.
“Joseph’s Coat of Many Colors” features perhaps the most patches of any quilt in the collection. “The patchwork quilt was an invention of pioneer homemakers,” Graham explained. “The pioneers couldn’t afford to waste anything, so every scrap of cloth they had went into their quilts.”
There are two “star” quilts in the collection -- “The Star of Bethlehem” and “The Morning Star.”
“The Hosanna” quilt features palm branch patterns, recalling the palm branches that were placed in the path of Jesus as he rode a donkey into Jerusalem on the Sunday before Easter.
“The Tree of Life” and “The Biblical Sampler” quilts are the most pictorial in the collection.
Graham and his wife own Appalachian Arts & Crafts and The Quilt Shop on the College Square in Berea. The quilts in the their collection were all made within the past 30 years.
“I’m sad to say that two of my favorite quilters, who made eight of the 17 quilts in the collection, are no longer with us,” Graham said.
They were Mary Frances Collins and Emily McCord, both of Madison County.
“Both used to bring quilts to our shop for sale on consignment,” he said. Graham, who also is an ordained minister and pastors the Kirksville Christian Church, began building the biblical quilt collection with purchases from Collins and McCord.
Across Short Street and the Berea Arts Council’s “Art Space Gallery,” a number of pictorial quilts with both traditional and contemporary designs, were on display.
Quilts by the L&N; Depot Quilters’ Club are on display today at the depot in Old Town, which also serves as the Berea Welcome Center. Also in Old Town today, Amish quilts are on display at Jazzy Jewels by Linda while antique quilts can be seen at Honeysuckle Vine.
Tolle Gallery and Something Olde on Chestnut Street also have quilt displays today, as do Appalachian Fireside Gallery, Promenade Gallery, Log House Craft Gallery, all on the College Square. The Quilts Shop and Gallery 103 have quilts on display today.
Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 623-1669, Ext. 267.
