I just came back from a visit to Paducah's National Quilt Museum. Now doesn't the word museum say antique to you all? Does to me and in previous visits there where beautiful antique quilts as well as the new "art quilts". Maybe I'm just old and I do love the new style of quilting, but Paducah had not a single antique quilt on exhibit. I was very disappointed and I venture to say this is the reason a lot of their downtown area has gone by the wayside. People go to the museum and are very disappointed by what they see.

Also, I'm a hand quilter, there were only machine quilts. Again, these were beautiful quilts, but definitely not what the word museum implys! They need to change the name to Modern quilt museum!!!

On their website there is information about past, current and upcoming exhibits. The next will feature older quilts. I imagine they change exhibits to maintain interest, not hang collections permanently.

To each his own, I guess. I recall the museum being rather small, and I would guess that they create rotating exhibits....maybe you wandered in during a more modern exhibition?

Museum actually does NOT connote antique to me, it suggests art / artifacts /collections...

I'm sorry you were disappointed in your visit.

When I was there last year, it was all antique quilts. Museum is a collection. They have traveling collections that come and go at different times. Most of the museums around the country share in this movement. You could go back next year and it would be different.

Good point

I know the museum seems small, but in relative to some other cities, Paducah is a small community and the museum is in the art district. They are always rotating out the displays and their site will let you know what is currently being show cased. Around the time of the annual Quilt show, there are all type of quilts on display in the entire area including many surrounding towns and you can really get your money's worth for the trip that is unless you are like me, and spend more than I should at the wonderful quilting stores all around Paducah.

I live there and go at least three or four times a month to Paducah and I should make it a point to visit the museum more often. From this small area, I am very proud that once a year we are on the map for our fablous quilters.

The time I was there they had a whole room full of OLD log cabin quilts. Guess you just need to go more often!

:roll:

I personally take offense at the criticism of any effort to showcase quilts, antique or not! All museums, including the Smithsonian, rotate their exhibits to bring freshness and also because they do not have room to show their collection at one time! Perhaps before people visit such establishments they should have the common sense to research prior to their visit, after all, wouldn't you check the weather before heading to the beach!

I have visited the National Quilt Museum three times and each time, the exhibits were vastly different.

Oh and here is the definition of the word museum in my dictionary:

museum (n): A building, place, or institution devoted to the acquisition, conservation, study, exhibition, and educational interpretation of objects having scientific, historical, or artistic value.

my mom lives in KY. I've been to the museum there several times. and they do rotate the exhibits. one year i loved it the next i didn't and then the next time i loved it. i believe they're trying to reach all quilters of all ages and all style of quilts. don't let one time keep you away. it really is a great museum and town. they have so little. they have great quilt shops, and great people who will help you with questions. they are so friendly there. :D

Sorry to disagree, but nothing about the word "museum" promises that its exhibits are antique or even old or traditional. And it's pretty ridiculous to suggest that the museum not having traditional, hand quilted, older quilts on display at all times has contributed to the decline of that whole area. Sorry that you were disappointed, but you know what they say...phone first (or check out the website).

The MoMA certainly isn't full of antique art....

Sorry you were disappointed at the exhibit at the time of your visit. Better luck next time. Check the internet for their exhibit to be sure.

We went many years ago and they had both hand and machine quilted. It was right around the time that machine quilting was starting to be recognized.

I took dh and our 2 sons. My dh could discuss the merits of the both machine and hand quilting.

We spent the morning at the quilt museum and the afternoon at the Corvette museum.

I have to say, that this pass June I went for the first time to the museum and they had a mix of hand quilts and machine. I love it, I think it pretty neat that Quilter's have a place to show their work. Lets give ourselves more credit, that quilting is an art as well as a passion.Like an artist our quilts are our canvas, and I am proud that we have a place to hang our work to be admired

I consider myself blessed to actually live in Paducah (Went to Hancock Fabrics this morning). The other responders are correct, the quilts in the museum are rotated constantly. You could go many times and get a totally different feel each and every time. On another subject, I thought that the remark about the "decline" of our downtown area was rather snide. I am probably prejudiced, but I have been to many downtown areas and I feel that Paducah's is as nice as most that I have seen. Most of the buildings are occupied and have new or revitalized businesses in them and the artist relocation program has been a huge success. Yeah we arent a huge metropolitan area, but I prefer living in a community this size.

Wow.

I really enjoyed my visit to the museum, and if I recall, they had quite a selection of all KINDS of quilts! I especially loved the miniatures. I thought the downtown area of Paducah was pleasant and quaint.

No, "museum" does not mean "antique" to me. I'm sorry that it does to you. One of the best "museums" in my area is OMSI, aka the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. They have some FABULOUS exhibits, and they're not always antique.

You are lucky in that you are close enough and can probably make another trip to see the museum sometime in the future, when they do have a display of antique quilts. I live on the other side of the country, and consider my trip to Paducah in 2010 the trip of a lifetime - I'll probably never get to go again. I was NOT disappointed.

I agree, I was so impressed the last time I went to the downtown area compared to the first time I was down there I couldn't wait to come back. I really appreciated the kind shop owners who stayed open a few minutes longer as I was running out of day on my adventure!! Awesome job on all that hard work. Decline was the state it was in before the revitilization efforts took over and totally gave it the feel almost like I had when I walked the streets of Seattle-

BTW, very jealous of your Handcocks visit. I love that store and can hardly wait to go next weekend. That store is like a quilters playground. I LOVE IT.

I go through Paducah each time I travel back to Nebraska. One of these times, I'm going to have to take the time to visit the museum and Hancocks. Any other quilt places to visit while in Paducah?

I recommend Caryl Bryer Fallert's place! And I believe Eleanor Burns is there, also. I'm not a big Eleanor Burns fan, so I skipped her.

Sorry you were disappointed. I was there 2 years ago, they had the last 25 years of 1st place winners there. Just beautiful. Do it again but check to see what they are showing when you go back. Quilt shop not to far from the Museum. It is in a house.. :thumbup:

Sorry, did not mean to step on toes. I love Paducah itself and the people are the friendliest of ant place I've visited, As for the older part of town, mant of the shops were empty, the ones I went into were very nice and the candy shop is still the best!

When my husband there several years ago it was really different, I did go to Hancocks on my way out of town, I was just really disappointed in the quilt museum.

The museum is very nice no matter what quilts are displayed. The downtown area is much nicer then most small cities I have been to over the years. I'd be happy to live there!

I have been to the museum several times and loved it each time. They hang different quilts, different times of the year. Rotating different types of quilts in and out all the time.

something you may not know - if you are planning a special trip to a museum and you want to see a specific quilt in their collection, contact them ahead of time, they may arrange a special showing for you.
I have done this twice, once at Boston's MFA (shown below), and once at a university museum in KY.
[img]http://zoom.mfa.org/fif=sc1/sc173578.fpx&obj=iip,1.0&wid=568&cell=568,427&cvt=jpeg[/img]

Good reply, thank you

I was at the Paducah museum only once...I loved the show I got to see, which was mostly older quilts, but also quilts that had won awards at the Paducah quilt shows. Museum to me means collections, and they can be old, new, and any age inbetween. I am a traditional quilter, but always am also impressed by more modern quilts and love looking at any quilt.
Hope if and when you get back to the museum, that there will be a more traditional quilt show for you to see...they probably have a schedule so you can choose when to go so you can see the quilts you expected to see this time.

Downtowns are declining everywhere. It's so hard to adjust to the malls and centers supplanting the old business districts and self-service instead of real service. (I still miss elevator operators.) It's the automobile culture.

Come to Lincoln NE for the International Quilt Museum when you get a chance. Be sure it is not a football Saturday!

if we are fortunate, all of our current quilting efforts will be 'antiques' someday.

I see this as an evolution of quilting...I remember quilts when they became popular again, around 1976...and have watched how they progressed/regressed since. Some I like, some I don't!

A dear friend's quilt will be in the museum ... It is a beautiful hand appliquéd quilt that happens to be machine quilted by a long arm artist...her quilt was chosen because they are showcasing the long arm artists and her appliquéd quilt showcases it beautifully.

When I saw her quilt I saw the perfection of her Applique and then the quilting.

I have to disagree, when I think museum, I think art. Art is not just old, there are also new artists that deserve to be showcased in a museum just as much as the old. I like to see old traditional quilts just as much as I like to see new modern quilts. Everyone has their own style, and not everyone is the same or enjoys the same things which is why museums rotate. I hate scrappy quilts while others love them, regardless both scrappy and non-scrappy should be showcased for different types of people, we do not all like the same art, and while you might like to see old quilts in a museum others might like to see modern, both should be able to see what they want at some time during the year to reach all types of people. If we all liked the same thing this world would be a very boring place. I like to see all different types of quilts on here and at shows, even if they are not my style, I can find beauty in all of them and the time it took someone to make them

this is just so sad to me.

very few museums devote themselves to quilting and to hear that quilters do not understand the role of the museums to their art or craft is heart breaking.

just because you didn't enjoy a certain exhibit is not a reflection of the museum as a whole and the role of a museum isn't only devoted to antique quilts.

it might be wise for you to read a museums mission statement and go thru all their information on their website before making global judgements about the establishment.

So sorry you had a bad experience but, Museum is a building housing collections of items - not necessarily old or antique. Living artisans often display their works in museums.
Before your next visit you might want to check to see what they have on display before you make the trip.
I too am a senior citizen who appreciates hand quilting and older methods of quilting. But I've also come to love all the new fangled "goodies" available to us today. I wouldn't dream of making a quilt with my rotary cutter and cutting mat.

I need to do that too and I wouldn't mind if it was a football Saturday!

GO BIG RED!

PS -- is it anywhere near the Nebraska Bookstore because that is definitely a stop when I come home to Nebraska!

Museums must let quilts "rest" between exhibits especially when they are hand quilted. Check the web sight before going next time.

sometimes a museum can show only a certain part of all it owns (any museum) and they put away parts or whole collections and only rotate them out as they can. Maybe thats what happened here, but you can always write them or email them - there is usually a contact for such things and ask them specifically about what you would like to see in their collections.
They really do like hearing from the public as it helps them show things that will draw people in. sharet

Is Caryl Bryer Fallert's place Quilter's Alley? I don't know what Caryl Bryer Faller's place is.

I agree with what you said scowlkat. I have been to all kinds of "museums" and have found something interesting at them all. I have never gone to this particular one, but wasn't it called a QUILT MUSEUM and didn't they display quilts? Here's what I found and has always been my idea of what they were.

Definition museum

NOUN
1. place where important things are preserved: a building or institution where objects of artistic, historical, or scientific importance and value are kept, studied, and put on display

Thesaurus
NOUN
Synonyms: gallery, exhibition hall, arts center, academy, institution

I was in Paducah for the openine/dedication of the museum in Paducah. I have been there several times since then. I think it is wonderful, along with a lot of other people. The museum purchases for its permanent collection the winning quilt from the yearly quilt show. So, you are getting, in essence, the best of what is out there for the year. It isn't easy getting juried into the show. I have seen some quilts that I definitely didn't like, but they had some merit or they wouldn't have been chosen for purchase. I question that every single quilt in the collection was machine quilted. I have been to the Nashville show (AQS) also, and not all have been machine quilted. Better luck in choosing your venue next time. Sorry you were disappointed.

So sorry you did not enjoy your visit to the quilt museum. We pass through Paducah about once a year and I make it a point to visit the museum. I've never been disappointed and the exhibits are always changing. I think it is quite large for a museum displaying nothing but quilts and I think the displays are very well done. The museum is neat and clean and easy to get to. I will definitely be going back! Love the quilt shops too!