The Pasadena Museum of History presents the exhibition Community Stitches: Quilt Designs & Stories, which features more than 60 quilts representing over 180 years of quilt-making in America. Curated by Arlene Stevens and Leah Zieber of the California Heritage Quilt Project, highlights include treasures from the Museum’s extensive textile collection along with select pieces on loan. Join us to discover hidden stories in these stitches of the past as we explore the complex history of quilts made by and for the Pasadena community.
Quilts have been a part of family and community groups since they became a staple in the American household in the early 19th century. Quilters create beautiful and functional pieces that offer comfort and warmth, celebrate and honor individuals and groups, and commemorate significant occasions. With love, artistry, cooperation, and collaboration, quilters piece together our community’s stories in this uniquely enveloping art form.
Community Stitches surveys the fabrics and sources for popular patterns and the tools and techniques used in quilt making. The exhibition also explores the relationships between quilts embellished with illustrations drawn from literature and examples of how businesses promoted quilt-making using these same illustrations. Inspired by unique designs or commercially printed patterns, the quilts in the exhibit demonstrate a diversity of workmanship, technique, and purpose that provides insight into the communities they represent by using quilt making as their foundation.
Curators' Guided Tours
- Community Stitches: Curators' Guided Tour - May - May 11, 2023 - 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
- Community Stitches: Curators' Guided Tour - June - June 15, 2023 - 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
- Community Stitches: Curators' Guided Tour - July - July 20, 2023 - 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
- Community Stitches: Curators' Guided Tour - August - August 13, 2023 - 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
- Community Stitches: Curators' Guided Tour - September - September 7, 2023 - 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Virtual Events
- Signed with Love – Signature Quilts in the Collection of the Pasadena Museum of History and Beyond - April 21, 2023 - 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm
- Crazy for Crazy Quilts – Distinctive Elements from Pasadena Museum of History’s Crazy Quilt Collection - May 25, 2023 - 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm
- Printed Cottons and 19th Century American Textile Manufacturing - June 23, 2023 - 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Trunk Shows
- 11AM Trunk Show: A Peek at the Past: 19th Century Quilts from Community Stitches Curators’ Private Collections - August 3, 2023 - 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
- 6PM Trunk Show: A Peek at the Past: 19th Century Quilts from Community Stitches Curators’ Private Collections - August 3, 2023 - 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
- 11AM Trunk Show: A New Era of Quilting – 20th Century Quilts from our Curators’ Private Collections - August 17, 2023 - 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
- 6PM Trunk Show: A New Era of Quilting – 20th Century Quilts from our Curators’ Private Collections - August 17, 2023 - 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
