Barn Quilts Herald in the Northern Illinois Quilt Fest

The Northern Illinois Quilt Fest blankets the state from Highland Park to Galena and offers visitors opportunities as varied as the opportunities presented in the creative process of quilting itself.

The project began at The McHenry County Historical Society in Union.

“We have a really good collection of over 140 quilts. Local quilters were telling us what great quilts we have in our collection and we should be able to share them with people who have an appreciation for them,” said Nancy Fike, administrator for the McHenry County Historical Society.

Many other small museums and institutions in northern Illinois were also in possession of historic quilt collections.  Representatives from museums and quilting experts gathered together to plan a quilting fest.

“People aren’t aware that there are so many treasures all along northern Illinois. Our vision was to focus on the museums, but also have public art,” said Sandy Schweitzer, a quilt appraiser from Crystal Lake, and one of the organizers.

“We want people to see and learn about quilts. They are not all in fabric form,” Fike said.

The Historical Society started a barn quilt project in 2002, but the Northern Illinois Quilt Fest gave it a big boost.

“One of the most exciting things are the barn quilts. A year ago we had about 10 in McHenry County. Now there are 27 up and six more planned,” Schweitzer said.

“They keep increasing. It wouldn’t surprise me if we end up with 40 or 50. The barn quilts draw attention to the issue of barn preservation and they are also public art,” Fike said.

The historical society has a barn quilt map on Google, that includes quilt gardens. There is a quilt garden at Col. Palmer House in Crystal Lake. Countryside Nursery in Crystal Lake is building a large quilt garden that echoes the St. Louis pattern barn quilt erected behind the garden.  

Countryside Nursery is planning a seminar in July to show people how they can build their own quilt gardens.

Organizers from Lake County to Jo Daviess County met regularly for a year to plan the festival.

“I enjoyed the meetings, meeting other people from museums. Everybody united for this one goal of promoting quilt collections, said Chris Pyle, historical resources manager at the Lake County Discovery Museum in Wauconda.

Pyle said the project started with some anchor sites for quilt exhibits and grew to include the participation of quilt shops, speakers on quilting, and convention/visitor’s bureaus.

The Lake County Discovery Museum will display 20 historic quilts in its exhibit Quilt Treasures: Pieces of History, which runs from July 2 to Sept. 25.

Pyle said the historic quilts on display include some from the Civil War period.

“We have some crazy quilts. Women would take fabric left over … They are often very meaningful; they would use things that meant something to them from different people or events,” Pyle said.

A crazy quilt made by Elizabeth Preston Benwell in 1891 includes a piece of a buckskin bag her husband had taken in the 1848 gold rush.

“The tiny round pieces in the bouquet at the bottom of the quilt are from the buckskin bags that John Benwell used during the 1848 Gold Rush. He rode from California to New York with bags full of gold, and Elizabeth sewed pieces of his Gold Rush bags into quilts she made for all of their eight children,” Pyle said.

“The workmanship in the quilt is amazing,” Pyle said.

Some other area highlights of the Northern Illinois Quilt Fest include:

• Highland Park’s Quilts on Parade, a public art project, exhibits barn quilts on Central Avenue, from July 15 to Sept. 15.
• The Highland Park Historical Society displays the dramatic Crazy Quilts and More by Addie Mangoian Davis through Sept. 30.
• The Grayslake Heritage Center and Museum quilt exhibit runs from July 9 to Aug. 20.
• The Ansel B. Cook Museum in Libertyville is a Victorian home with at least a dozen historic quilts.
• The Raupp Museum in Buffalo Grove will tell the story behind the quilt in Every Quilt Tells a Story which runs July 3 through Sept. 29.
• The Northern Lake County Quilters Guild will display more than 200 quilts, Oct. 22 and 23, at the Round Lake Beach Cultural and Civic Center.
• The Lakes Region Historical Society in Antioch will feature displays of antique and modern quilts and will hold numerous events.
• The McHenry County Historical Society in Union will hold its Glorious Quilts exhibit as well as various special events that started in June and run until October. It is open every afternoon, except Monday, from 1 to 4 p.m.  Due to road construction, there is a detour, so check the website or call the museum, (815) 923-2267.
• The Crystal Lake Historical Society and Crystal Lake Park District will host their Summer Sunday, Aug. 14, Quilt Exhibit: The Art of the Pioneer Woman during an open house at the Col. Palmer House. The Crystal Lake Library also will host numerous programs on quilts.
• McHenry County College will host quilt exhibits in its galleries from July through September.
• The Gazebo Quilt Guild of Huntley and the Huntley Park District a large exhibit of Quilts of Valor,  Aug. 19 and Aug. 20 at the Cosman Center. Mary Ann Fons' Quilt of Valor program, Under Our Wings will be the focus of the weekend, which will include workshops to create 50 more Quilts of Valor.  Quilts of Valor program has presented over 35,000 quilts to service members and their families. 

There are many more events and exhibits nearby. See the complete schedule of events for the Northern Illinois Quilt Fest.