Crazy quilts! Viewing of a quilt made by President Andrew Johnson and the lady he wanted to marry, workshops, demonstrations, historic quilt displays, antique sewing machines, talks, and a quilt raffle are only a part of the intriguing events to take place starting Saturday, June 22, 10:00 am, at the Laurens County Museum, 116 South Public Square, Laurens, SC.
The “Historic Quilts of Laurens County” exhibit will highlight beautiful examples from the museum’s quilt collection, some from the mid-1800’s. The Andrew Johnson and Sarah Word quilt, which is housed at the SC State Museum, will be on exhibit for one day. That day will be announced later. The exhibit is free to tour, but there will be a fee for one of the workshops. Laurens County Museum memberships are available and donations for support of the museum are always welcome. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm and at other times for special events and workshops.
More than twenty historic quilts of all varieties, ages, and areas of Laurens County will be part of the “Historic Quilts of Laurens County” exhibit opening June 22 at 10:00 am. Laurens County Museum volunteers Nancy Fowler and Gail Ricard have worked for two years researching, measuring stitches, and cataloguing the many beautiful and intricate hand-sewn quilts donated to the museum.
Museum Manager Connie Post is working with the SC State Museum to coordinate a day the quilt made by US President-to-be Andrew Johnson and his beloved Sarah Word of Laurens will be on display. This is a “whitework” quilt and an example of handwork not often seen today and usually the result of decades of experience. This is not so in the case with Johnson and Word who were in their teens. This quilt was made circa 1820.
Laurens County quilters, the Loose Threads Quilt Guild, have donated a beautiful quilt to be raffled for the benefit of the museum. A $5 donation will get one ticket, but a $20 donation will get five tickets for the quilt drawing. The winner will be announced on August 31, 2024. The quilt will be on display at the museum.
On July 12, an all-day Quilting Workshop will be led by Suellen Holmes. A design inspired by a quilt donated to the museum by Lori Childress West will be taught in the Magnolia Room at the museum. Pictures of the design will be available before the workshop because the design is so unique the name of the pattern cannot be found. It is exceptional to Laurens County! Participants will need to bring their own sewing machines. There is a $50 participation fee for this workshop.
Other events scheduled during the exhibition are:
June 25, 6:30 pm – “Just Sharing: Building Community Through Stories of Our Past” Panel Discussion by SC Humanities
June 29, 10 am – “Colonial and Cherokee Agricultural Practices” by Durant AshmoreJune 29 & 30, 9 am – 4 pm – SC Ag&Art Artisans Fair, Magnolia RoomJuly 27 – Flower Dye Pounding Workshop by Judith Brown – Walk-In Workshop
August 17 – Gathering of Quilters and Military Quilts of Valor Wrapping
August 12-17 – Loose Threads Quilting Guild Quilts on DisplayAugust 27, 7 pm – “The Family of Indian Trader and Author James Adair”
August 31 – Quilt Raffle
For more information all of these events, please call the Laurens County Museum at (864) 682-3678, or go to LaurensCountyMuseum.org or Facebook.
