Signature Quilts

Everyone likes to see his or her name in print…or embroidery. Come and see if you can spot the name of someone you know on one of the over 20 colourful quilts being displayed at the Elgin County Museum. Running from September 20, 2009 until February 28, 2010, “Signature Quilts: Community Patterns” is a new exhibit that showcases quilts from the 1890s to the 1960s made up of hundreds of signatures from people in Elgin County.

“These days you can buy a brick with your name on it to raise money for a cause,” says Mike Baker, curator of the Elgin County Museum, “but a hundred years ago, the trend was to make a donation to have your name embroidered or written on quilt blocks. These squares were then pieced together, quilted by a group or committee, and then often raffled or auctioned to generate even more funds.”

Many of the quilts are from the Museum’s permanent collection but several are on loan from people and organizations in the community. For example, a 1917 quilt made by students as a wedding present for their teacher. Several quilts were created by churches and other groups in order to support distant missionaries, to supply the needs of servicemen during two world wars, or as gifts to departing clergy. Artifacts related to the communities and families represented by the quilt are on display, along with images of the community from past and present, marking the changes in the rural landscape of Elgin County.