Quilts: Threads that bind

By: Joe Tennis/Bristol Herald Courier | TriCities.com
Published: November 02, 2007

TAZEWELL – Cortney Honaker stretched out a quilt and showed off its handiwork.

She talked about the labor – the intensive, long hours it must have taken to create this art.

And that’s what quilt-making is – art, said Honaker, the collections curator at the Historic Crab Orchard Museum and Pioneer Park in Tazewell.

In recent weeks, Honaker has spent long hours assembling “Pieces of History: Threads That Bind Us.”

This temporary display shows off quilts dating as early as one made in 1808 by a slave, Honaker said.

“They made it for use, of course. It’s stuffed with cotton and wool – mainly wool,” Honaker said. “But there’s some cotton in it from later years, where they patched.”

That one quilt, Honaker added, looks like it has seen a lot of use.

“Lots and lots.”

‘JUST A LITTLE BIT’

To Charlotte Whitted, the executive director of Crab Orchard Museum, the dozens of quilts now on display represent a collective look at individuality.

Many quilts in this display use “a wide variety of fabrics,” Whitted said.

“You get the utilitarian piece of it,” she said. “They had to use whatever scrap they had.”

Whitted pointed to one quilt in the exhibit – a multi-colored creation that looked kind of like what Dolly Parton sings about: a “Coat of Many Colors.”

“A quilt like this, where the patterns are so small, they might have just had a little scrap when they cut off this dress,” Whitted said. “They might have had just a little bit of that left.”

‘EXERCISE IN CREATIVITY’

Whitted, who is also a farmer in nearby Burke’s Garden, calls quilt making “an exercise in utility.”

But, quilt-making, too, she said, “is an exercise in creativity. With whatever pieces you get, you can determine how you want to express yourself by how you want to put it together.”

Pulling a little bit from here and there, Whitted said, shows off how fertile a mind must be to make a quilt.

Among Whitted’s favorites is what she calls the exhibit’s “ Virginia Quilt” or “A Crazy Quilt.” It dates to 1889.

‘LOOKING FORWARD’

The Tazewell museum’s quilt exhibit coincides with the Crab Orchard’s silver anniversary, being celebrated this year.

The museum’s Higginbotham Center opened on Oct. 30, 1982, after being in the planning stages since 1978.

Like a quilt, the Crab Orchard Museum and Pioneer Park came to life one piece at a time.

Inside, various displays reveal stories of mountain life and coal mining. Outside is a collection of cabins, many rescued from the surrounding hills.

Today, the park is a popular destination for both field trips and tourists.

And, Whitted said, “We are looking forward to celebrating our own past and the efforts of those who have made the museum what it is today.”

YOU SHOULD KNOW

What: “Pieces of History: Threads That Bind Us,” an exhibit of heritage quilts.

Where: Historic Crab Orchard Museum, Tazewell, U.S. 19/460

When: On display through Memorial Day weekend 2008

Info: (276) 988-6755

Quilts: Threads that bind

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