Winterthur Country Estate Museum

This weekend I took an amazing trip with the Baltimore Applique Society to the Winterthur Museum in Wilmington DE. The picture above was taken from their website because it rained the whole day we were there and we really didn't explore the grounds. I will definitely be going back in the Spring to check out the many acres of gardens (including an enchanted garden!).

Our trip was primarily to visit the Conservation Lab and see the quilts in the behind the scenes storage, which was fascinating! Marylou McDonald had arranged for Linda Eaton, Curator of Textiles and author of Quilts in a Material World, to give us a talk, and show us quilts in the vast Winterthur collection. I was in awe of the phenomenal set up of the Conservation Lab and seeing up close how they go about cleaning and restoring the antique textiles. We all met up for lunch in the cafe, and Linda Eaton joined us along with Jan Whitlock who was the recipient of two quilt blocks made personally by Marylou McDonald and Margo Cramer, the current BAS President, and given to Jan in appreciation of all that she has done for the Baltimore Applique Society over the past couple of years in conjunction with the making and selling of the Elizabeth MacCullough Hervey Quilt patterns.

Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures behind the scenes or in the Period Rooms, so my camera remained locked in the locker. We did have time to explore the Period Rooms with some incredibly knowledgeable Docents, view the exhibits on our own, and of course shop in their wonderful bookstore and giftshop. I bought the Winterthur pattern set that I didn't have in my collection and did a little Christmas shopping. If you have the chance to visit this wonderful country estate museum, it is definitely worth a day!

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn