06/23/2026
We will be quilting a 50th Anniversary Quilt. With help from members of the Quilting Bees of Murfreesboro, during the 50th Anniversary, visitors will be invited to help complete a special quilt to commemorate the event. This quilt top was donated to Cannonsburgh several years ago. The traditional pattern is called Nine Patch. The blocks are made up of nine smaller blocks and joined together with gray sashing. Borders at the top and bottom of the quilt are made from triangles. The top was probably made in the early 1950’s. This quilt top was made with a variety of clothing scraps and perhaps bed sheets. Some of the fabrics are more tightly woven and some are more loosely woven. The larger gray section at one end of the quilt is cut from a shirt. Viewers can see the curved shirt tail as well as buttonholes. Some of the smaller blocks are cut from a piece of fabric which includes a seam. Thus, it was created to be utilitarian and not necessarily a work of art. Nevertheless, its creation and history make it art.
The top will be hand quilted by Carol Berning, members of the Quilting Bees of Murfreesboro, and visitors to the 50th Anniversary Celebration. The top was sandwiched with batting and backing (lining), thus creating three layers of materials. It is pinned onto a frame, which is placed onto stands so that quilters can sit around it and quilt, much like quilters may have done in earlier years. Two of the wooden poles of the frame on which it is being quilted belonged to Carol’s grandmother. Two of them, along with the stands upon which they rest, were made by Carol’s father- all of which will add to the history of this celebration quilt.
