Temporary Exhibits
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The Nathanael Greene Museum's "History of Greene County Quilts"
October 1 - October 31, 2009
photo courtesy of Randi Nott
The PBS television network has a popular program called History Detectives, where a team of experts investigates historical mysteries by searching out the facts that connect folklore, family legend and interesting objects. The Nathanael Greene Museum dispatched its own set of history detectives in the spring of 2009 to uncover the stories that were hidden in Greene County quilts. After six months of work, and viewing over 100 quilts, the results of their labor can be seen in the Museum’s latest exhibit, “A History of Greene County Quilts, 1830-1950”.
Friday, October 2: the museum will host a “Members Only” private reception and guests will be the first to view the exceptional collection of quilts, photographs, and furniture that punctuates the exhibit. The public Grand Opening is scheduled for Saturday, October 3.
A circa 1830 white wholecloth quilt with floral decoration that was made by Betsy Martin Galbreath Doak, wife of Samuel Harvey Doak (grandson of Rev. Samuel Doak) is on loan from the East Tennessee Historical Society for the duration of the quilt exhibit.
First Frontier Quilters of Kingsport will display their “Sampler Quilt” which depicts quilt squares from across Northeast Tennessee. The quilt will be raffled off at the end of October and tickets are available at the Museum for $2 or $5 for three tickets.
The public is invited to bring their quilts to the Museum for expert evaluation by Merikay Waldvogel and Bets Ramsey. A book signing featuring Merikay’s book “Childhood Treasures: Quilts by and for Children” will be scheduled to coincide with the quilt appraisal.
Admission to the quilt exhibit is $5 for non-members and admission is free for museum members. The Museum is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10am to 4pm. For more information about the items discussed, or to become a member of the Nathanael Greene Museum, call (423) 636-1558.
For more information on the Quilt Show, click here.
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photo courtesy of Randi Nott
A Distinctive Tradition of Woven Bed Coverlets
Woven out of necessity and preserved out of respect, our collection of East Tennessee coverlets speak of the quiet work of our foremothers.
This exhibit represents a small sample of the work done by many Southern Appalachian women who wove decorative coverlets from 1830-1930.
Our featured coverlet was made by Nettie Ewing Hollomon. She was born in Meigs County, Tennessee and moved to Roan County with her husband. From their homestead, she wove this overshot coverlet, after first spinning the thread for the warp. This lovely bed cover is one of two that were passed down to Nettie’s granddaughter, Phine Britton, who then donated it to the Museum.
The coverlet exhibit will be on view at the Museum from April 15 - November 15, 2009.