Calendar tea towels were popular in the United States from the 1950s through the 1980s.  Introduced in 1954 by Stevens Linen Works in Massachusetts to boost sales of plain linen towels, they became a staple in American homes.  They were functional, inexpensive kitchen decorations that were often gifted at Christmas.  However, seldom have they found their way into quilts as they did in the one featured here. 

It is always a pleasure to be contacted by a donor who would like to donate quilts in good condition and whose makers are known. 

Although you may consider yourself primarily a quilter, sometimes you will find that you have museum-worthy quilts that can be donated to a museum. One such quilter is Pam Joiner of the Dallas, Texas area who donated three quilts from her collection to the Museum of Texas Tech University.

Album quilts with the names of participants inscribed on it have been popular since the beginning of the 19^thcentury, in part because of the development of permanent ink that would not eat through the fabric.  This quilt was made in West Texas in the Crosbyton area by a group known as the Big Four Quilt Club and is dated 1959.  It is being shared to outline how research to document a quilt is done in a museum and because this is one of the few in the collection on which almost every woman has been found in digital references.

Take a look at two different "duck" quilts featuring Mountain Mist patterns and learn a bit about their history.