Early British patchwork is topic of March 29 quilt lecture

Bridget Long, an expert on British quiltmaking traditions, will give an illustrated lecture surveying 18th century British patchwork at 2 p.m. March 29 at the International Quilt Study Center and Museum, 33rd and Holdrege streets, on the East Campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her talk will focus on the earliest surviving dated patchwork bedcover, a silk coverlet dated 1718, discovered in 2000, and now part of the heritage collection of the Quilters' Guild of the British Isles. The lecture is free with admission.

Long, who is visiting Nebraska from her home in the United Kingdom, is the recipient of the 2009 fellowship offered by the center and is an associate fellow of the center. She is past president and heritage officer of The Quilters' Guild of the British Isles and earned her bachelor's degree from Oxford University. She is a collector, independent scholar and author of "The Quilters' Guild Collection: Contemporary Quilts Heritage" (2005); contributing author to "Quilt Treasures - The Quilters' Guild Heritage Search" (1995); and to a number of articles published in "Quilt Studies," the British Quilt Study Group's annual monograph including "A Comparative Study of the 1718 Silk Patchwork Coverlet" (2003); "The Blossoming of Patchwork: A Study of Cotton and Linen Patchwork at the End of the Eighteenth Century" (2006); "Uncovering Hidden Marks on the 1718 Silk Patchwork Coverlet" (2008); and "Sibling, Cousin or Friend? Considering the Relationship between Two Late Eighteenth Century Mosaic Patchwork Coverlets" (2009).

The International Quilt Study Center and Museum is home to the world’s largest collection of quilts, with pieces spanning four centuries and 25 countries. Scholars, researchers, and artists from around the world visit Lincoln to study the unique resource of quilts, related textiles and literature made available as part of the UNL academic program. For more information about the Center, visit www.quiltstudy.org.

The International Quilt Study Center is an academic program of the Department of Textiles, Clothing and Design in the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.