Southeastern Quilt and Textile Museum Showcased Under Gold Dome

The Southeastern Quilt and Textile Museum held its first public show at the Georgia State Capitol on Monday, drawing attention from the statewide press, the public and lawmakers alike.

The event, which featured more than 50 quilts from 70 guilds across Georgia, was the premier large-scale show hosted by the museum, and while it wasn't held in the Bradley Street Cotton Warehouse in Carrollton—the location where the museum will eventually be housed—organizers say it was a major success, bringing much-deserved attention to the long-anticipated project. Upon completion, the museum will be the only such space in the entire Southeast, which is currently the only geographical region of the country that does not have a quilting museum.

Once the show ended Monday afternoon, all the quilts on display were transported to a climate-controlled space in Carrollton to be housed until they could be auctioned off at a later date. While it’s yet to be seen how much money the auction will generate, organizers said the initial asking price on all the quilts will be $500, and as of late morning Monday, several attendees to the show had already expressed an interest in paying much more for some of the pieces on display. Talks about the museum itself date back to as early as 2001, but Monday’s event marked the first step in generating the funds necessary to make it a reality, said Marilyn Osterkamp, chairwoman of the museum’s board of directors. Osterkamp said she is optimistic that the event will serve as a catalyst to bring in future donations, which will in turn pave the way for a 2012 grand opening.

The museum promises to be a boon to Carroll County as a whole, with estimates showing that it could pump upwards of $25 million a year into the local economy, drawing 50,000 tourists to the area annually. By bringing in such a high number of visitors to the Carroll County area, the museum promises to promote other county businesses both big and small, as newcomers to the area learn about all that Carroll County has to offer.

“The closest one is in Paducah, Ky., and that’s a long way away. We went all the time, and every time we went, we spent over $1,000, and we want that money to come to Carrollton,” said Beverly Hammack, who is with the museum. “Since we’re on U.S. 27, people coming through will spend money all over the state of Georgia.”

Not only a tremendous economic stimulus, the museum will provide one more addition to the cultural epicenter that is downtown Carrollton. The art of quilting goes back generations, and the museum will ensure that it stays vibrant and alive for generations to come, said Ginny Hendrix, with the Hall County quilters guild.

“Some people think that quilting is a dying art, and nobody does it anymore. That’s not true, and it really is an art form,” Hendrix said. “Our mothers, our grandmothers going back quilted. I’m excited to have a place where we can display our quilts and share them with our children, and it’s in our own backyard too.”