How do I store my quilts? I get asked that question a lot. Presumably directed to me from lovely people who assume I have some sort of system to preserve and display my quilts to their absolute best advantage. Well, that could not be farther from the truth.
This is a perfect example of “do not do as I do.” I don’t really have a place to store my quilts. They are mostly kept together in one place, but it is not an ideal situation. I keep most of them in my master bedroom closet on shelves that are really too high to be particularly useful.
I am fortunate to have a large primary bedroom closet. I use the shelving on my side and on my husband’s side to stack my folded quilts. I also have them on beds in the four bedrooms, draped over sofas and chairs and ottomans and chaise lounges throughout the house. And I also have two quilt racks that hold four or five quilts each.
This is not a great system. Designated shelving in closets that provide protection from light and dust would be better. It would also be nice to have easier access to my quilts so I could pull them out seasonally and put them on display and to better use.
I have a half-formed plan in my mind to go through my quilts and get rid of the ones that I never use. I’d love to have an organized system to have my quilts accessible and arranged by season or color so I could easily pull them out and display them appropriately. This is a great idea, and one that probably would not be that difficult to execute. However, for whatever reason, it has not been a priority.
How do you display your quilts? Luckily, I have given away at least half of the quilts I have made in my life, so they are no longer my responsibility. However, I still have a large number that I have kept that deserve better care. I’d love to hear your ideas on quilt storage!
Have a great weekend, everyone. It is a long weekend here in the US-Labor Day Weekend, so look for another post from me on Tuesday!
7 Responses
I too have given most of mine away over the years, bed sized. Many I do not even remember. At family weddings, gifted quilts will come up in conversation and they have to show me a photo. Often I remember the fabric but not the quilt.
I am currently gifting my kids’ long time friends and my husband’s cousins’ children.
Your stacks blow my mind a little. Do you normally have a (dust) sheet over them and take it off for the photo?
Maybe have your granddaughter go thru the ones you are eliminating to save for her future self.
If you are truly cleaning out, after family, I would suggest selling them here on your blog. You will probably not get full value, but you can recoup a bit and make people happy.
My wall hanging size ones are rolled when they are not on display, so they do not have creases. They are in a long window seat (seat lifts, storage underneath, five window seats in the house, longest one is 9’).
I’m in the same place as you are— vaguely thinking I will organize them by season at some future date. I really have more of a problem with smaller pieces— it’s odd but I don’t have a lot of bed sized quilts and I don’t use them on beds! I just took the all out to air them—I fold on the diagonal which really avoids creasing. Have a wonderful weekend!
I keep mine in Madam Sew bags by the season. Then they are stacked in a closet. I wish they fit under the bed. I was using vacuum bags for a while but didn’t like the odor when I took them out.
Smaller stuff like table runners and wall hanging I keep in a 5 drawer chest by the season,including Christmas. I love this. So basically I have taken over2 bedrooms. One for a sewing room and one for quilt storage. The bed in that room holds several quilts too.
I figured out why I make so many quilts. My great grandfather as a stained glass artist in Chicago and was a founder of the Temple Art Glass Company. They made the windows for the Little House In Minnesota by Frank Lloyd Wright. My great grandfather died over 30 years before my birth. I never knew about him until I did my ancestry. How I wish I had something that Joseph made! My hope is that my quilts will be used for many years by my family.
So many beautiful quilts! I have my quilts folded (on the bias) and in acid-free storage containers that allow for air flow but keep the dust off. I take them out and refold them periodically to avoid permanent creases. Most of those quilts are stored under beds. I could store more of them flat on the spare bedroom’s bed, but I always seem to have guests in there. I’ve given so many away, but I have some I just can’t seem to part with, especially those I’ve hand quilted from vintage or antique tops.
We have a tiny house with a finished attic. There’s a closet in the attic and most of my quilts are hanging in there, and a few are laying on the shelves in there. I have my great grandmother’s wedding shawl, a heavy, woolen affair that I love, but that’s in a pillow case laid ever so gently on the shelf on top of several quilts. I’m sure all of them are rotting as we speak!
Love looking at all those gorgeous quilts. I store my quilts in a large wire basket and quilt ladders. It makes easy access to pull one out to cover up with. I also have given away a number of quilts I have made.