International Quilt Museum - 250 Years of American Quilts
The International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska is currently showing 250 quilts that make up their "Material Nation: 250 Years of American Quilts" exhibit. I just returned from seeing this exhibit, and I am definitely glad I made the trip.
The museum is located at the edge of the University of Nebraska campus in a beautiful three-story building. The exhibit utilizes all of the various galleries and was organized primarily by time period and quilting styles. They also offer a free guided tour at least once a day, led by a very informative docent.
They had quilts from the Revolutionary War era, all the way up to modern quilts, including quilts made specifically to celebrate the USA's centennial (1876) and bicentennial (1976). Some of the quilts were amazing, such as the one shown below (the photo of the individual quilt) made by Grace Snyder in 1940 in Nebraska. It was pieced by hand of 58,640 tiny hexagons, each one no larger than the tip of your finger! Look at the photo in the Articles banner at the top of this page for a close-up of this quilt to see the magnificent piecing.
Learn more about the museum at internationalquiltmuseum.org.
FYI, it's about a seven hour drive from the Shawnee area to Lincoln, NE.
The exhibit runs through December 19, 2026.
The museum is open Tuesday - Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm. They are closed Sundays, Mondays, and all university holidays.
Admission is $10 for adults and $6 for seniors 65 and over.
Quilt Shop to see on your trip
If you make the trip to Nebraska, check out the Beehive Quilt Shop and Bee Creative Toys in Wellington, Kansas. It is just a couple of miles off I-35, about 30 miles south of Wichita.
If you're a Kaffe Fassett fan, Beehive Quilt Shop has the largest selection of Kaffe fabric that I have ever seen. They also have a lot of other fabric lines, as well as a decent number of bolts of wide backing fabric. And on one side of the store, they have a good-size toy section that seems to specialize mostly in educational toys. (I found a good game for my grandson for Christmas.)