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   An extraordinary collection of Amish crib quilts from the Midwest was featured in the 2003 exhibit at The People's Place Quilt Museum in Intercourse (Lancaster County), Pennsylvania. Opening March 21, the crib quilts selected for display were from the world-renowned Sara Miller Collection, now a part of the International Quilt Study Center's holdings, located at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

   "Finding such brilliantly colorful, imaginatively designed, mint-condition crib quilts is highly unusual," commented Phyllis Pellman Good, curator of the Museum. "Young girls often learned their quiltmaking skills on crib quilts. Because they were small projects and since they were intended for hard use, they were ideal for training in piecing and quilting. But the quilts in this show are outstanding because of their artistry on all levels. The fact that they survived indicates the respect they received from either their makers or their recipients." (Midway through the course of the exhibit, a second set of crib quilts replaced those that opened the show, giving visitors the opportunity to see an additional grouping from the Sara Miller Collection.) The crib quilts have been researched and documented by guest curator Janneken Smucker of the International Quilt Study Center.

   This quilt show marked the 15th anniversary of The People's Place Quilt Museum which has distinguished itself because of its annual shows of carefully selected antique Amish quilts. Many exhibits have also included quilts from another tradition which have hung side-by-side with the Amish examples, provoking energetic contrasts and parallels in the Museum's intimate galleries. This show continued the practice.

   "Exhibited next to the outstanding graphic Amish crib quilts are a selection of antique, full-sized Mennonite quilts made in Waterloo County, Ontario, Canada," said Good. "These are the work of Mennonites, many of whom migrated from northern Lancaster County to Waterloo County in southern Ontario during the early 19th century. Many of the quilts show their Lancaster roots clearly. Others demonstrate greater experimentation, or influence from the neighbors, two results of living on the 'frontier!'"

   In conjunction with this special exhibit, a book has been released entitled, Amish Crib Quilts from the Midwest; The Sara Miller Collection. Authored by Janneken Smucker, curator of the crib quilts; Patricia Cox Crews, Director of the International Quilt Study Center; and Linda Welters, a professor of textiles at the University of Rhode Island, the book includes full-color photographs of the complete Sara Miller Collection, as well as interpretive essays by the three authors. The book is published by Good Books, in cooperation with the International Quilt Study Center. More information about the 108-page book is available at www.GoodBooks.com.