Last month I went to the International Quilt Study Center & Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska to celebrate my mom's birthday. We had talked about going for some time now, and finally planned the trip! She brought along two of her good friends, and we turned it into a little weekend trip.

They had a display of miniature and toy sewing machines - I desperately want that blue one at the top!

The quilt below was made by a seamstress in Lincoln. She made it between 1909 and 1914, and is made of 10,222 pieces! And those pieces are tiny too! I can see why it took her 5 years to complete:)

A guy pieced and quilted this one above! He was an engineer, and used his math skills to perfect quilting.

They have a collection of over 4,000 quilts, but they only show a couple dozen at a time, and rotate the quilts in themed exhibits. I loved that it was just three curated little exhibits. Most museums have so much art to look at, it can be overwhelming, and I tend to get bored - but this had just the right amount. You could go once a year and see different quilts, and hear different stories every time.

One lesson I learned after visiting - label your quilts with your name and year! I have only done this once, but will try to be more diligent about it in the future. You can check out their website to see their current and future exhibits, and also see images of their quilt collection.