Penny McMorris, Quilt Papers

Restrictions: None

Copyright: To inquire about usage, please contact Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries. For more information see the Use Guidelines

Preferred Citation: Penny McMorris, Quilt Papers (MS 315). Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries.

Penny McMorris has been involved in the field of quilt studies for several decades, working as a dealer and quilt scholar. She hosted three quilting shows in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including Quilting, Quilting II, and The Great American Quilt, all of which were shown on PBS. She has also authored several books on both historic and contemporary quilts including Crazy Quilts. She is the co-founder of The Electric Quilt Company, which produces software for quilters. McMorris worked as a dealer in the quilt field for a number of years, especially focusing in the area of contemporary art quilts. Along with Michael Kile, she curated the exhibition The Art Quilt held in the 1980s.

Scope and Content: 

The collection consists of materials related to Penny McMorris's work in the field of quilt studies as a dealer and scholar. The collection contains files related to the television shows she hosted, Quilting, Quilting II, and The Great American Quilt. There are also extensive files of correspondence between McMorris and contemporary quilt artists whose work she helped to sell. Research files in the collection relate to two of McMorris's books Crazy Quilts and The Art Quilt. There are a large number of files related to various aspects of crazy quilts. There are also various catalogues, articles and newspaper clippings related to quilts and quilt history. The collection also contains an extensive slide collection. There are slides of contemporary art quilts, slides used for McMorris's television shows, and slides of the Ardis and Robert James Collection (now part of the collection of the International Quilt Study Center).

Subjects: 

Quilting -- Exhibitions

Quilting -- United States

Quilts -- Collectors and collecting -- United States

Quilts -- Design

Quilts -- History

Quilts -- United States -- Exhibitions

Quilts -- United States -- History -- 20th century