The Quilting World Lost One of Its Important Supporters

Have you heard the name, Shelly Zegart?  She is responsible for linking quilts to the American experience and culture while elevating quilting to an art.  She connected quilts with art collectors and historians.

In 2011, she produced and hosted a PBS documentary series called, “Why Quilts Matter: Art, History, and Politics.” You can watch the series at Folkstreams.net, and it is worth a look.  My own small group watched it and each episode produced some lively discussion between us.  I have provided a link to Folkstreams below.

She was also a founder of the Alliance for American Quilts, which is now called Quilt Alliance.  And even though she never made a quilt (in fact, she’s been known to admit that she’s never made anything–not even dinner), she was an avid collector of quilts and many of those quilts have been donated to museums.

Shelly passed away in July of 2025, leaving the quilting world without one of its important supporters.  You can read a memorial from the Quilt Alliance by clicking on the button below.

Quilt Alliance MemorialDocumentary on Folkstreams

Thanks to Kim T for bringing this to our attention.