The Springville Museum of Art began its 51st annual quilt show with more than 100 quilts submitted by Utah quilters in July.
This year’s quilt show includes a gallery full of quilted works by Carol Ford. Ford was a Utah quilter who, when she passed in 2024, left behind hundreds of meticulously stitched quilts depicting moments of time, wildlife and nature.
Addie Ressler is a recent BYU alum who works at the Springville Museum of Art.
“Our mission is to create life-affirming experiences and show life-affirming art here for our community,” Ressler said. “And [Ford’s] quilts … they're very life-affirming, capturing life in its beautiful forms and showing family and connection to nature.”
In addition to Ford’s works, the Springville Museum of Art worked with the Utah Valley Quilt Guild to select quilts submitted by Utah quilters for the 2025 exhibition. Quilts can also win distinctions such as Judge’s Choice, Viewer’s Choice and Best in Show.
After the submitted quilts are examined, more than a hundred of the stitched showpieces are hung carefully on rods on the first floor of the museum.
“It's a huge process, and a lot of people are involved … [including] members from the Quilt Guild. We install all these quilts in a single day,” Ressler said. “It’s like, all hands on deck. [Some quilts] are so big, you need help holding them up, so they don’t touch the ground.”
The quilts vary widely in size, shape and subject. Pieces no larger than the surface of a desk line one wall, while another wall sports a quilt that dwarfs its viewers. Traditional geometric patterns are displayed alongside more contemporary depictions of people, everyday objects and animals.
Quilters will return to pick up their creations after the exhibition closes on Sept. 20.
One of the more contemporary pieces is “Balance,” which won a Judge’s Choice award. The quilter Mariam Glanderson, inspired by a watercolor painting, spent hours piecing together a startlingly life-like flamingo.
“This show is really neat because it has modern, traditional and appliqués,” Glanderson says. “[Quilting is] unique because it's not just what's on the surface. It goes deeper, because you're quilting it.”
In the final product, Glanderson’s flamingo is surrounded by a riot of texture made by the quilting that stitches the front, batting and back together. This effect is something that would be difficult to replicate in a different medium.
“Here, we show quilts as fine art,” Ressler said. “We're showing these beautiful, intricate artworks for what they really are. I feel like museums don't often give places for textile arts, so it's been such a fun tradition to continue because there really isn't anything like it.”
Ressler brought her mom to see the artwork.
“My mom's a quilter,” Ressler said. “It was just so fun to see the quilts through my mom's eyes, because although I didn't know much about quilting and the hard work that goes into it … she was able to explain things to me, and it made me appreciate it so much more.”
Patrons brought their quilting groups and grandmothers to the exhibit. Ressler said one group travelled all the way from Arizona to see the quilt show.
One of the attendees and quilters, Sue Madsen, loved the event.
"What I love about quilting is it's so practical," Madsen said. "You can always have a quilt that you can give. It's fun to see the culture coming out in the quilts, too."