The International Quilt Museum developed World Quilts to share its premiere collection and hallmark scholarly perspective on the significance of quilts and quiltmaking with the world. It also moves existing quilt studies scholarship beyond disciplinary boundaries to integrate quilts within a broader art and humanities context. The 1971 Story synthesizes existing scholarship on the historic importance of Abstract Design in American Quilts and the era that surrounded it as well as the significance of that seminal exhibition and time period to contemporary quiltmaking and quilt scholarship. This module has been excerpted and/or adapted from the catalog and exhibition materials for Abstract Design in American Quilts at 50.

The American Story was the first component of World Quilts, followed by The Amish Story, The Central Asian Story, and The Crazy Quilt Story. Future modules are slated to cover other geographic and thematic areas. With more than 6,500 quilts—too many to show in any physical gallery—the IQM values sharing its quilts and their historical and cultural context virtually.

The IQM is the the world’s largest publicly held quilt collection. Established in 1997, the IQM opened a new museum in 2008 and an expansion in 2015. The museum’s mission is to build a global collection and audience that celebrate the cultural and artistic significance of quilts. The IQM is an academic museum within the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.