The Lucinda Reddington Cawley Quilt Collection: What it means to be made on the Eastern Shore

January 9th through March 22nd 2014

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Join us for an reception to honor Lucinda Reddington Cawley!
Saturday, March 8th, from 2-4pm
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Featuring antique quilts from the collection of the late Lucinda Reddington Cawley.  Though quilts of her home state, Pennsylvania, were her first passion, she hunted for quilts from the Eastern Shore during the time that she lived in Easton and Salisbury. What she found were some amazing examples of work that featured the wonderful resource of fabric the area had, due to its proximity to Dover, Wilmington, and Baltimore; in addition to some wonderful uses of traditional patterns in bright and vibrant hues.

Also on exhibit, will be small quilts made in tribute to Cinda by her Eastern Shore Quilt Study friends.  These quilts all began with a vintage album block from Cinda’s collection, but are re-imagined by modern quilters.

Lucinda Reddington Cawley
March 17, 1943 – March 3, 2011

Lucinda Cawley, known to friends as Cinda, was a native of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Her lifelong interest in history and her adult occupation of quiltmaking joined together to create a new passion—antique quilts. The rich history of Pennsylvania quilts led Cinda to the textile collections in historical societies and museums and resulted in the publication Saved for the People of Pennsylvania: Quilts from the State Museum of Pennsylvania, coauthored with Lorraine Ezbiansky and Denise Nordberg. During this time Cinda began collecting antique Pennsylvania quilts. She also joined the American Quilt Study Group, which publishes current research on the history of textiles and quiltmaking.

In 2000, Cinda moved with her husband John to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. She took advantage of the move to join two quilt study groups–Fran’s Vintage Friends in western Maryland and the Antique and Vintage Fabric Dating Club of northern Virginia. Cinda soon started the Eastern Shore Quilt Study Group, which meets quarterly in Denton, Maryland. Also during this time, Cinda began adding Eastern Shore quilts to her already sizeable textile collection and presented trunk shows and lectures for quilt guilds and the public on Pennsylvania quilts, the history of quilts in America, and twentieth century quilts.

Antique quilt lovers around the world met Cinda through her internet posts of quilts seen in exhibits and study groups. Cinda was admired for her prodigious memory and her willingness to share her knowledge with others.