They’re but a sampling of a 200-quilt collection that Gross, a noted quilt historian, sold in January to the Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin. During the quilt revolution of the 1970s, Gross urged people not to overlook the “fantastic work” from the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s, says Brenda Gunn, an associate director at the center. Sorrell especially likes a quirky quilt top called Album With Dogs and Birds , which features traditional flowers and birds along with five dogs on “really bizarre platforms,” she says. Also in the DAR display is a quilt by Mary Tayloe Lloyd Key, whose husband, Francis Scott Key, penned The Star Spangled Banner and was a lawyer for Sam Houston.

Tags: quilts, gross, quilting, keepsake quilting, free quilting patterns, quilting frames