Bedford, PA- Home of the National Museum of the American Coverlet

Laszlo Zongor explains the system of Jacquard Loom(see below) and the punched holed cards, each card a single line of weaving.

A two hour drive from Pittsburgh. My book club had a fun and memorable getaway weekend trip. We stayed at the Historic Bedford Resort.

Sunday, Joan and I went to see the National Museum of the American Coverlet– housed in a beautiful Historic Common School. A coverlet is a woven bed cover, although there were some floor coverings, too. The coverlets display changes every four months. We learned a lot about the history of the coverlets with our knowledgeable guide explaining the differences. The last photos are of the gift shop where you can purchase reproductions of the antique designs and fabric for quilters.

from the National Museum of the American Coverlet

The Museum and Museum Shop are open daily, year round.
Hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
Admission is $6 ($5 for age 60 and over). Kids under 12 are free. Group rates available.

If you have a coverlet, you can bring it to Melinda and Laszlo Zongor and they can help date it and identify the weaving method.

The Jacquard Loom

There are looms and spinning wheels on exhibit.

April 23, 2012 by Ruth Categories: Antiques, People at Work, Photography, vintageTags: American coverlet, antique, art, Arts and Crafts, Bedford PA, collection, cotton, coverlet, design, fiber, Historic Beford, history, Jacquard Loom, museum, preservation, quilting, spinning wheels, The National Museum of the American Coverlet, travel, vacation, weaving, wool, woven 18 Comments

18 thoughts on “Bedford, PA- Home of the National Museum of the American Coverlet”

Oh wow! That is so interesting and the photo’s you took are gorgeous Ruth! Thanks for sharing hon. 🙂
*hugs*

Very interesting. Where do you find these places?

a wonderful tribute to this art!

We have been to the Bedford Springs Resort a couple of times. They have a fabulous Mother’s Day Brunch. It is so relaxing there. An old fashioned place.
Never knew to go to the coverlet museum, though. Interesting discovery! Great photos!

A beautiful series, and very educational.

Love those coverlets! Thank you for the lovely photos and information!

Thats a good story. I always look for weaving experiences when I travel. Everybody needs fabric for so many reasons.

Looms and the intricate patterns they produce are fascinating. Seeing that stack of cards only adds to the wonder of it all. Thanks, Ruth, for taking us along.