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Arts & Entertainment

Historical Society Kicks Off Crazy Quilts Exhibit

Addie Mangoian Davis' quilts will be on display until Sept. 30.

Most people don't think fine art when they hear the word "quilt."

The current exhibit at the will surely change that.

From July 1 through Sept. 30, the Historical Society is displaying quilts made by Highland Park resident .

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The exhibit is running in conjunction with the Northern Illinois Quilt Fest. The Historical Society has been chosen as one of more than a dozen anchor sites for the celebration spanning six counties.

The quilts adorning the walls of the building are no ordinary quilts. These are "crazy quilts," a style of quilting that became popular in the late 1880s that emphasizes freeform compositions and embellishment with fabrics, jewels, ribbons and beads.

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"I moved to a little town in Indiana with my husband in 1971 and the women were still quilting there, they'd never stopped," Addie Davis said about how she came to begin quilting. "I watched them for a few years and then I got the idea that I would like to do it too."

Davis' initial quilts were simple and classic.  

"At the time, so many of the quilts that were being made were traditional patterns," Davis said.

Davis discovered crazy quilts not too many years after picking up the craft.  

"A friend of mine gave me a magazine and it had a crazy quilt on the cover and that did it for me," Davis said. "I liked the idea of working with ribbons and beautiful fabrics. I just made an immediate connection."

Crazy quilts, with their abstract collage look, allow Davis not to have to over-think the layout or final design when starting one.  

"I just start doing it and it evolves."

For over 30 years, Davis has been creating the one-of-a-kind works. She puts a lot of herself into them.

"Each one of my quilts is a very personal statement," Davis said.

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