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5 Million Quilts Need Restoration

OMAHA, NE — There are over 5,000,000 antique quilts in need of restoration estimates Nancy Kirk of The Kirk Collection in Omaha, NE. But there are less than three dozen quilt restorers working professionally around the country.

Kirk is determined to change those odds and save more quilts by training the next generation of quilt restorers at two workshops in September in Nebraska.

“On September 19 and 20 we offer a Beginning Quilt Restoration Workshop where people learn to repair patchwork and appliqué quilts,” said Kirk. Each person who takes the workshop gets to bring an antique quilt they are planning to restore and goes home with a plan for its restoration.

The workshop also covers dating fabrics, so restorers can identify the age of the quilts they are working on and the vintage fabrics they collect to use in restoration. Students learn how to wash antique quilts and ways to display and store them safely.

“We also teach them how to start a business in quilt restoration,” said Kirk. Restorers generally charge between $25 and $65 per hour for their services. “We find a lot of teachers and nurses looking at restoration as a retirement career” she said.

The September session also includes a field trip to see antique quilts up close and personal, and a two-day advanced workshop focusing on restoring crazy quilts and other Victorian silk quilts.

Kirk says the five day session is the study equivalent of a semester-long course in graduate school. “We give the students all the information they need to tackle the most common restoration problems. Then they need to go home and practice their skills for at least six months before they start their business if they plan to turn professional.”

Not all the students become professional restorers according to Kirk. “Many people just want to learn how to repair their family quilts. Others want to learn the best ways to finish antique quilt tops they’ve inherited or found at auctions.”

To register for the workshops or get more information go to www.quiltrestoration.com or call The Kirk Collection in Omaha, NE at (800) 398-2542.

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About the Author

Nancy Kirk of The Kirk Collection (www.kirkcollection.com), has been restoring, selling, appraising,collecting and documenting antique quilts for 20 years. She serves as President of The Quilt Heritage Foundation and founder of The Crazy Quilt Society. She has appeared for four seasons on HGTV’s Simply Quilts.

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