STOLEN QUILT UPDATE - forwarded letter from Joan Knight, Director
of the VQM.
Joan Knight writes:
For those who have not heard, I wanted to fill you in on the events
of last Thursday night, Nov.1 when the Virginia Quilt Museum was
burglarized about 10:30 p.m. One of the Indian quilts
["Daybreak/Dawn Quilt," 1995, by Charlie and Julia Grinell,
Parshall, N.D.] was stolen from our new exhibit 'To Honor and
Comfort, Native Quilting Traditions'. Needless to say, I am just
sick. We had our alarm system upgraded especially for the arrival of
this exhibit and it worked perfectly. The police happened to be only
three doors down from the museum when the alarm sounded and
responded immediately.
The burglar went right to the quilt. All of the quilts in this
exhibit came with wooden hanging slats covered with a wide velcro
strip and the quilts have velcro on the back instead of sleeves, so
the targeted quilt only had to be peeled off the board.
An image of the stolen quilt can be seen at
www.craftsreport.com/september97/nativequilts.html and I am
asking that each of you forward it to whoever you think might help
in getting the word out about what happened with hopes that someone
may spot it. The quilt is made of cotton solid colors, rectangular
pieces. It was made by Charlie and Julia Grinnell in 1995 and
measures 81'x89'. It is part of the Michigan State Museum
Collection. A reward of $1000 is currently being offered (this
amount may increase) and anyone with information should contact the
Harrisonburg Crime Solvers at 540-574-5050 or the Harrisonburg
Police at 540-434-4436.
What a terrible thing to have happened. Obviously, the thief targeted that particular quilt. I find it odd that someone at all familiar with Native American traditions would steal the quilt as they are asking for spiritual retribution. Anyway, I hope the quilt is recovered soon.
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