Hometown Girl: Contemporary Quilts of Mimi Dietrich
This exhibition is on view through March 2020. The MdHS museum is open Wednesday-Saturday, 10 am-5 pm, and on Sundays, 12 pm-5 pm.
The exhibition features one-of-a-kind appliqué quilts created by Baltimore-native Mimi Dietrich. Ms. Dietrich is one of Maryland’s and the nation’s most accomplished quilters. In 2015 she was inducted into The Quilters Hall of Fame in Marion, Indiana. “Hometown Girl” tells Ms. Dietrich’s story as a life-long Marylander and Baltimore native, and draws inspiration from the many students she has taught over her 35-year career.
Ms. Dietrich’s quilting technique focuses on appliqué, which involves stitching smaller pieces of fabric onto a larger piece of fabric in a decorative manner. It is the signature technique used in Baltimore Album Quilts. To date, MdHS boasts almost 60 quilts made in the Album Quilt style and is considered one of the country’s foremost quilt repositories. Several of the museum’s Album Quilts—particular favorites of Ms. Dietrich’s—are also displayed in the “Hometown Girl” exhibition.
Ms. Dietrich is the author of 17 books, and currently teaches a yearlong class focused on Baltimore Album Quilts. She is a founding member of The Village Quilters in Catonsville and the Baltimore Appliqué Society.