I am going to the Quilt Show to see the Pittsburgh Friendship Quilt

Well, here is an event I never thought I would think about attending but I am actually looking forward to this Quilt Show. While Quilt Shows aren’t one of my normal weekend hangouts, I am often looking for unusual events to check out. This is what caught my eye:

There will be a MUST-SEE SPECIAL DISPLAY of the Buhl Science Center’s PITTSBURGH FRIENDSHIP QUILT, that was in storage since 1989. The quilt is made of more than 32,000 squares signed by National and Local Political Figures, including 4 U.S. Presidents, Celebrities, Sports Teams, Schools, Community Groups & Buhl Visitors.

What is this Friendship Quilt? I have just spent the past hour googling every combination of Pittsburgh + Friendship + Quilt I can think of – I can’t find anything about this thing. But with 32,000 squares this is no little quilt. Since it has been in storage since 1989, before such things as blogs and flickr I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that I can’t find anything. I even checked the deep archives of the Post-Gazette but that only goes back to the ancient time of 1990. I vaguely remember lots of little squares of fabric hanging on the wall of the Bulh Science Center during a field trip. I think I might have even signed one of those little squares.

Here is some more important info about the quilt:

Mr. Rogers and McFeely signed the quilt as did newscasters Bill and Patty Burns.

So I am planning to go check out this quilt show, hopefully they will let me take some pictures so that this quilt can have some proper representation on the web.

If you know anything about this quilt or might actually have a picture you could scan in – I think 1989 was before the household digital camera – I would love to include it here too.

The Quilt Company East – Art From The Heart Quilt Show
CCAC Boyce Campus, 595 Beatty Road, Monroeville 15146
$5 Admission
Friday, August 1, 2008 – 10am-5pm
Saturday, August 2, 2008 – 10am-5pm
Sunday, August 3, 2008 11am-5pm

For lots more info about Quilting in Pittsburgh – check out QuiltPittsburgh.org they have a list of local quilting guilds and quilting shops.