Mill Street has a history that runs deep through Utica.
It has evolved from grist mill, to handmade window glass manufacturing, to now a gorgeous event venue—a venue that currently houses an antique quilt show featuring quilts owned by Doug and Beth Morgan, the current owners of Mill Street.
The start of the Morgans’ collection dates back 40 years.
Many of the quilts are over 100 years old, and most of them are hand stitched. In the quilting business today, quilts are typically made with a machine called a long-arm, but the ones that were handmade before this machine existed can carry deeply personal memories from what the creator was experiencing while they crafted.
“If you have a quilt someone has made you, you want as much history as you can get,” Doug Morgan told the Mount Vernon News. “If that person is still alive, you want that history. Stop and have tea or coffee with them and ask, ‘Why did you pick these colors, why did you pick this pattern?’ Document that and put it with that quilt and that may affect the value because you have a history.”
The show is not just an opportunity to go and see these quilts, many of them are available to purchase.
However, these quilts are not necessarily for keeping warm at night. The pieces of artwork can be delicate, especially if they are as old as some of the ones being displayed.
Because some of these quilts are so old, the style can vastly differ from what is popular today, but that makes them all the more valuable.
“This is a crazy quilt,” Doug Morgan said. “This was a popular thing done back around like the 1890s Victorian era, all hand stitches. They call it the turkey trot stitch. There is some embroidery in there too and lots of different and shaped textures.”
One of the most interesting backstories that comes from a quilt is the one with a double wedding ring pattern. It features the names, date and location of weddings in a family embroidered directly onto the quilt.
“This is called a double wedding ring pattern,” Doug Morgan said. “This was obviously a family quilt, and they embroidered the names, wedding dates and the place where they were married for all these family members. You see Riddle, Riddle, Riddle, Riddle, Riddle, Riddle, [last names] and then there's some other names in there. The oldest there is 1879, then there’s 1906, 1886, 1901, 1910. A neat piece of family history right there.”
The quilts are on view every Friday and Saturday through March 1, and tickets include a tour and tasting at the on-site distillery.
The history that runs through these quilts, and the building, is fascinating. A visit might leave you more intrigued in the history that runs through the village of Utica.
