Starting February 26, the Fourth Friday Gallery Walk in downtown Wilmington will include a new destination - the Burgwin-Wright House.  Each month the museum will mount a new pop-up exhibit showcasing art and decorative art objects from its extensive collection. The first exhibit, “All By Hand” features needlework from the 18th and 19th centuries.

One of the stars of the “All By Hand” show is a crazy quilt completed in 1884. The quilt was made with more than 300 pieces of fabric ranging from luxurious velvets, satins and silks to worn scraps of cotton. Such variety indicates that each piece had special meaning to the creator and that the quilt served a similar function to that of a personal scrapbook. Individual pieces of fabric are outlined with fancy stitchery and the quilt contains numerous embroidered elements. “The craftsmanship is exquisite,” says Burgwin-Wright Museum Manager Christine Lamberton. “It’s a complex and very creative piece.”

 “All By Hand” also includes a pair of English mirrors with embroidered silk frames made in 1740, an 1818 needlework sampler honoring George Washington, needlework mourning pictures, decorative pole fire screens and an 18th century chair with an embroidered seat.

In addition to the featured exhibit, the Burgwin-Wright House displays original paintings by local artists. The exhibit hall and gift shop are open from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. for Fourth Friday Gallery Nights.

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