Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum

The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum celebrates the art of quilting. Visitors will tour an extensive collection of quilts, bed coverings, and fabric arts. The museum host exhibitions that range from antiquated to contemporary works. Eugenia Mitchell, a celebrated fixture in the Denver quilting community, founded the museum in 1990. Mitchell’s goal was to showcase techniques, the art of quilting, and to be a preservation location for historic pieces.

Eugenia Mitchell was ten years old when she learned quilting from her mother. When she was 14, she dropped out of school to help her mother in her dry goods store. During this time, Eugenia made her first quilt. 

In 1952, Mitchell moved to Golden, Colorado with her second husband, Elmer Mitchell. After his death, she worked as a caretaker and a cleaning woman, quilting in her spare time. 

An exhibition at the Denver Art Museum in 1973 led to her becoming well known within the quilting community. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, she ran a quilting store in Golden. In 1990, Mitchell established the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum. 

The museum’s permanent collection includes 800 quilts, 101 of which were gifted by Eugenia Mitchell. The “Quilts Made by Men Show” is one of many exhibits the museum hosts regularly. After Colorado’s September 2013 floods, quilts were donated to the flood victims through the museum. Eugenia Mitchell passed in 2006, but her legacy lives on at the museum.

1. Martin, Claire. Quilts told story of Eugenia Mitchell's life, The Denver Post. December 22nd 2006. Accessed July 16th 2020. https://www.denverpost.com/2006/12/22/quilts-told-story-of-eugenia-mitchells-life/.
2. Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum. Accessed July 17th 2020. https://www.rmqm.org/about.htm.
3. Klemaier, Josie. Golden museum’s “Quilts Made by Men” show evolves beyond gender bias, The Denver Post. January 26th 2016. Accessed October 1st 2020. https://www.denverpost.com/2016/01/26/golden-museums-quilts-made-by-men-show-evolves-beyond-gender-bias/.
4. Klemaier, Josie. Golden’s Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum spearheads drive for flood victims, The Denver Post. March 18th 2014. Accessed October 1st 2020. https://www.denverpost.com/2014/03/18/goldens-rocky-mountain-quilt-museum-spearheads-drive-for-flood-victims/.