A quilt featuring a block from each county in Kentucky debuted Monday at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah.
The Kentucky Extension Homemakers Association partnered with the U.S. Census Bureau to create the Kentucky Census Quilt. Each of the state’s 120 counties participated. The United States Census occurs every ten years and will take place next year.
KEHA president Karen Hill said the organization received and sewed the quilt blocks together in less than five months.
“And the Census Bureau wants this to use the thought that it means that every person in every county counts and that’s why we reached out to every county to get their participation,” Hill said.
Past KEHA president Marlene McComas said the quilt symbolizes unity. Counties sewed squares to represent themselves, with Marshall County’s square saying “Marshall Strong.” The quilt will travel across the state for display in public libraries as part of the 2020 Census Quilt tour. People can also visit their local public library next year to complete the census questionnaire.