THE Quilt Museum and Gallery, in St Anthony’s Hall, Peasholme Green, York, has opened two exhibitions simultaneously.

Warp, Weft And The Printer’s Block explores the manufacture and use of cotton, silk, linen and wool in 18th and 19th-century quilt-making. All the items are from the Quilters’ Guild Collection, and one of the more spectacular works is The Tree Of Life, a rare broderie perse coverlet from the late 18th century, with block printed cottons applied to a linen ground.

In Migration, Welsh contemporary textile artist Cefyn Burgess explores themes connected with the migration of Welsh people to America. He has focused on two key elements of Welsh society, textiles and chapels, to create a body of work that reflects his own craft of weaving and ventures into machine embroidery.

His research for this Ruthin Crafts Centre touring exhibition included looking at one particular migrant home in Pennsylvania, where the interior was a mix of traditional and modern: a design combination that became pivotal to Burgess’s study and subsequent artworks.

These exhibitions will run until April 18 at Europe’s only museum dedicated solely to patchwork, quilting and contemporary textile arts, run by The Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles. Opening hours are 10am to 4pm, Tuesday to Saturday; admission is £6, concessions £5, guild members £3, children £2.

• The museum is open free to residents on January 31 as part of York Residents’ Festival. There will also be a “felt family workshop”, designed for the family, during which those who come along can make their own felt amazing artwork to take home. The museum is open from 11am to 1pm and 1.30pm to 3.30pm.