I have a huge number floating around here. 5 are on beds, 3 hang over the split-foyer railing, 2 or 3 bigger ones are hanging on walls.

Lap quilts & wall hangings are stored in a cedar chest at the foot of my bed. 3-4 toddler quilts are tossed and played with in the girls' room.

My many larger/bed sized quilts used to be stored under a bed in space saver bags. [These things don't work! Never had one that kept it's seal long term.] But the beds were changed and now I don't have space under the bed. So they are currently folded and stacked in the unfinished bathroom waiting for me to find room somewhere. (that's totally helpful to you, huh? lol)

I would love to have a glass front cabinet where I could fold them and still admire them. I also once had a ladder propped against the living room wall with quilts hanging from the rungs....This was helpful in using vertical space rather than horizontal space.

You could also drape over a head or foot board or rocking chair; stack on book shelves; use as a table covering.

The smell of those on your entertainment center may have come from the heat that is put off from the mechanics, maybe??

I have no answer for you Rita. But, have wanted to mention something related to having a lot of quilts.

My cousin was a quilter and made beautiful quilts. After she had passed away, her DH kept her quilts.....I have no idea why her girls didn't take some of them. He remarried and came down with dementia. New wife said she didn't sign up for that, took all the quilts and vanished. He is now gone and the kids don't have a clue where the quilts are.

Talk with your kids and make arrangements for your quilts! I have a few, but more tops than quilts.

SharonG/FL

Sharon, I've never been able to understand the type of person who would take family heirlooms away from their rightful owners, but I know the same thing happened to my father's father, whose second wife took everything from the family. My dad and his sister had none of their mother's or father's belongings.

But to your question, Rita, I have only a few that I've kept so far. They are either in use, hanging on the wall in my sewing room or in the linen closet. I can see that I will have more in the future, because I seem to make quilts that I haven't got a recipient for and that I don't want to give away. They are made for me. Sounds selfish, but I do enjoy them tremendously. I guess the linen closet will be the place until I figure something else out.

Every loved one already has at least one quilt by now and if I should leave this earth, DH knows better than to let anyone other than close family have them. Yes, I know how these things happen in second marriages, it happened in DH's family, the daughter never got a thing that belonged to her mother.
Using a ladder to display them is a great idea, I Googled some images on quilt display and saw that, now to find one. I already have one on the bedroom wall, which I forgot in the count - there is plenty of wall space in the Grandkid's guest room, maybe I'll do a couple in there. I have seen them rolled up and stored in large baskets/bins on the floor, but space is at a premium in my family room. Thanks for the ideas. I have to be careful about storing them since I live in Florida, where the air is like a wet sponge most of the time.

Wow, Sharon and Lois, that is really low! What awful people.

Like everyone else has said, I have quilts as bedspreads on our two beds; 4 on the sofas in the living room, a quilt ladder with a dozen wall hangings that are rotated throughout the year, and several on the walls. :) The rest are in my linen closet in the hall and linen cabinet in my bathroom.

Donna

I have no problem storing because I don't keep many. Every bed has one, every child (7) has at least one, some have three. All the grands (8) have one to three. Everything else that I make is a charity quilt and goes off almost immediately.
But I do have two in the linen closet. And yes, Jen, those space saver bags do not stay sealed.
Theresa

What a lovely problem to have -- too many quilts. I feel like I've taken to quilting so late, I'm still working on getting the kids each one. I look forward to switching out the wall hanging in the living room with the seasons some day.

Now if I did have to store some, I would clear out the cedar chest and store some there. And I'd get a bookcase for the living room so I could have folded ones displayed there. And I'd definitely drap one over the banister. Too many spaces, too little time.

I like to have enough quilts on hand that I can change them out depending on the season or mood, so keep more than I can use at any given time. I keep one on the back of my oak deacon's bench, one on the daybed, a few folded up on chests in one of the bedrooms and rotate using them so none stay folded up for long periods of time. I did start finding permanent homes for the extras with family or friends as gifts. I figured better to distribute them now, so I could enjoy seeing people I love get them, than have them find their way outside the circle of family and friends when I'm gone. In spare bedrooms we don't use often, there may be more than one quilt on a bed so that they are lain out flat and protected from sunlight and dust. I can always take them up and fold them if we have someone who needs that bed for the night. As for the funky smell.......yes anything with stuffing or batting can pull moisture and get that way and why in generations of the past the bedding got taken out to a line or fence and aired out in the sun and breeze. I still do that at least once or twice a year with my quilts.

I have some on beds, some in closets, some on the stair rail, some in the floor, some in the car, some folded on chairs ... Not all ones I have made, but mom, grandmothers, and great grandmother. They are not beautiful heirlooms, just humble quilts intended to be used and loved, and they are.

Sharon, I don't understand ppl taking things like that either. Shame on her. But she will pay for it eventually.

beverly