By: Winifred Reddall

Very few quilts with pieced lettering have come to light, up to the present time. A search of literature turned up six other 19th century quilts whose monograms or messages display the same general style of lettering. Simply listing the origins of these quilts revealed a regional identity for the group. Documentation indicates that four of the seven quilts were made in upstate New York, one is from Newark,

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Pieced Lettering on Seven Quilts Dating from 1833-1891  »

By: Sandra Metzler-Smith

California is noted for the exceptional basketry traditions of its Native American peoples. Among these, the baskets of the Pomo have the name of being the finest made in California, if not the world. Pomo basketry is an art form is which color of materials, shape, design, texture and fineness of weave are manipulated for ends that are purely aesthetic as well as practical. Adept with their hands,

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Quilts in Pomo Culture  »

By: Sally Garoutte

It is the purpose of this paper to examine two particular stories often included in the “history” of quilts. One is that the first American quilts were made from economic need, the need for warm bedding being so great that early colonial women pieced together all their fabric scraps to make quilts. Another story is that quilts were common and ordinary bed furnishings in
colonial households.

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Early Colonial Quilts in a Bedding Context  »

By: Lucille Hilty

My title come from a question I raised in Pat Ferrero’s film, QUILTS IN WOMEN’S LIVES. In the film I wondered why there is so much emotion invested in quiltmaking? Why do people feel so passionate about this craft? This intense interest that I feel about quiltmaking has also been expressed by other quiltmakers. How can the making of bed covers arouse such zeal, such passion and intensity?

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The Passion for Quiltmaking  »

By: Joyce Gross

Although a number of the nation’s art museums have quilts in their collections made by nationally known quiltmakers, information about the quiltmakers has been almost totally lacking. In some instances, not even the significant dates of the artists were known by the museums. This I found to be highly frustrating, and so began research of my own into the lives of twentieth century quiltmakers. Four of these master quiltmakers are presented here.

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Four Twentieth Century Quiltmakers  »

By: John L. Oldani

For decades, the oral tradition, representing everything from the spoken word through the gesture and folk handicraft, had been curiously neglected by scholars as unworthy of serious consideration because of the frivolous nature of the study or lack of relations to the human condition. Folklore, it was often held, was nothing more than “old stories” or superstitions, or even “dirty jokes.” The folk art or folk handicraft that is quilting represents a microcosm of this briefly described academic problem with folklore.

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Archiving and the American Quilt: A Position Paper  »

By: Jean T. Federico

White work bedcoverings date from the neoclassical period (1790-1830) of American decorative arts. The beauty of all white work resulted from an infinite number of stitches which produce dramatic three dimensional qualities. Most of these bedcoverings feature a large central motif; the designs were suited to the revival and reinterpretation of Greco-Roman motifs inspired by the finds at Herculaneum and Pompeii. The white surface area of bedcoverings during this period is yet another interpretation of “classical purity.” The same florals,

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White Work Classification System  »

By: Cuesta Benberry

Working as a quilt historian, I am investigating the role of quilts, in an historical context, in the lives of black Americans. This means quilts made by black women, and quilts not made by black women, but which have a relationship to their lives. A study of these quilts portray, in a very vivid manner, the concepts of a large segment of white Americans about black Americans, at various points in American history.

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Afro-American Women and Quilts: An Introductory Essay  »

By: Bets Ramsey

What most exemplifies the southern country quilt? I propose that a limitation of material has direct bearing on the total design of the quilt. Because of restriction more improvisation takes place. The easy way out is not available. Substitution must be made. Compromise and adaptations are worked out. An artist sets a problem and, working within certain boundaries, goes about solving it to the best of his or her ability.

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Design Invention in Country Quilts of Tennessee and Georgia  »

By: Barbara Brackman

During the twentieth century the printed media – books and periodicals – has had a profound effect upon our lives and culture. Quiltmaking is no exception. From the turn of the century the printed media has definitely affected the way quilts look.

In nearly any quilt display one comes across examples of 19th century quilts which appear to be one of a kind, with no printed source.

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Midwestern Pattern Sources  »