Quilt History Snippets - January 2025

Kathy Moore • January 8, 2025

What:   Review of Uncoverings 1993, Volume 14 of the Research Papers of the American Quilt Study Group, edited by Laurel Horton

Topic:    “Surfacing: The Inevitable Rise of the Women of Color Quilters’ Network”

Author:   Sandra K. German

In 1993 the author identified a gap in the “thriving” condition of the “growing” American quiltmaking and scholarship industry. She found “attitudes and perceptions of some American quiltmakers who feel that barriers exist between themselves and the mainstream.” And she lauds the Women of Color Quilters’ Network for evolving “to help meet the needs of disenfranchised quilters.” [p. 137]


Some of what German has to say is challenging but serves to prove her points. They are difficult to deny in many cases, but there is room for discussion and clarification. Looking around at guild meetings most of us attend as well as AQSG Seminar meetings, one cannot deny her statement, “there is a large discrepancy between the numbers of European American quilters, guilds, teachers, lecturers, curators, writers, editors, international exchange candidates, fellowship recipients, and so on, and their African American counterparts.” [p. 139-140] What follows is a detailed explication of the ways in which African American’s “visibility” in art and craft in America has been, and is, sidelined. It is a concept she credits Ralph Ellison with bringing to the forefront in the 1950s, in his book, Invisible Man.


German’s discussion of “invisibility” seems a very good opportunity to explore the effects and consequences of racial and sexist social and cultural attitudes across many generations to the present. Given all the many years since the Civil Rights movement in American and the many ways in which we have experienced the consequences of sexism and racism, one would think we would be past the need to think about and discuss this issue.


Sadly, there is more work to do and revisiting this article may just be a good way to start that discussion. Have her issues changed? If yes, how have they changed? What of her points are still relevant? What can we do to resolve these issues? What, if anything, does AQSG need to do about these issues?



Best wishes to you all for the new year. Let’s make 2025 the best it can be. I hope to see you all at Seminar in the fall.

Share Post

Quilt History Snippets - March 2025

By Kathy Moore • March 6, 2025
What: Review of Uncoverings 1993, Volume 14 of the Research Papers of the American Quilt Study Group, edited by Laurel Horton Topic: “Prizes from the Plains: Nebraska State Fair Award-Winning Quilts and Quiltmakers” Author: Mary Jane Furgason and Patricia Cox Crews You may recognize the name of one of these authors. During her academic career at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Patricia Cox Crews was a faculty member in the department of Textiles, Clothing and Design, was at the center of organizational events developing the International Quilt Study Center and Museum (IQSCM) – now known as the International Quilt Museum, and she served as the first Director of the IQSCM. Her scholarly work stands on the authority of her lifetime of scholarship in textile research and reporting. Additionally, Crews was a co-author of the book, Nebraska Quilts and Quiltmakers, based on the results of that state’s documentation project conducted from 1987 to 1989. This article presents the results of extensive analysis of the records of the Nebraska State Fair. Using a scholarly approach to the information they applied a material culture approach to data that was collected from Fair entries and premium offerings. The stated goal was to better understand the cultural impact of quiltmaking on the state. [p.188] The authors found that their study of the premiums offered at the State Fair “reflected economic and social changes within the state” with the rise and fall of premiums as well as “inequities based on gender.” [p.188] Combined with information from almost three thousand quilts documented by the state documentation project the authors were able to add information on the levels of education, economic status, aesthetic design preferences – even ethnic heritages of Nebraska quiltmakers. [p. 189] This very thorough report on Nebraska quiltmaking practices and those of the State Fair’s naming of categories and awarding of premiums, while it may not reveal unexpected surprises, validates economic and cultural changes over the decades in other areas of Nebraskan and American history from the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. For those interested in the growth and development as well and the influences of State Fairs this report and its extensive Endnotes section should be a source of authoritative scholarly information. If you don’t have a copy of this issue of Uncoverings, you can access it at https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/aqsg or on the Quilt Index database at the AQSG collection link.

Quilt History Snippets - December 2024

By Kathy Moore • December 5, 2024
What: Review of Uncoverings 1993, Volume 14 of the Research Papers of the American Quilt Study Group, edited by Laurel Horton Topic: “The Smithsonian Quilt Controversy: Cultural Dislocation” Author: Judy Elsley

Quilt History Snippets - November 2024

By Kathy Moore • November 6, 2024
What: Review of Uncoverings 1993, Volume 14 of the Research Papers of the American Quilt Study Group, edited by Laurel Horton Topic: “Southwestern Quilts and Quiltmakers in Context” Author: Jeannette Lasansky
Show More
Share by: