ON THE AMERICAN QUILT

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"[T]he technique of stitchery was passed on by exacting instruction, so also was education in color and design. And the art was controlled and handed down by women, usually mother, grandmother, or aunt. The best elements of teaching were often combined over the construction of a quilt: early and often instruction, tradition, discipline, planning and completing a task, moral reinforcement. Quilting was a virtue."

A quilt by definition is the layering of fabrics that are then tied or sewn together. It is magnificent to see how cultures throughout the world have used this fabric art form to create visual masterpieces of color, pattern, design, and personal story. Quilts were sewn to honor births, deaths, weddings, and friendships. Others recorded historical moments and major community events.

The layering of fabric began with the basic need to provide warmth. It grew into one of the most ceremonious art forms that we have.

Throughout many communities today — urban, rural, and places in between — there is a prick and a swoosh as needle and thread, fabric and batting, embellishment and passion keep the art of quilt making thriving. No longer the work of just our mothers and grandmothers, today's quilts show the creative visions of men and women alike. Some are traditional, honoring the patterns and techniques of the past. Other contemporary quilters share greater vision with American painters and sculptors, breaking down the boundaries between art and craft. For me, quilting has been an exciting way to explore the history, family stories, and rich needlework traditions that quilts represent.

It is this complex layering of history and heart — part of every quilt — that draws me in.

History of Quilting

In Quilting, (London, Batsford, 19781, Averil Colby reports that one of the oldest recorded pieces of quilted material is a "carved ivory figure of a pharaoh of the Egyptian First Dynasty, wearing a supposedly quilted mantle, ca 3400 B.C." Quilt historian Lisa Evans differs, and offers that "the oldest known quilted object in the world is a first century tomb rug from Siberia." What separates the two might well be an agreement on what "quilting" means in the first place, rather than an error in research. Undisputed, however is the superabundance of references in medieval literature and trade journals to quilt making. Ms. Evans goes on to describe some of the most colorful (if not the happiest) examples:

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