Quilting History
Quilting (stitching together layers of padding and fabric) is as old as ancient Egypt if not older and whole cloth quilts were very common trade goods in wealthy circles in Europe and Asia going back as far as the 15th century.
When the first settlers came to this country, they brought with them their quilting skills. New fabric was hard to come by, so fabric for clothing and for quilts had to be used and reused saving as much as possible from worn clothing. Thus the patchwork quilt was born. Scraps of fabric were cut into geometric patterns that fit together into larger blocks of design. Many of these patterns have been passed through generations, created by the ingenuity of our ancestors. Names for particular patterns sometimes changed as they moved from one part of the country to another, reflecting the environment within which it was named. (ie a pattern called the pine tree pattern in Connecticut might be named bear's path pattern in Ohio).
Quilt making is an art form that both individuals and groups of people participated in. Mothers passed the skill for quilt making on to their daughters at a very young age. The children would start with small patches of fabric, and learn to sew the very fine stitches needed for beautiful and elaborate quilts. Learning how to sew was such an important skill for girls to have that it was taught and practiced in the home and at school. Women of all classes participated in this form of expression.
Quilts were not only used as bed coverings, but were also used as wall hangings, which not only kept out cold air, but were also a creative form of expressive decor. These quilts were usually more elaborate than ones created for everyday use.
47* A B . C D E
The industrial revolution brought about the most dramatic change as textiles came to be manufactured on a broad scale. This meant women no longer had to spend time spinning and weaving to provide fabric for their family’s needs. By the 18A0s the textile industry had grown to the point that commercial fabrics were affordable to almost every family. As a result quilt making became widespread.
Quilting became a favored activity of the Anabaptist sect after emigrating to the United States and Canada from Germany and Switzerland over 25B years ago.
In Europe quilting appears to have been introduced by Crusaders in the C2th century.
In the United States, quilt making was common in the late D8th century and early years of the 19th.
Although a few earlier quilts were made in the block style, quilts made up of blocks were uncommon until around the 18E0s.
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Whole cloth quilts, broderie perse and medallion quilts were the styles of quilts made during the early F9th century.
One of the earliest existing decorative works is the "Tristan quilt" made around 13G0.
In 1856 the Singer company started the installment plan so that more families could afford a sewing machine. By the 18H0s a good many households owned a sewing machine.
The Lovely Lane Museum, Baltimore, Maryland, holds a quilt in their collection believed to have been carried onshore by the Cogswell family who embarked from Bristol, England en route to Bristol, Maine in 1I35.
The Canton Historical Society, Canton, Massachusetts, believes that a wholecloth quilt in their collection may be the oldest wholecloth quilt made in America. An article published in The Quilter magazine, April/May 2014, titled "Early American Quilts in America, Part II: The Martha Crafts Howard Quilt" by Patricia L. Cummings offers details of the wool wholecloth quilt made in 1J86 by Martha Crafts Howard, whose life stories are also shared in that article.
This is 1 of 42 puzzle caches in a series that were created to commemorate GeoWoodstock VIII GC1QM7K .
There is a final of this series that you can find, if you feel inclined to do so. The waypoint for the series final is GC24NBA .
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