Quilts and Quilting Supplies

Imagine you need to make a warm covering for the winter months ahead. Then imagine that the nearest general store where fabric is sold is miles, even days, away (ready-made quilts and quilting supplies are not yet available). Now suppose that when you get there, the cost of the fabric is more than you can afford.

Or how about this: Suppose you have to raise the sheep to shear the sheep to cut and card the wool to spin the yarn to weave the fabric to sew the quilt. Yes, quilts and quilting supplies are still years away.

In light of this, it's easier for us in the 21st century to see why, throughout time, a 2" x 2" scrap of fabric wasn't just thrown out, it was prized and given new life when possible.

Almost every culture has a history of quilting. When ready-made quilts and quilting supplies were nowhere to be found, women kept "scrap bags" from which they could work their own wonders; and wonders they did work, quilting undergarments, table coverings, and beautiful quilts with intriguing names like "Joseph's Coat," "Kansas Troubles," and "Jack-in-the-Pulpit."

When the scrap bags were full, fabric strips and pieces were hand-sewn together to make a larger piece of fabric (called patchwork). The patchwork (or piecework) was then sandwiched together with another large piece of fabric (called the backing) and some kind of stuffing (or batting) in the middle for extra warmth-usually cotton, or an old wool blanket; but straw was also used when nothing else was available. Then the new quilt was hand-stitched to hold the layers together.

Not every quilt was a work of art, to be sure; but many of them were exquisitely pieced and skillfully quilted. Not only did the women become masters at piecework, but many quilts had beautifully-crafted stitching (or quilting) as well. That's why so many are still prized today and passed down from generation to generation.

Quilts may well be the best example of average people making everyday objects into works of art. At the very least, no other works seem as bold and joyful, or as long-lasting.

Quilts for sale

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Quilts