Faith Quilters
Every Wednesday from 11:00am to 4:00pm, we meet in Room 4/5.
You may come for an hour or two or all afternoon. We can always use filler materials and fabric for tops and bottoms. Please contact Anita Austin at 296-0308 or Marcia Jacobs at 323-2278.
From Wikipedia:
Quilted fabric is as old as ancient Egypt if not older and wholecloth quilts were very common trade goods in wealthy circles in Europe and Asia going back as far as the 15th centuries.
Piecing fabric together is also very old. It was more often used for clothing but also occasionally for decorative objects like this exquisite pieced pillow from the 15th century.
The making of pieced quilts made up of cut pieces of fabric sewn in block form with the blocks then sewn together to make the quilt is a more recent development. Pieced block quilts, often called patchwork, did not become the dominant form of quilt making until the mid-19th century, and still is not the traditional form in Provence, Wales, and parts of India.
Piecing refers to as the sewing together of fabric to create the quilt top. Quilting refers to the stitching the three layers of fabric together; the top, batting (also called wadding) in the center and the fabric backing.
* There is a common belief that quilting originated for its utility rather than decoration.
* The origins of this method of craft are thought to be in the Crusades, when soldiers needed warmth as well as protection from the chafing caused by heavy armor. Additionally, there are ancient Egyptian sculptures showing figures which appear to be wearing clothing which is quilted, possibly for warmth in the chilly desert evenings.
* Quilting is used in the making of garments, as far back as the gambeson.
* In American Colonial times most women were busy spinning, weaving and making clothing. Meanwhile women of the wealthier classes prided themselves on their fine quilting of wholecloth quilts. Both their trapunto and broderie perse were considered fine needlework.
* Quilts made during the early 1800s were not constructed of pieced blocks but instead whole cloth quilts. Broderie perse quilts and medallion quilts were made.
* Some antique quilts made in North America have worn-out blankets or older quilts as the internal batting layer, quilted between new layers of fabric and thereby extending the usefulness of old material.
* During American Pioneer days "paper" quilting became popular. Paper was used as a pattern and each individual piece of cut fabric was basted around the paper pattern. Paper was a scarce commodity in the early American west and women would save letters from home,newspaper clippings etc. to use as patterns. The paper not only served as a pattern but as an insulator. The paper found between the old quilts has become a primary source about pioneer life.
* Quilts made without any insulation or batting were referred to as summer quilts. They were not made for warmth, only to keep the chill off on cooler summer evenings.
* Harriet Powers, a slave-born African American woman, made two famous story quilts. She was just one of the many African American quilters who contributed to the evolution of quilting.
* Just recently the Quilts of Gees Bend offers another piece of quilt history that is traveling the United States. This exhibit is the history of quilts made by African American women living in Gee's Bend Alabama. These quilts were made for warmth and use.
* In modern times, art quilts have started to become popular for their aesthetic and artistic qualities rather than for functionality (i.e., they are displayed on a wall rather than spread on a bed).
