Interesting Quilting Trivia

I ran across some interesting quilting trivia recently, so thought I’d share some of it. No wonder we’re all intrigued and in love with this great craft!

Evidence of quilting has been found as early as 3400 BC It was a quilted garment.The oldest bed quilt was found in Sicily and dates back to the 1400s.

The oldest surviving American quilt is from the early 18th century, though it’s generally felt that the skill of quilting was brought by settlers from Europe even earlier. Perhaps they did not bring actual quilts with them or they did not survive the journey, but they did bring their skills.

Most early quilts were made from “second use” fabric such as old clothes or feed sacks.

Quilting moved across the country with the settlers as they moved west. Quilts were not only used on beds, but were used as covers for doors and over windows in newly built homes.

Block patterns often have several different names because pioneer women would share patterns, but not necessarily the names, so different women would give them a name they liked.

Quilting bees were fun, all day events on the frontier that would give the women the opportunity to socialize with far flung neighbors. Today we have our retreats . . . modern quilting bees in a sense.

So now I’m wondering what will go down in the history books about quilting in 2019. I’m guessing there might be mention of batik fabrics, paper piecing techniques, and all the various sewing machines that are used today. Maybe tucked away in some obscure piece of literature there might even be a note about a fantastic quilt group in Phoenix called PAQA.

Happy Quilting!
Kathy Neary, president