In their spare time, woman today enjoy the art of making quilts. But in the early days of America, life was not easy and time for enjoying art was not available.
The homes of the early settlers were roughly constructed and held little protection from the wind, rain or other elements. To put food on the table required many hours of labor and to keep the family well was not always an easy task. Women would spin wool into cloth and use the methods on how to make quilts that were brought from Europe by their mothers.
Since the only light in the evenings construct their quilts by would be by firelight, most quilting would be done from May till November when the days were longer.
Whole cloth quilts were made during these early days. A solid top of fabric, filling and backing stitched together with elaborate designs which resulted in beautiful patterned quilts.
When pieced blocks were used to make a quilts, a center motif was surrounded by several borders. The most popular patterns for quilts would be the Star block, Hour Glass and Saw Tooth.
As I have been researching and studying the history of the making of quilts, I have found that despite the need for warm quilts, it is a myth that most American colonial women actually quilted.
A bit of American History on quilts – Happy Birthday America!
In their spare time, woman today enjoy the art of making quilts. But in the early days of America, life was not easy and time for enjoying art was not available.