Kentucky Quilts and Quiltmakers

Although they are commonplace in American homes, quilts are much more than simple patchwork bed coverings and wall adornments. While many of these beautiful and intricate works of art are rich in history and tradition, others reflect the cutting-edge talent and avant-garde mastery of contemporary quiltmakers. Kentucky Quilts and Quiltmakers: Three Centuries of Creativity, Community, and Commerce is the first comprehensive study to approach quilts as objects of material culture that have adorned homes throughout the history of the commonwealth and the country.

Linda Elisabeth LaPinta highlights such topics as quiltmaking in women's history, the influence of early Black quiltmakers, popular Kentucky quilt patterns, types, and colors, and the continuing importance of preserving the commonwealth's quilt history and traditions. The author provides a panoramic view of Kentucky quiltmaking from colonial America through the American Revolution, the Civil War to the 1900s, to the new millennium and the dynamic quilting industry of today. LaPinta reveals Kentucky's pivotal role in shaping significant aspects of American quilt culture—Kentuckians founded the first statewide quilt documentation project, created important exhibits and major quilt organizations, and established the National Quilt Museum. Rounding out this all-encompassing volume is a collection of fascinating and intimate artistic commentaries by notable quiltmakers, as well as discussion of the key players who have conserved, celebrated, and showcased the commonwealth's extraordinary quilt culture.

Foreword, by Shelly Zegart
Introduction
Part I: Tracing the First 125 Years, c. 1775-1900
1. Needlework on the Frontier to the Launch of Commonwealth Quilt Commerce: c. 1750-1820
2. Nineteenth Century Kentucky Quilt Styles, Types, Patterns, and Paraphernalia
3. The Influence of the Sewing Machine and the Manufacture of Cotton Batting
4. The Presence and Influence of Early Black Quiltmakers and Quilters
5. Quilts as Communication and Commemoration
6. Quiltmaking During the Civil War and the Quilt Code Debunked
7. The Shaker Myth Quashed
Part II: Altering the Aesthetic and Celebrating the Legacy, c.1900-2000
8. Twentieth Century Quilt Influences, Styles, and Preferences, by Linda Elisabeth LaPinta and Georgia Green Stamper
9. The Rise of Twentieth Century Quilt Commerce
10. The Rise of Quilt Contests
11. The Rise of Art Quilts, Key Influential Exhibitions, and Select Kentucky Art Quilters
12. The Rise of the Study of Quilt History
Part III: Millennial Shifts in Material Culture, c. 2000-2024
13. Innovations, Institutions, and Entrepreneurs Reconfigure the Quilt World
14. Kentuckians Celebrate Tradition So Quilts Will "Go On"
15. Quilt-Based Teaching Proliferates and Kentuckians Advance Creative Techniques
16. Quiltmakers Give Back
Appendices
Appendix One: Contemporary Quiltmakers Share Their Techniques
Appendix Two: Quilt Care
Appendix Three: How to Pad and Fold a Quilt for Storage
Appendix Four: Quilts Housed in Historic Homes, Historic Sites, and Museum Quilt Collections, and Kentucky Online Quilt Resources
Appendix Five: Select Kentucky Quilt Organizations
Appendix Six: Select National and International Quilt Museums and Organizations
Afterword, by Frank Bennett
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
About the AuthorKentucky Quilts and Quiltmakers: Three Centuries of Creativity, Community, and Commerce