Homes need live plants, piles of books, original art, handknit blankets and artisan quilts. Alexa, can you make a quilt? No. I’ve never made a quilt either, but someday I would like to.
Meanwhile, I am satisfying my curiosity by reading a book on quilting and talking to serious quilters about the importance of quilts in the American home today and throughout history. “What other craft involves making something with your hands, imbuing your style, and creating something that keeps your loved ones warm?” asks quilt designer and teacher Shannon Brinkley, of Leesburg, Va. “It’s the perfect blend of function and beauty.
” Brinkley, 36, started quilting in college. Shortly after graduating, she turned her hobby into a business. She started The Meander Quilt Guild, an online international forum where quilters gather to share techniques for the centuries-old art.
“Anyone can slap three layers of fabric together, but the fact that for centuries, women” (98 percent of quilters are women, according to the Craft Industry Alliance 2020 Survey) “have taken the time to make these items beautiful is what makes quilting so special.” “Every quilt tells a story,” says Carissa Heckathorn, director of the Iowa Quilt Museum, and a quilter for over 30 years. “A quilt from the 1800s can tell you a lot about the woman who made it.
The quilt can tell you if the woman was utilitarian, making quilts quickly from scraps to keep her family warm, repurposing old clothing because sh.
