Biographical note:
Elise Schebler Roberts is a quilt historian and writer who has been quilting for nearly twenty years. She is on the roster of Minnesota Folk Artists and the Minnesota Quilter's Guild, and she also works to preserve historic quilts as a member of the Minnesota Quilt Project. Previously the Curator of Education at the State Historical Society of Iowa, she is now working toward her doctorate in art and history while teaching art history and humanities at Minnesota School of Business. Elise has written numerous articles and is a contributing author to Minnesota Quilts: Creating Connections with Our Past, and Around the Quilt Frame, both published by Voyageur Press. She lives in the Twin Cities.
Helen Kelley, of Minneapolis, MN, is America’s most popular quilting columnist and has written for Quilter’s Newsletter for over twenty years. She is a master quilter and has taught and lectured across the country. Helen’s “Renaissance Quilt” was chosen as one of the 100 Best Quilts of the Twentieth Century. She is the author of Every Quilt Tells a Story and Helen Kelley’s Joy of Quilting and is the 2008 inductee into the prestigious Quilter's Hall of Fame.
Jennifer Chiaverini is the author of the Elm Creek Quilts Novels Series.
Main description:
The story of the American quilt is the story of America itself, stitching together the history, hopes, and heartaches of a nation. From colonial to pioneer quilts, Civil War to Victorian crazy quilts, Depression-era quilts to quilts of the present day, this American craft speaks volumes about the changing world around us and the lives of the quilt makers who have pieced it together.
The largest, most comprehensive history of American quilts ever published, The Quilt explores the evolution of quilting in America. It shows, in vivid colors and patterns, how African American, Amish, Hawaiian, Hmong, and Native American quilts celebrate cultural identity, and how quilts connect us to one another through quilting bees and other community groups.
Author Elise Schebler Roberts also goes beyond the historical nature of quilts to cover current efforts at quilt preservation, with discussions of museums, collecting and appraising, and state documentation projects. Her book features an encyclopedia of favorite quilt styles, detailing the stories behind applique quilts, crazy quilts, art quilts, scrap quilts, sampler quilts, and whole-cloth quilts, as well as traditional patchwork patterns like the Nine Patch, Log Cabin, and Double Wedding Ring. The Quilt is gloriously illustrated with more than 200 full-color photographs of classic collectible quilts, close-up detail shots, current and historical photos of quilters, and vintage quilting memorabilia such as pattern booklets, advertisements, posters, postcards, and more.
Review quote:
ClintonBlackThread.blogspot.com, Oct. 15, 2007 (blog readers unavailable)
“It’s magnificent!”
Quilter's Newsletter, April 2008
"Investigate the evolution of quilting in America with one of the most comprehensive histories ever published. The book moves from the discussion of the historical nature of quilts to current efforts at quilt preservation. Features include more than 200 full-color photographs and an encyclopedia of quilt styles, from applique to crazy, pieced to art, scrappy to whole cloth. Essays by Jean Ray Laury, Patricia Cox and Alex Anderson, to name a few, highlight the complexity and beauty of America's quilting tradition."
