Lectures
Lectures can be tailored for thirty, forty-five, or ninety minutes.
A Complete History of Quilting in 60 Minutes or Less!
Quilting is nearly as old
as cloth, and I whiz through its history, concentrating on examples from
the eighteenth through twentieth centuries. I debunk a few popular quilt
history myths, and touch on New England textile mill and technology
history.
Attendees are invited to bring one quilt for
identification. Quilts are arranged in chronological order and used as
examples in the lecture.
Civil War Soldiers’ Quilts
Quilts made for use by
soldiers during the Civil War are very rare—only sixteen are known (so
far) to exist, and I have studied most of them in person. I outline the
origins of the U. S. Sanitary Commission at the beginning of the War;
the roles women played on the home front, and the battlefield; and
feature the stories of fourteen actual Civil War soldiers’ quilts.
Busting the Myths—Quilt History Truths
Scholarship in the last
thirty years has changed our knowledge of quilt history, and I bring you
up to date on the latest, from “Quilting is a craft of American origin,”
to the truth about quilts and the Underground Railroad.
Attendees are invited to bring one quilt for
identification. Quilts are arranged in chronological order and used as
examples in the lecture.
Signature
Quilts
Also called “inscribed”
and “friendship” quilts, these quilts have multiple names written on
them and tell wonderful stories about love, war, migration, and
community. The lecture includes a history of inscribed quilts, methods,
and types.
Attendees are invited to bring one quilt for
identification. Quilts are arranged in chronological order and used as
examples in the lecture.
Quilt-as-you-go; It’s older than you
think!
Georgia Bonesteel made
“lap-quilting” very popular in the 1980’s as part of the quilt revival
of the time, but quilt-as-you-go is hundreds of years old. The lecture
covers the various types and techniques, with images of examples dating
to 1400!