Curator's Statement

Quilting has a long tradition in the United States. Beginning in the early eighteenth century with the first Amish communities, it has sustained as a popular art form for almost three hundred years. The Industrial Revolution of the late eighteenth century made textiles widely available by producing larger and cheaper quantities of cloth in local mills and factories. By 1800, patterns such as the Pinwheel and Nine Patch (exhibited here) were developed and quickly became popular among quilt makers throughout the country. Quilting became competitive when county fairs were developed in the first decades of the nineteenth century, offering prizes and prestige to the creator. Simultaneously, the development of traditional quilting bees began and patterns such as the Eight Pointed Star and the Star of Bethlehem were designed.

The sewing machine was introduced to quilting around 1860, changing textile art forever. Machine stitching however, was not a primary mode of quilting until the early twentieth century. Crazy Quilts were also prevalent at this time and are still popular today. By 1890, the Ocean Wave and Double Wedding Ring patterns were published in quilting and sewing magazines, a common mode of passing patterns from one community to the next. Appliqué designs have an evolution of their own; some examples in this exhibit include Butterfly, Zinnia and Puss in Boots.

Quilting has long been an oral tradition within families, where generations of women have been taught to quilt through stories told by their mothers, aunts and grandmothers. Collections of patterns, templates and fabric quilt blocks are commonly found in quilting households throughout the nation. These treasures are the foundation of how quilting has evolved to an internationally recognized form of art with preserved traditions and room for creativity and expansion.

This exhibit owes special thanks to Vicki Wiese, Collections Manager of Coos Historical and Maritime Museum for the use of their quilts and to Debra Means for lending her knowledge and collection to this exhibit.

Ciara Van Velsor, Curator
December 2006

For more information on CAM, email info@coosart.org.