All About Quilting Online Info

The history of quilting goes back to ancient Egypt. One of the earliest existing decorative works is the “Tristan quilt”, made around 1360. Made in Sicily, and as one of the earliest surviving quilts in the world, at least two sections survive at the V&A Museum and in Bargello, Florence. Russia holds the oldest example in existence. It is a quilted linen carpet found in a Mongolian cave, and now kept at the Saint Petersburg department of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Archaeology Section. During the civil war both the north and the south’s families were making quilts to fit on small cots to keep their respective soldiers warm. Again, during the Great Depression, families were making quilts out of used clothing to keep warm. Quilts are just three layers of cloth with the top piece a decorative design. Most were handed down by family members and are considered heirlooms. During the last several hundreds of years quilts were mostly made for the rich with expensive cloth in elaborate designs or even pictures of scenes from history. Like the cave paintings of old most of these quilts tell our history and should be preserved. This is a time-honored craft that everyone can and should do at least once.
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