Exhibit examines role of quilts in US history...
Mary Stinson's Crazy Quilt circa 1880
http://www.voanews.com/content/exhibit-examines-role-of-quilts-in-us-history/1839225.html
WASHINGTON — Quilt-making has always been an essential part of American life and culture. A new exhibit in Washington, titled “Workt by Hand; Hidden Labor and Historical Quilts” offers a rare look at 35 historical quilts on loan from the Brooklyn Museum’s renowned decorative arts collection.
“Learning needlework for much of American history was an absolute necessity for women,” she said. “You had to learn how to use a needle and thread, you had to know how to make clothes, how to stitch bedclothes…so it was really a large part of the education for girls and women for a large part of American history.”
But for many women, quilt-making was also an enjoyable activity and an essential form of artistic expression.
While some quilts in the exhibit were made from a single piece of cloth, others were assembled from an assortment of small, irregular pieces of fabric. Referred to as Crazy quilts, the process became popular in the late nineteenth century as luxury fabrics became more accessible.