Evening star., 1938-01-25

are some In collections; and there are
many letters, records and such, that
tell OF the art. Most of them have
disappeared because they were made
to I'LL q great want, and they were
used 80 hard that they were actually
worn away! In New England in the
early days there was not enough cloth
to make warm clothing. The people
In that hard climate worked hard to
keep body and soul together, and had
no products to exchange with England
for cloth. There were many times
when whole communities were des-
perately cold. Clothing was mended
until 1t could be mended no longer
and only then were the tiny scraps cut
up and made into quilts. For this
reason very few of them have sur
vlved. but for the meager scraps re-
manning great credit should 60 to the
women who were willing to create a
thing OF great beauty in a time Of
hesperate need!
From the South, on the contrary,
have come many beautiful examples of
the art. The Jamestown colony had
a great shipment Of tobacco which
might be exchanged in England each
year for the things the colony did not
produce. Most Of the quilts made on
the plantations were Of new materials,
and for this reason are still in good
condition. They are exceptionally
beautiful, as the women who made
them had more leisure than Northern
women and made them for a pastime
rather than for use. They unfold a
complete history of the textile i'm
1provements and discoveries made in
Europe at that time.
THERE are several kinds of quilts:
The pieced quilt. made by sewing
together tiny bits of material from a
pattern: the appliqued quilt, which
was made by placing patches of vari-
colored materials on a large. plain
colored background and telling"
them with many stitches to form de-
Ggn. There were also beautiful all
white coverlets, made by tracing lightly
I a design over the whole surface of the
material. which was lined and padded
with cotton batting. Then the back
ground of the design was worked with
tiny stitches, making the design stand
up in relief. Some Of these were very
beautiful and were very often used as
counterpanes or as crib coverlets.
In the 1s6Os it would have been diff
cult to find any thrifty housewife who
did not have close at hand her patch
work. While she visited with a neigh
Tor or rocked the cradle, she would
manage to put together several sections
cf her quilt. In the fall. after the har-
vest was in. she made all the prepara-
tions for the winter sewing. All the
new pieces were carefully cut out and
pressed and stacked in piles, according
TO size and color II faded or white
pieces were to be dyed the dye pot was
set up for day and into it went all
the necessary scraps. This accounts
for many Of the strange and lovely
shades found in old quilts. With
everything SO carefully prepared, it
was amazing how quickly quilts could
he pieced, with every minute utilized
to the best advantage.
With the tops Of several quilts
ready for the backs, and to be quilted
or tied, quilting bee" was In order.
before the days Of central heating,
rooms heated by fireplaces were neces-
sarily small. To set up q quilting
frame in one Of these rooms very
nearly filled it. 1t was long job for
one woman to attempt to piece her
Guilt alone. and frames were awkward
things to move. So one woman with
two quilts to tie would invite six or
eeven friends to spend the day, and
with .our women working at each
frame they would finish by nightfall.
Good quilters were as popular then
as good bridge players are today, and
to he invited was An honor. Hearts
and regulations Of young brides were
made or broken depending on how