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===North America=== ====Amish==== [[File:Amish Crazy Quilt.jpg|alt=Amish crazy quilt|thumb|[[Lydia Beachy]], Amish Crazy Quilt, 1910–1920, cotton, 80 7/8 in. by 62 1/4 in. (Smithsonian American Art Museum)]] [[Amish]] quilts are reflections of the Amish way of life. As a part of their religious commitment, Amish people have chosen to reject "worldly" elements in their dress and lifestyle, and their quilts historically reflected this, although today Amish make and use quilts in a variety of styles.<ref name=":1" /> Traditionally, the Amish use only solid colors in their clothing and the quilts they intend for their own use, in community-sanctioned colors and styles. In [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania]], early Amish quilts were typically made of solid-colored, lightweight wool fabric, off the same bolts of fabric used for family clothing items, while in many Midwestern communities, cotton predominated. Classic Amish quilts often feature quilting patterns that contrast with the plain background. Antique Amish quilts are among the most highly prized by collectors and quilting enthusiasts. The color combinations used in a quilt can help experts determine the community in which the quilt was produced. Since the 1970s, Amish quiltmakers have made quilts for the consumer market, with quilt cottage industries and retail shops appearing in Amish settlements across North America.<ref name=":1">{{cite book|last1=Smucker|first1=Janneken|title=Amish Quilts: Crafting an American Icon|date=2013|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|location=Baltimore|isbn=9781421410531}}</ref> ====Baltimore album==== {{main|Baltimore album quilts}} [[Baltimore album quilts]] originated in the region around [[Baltimore]], Maryland, in the 1840s, where a unique and highly developed style of appliqué quilting briefly flourished. Baltimore album quilts are variations on album quilts, which are collections of appliquéd blocks, each with a different design. These designs often feature floral patterns, but many other motifs are used as well. Baskets of flowers, wreaths, buildings, books, and birds are common motifs. Designs are often highly detailed, and display the quiltmaker's skill. New dyeing techniques became available in this period, allowing the creation of new, bold colors, which the quilters used enthusiastically. New techniques for printing on the fabrics also allowed portions of fabric to be shaded, which heightens the three-dimensional effect of the designs. The background fabric is typically white or off-white, allowing maximal contrast to the delicate designs. [[India ink]] allowed handwritten accents and also allowed the blocks to be signed. Some of these quilts were created by professional quilters, and patrons could commission quilts made of new blocks, or select blocks that were already available for sale. There has been a resurgence of quilting in the Baltimore style, with many of the modern quilts experimenting with bending some of the old rules. [[File:Crazy quilt - DPLA - 7bea659942383fbec9c8830e09f8030b (page 1).jpg|alt=Crazy quilt|thumb|Crazy quilt]] ====Crazy quilts==== {{main|Crazy quilting}} [[Crazy quilt]]s are so named because their pieces are not regular, and they are scattered across the top of the quilt like "crazed" (cracked or crackled) pottery [[Glazing (ceramics)|glazing]]. They were originally very refined, luxury items. Geometric pieces of rich fabrics were sewn together, and highly decorative embroidery was added. Such quilts were often effectively samplers of embroidery stitches and techniques, displaying the development of needle skills of those in the well-to-do late 19th-century home. They were show pieces, not used for warmth, but for display. The luxury fabrics used precluded frequent washing. They often took years to complete. Fabrics used included silks, wools, velvet, linen, and cotton. The mixture of fabric textures, such as a smooth silk next to a textured brocade or velvet, was embraced. Designs were applied to the surface, and other elements such as ribbons, lace, and decorative cording were used exuberantly. Names and dates were often part of the design, added to commemorate important events or associations of the maker. Politics were included in some, with printed campaign handkerchiefs and other preprinted textiles (such as advertising silks) included to declare the maker's sentiments. ====African-American==== [[File:PowersBibleQuilt_1898.jpg|thumb|[[Harriet Powers]]' 1898 bible quilt]] By the time that early [[African American|African-American]] quilting became a tradition in and of itself, it was already a combination of textile traditions from four civilizations of [[Central Africa|Central]] and West Africa: the [[Mande languages|Mande-speaking peoples]], the [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]] and [[Fon people|Fon]] peoples, the [[Ekoi people|Ejagham peoples]], and the [[Kongo people]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Farrington |first1=Lisa |title=Creating Their Own Image The History of African-American Women Artists |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780195167214 |pages=30–31 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I7TS6bFWCbUC&q=Mojo}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Wahlman |first=Maude |title=African Symbolism in Afro-American Quilts |journal=[[African Arts (journal)|African Arts]]|date=1986 |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=68–76 |doi=10.2307/3336568 |jstor=3336568}}</ref> As textiles were traded heavily throughout the Caribbean, Central America, and the Southern United States, the traditions of each distinct region became intermixed. Originally, most of the textiles were made by men. Yet when [[Atlantic slave trade|enslaved Africans]] were brought to the United States, their work was divided according to traditional Western gender roles and women took over the tradition. However, this strong tradition of weaving left a visible mark on African-American quilting. The use of strips, reminiscent of the strips of reed and fabric used in men's traditional weaving, are used in fabric quilting. A break in a pattern symbolized a rebirth in the ancestral power of the creator or wearer. It also helped keep evil spirits away; evil is believed to travel in straight lines and a break in a pattern or line confuses the spirits and slows them down. This tradition is highly recognizable in African-American improvisations on European-American patterns. The traditions of improvisation and multiple patterning also protect the quilter from anyone copying their quilts. These traditions allow for a strong sense of ownership and creativity.<ref>Maude Southwell Wahlman. ''Signs and Symbols: African Images in African-American Quilts'', Penguin: 1993 {{ISBN|978-0525936886}}</ref> [[File:Gee's Bend, Alabama LCCN2010639063.tif|thumb|Quilters of [[Boykin, Alabama|Gee's Bend]], Alabama, 2010. Gee's Bend is well known for its quilts and quilt makers.]] [[File:Anna Williams Quilt.jpg|thumb|right|Anna Williams (American, born 1927). ''Quilt'', 1995. Cotton, synthetics [[Brooklyn Museum]]]] In the 1980s, concurrent with the boom in art quilting in America, new attention was brought to African-American traditions and innovations. This attention came from two opposing points of view, one validating the practices of rural Southern African-American quilters and another asserting that there was no one style but rather the same individualization found among white quilters.<ref>{{cite web|last1=International Quilt Study Center & Museum|title=Race|url=http://worldquilts.quiltstudy.org/americanstory/identity/race|website=World Quilts: The American Story|access-date=June 17, 2014}}</ref> John Vlach, in a 1976 exhibition, and Maude Wahlman, co-organizing a 1979 exhibition, both cited the use of strips, high-contrast colors, large design elements, and multiple patterns as characteristic and compared them to rhythms in black music.<ref>Janet Catherine Berlo and Patricia Cox Crews, ''Wild by Design: Two Hundred Years of Innovation and Artistry in American Quilts'', Lincoln, Nebraska, International Quilt Study Center at the University of Nebraska in association with University of Washington Press, 2003, p. 28</ref> Building on the relationship between quilting and musical performance, African-American quilter [[Gwendolyn Ann Magee]] created a twelve-piece exhibition based on the lyrics of [[James Weldon Johnson]]'s "[[Lift Every Voice and Sing]]", commonly known as the "Negro National Anthem".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://southernspaces.org/2014/lift-every-voice-magee|last=Moye|first=Dorothy|date=September 11, 2014|title=Lift Every Voice and Sing: The Quilts of Gwendolyn Ann Magee|magazine=[[Southern Spaces]]|access-date=November 19, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141115064845/http://www.southernspaces.org/2014/lift-every-voice-magee |archive-date=November 15, 2014 }}</ref> Cuesta Benberry, a quilt historian with a special interest in African-American works, published ''Always There: The African-American Presence in American Quilts'' in 1992 and organized an exhibition documenting the contributions of black quilters to mainstream American quilting.<ref>Dennis Hevesi, "Cuesta Benberry, 83, Historian of Quilting", ''[[The New York Times]]'', September 10, 2007</ref> Eli Leon, a collector of African-American quilts, organized a traveling exhibition in 1987 that introduced both historic and current quilters, some loosely following patterns and others improvising, such as [[Rosie Lee Tompkins]]. He argued for the creativity of the irregular quilt, saying that these quilters saw the quilt block as "an invitation to variation" and felt that measuring "takes the heart outa things".<ref>Eli Leon, ''Who'd A Thought It: Improvisation in African-American Quiltmaking'', San Francisco: San Francisco Craft and Folk Art Museum, 1987, pp. 25, 30</ref> At the same time, the [[Williams College Museum of Art]] was circulating ''Stitching Memories: African-American Story Quilts'', an exhibition featuring a different approach to quilts, including most prominently the quilts of [[Faith Ringgold]]. However, it was not until 2002, when the [[Museum of Fine Arts, Houston]], organized ''[[The Quilts of Gee's Bend]]'', an exhibition that appeared in major museums around the country, including the [[Whitney Museum of American Art]] in New York, that art critics unknowingly adopted Leon's assertions.<ref>[[Michael Kimmelman]], "Jazzy Geometry, Cool Quilters", ''[[The New York Times]]'', November 29, 2002; and Richard Kalina, "Gee's Bend Modern", ''[[Art in America]]'', October 2003</ref> ====Story quilts==== {{See also|Narrative quilting}} Story quilts have much in common with pictorial quilts and the tradition of African-American quiltmakers and are often made as a form of [[quilt art]]. Usually adorned with extensive text and accompanying imagery, story quilts can contain short stories, poems, or extended essays and can be used as an alternative form of a [[picture book]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dunn |first1=Margaret M. |last2=Morris |first2=Ann R. |title=Narrative Quilts and Quilted Narratives: The Art of Faith Ringgold and Alice Walker |journal=Explorations in Ethnic Studies |date=1 January 1992 |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=27–32 |doi=10.1525/ees.1992.15.1.27 |doi-broken-date=November 1, 2024 |s2cid=49555326 |url=https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1444&context=ees |access-date=26 April 2022|doi-access=free }}</ref> Artist [[Faith Ringgold]], known for her large portfolio of story quilts, has said she began making these narrative quilts with extensive text after being unable to find a publisher that would accept her autobiography. She began quilting so that "when my quilts were hung up to look at, or photographed for a book, people could still read my stories".<ref name="Crocker interview">{{Cite web|url=https://www.crockerart.org/press/february-opening-announced-faith-ringgold-an-american-artist|title="Faith Ringgold: An American Artist" to Open February 2018|website=Crocker Art Museum|access-date=27 April 2022}}</ref> [[File:Pictorial Quilt with American Flag.jpg|thumb|Pictorial Quilt with American Flag, unknown maker, Ohio, cottons, c. 1930, dimensions: 64×75 inches. Collection of Bill Volckening, Portland, Oregon.]] ====Pictorial quilts==== Pictorial quilts often contain one-of-a-kind patterns and imagery. Instead of bringing together fabric in an abstract or patterned design, they use pieces of fabric to create objects on the quilt, resulting in a picture-based quilt. They were often made collaboratively as a fundraising effort. However, some pictorial quilts were individually created and tell a narrative through the images on the quilt. Some pictorial quilts consist of many squares, sometimes made by multiple people, while others have imagery that uses the entirety of quilt. Pictorial quilts were created in the United States, as well as in England and Ireland, beginning as early as 1795.<ref>{{cite web|title=Collections: Browse Objects: Pictorial Quilt|url=http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/51526/Pictorial_Quilt/set/?referring-q=quilt#|publisher=Brooklyn Museum|access-date=May 20, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Brooklyn Museum: Shop|url=http://shop.brooklynmuseum.org/worktbyhand.html|publisher=Brooklyn Museum|access-date=May 20, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140523005154/http://shop.brooklynmuseum.org/worktbyhand.html|archive-date=May 23, 2014}}</ref> <gallery mode="packed" widths="250px" heights="250px"> File:Pictorial Quilt, 1795.jpg|Pictorial Quilt, 1795. Linen, multicolored thread. [[Brooklyn Museum]] File:Pictorial Quilt.jpg|American. Pictorial Quilt, ca. 1840. Cotton, cotton thread. Brooklyn Museum </gallery> ==== Barn quilts ==== Barn quilts are a type of folk art found in the United States (particularly the [[Southern United States|South]] and [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]]) and Canada. They take the patterns of traditional quilt squares, and recreate them either directly on the side of a barn or on a piece of wood or aluminum which is then attached to the side of a barn.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What Are Barn Quilts? |url=https://www.southernliving.com/what-is-a-barn-quilt-7094251 |access-date=2024-04-05 |website=Southern Living |language=en}}</ref> Patterns are sometimes modeled off of family quilts, loved ones, patriotic themes, or important crops to the farm.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-02-14 |title=Barn Quilt FAQs |url=https://barnquiltinfo.com/barn-quilt-faqs-2/ |access-date=2024-04-05 |website=Barn Quilt Info |language=en-US}}</ref> The origins of the barn quilt are contested- some claim they date back almost 300 years, but some claim they were invented by Donna Sue Groves of [[Adams County, Ohio]] in 2001.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Barn Quilts – The story. |url=https://www.americanbarnquilts.com/blogs/news/11478305-barn-quilts-the-story |access-date=2024-04-05 |website=American Barn Quilts |language=en}}</ref> Their origin is likely connected to [[Barn advertisement|barn advertisements]]. Many rural counties will display their barn quilts as part of a [[quilt trail]], creating a route that connects barns with barn quilts to sponsor local tourism. ====Hawaiian==== {{main|Hawaiian quilt}} [[Hawaiian quilt]]s are wholecloth (not pieced) quilts, featuring large-scale symmetrical appliqué in solid colors on a solid color (usually white) background fabric. Traditionally, the quilter would fold a square piece of fabric into quarters or eighths and then cut out a border design, followed by a center design. The cutouts would then be appliquéd onto a contrasting background fabric. The center and border designs were typically inspired by local flora and often had rich personal associations for the creator, with deep cultural resonances. The most common color for the appliquéd design was red, due to the wide availability of [[alizarin|Turkey-red]] fabric.<ref>Susanna Pfeffer (1990). ''Quilt Masterpieces'', Outlet Book Company {{ISBN|0-517-03297-X}}</ref> Some of these textiles were not in fact quilted but were used as decorative coverings without the heavier batting, which was not needed in a tropical climate. Multiple colors were added over time as the tradition developed. Echo quilting, where a quilted outline of the appliqué pattern is repeated like ripples out to the edge of the quilt, is the most common quilting pattern employed on Hawaiian-style quilts. Beautiful examples are held in the collection of the Bernice Pauahi [[Bishop Museum]], Honolulu, Hawaii. <gallery mode="packed" widths="250px" heights="250px"> File:Niihauans in 1885, taken by Francis Sinclair.jpg|Group of people from [[Niʻihau]] with their quilt, 1885 File:Ku'u Hae Aloha (My Beloved Flag), Hawaiian cotton quilt from Waimea, before 1918, Honolulu Academy of Arts.jpg|''Kuʻu Hae Aloha (My Beloved Flag)'', from Waimea, before 1918, [[Honolulu Museum of Art]] File:Kapa Kuiki.jpg|Kapa Kuiki </gallery> ====Native American star quilts==== Star Quilts are a [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native-American]] form of quilting that arose among native women in the late 19th century as communities adjusted to the difficulties of reservation life and cultural disruption. They are made by many tribes, but came to be especially associated with Plains tribes, including the [[Lakota people|Lakota]]. While star patterns existed in earlier European-American forms of quilting, they came to take on special significance for many native artisans.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Grandest Quilted Star of All|url=http://www.historyofquilts.com/lonestar.html|publisher=Judy Anne Breneman|access-date=May 20, 2014}}</ref> Star quilts are more than an art form—they express important cultural and spiritual values of the native women who make them and continue to be used in ceremonies and to mark important points in a person's life, including curing or [[yuwipi]] ceremonies and memorials. Anthropologists (such as [[Bea Medicine]]) have documented important social and cultural connections between quilting and earlier important pre-reservation crafting traditions, such as women's quill-working societies<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Lakota Star Quilts: Commodity, Ceremony, and Economic Development|author=[[Beatrice Medicine]]|title=To Honor and Comfort: Native American Quilting Traditions|publisher=[[Museum of New Mexico Press]] and [[MSU Museum|Michigan State University Museum]]|year=1997|editor1=Marsha L. MacDowell|editor2=[[C. Kurt Dewhurst]]|isbn=9780890133163}}</ref> and other crafts that were difficult to sustain after hunting and off-reservation travel was restricted by the US government. Star quilts have also become a source of income for many Native-American women, while retaining spiritual and cultural importance to their makers. ====Seminole patchwork==== {{Main article|Seminole patchwork}} [[File:Seminole patchwork shawl.jpg|thumb|[[Seminole patchwork]] shawl made by Susie Cypress from [[Big Cypress Indian Reservation]], ca. 1980s]] Created by the Native Americans of southern Florida, Seminole strip piecing is based on a simple form of decorative patchwork. Seminole strip piecing has uses in quilts, wall hangings, and traditional clothing. Seminole patchwork is created by joining a series of horizontal strips to produce repetitive geometric designs.
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