Product Description

Quilts are a reflection of the people who make, use, and cherish them through the years. John Rice Irwin has personally conducted interviews with hundreds of old-time quiltmakers, some of whom were over one hundred years old. Detailed photographs taken by Pulitzer Prize winner Robin Hood depict an opulent conglomeration of quilts, from the community quilt which became known as the Murder Quilt. More importantly, Irwin looks under the quilts, at the lives of the people who created and used them. He explores their ambitions and aspirations, their struggles and disappointments. From the young ladies of Salem Valley who pieced a quilt for the town's most eligible bachelor in the hope that one of them would sleep under it, to the retired physician who began quilting in his late sixties to fill his spare time, Irwin presents their stories with compassion and candor. This lavishly illustrated volume is a treasure trove of creative needlework, colorful anecdotes, and intriguing personal histories which will entertain readers of all ages.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #405187 in Books
• Published on: 1997-03
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 214 pages

Customer Reviews

Unique style that hits the Appalachian home
This book isn't just about quilts and not just about people. This book is about how quilts helped a primitive Appalachian people survive the cold winters. Each quilt is not only described but the story of it's maker is told with it and why or how they made the quilt. There are amazing touching stories of survival throughout. A must read for collectors of quilts and for those who want to remember a past so different from today. Any Appalachian grandparent would treasure this book.

Absolutely breathtaking
I bought this book while visiting Williamsburg with a friend. It so captured my attention that I had to read some of the stories to my companion. We were both quickly enthralled. I brought it back with me and introduced my quilting group to it. Several more copies sold the next day. The stories are heart warming. The photographs are incredible.

The man who picked up quilting only after his wife passed. Well. Just amazing.

The wedding quilt made in the late 1800s by friends and relatives of the bride. Awe inspiring.

This book is not a "how to" book. But if you are interested in quilts, quilting and quilters, it is a must for your library.

Humane & understanding
This book is superb & worth the extra effort to special order it. The author interviews women (and a few men) of Southern Appalachia, where quilting as a mainstay of life has never really gone out of fashion -- hence they've never had a quilting "revival" either. Photographs are gorgeous, and the stories about the people make you feel rooted to the land. One of the more intriguing stories is the "Hanging Elephant" quilt, which shows an applique block of an elephant being hung for the crime of killing a Tennessee man in 1916. The book is printed on heavy, high quality paper. Quilt history buffs and anthropologists will love this book. As for hobbyists, it's not a how-to book, but the photographs will furnish much inspiration and food for thought.