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Speaking of quilt designs, nowadays we have an embarrassment of riches to choose from. There are magazines, books, and even series of books devoted to the art and craft of making handmade quilts. These books span everything from how to make the simplest of pieced quilts, the most complex of hand quilted appliqued quilts, or the most modern cutting edge designs for quilts.
Adding a soft, warm batting and a big piece of muslin to the back, then quilting or tying the layers together, produced handmade quilts that were practical, made full use of materials on hand, and that gave expression to the creativity of Colonial women, allowing them to beautify their homes and to re-invent the art of pieced quilting.
Single pieced (patchwork) quilt block
The art of pieced quilting also travelled West with the pioneer women. They continued the tradition of frugal use of fabrics on hand, proving out the maxim that "Necessity is the mother of invention". But what was necessary yesterday, is valued today for other reasons. The handmade quilts of yesteryear are highly prized by collectors due to their historical and esthetic values more than as warm bed coverings.
Four pieced (patchwork) quilt blocks sewn together Observe how new patterns form when the quilt blocks are placed next to one another
Another popular type of handmade quilt is the appliqué quilt. In this method, fabric pieces are cut into shapes (curved or angular, abstract or representational) that are neatly hemmed and sewn on top of the quilt top fabric (a large piece of fabric the size of the finished quilt). Then the three layers are put together just as for the pieced quilt, and quilted or tied and finished around the edges to make a finished handmade quilt. This method does not conserve fabric in the same way as piecework does, and was more popular in areas where commerce thrived and there was no shortage of fabric to purchase.
Both pieced and appliqued handmade quilts have many traditional patterns to choose from, with colorful names like "Drunkard's Path" and "Flying Geese" and "Log Cabin" and many, many others with themes ranging from religious, to geographic, to historical, to animals, plants, houses, trees, and anything, really, that can be conjured up in the quilter's imagination. Hundreds of such applique patterns and pieced quilt blocks have been cataloged, and there are dozens of wonderful books about handmade quilts that provide examples for the beginning to experienced maker of quilts.
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The handmade quilts that adorn our lives provide us with a wealth of art, craft, comfort, love, tradition and history. When we lie under a handmade quilt, we experience the sense of security and comfort that can only come from the loving work of human hands. A cozy handmade quilt that was lovingly designed and pieced, whether hand- or machine-stitched, has that wonder of being singular, the only one of its kind, even if a traditional pattern and color, for it was put together with just these particular fabrics in this particular proportion, and finished with this setting and these borders. Conversely, given the exact same set of fabrics with which to make a quilt, two people will most often produce quilts of very different designs.
Although patchwork quilted items predated the founding of the North American colonies, the art of making patchwork quilts really flourished there, and they took on a distinctly American style. Patchwork quilts flourished in the Colonies is because Colonial women, who had to wait months for shipments of cloth, learned to utilize what they had to maximum advantage, cutting remnants into smaller pieces in varying geometric shapes and then putting them back together in striking – and often strikingly modern-looking – patterns. These handmade quilts whose designs are made out of sewing design “blocks” together are known as pieced or patchwork quilts. The Colonial women who began making patchwork quilts were laying the foundations of a new tradition that carries on to this day.
