Don’t Let Preconceived Notions Prejudice Your Thoughts
We are all victims of our own preconceived notions about most anything. When it comes to quilt history, we must approach it with an open mind, and bring to any study, knowledge that we know to ring true.
Due to the fact that quilts were not often marked with labels, in the past, it is often a guessing game as to which ancestor might have made a quilt. However, quilt historians can look at available fabrics, styles in vogue during the quiltmaker’s lifetime, published patterns, and other clues that help a lot to determine when a quilt could have been made.
The more family information that is available, the better.
That said, even the people who are expected to be “experts” are just willing volunteers who are new to quilt documentation, and while they do their best, their best is often not accurate.
I am thankful to see the growth of quilt history and women’s studies in the past thirty years. Those of us who are interested are digging for the “right” information to add to the mix. In many instances, even the most respected historians or quilt historians have turned out to be wrong in their hunches or guesses. With any luck, we all learn from each other. Quilt history is a worthy study and elevates common, everyday, household objects to a new level, and has engendered the remarkable transition into the realm of art quilting, a fairly new phenomena in the scheme of things.
Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications
