If society can be distilled or simplified down to its ingredient cultures, and if cultures come from and are based on traditions, then a society’s art based on component cultures and their respective traditions means, by extension, that all art is folk art. Handmade quilts are art and as such, the folk art of the Amish. They symbolically present beliefs, whisperings, conventions, habits, lifestyles and memories of a culture that began in Europe in the late 1600’s. However, even back then the culture and its traditions were based on conventions that arose from previous times. So it goes back and back, reflecting what came before until the echoes eventually fade. A handmade Amish quilt should be seen as patterns and colors that may not have originated with the Amish. However, the Amish make pattern and color their own, filtered through their beliefs and lifestyle. What is particularly fascinating is how some Amish quilts reflect not back but forward to the future! (We’ll discuss this in an upcoming post.) We’ve written 8 articles that discuss, from a folk art point of view, the basic types, designs, patterns and colors used by the Amish in their quilt making.

Log Cabin Quilts

Basic Log Cabin quilt blocks are hand-pieced strips of fabric around a central square. One half of the strips are usually dark and the other half light. During America’s Civil War, the term “Log Cabin” was coined and may have had a connection to the presidency of Abraham Lincoln. However, similar Log Cabin-like designs are found in English quilts predating 1830. An interesting historical point pertains to folklore suggesting that the signals for stops along the Underground Railroad were indicated by Log Cabin quilts hanging on clotheslines, with the color of the central square indicating special instructions. Specific to Amish culture, a red center square symbolizes the hearth of home and a yellow center square indicates a welcoming light in the window. The most interesting aspect of the Log Cabin quilt pattern is its capacity for manipulation into different patterns. The simple strips around a center block can be varied in size to create the curves seen in a Log Cabin in the Round quilt. A quilter can also make diagonal cuts into the “log” strips, sew them back together and create stars as seen in the Colorado Log Cabin quilt. Other variations include the Star Log Cabin and the Pineapple Log Cabin.

Amish Spirit markets and sells hand quilted quilts made by Old Order Amish quilters who are members of a small community in rural Pennsylvania.

Thus far, our articles have in small part described some of our Amish friends, taken a stab at explaining why they make quilts and have described what a quilt is. This (our 4th) article discusses three commonly used terms which we fell people get wrong or at least not quite right:
1) “Handmade quilts”
2) “Good quilts”
3) “Hand quilted quilts”

“
Handmade Quilts:”

When someone uses the term “handmade quilt” or calls a quilt “handmade”, they are saying nothing. All quilts are handmade! Every quilt is made by hand. The quilter might use a sewing machine to piece or to quilt a quit, however, these are not technically mass produced machine made quilts. They are handmade quilts created by a person who is enjoying the process of making a quilt.

“Good Quilts:”

A “good quilt” only needs to be special to the beholder and well made to called a “good quilt.”

By well made, we mean that the quilt’s top and back should be dye fast quilt grade cotton (not scrap cottons for dresses, curtains or anything else).

Quilt grade cottons will hold stitches, the cotton will not shred or fray and the stitches will remain stitches (rather than loosen, pop or slip) and keep the batting in place.

The batting of a “good quilt” should be cotton, polyester or a blend and from a reliable manufacturer.

If your “good quilt” is hand quilted, there should be no less than six stitches per linear inch.

The above points make up a well and properly made “good quilt.”

“Hand Quilted Quilts”:

As mentioned above, hand quilted quilts are what our Amish friends make. This is a quilt that’s stitched, quilted and bound entirely by hand. There are no machines used in the quilting at all. Each stitch is distinctive – different from the one before and the one after, both in size and in distance. Want to better examine the hand quilting? Turn the quilt over and look at the back of it.

There are some hand quilted quilts that are commercially made. They are units of merchandise that are made quickly and inexpensively. The quilting tells the story. You’ll typically see only 3 to 5 stitches per inch in a commercially “hand quilted” quilt. We generalize here, but good quilting and good quality quilts go hand in hand.

People and all beings do what they can to survive and to perpetuate.  The earliest New World settlers needed to keep warm – so quilt making on these shores began in the early 1700’s. Any materials, burlap sacks, anything, that could be used was used.

It makes sense that the act of quilt making (an activity with a pay off) gave the quilt maker a purpose, comfort and pleasure.  Once people’s lives became a bit more secure, quilt making (still very basic) gradually morphed into a creative activity.  For the Amish, this was one of the few such activities allowed: It had a purpose, therefore, harmony. No matter how strictly you go about your life, it’s human to at least enjoy and give meaning to the task at hand.  It is not unexpected that the Amish, who live simply in harmony with nature, the land, the seasons and the rising and setting of the sun, would apply themselves to this activity and that this activity would reflect their lifestyle.

Their first quilts were wholecloth quilts, but they could never waste pieces of fabric, so, simple pieced quilts were made . . . It is very clear that the best quilts made by the Amish reflect a spirit and force: from nature, family and faith in their beliefs. While the forms and shapes are simple: the harmony – the voice of two fabrics brought together in a quilt ring clear and shining.

Over a short period of time, quilt making which began as a necessity has become a tradition that is now found in the permanent collections of major museums. Because it is highly appreciated and in demand, part of the Amish economy is based on the sale of their quilts. So the original reason for quilt making, survival, remains intact.

Ted and Karen Milton
Amish Spirit (division of RIA Group, Ltd.)
www.amishspirit.com
914.564.8089

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