In families where accumulations have reached the dignity in numbers that will justify being called collections, the quilts belonging to different branches of the family have been passed along from one generation to another, until they have become the property of one person. Among collections of this sort are found many rare and beautiful quilts, as only the best and choicest of all that were made have been preserved. There are also occasional large collections of quilts that are the work of one industrious maker who has spent the greater portion of her life piecing and quilting. The Kentucky mountain woman who had “eighty-three, all different, and all her own makin’,” is a typical example of this class.

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THE “WIND-BLOWN TULIP” DESIGN

Seems to bring a breath of springtime both in form and colour. Even the border flowers seem to be waving and nodding in the breeze

The vastness of their numbers and the great extent of their everyday use serve to check the collecting of quilts. As a whole, quilts are extremely heterogeneous and democratic; they are made so generally over the whole country that no distinct types have been developed, and they are possessed so universally that there is little social prestige to be gained by owning an uncommonly large number. Consequently even the most ardent quilt lovers are usually satisfied when they possess enough for their own domestic needs, with perhaps a few extra for display in the guest chambers.

Much of the social pleasure of the pioneer women was due to their widespread interest in quilts. Aside from the quilting bees, which were notable affairs, collecting quilt patterns was to many women a source of both interest and enjoyment. Even the most ambitious woman could not hope to make a quilt like every design which she admired, so, to appease the desire for the numerous ones she was unable to make, their patterns were collected. These collections of quilt patterns—often quite extensive, frequently included single blocks of both pieced and patched designs. There was always a neighbourly and friendly interest taken in such collections, as popular designs were exchanged and copied many times. Choice remnants of prints and calicoes were also shared with the neighbours. Occasionally from trunks or boxes, long hidden in dusty attics, some of these old blocks come to light, yellowed with age and frayed at the edges, to remind us of the simple pleasures of our grandmothers.

At the present time there is a marked revival of interest in quilts and their making. The evidences of this revival are the increasing demand for competent quilters, the desire for new quilt patterns, and the growing popularity of quilt exhibitions. Concerning exhibits of quilts, there is apparent—at least in the northern part of the United States—a noticeable increase in popular appreciation of those held at county and state fairs. This is a particularly fortunate circumstance for the development of the art, because the county fair, “our one steadfast institution in a world of change,” is so intimately connected with the lives and is so dear to the hearts of our people.