Coffee Table Book of: American Quilts (Hardcover)

Description

Coffee Table Book of: American Quilts. Few household arts carry as much visual invention and quiet history as the handmade quilt. Across generations, makers pieced small scraps of printed calico, indigo cotton, solid wool and parlour silk into bold geometric fields and botanical compositions that warmed beds and marked family milestones. A simple change in the arrangement of light and dark strips could turn the humble Log Cabin block into straight furrows, concentric diamonds or zigzag chevrons, while radiating diamond stars, curved wedding rings and hexagon flower gardens transformed tiny offcuts into dazzling optical movement.

This large format volume explores the craft, materials and geometry of traditional quiltmaking in full colour. Short notes throughout describe the construction and history of the work: glazed whole cloth calamanco, four patch and nine patch grids, Flying Geese, Bear’s Paw, Mariner’s Compass, needle turn rose applique, broderie perse, rich solid wool quilts, embroidered velvet crazy throws, white trapunto stuffed work, wooden quilting frames, worn thimbles and folded heirlooms airing in orchard light: imported printed cottons gave early quiltmakers fast dyes and fine florals that home looms could not weave, glazed worsted calamanco was prized for whole cloth quilts because its sheen caught every stitched channel, late nineteenth century parlour throws joined irregular scraps of silk, satin and velvet onto a backing, and a single radiant star in red, white and blue sums up the bold geometry and quiet handwork of quiltmaking.

Printed in full colour on heavy 150gsm coated paper at 216 x 279 mm (8.5 x 11 inches), as a hardcover with the art printed on the case.