Short History of Quilting

We are waiting for another winter storm to hit Missouri's Ozarks. On days like this, I wonder what it must have been decades ago when homes didn't have heat and depended on handmade quilts for warmth.

In those days, quilting was an important skill for women who joined the western expansion. Quilting skills were used to make curtains and clothing as well as bedding, many cottons recycled from one form to the most needed household item.

When looking at vintage quilts such as double wedding ring quilts, you can see the recycled items because fabrics used are not uniform or necessarily matching. I have a special place in my heart for these quilts, giving new life to fabrics that today sometimes are discarded without a second thought.

I found this short history of quilting in the Old Phelps County Courthouse, which is slowly becoming an interesting peek into mid-Missouri's past:

Have you stopped by the old Phelps County Courthouse Museum in Rolla, Missouri to see their displays?

Charlotte