Quilting, is the process of stitching together 
two layers of fabric filled with some soft 
substance to form a kind of textile sandwich. 
This quilted fabric is most often used
for a bed covering called a quilt, but is also 
used for clothing, upholstery, and decoration. 
The top layer of a quilt bears a design, which 
is generally produced in one of three ways. The 
fabric may be left plain, so that the quilting 
stitches form the design. More commonly, the top 
is appliquéd: Pieces are cut from various 
cloths and stitched onto a background fabric, 
making pictures and patterns. Tops may also be 
pieced in a process called patchwork: 
Units of cloth are sewn together edge to edge 
to form a fabric with geometric patterns. The 
term quilting actually refers to the 
final stage of assembly, when the quilt's 
three layers, stretched on a frame, are sewn 
together with short running stitches. This 
final step is more than mechanical: The design 
of the top is artfully thrown into relief, 
allowing the play of light and shadow on the 
surface. Quilting originated in ancient times. 
The Chinese and Russians and the Native 
Americans of Mesoamerica wore quilted garments 
for warmth and protection. Crusaders from 
western Europe encountered quilting when they 
met Saracens in the Holy Land. Saracen foot 
soldiers wore straw-filled, quilted canvas 
shirts in lieu of armor, and horsemen used 
quilted silk undershirts to keep their armor 
from chafing. The Crusaders took the idea back 
to Europe and adapted it for sleepwear and 
undergarments. Written records of quilts date 
from the 12th century. Being made of 
perishable materials, few early quilts have 
survived. The earliest extant example of 
embroidered, coarse linen is from the 15th 
century. Most quilts of this period were made 
either by the quilting stitch or by appliqué. 
The earliest surviving patchwork quilt is from 
England, the 17th-century Levens Hall quilt, 
made of imported Indian chintzes. The high 
quality of the design indicates that it was 
not the first of its type. Fine quilting was 
done on coats, caps, and petticoats. The first 
quilts in America were brought by Dutch and 
English colonists and were made by appliqué. 
It was the patchwork quilt, however, that 
reached its highest artistic development in 
the United States. Pioneer women lavished 
great attention on ingenious geometrical 
designs. Quilts became for prairie women, a 
sort of documentation of the joys and hardships 
they faced on the prairie, as well as a means 
of recyling old, worn clothing into a warm 
cover for cold prairie nights. This can be seen 
in several quilt designs such as the Windmill, 
Rocky Road, The Lone Star, Dugout, Sunbonnet 
Sue and many others. Quilts were used as gifts, 
dowries, or as a means of socializing and 
pioneer women began thier quilts at an early 
age. Quiltmakers regularly exhibited their work 
in fairs and international expositions; prizes 
were awarded for craft and innovations in 
design and color. By 1883, handmade quilts were 
on three-quarters of the beds in America. With 
the advent of inexpensive machine-made bed 
coverings, however, quiltmaking declined in the 
early years of the 20th century, except in 
rural areas. In the 1960s, interest in quilting 
both as a handicraft and as an art form 
revived. Traditional quiltmakers, especially in 
the southern U.S., were encouraged. Others 
learned quilting as a hobby. By the mid-1980s 
quilting had become the most popular form of 
needlework. My first experience with quilting 
was while performing a musical called Quilters. 
Quilting to me always conjured up images of 
gnarled old spinsters and heavy farmwives 
stitching away in rickety old rocking chairs. 
But I thought I'd give my stitching skills a 
whirl and began quilting small blocks to give 
the cast members when the show closed. I never 
really expected to enjoy myself. But I found 
quilting to be a creative, relaxing, meditative 
and rewarding hobby. It is exciting to create 
my own designs; depicting, as my prairie 
ancestors must have, aspects of my life. A 
finished quilt never looks the way you imagine 
it. In the fabric store, you match the calicos, 
choose a pattern, but somehow, after hours of 
time, patience, emotion and blood, (Yes, blood
 - expect the tips of your index fingers to be 
pleasantly mutilated if you take up this hobby.) 
the quilt seems to reflect much more than the 
design, the stitches, the colors. Like a 
painting, it has a life of it's own, a meaning 
quite individual to all. Quilting is a legacy 
that should be appreciated by every American. 
The symbols and shapes of American quilts tell 
the story of pioneer spirit, 
of the quest for freedom and a new life for our 
children.