Discover why so many Amish and Mennonites, committed to a simple life, make beautiful quilts. This book looks at quilting in plain communities and the possible origins of quilt patterns popular among the Amish and Mennonites. Why do so many Amish and Mennonites who are devoutly committed to a simple, austere life make beautiful quilts? Why this splash of beauty? What are the favorite designs? How has quilting become a part of the very fabric of Amish and Mennonite life? What are basic how-tos of quiltmaking? "Quilting has survived among these frugal, simple people because a quilt is not only apiece of art. It is also functional."

By thoroughly examining all of these aspects, Amish Quilts is an essential resource for anyone interested in the history of these beautiful works.--Roderick Kiracofe, author of The American Quilt: A History of Cloth and Comfort, 1750-1950 "Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies"

Here are 45 quilts that tell the story of Vermont and its quiltmakers from the frontier days of the 1700s to the end of World War II.

Quilt Recipes is a brilliant pairing of captivating, pieced projects and family favourite deserts from her mum's kitchen. Enjoy the process of piecing and the challenge of finding, pairing, and arranging diverse patterns and countless colours together, especially those that make you uncomfortable. Savour each kitchen recipe that has been timelessly tested, lovingly passed down and now fondly shared with like-minded soul stitchers.12 brilliant patchwork projects paired with eight of Jen's mum's favourite, delectable dessert recipes. As quilters, stitchers and makers, we fill our souls with like-minded friendships, feed our souls with hand or machine stitching, and we love to treat ourselves and others to decadent desserts. Jen Kingwell's, Quilt Recipes, is a brilliant pairing of captivating pieced projects and delectable desserts. Whether you are a hand or machine piecer, one can relish in each recipe, whether it be a quilt or perhaps something sweet. Use a variety of patchwork techniques including, machine & hand piecing, hand applique, and hand quilting. Full-size paper patterns make template creation quick and simple. Acrylic template sets for six of the quilt patterns are sold separately.

First in a new series! When Angela Braddock inherits her late aunt’s beautiful Amish quilt shop, she leaves behind her career and broken engagement for a fresh start in Holmes County, Ohio. With her snazzy cowboy boots and her ornithophobic French bulldog, Angie doesn’t exactly fit in with the predominantly Amish community in Rolling Brook, but her aunt’s quilting circle tries to make her feel welcome as she prepares for the reopening of Running Stitch. On the big day, Angie gets a taste of success as the locals and Englisch tourists browse the store’s wares while the quilters stitch away. But when Angie finds the body of ornery Amish woodworker Joseph in her storeroom the next morning, everything starts falling apart. With evidence mounting against her, Angie is determined to find the culprit before the local sheriff can arrest her. Rolling Brook always appeared to be a simple place, but the closer Angie gets to the killer, the more she realizes that nothing in the small Amish community is as plain as it seems....

This volume features 21 Amish-inspired quilts by some of today's top quilt designers—with simple patterns showing off beautiful solid fabrics. Thirty years after Roberta Horton’s classic, An Amish Adventure, introduced quilters to the joys of Amish quilting, the editors at C&T Publishing are proud to bring you the adventure's next chapter. Along with the 21 featured quilt projects, this volume includes a gallery of 17 more beautiful quilts and an introduction by Roberta herself on what makes a quilt Amish. Some of the quilt projects in this volume use traditional 19th-century patterns. Others offer distinctly modern takes on Amish ideas. They all celebrate the simplicity, the bold geometry, and the rich dark fabrics that give Amish quilts their ageless appeal.

The fascinating story of a friendship, a lost tradition, and an incredible discovery, revealing how enslaved men and women made encoded quilts and then used them to navigate their escape on the Underground Railroad. In Hidden in Plain View, historian Jacqueline Tobin and scholar Raymond Dobard offer the first proof that certain quilt patterns, including a prominent one called the Charleston Code, were, in fact, essential tools for escape along the Underground Railroad. In 1993, historian Jacqueline Tobin met African American quilter Ozella Williams amid piles of beautiful handmade quilts in the Old Market Building of Charleston, South Carolina. With the admonition to "write this down," Williams began to describe how slaves made coded quilts and used them to navigate their escape on the Underground Railroad. But just as quickly as she started, Williams stopped, informing Tobin that she would learn the rest when she was "ready." During the three years it took for Williams's narrative to unfold—and as the friendship and trust between the two women grew—Tobin enlisted Raymond Dobard, Ph.D., an art history professor and well-known African American quilter, to help unravel the mystery. Part adventure and part history, Hidden in Plain View traces the origin of the Charleston Code from Africa to the Carolinas, from the low-country island Gullah peoples to free blacks living in the cities of the North, and shows how three people from completely different backgrounds pieced together one amazing American story. With a new afterword. Illlustrations and photographs throughout, including a full-color photo insert.