Quilts, Coverlets, and Counterpanes: Bedcoverings from the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts and Old Salem Collections

Mary Walker Phillips nearly single-handedly brought 19th-century American counterpanes — bed coverings — to the attention of modern knitters. Expanded with dozens of brand-new charts, this revised edition features 46 counterpane patterns as well as 32 lace edgings and borders that Phillips discovered in museums, private collections, and magazines. "A terrific book." — Knitter's Magazine. Revised and expanded reprint of the Taunton Press, Newtown, Connecticut, 1989 edition.

Catalogs the Museum's quilt and coverlet collection and discusses the history of the quiltmaker's art

This richly illustrated book offers a glimpse into the lives and creativity of African American quilters during the era of slavery. Originally published in 1989, Stitched from the Soul was the first book to examine the history of quilting in the enslaved community and to place slave-made quilts into historical and cultural context. It remains a beautiful and moving tribute to an African American tradition. Undertaking a national search to locate slave-crafted textiles, Gladys-Marie Fry uncovered a treasure trove of pieces. The 123 color and black and white photographs featured here highlight many of the finest and most interesting examples of the quilts, woven coverlets, counterpanes, rag rugs, and crocheted artifacts attributed to slave women and men. In a new preface, Fry reflects on the inspiration behind her original research--the desire to learn more about her enslaved great-great-grandmother, a skilled seamstress--and on the deep and often emotional chords the book has struck among readers bonded by an interest in African American artistry.

Features forty-four coverlets and two quilts made by hand weavers who lived in Western North Carolina, Eastern Kentucky, East Tennessee, and Southwest Virginia. Ms. Wilson has spent many years researching southern Appalachian overshot coverlet weaving.

* This remarkable book features 50 quilt blocks to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War.

This collection of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century weaving drafts from the Southern Highlands region of Appalachia includes 112 overshot drafts and drawdowns, and 31 drafts and drawdowns for the all-white summertime cotton bedspreads called counterpanes. Color photos of the original samples are shown side by side with valuable modern translations of the drafts, which enable today's weavers to make them. A vibrant example of our weaving heritage, these drafts were originally gathered in the nine states of the Southern Highlands region between 1892 and 1918 by the legendary Frances L. Goodrich. Handwoven counterpanes and coverlets were important possessions, and often were the only item of beauty in the women's otherwise impoverished living conditions. These are drafts Goodrich carefully collected but did not include in her classic Brown Book. Dozens of vintage photographs of Goodrich, the communities she served, and the women who invented the drafts help bring this part of our American craft heritage to life.