The AIDS Memorial Quilt
What defines American quilts? Fabrics? Patterns? Techniques? Workmanship? The people who make them? Those who sleep under them?
Quilts have become quintessentially American objects, but they have not always covered Americans’ beds. Once they got started making them, Americans developed a special relationship with quilts. They have produced them in a multitude of formats and have used them for a variety of purposes, from practical to symbolic. Whole cloth, mosaic, medallion, block style, Crazy, utility, prizewinning, political, crib, bed, wall—Americans have done them all.
Here is the story of American quilts.