Quilts in Appalachia

Scope: 

Quilting is an art form that provides not only a functional product, but represents a folk tradition that has been passed down and modified along the way. The quilting traditions in Appalachia are varied, coming from many places and cultures, and there is not a typical Appalachian quilt as Appalachia is not a homogenous region. Quilts can be hand-stitched using a traditional pattern, machine-sewn using a modern or newly invented pattern, or even a painted quilt pattern placed on a barn. This document is an introduction to quilting in Appalachia, and includes the different types of quilts that are typically made in the Appalachian region.

Introductory Text: 

Macneal, Patricia Miner and Maude Southwell Wahlman. Quilts From Appalachia. University Park: Pennsylvania State University, 1988. ASU App Coll TT835 .M33 1988.

Library of Congress Subject Headings: 
  • Quilts
  • Quilts—Appalachian Region
  • Quilts—United States
  • Quilts—United States—History
  • Quilting
  • Quilting—Appalachian Region
  • Quiltmakers
  • Quiltmakers—United States
Clipping Files Subject Headings – W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection: 
  • Quilting
  • Women
Library of Congress Call Numbers: 
  • NK 9112
  • TT835
Books: 

Hunter Museum of Art. Quilt Close-Up: Five Southern Views, A Study of Regionalism in Quiltmaking. Chattanooga: Hunter Museum of Art, 1983. ASU App Coll NK9112 .Q34 1983.

Macneal, Patricia Miner and Maude Southwell Wahlman. Quilts From Appalachia. University Park: Pennsylvania State University, 1988. ASU App Coll TT835 .M33 1988.

Ramsey, Bets and Merikay Waldvogel. The Quilts of Tennessee: Images of Domestic Life Prior to 1930. Nashville: Rutledge Hill Press, 1986. ASU App Coll Oversize NK9112 .R36 1986.

Roberson, Ruth Haislip, ed. North Carolina Quilts. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1988. ASU App Coll Oversize NK9112 .N63 1988.

Valentine, Fawn with the West Virginia Heritage Quilt Search, Inc. West Virginia Quilts and Quiltmakers: Echos from the Hills. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 2000. ASU App Coll Oversize NK9112 .V35 2000.

Guides, Encyclopedias, and Dictionaries: 

Horton, Laurel. “Quilts.” Encyclopedia of Appalachia. Eds. Rudy Abramson and Jean Haskell. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2006. 822-824. ASU App Coll F106 .E53 2006.

Houck, Carter. The Quilt Encyclopedia. New York: H.N. Abrams in Association with the Museum of American Folk Art, 1991. WCU General NK9104 .H68 1991.

Bibliographies: 

Macneal, Patricia Miner and Maude Southwell Wahlman. “Bibliography.” Quilts From Appalachia. University Park: Pennsylvania State University, 1988. 64-66. ASU App Coll TT835 .M33 1988.

Ross, Charlotte T., ed. “Quiliting.” Bibliography of Southern Appalachia. Boone: Appalachian Consortium Press, 1976. 192. ASU App Coll Oversize z1251 .A7 B5x.

Abstracts and Indices: 

JSTOR
Project Muse
Art Full Text
ProQuest
Academic Search Premier

Journals: 

The Quilt Digest. V. 1-3, 1983-. Annual publication. UNCA General TT835 .Q5.

Websites: 

“Appalachian Quilts.” Accessed at http://www.appalachianquiltpatterns.com

“Appalachian Quilts.” Accessed at http://www.quiltweb.net

“Follow the Quilt Trail.” Accessed at http://www.appalachianrcd.org/quilttrail/index.htm

“Tour the Appalachian Quilt Trail.” Accessed at http://www.vacationaqt.com

“Quilt Trails of Western North Carolina.” Accessed at http://www.quilttrailswnc.org/

“Quilt Trails Project.” Accessed at http://www.watauga-arts.org/pages/barn.html

Compiled by: 

Compiler: Tracy Turner Jarrell, 1 December 2009

Subject: