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Womenfolk Quilt History Collection

An archive of articles from the Womenfolk: The Art of Quilting and Quilts and Quiltmaking Yesterday and Today website.

Womenfolk.com is a website written by Judy Anne Breneman from 1998-2018. Breneman archived the articles on the Quilt Index in 2022.
 
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Judy Anne Breneman

Breneman described her site in an interview with Kimberly Wulfert.
I write articles for websites that introduce people to the fascinating topic of quilt history. In the process I've discovered that quilt history is a window into the lives of the ordinary women of our past. I have published over 200 quilt history articles and quilt patterns online. I am more a teacher than a historian as I haven't done any original research. I use published information on quilt history as well as what I've learned from conferences and discussions with others to write my articles. I include references so if a site visitor wants to learn more on a topic they will know where to look.
Read Kimberly Wulfert's interview with Breneman on the website, New Pathways Into Quilt History.

The Womenfolk site was organized into sections:
Quilt History: A Tour of Quilts Through Time
Travel from Colonial times through the Civil War and the Victorian era up to the 20th century quiltmaking revival.
WOMEN'S QUILTING IN COLONIAL TIMES - knitting and sewing with not time to quilt
• HAND QUILTING INCLUDING BEES AND FRAMES USED - women quilting together and the quilt frames they used
MID 19TH CENTURY PIECED BLOCK QUILTS - block patterns shared woman to woman and published
THE ROLE OF QUILT FOR PIONEER WOMEN - from preparing for the journey to settlling in the west
QUILTMAKING IN THE YEARS BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR - how quilting played a role in emancipation of the slaves
QUILTS MADE FOR THE CIVIL WAR CAUSE - from exquisite quilts for fairs to functional cot coverings
QUITING DURING AMERICA'S VICTORIAN ERA - from fine silk Crazy Quilts to ordinary pieced cottons
THE CHEER OF QUILTS DURING THE DEPRESSION ERA - the renewed interest in quilting during the 20s and 30s
THE MID 20TH CENTURY LULL IN QUILTMAKING - From World War II to the revival during the 1960s
A RENEWAL OF INTEREST IN QUILTING 1960-1970 - America's quilt revival & the Whitney Museum exhibit

Explore the Variety of Quilt Styles
Including the styles that you expect like Baltimore Album and Crazy Quilts and others that will surprise you.
• ELABORATE QUILTING ON WHOLE CLOTH - beautiful quilting and trapunto done on solid cloth
• BRODERIE PERSE: APPLIQUED CHINTZ MOTIFS - ingenuity in conserving precious imported fabric
• QUILTS OF A CENTRAL MEDALLION AND BORDERS - these quilts with many borders preceded block quilts
• BALTIMORE ALBUM QUILTS OF APPLIQUED BLOCKS - intricate quilt blocks first developed in Baltimore, Maryland
• PIECED AND SIGNED FREINDSHIP BLOCK QUILTS - autographed quilts connecting dear friends
• TILE QUILTS: AN UNUSUAL STYLE OF APPLIQUE - a narrow space left between applique shapes
• CRAZY QUILTS OF ABSTRACT SHAPES OF FINE FABRIC - a fad inspired by the 1876 centennial exposition
• CHARM QUILTS MADE OF MULTIPLE SMALL SCRAPS - a different scrap of fabric for every quilt piece
• UNUSUAL QUILTS MADE WITH TOBACCO PREMIUMS - cigarette silk, cigar ribbon and tobacco flannel quilts
• DECORATIVE TEXTILES OF REDWORK EMBROIDERY - embroidery motifs for quilts and household objects

A Patchwork of Multicultural Quilters
Native American, Black American, Mexican American Hawaiian, Hmong & Amish quiltmaking history.
• AMISH QUILTS & QUILTING HISTORY: BEAUTY IN SIMPLICITY - striking functional artistry by Amish women
• AFRICAN AMERICAN QUILTS: A LONG RICH HERITAGE - the role of Black Americans in the history of quilting
• NATIVE AMERICAN QUILTS: THEIR HISTORY & DIVERSITY - American's first people from coast to coast
• QUILTS OF HAWAII: KAPA MOE, FLAG QUILTS & APPLIQUE - from kapa moe to unique quilts
• MEXICAN AMERICAN QUILTS: UNFETTERED COLOR AND PATTERN - fine Spanish needlework and the bright colors of Mexico
• HMONG NEEDLEWORK: TRADITIONS BOTH ANCIENT AND NEW - including flower cloth and story cloth

Practices in Patchwork Quiltmaking
Themes and methods through time including Bible, temperance, feedsack and kit quilts.
• THE EVOLUTION OF ART QUILTS AND QUILTING - the history of the art quilt movement
• THE HOLY BIBLE: SOURCE OF INSPIRATION - quilts with Biblical names and themes
WOMEN'S TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT QUILTS - quilt made for the cause
• MOURNING QUILTS TO REMEMBER AND CHERISH - burial and bereavement quilts, comfort for grieving families
• FEED SACKS USED FOR QUILTS AND CLOTHING - from barrel containers to colorful printed cotton packaging
• QUILT LABELS AND WAYS QUILTS WERE SIGNED - from cross stitch to computer print outs
• THE HISTORY OF 20TH CENUTRY KIT QUILTS - applique, embroidery, piecing with pre-cut patterns

Facts vs. Myths About Our Quilting Past
Discover how researchers have separated fact from myth. The truth can be more interesting than fiction.

Quilt Patterns Throught Time With Their Histories
The history behind names of patterns for quilting.
• HISTORY OF QUILT PATTERNS: A QUEST FOR THEIR STORIES
• PIONEER QUILT PATTERNS & THE STORIES OF THEIR NAMES
• PRAIRIE QUEEN: REFLECTING PIONEER DAYS
• PIONEER FRIENDSHIP ALBUM OR CHIMNEY SWEEP
• BIBLE QUILTS AND THEIR ROLE IN HISTORY
• CROWN OF THORNS, A BIBLE BLOCK
• DAVID AND GOLIATH, A BIBLE BLOCK
• FISH, A BIBLE BLOCK
• GETHSEMANE, A BIBLE BLOCK
• GOLGOTHA OR CROSS AND CROWN, A BIBLE BLOCK
• PALM LEAVES, A BIBLE BLOCK
• ROAD TO DAMASCUS, A BIBLE BLOCK
• ROSE OF SHARON, A BIBLE BLOCK
• STORM AT SEA, A BIBLE BLOCK
• CIVIL WAR SOLDIER'S COT QUILT
• POMEGRANATE QUILT HISTORY
• TEMPERANCE T
• THE STORY OF COLONIAL REVIVAL QUILT PATTERNS
• GRANDMOTHER'S FLOWER GARDEN: A most popular quilt pattern
• BASKET QUILTS: A daily presence through history
• BEAR'S PAW: Is it Ducks Foot in the Mud or a Bear's Paw Quilt?
• BISCUIT OR PUFF: Those peculiar Bisuit and Puff quilts
• HONEYCOMB: Hexagon, Honeycomb and Grandmother's Flower Garden
• IRISH CHAIN: Possible origins of the Irish Chain pattern
• JACOB'S LADDER: Underground Railroad/Jacob's Ladder pattern
• LOG CABIN: Inspiration from the past
• LONE STAR: The design through time
• MARINER'S COMPASS: Ancient Windrose inspirations
• WEDDING RING: The romantic double wedding ring

Quilts to Warm Each Sleeping Baby and Child: History & Patterns
Quilts are a traditional gift that are cherished for years and often kept as heirlooms. Handmade Baby quilts from history add a special loving touch.
• THE HISTORY OF CHILDREN'S QUILTS - Moving toward a more child centered culture.
• PUFFY BISCUIT QUILT FOR A DOLL - A unique pattern for a 1970s doll.
• DOLL AND BABY SCOTTIE DOG QUILT - A mid 20th century delight.
• PIECED BASKET DOLL OR BABY QUILT - An easy pattern from the 1930s.
• LOG CABIN DOLL & CRIB QUILT PATTERN - A design typical of the late 19th century.
• PIONEER NINE-PATCH PATTERN - A mid-19th century baby or doll quilt.
• EARLY 19TH CENTURY MEDALLION QUILT - a unique pattern for a doll or baby.
"In the nineteenth century women of various social strat took pleasure and comfort in making quilts, especially those intended for an expected child. Working with the bright bits of cloth, the arrangement of colors, and the design provide a pleasant contrast to the everyday drudgery of essential sewing."1

Breneman's websites included
• Womenfolk: The Art of Quilting, Quilts and Quiltmaking, Yesterday and Today;
• Quilt Patterns from History;
• Patches from the Past: Textile, Needlework & Quilt History;
• and her blog, Among the Usual Days: Everyday Life in American History and Today.

1Duke, Dennis and Long Pat. America's Glorious Quilts. New York: Hugh Lauter Levin, Assoc., 1987, p178.



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