Amish Quilts: How 'Ugly' Quilts Became High Art and Changed Quilting

Amish Quilts: Crafting and American Icon by Janneken Smucker was a revelation.

My quilt life began in 1991. My mother-in-law quilted in the 1980s. I saw quilts being sold at Philadelphia's Head House Square in the 1970s. I taught myself to sew, and dabbled in macramé and needlepoint. But it was that first quilt that changed my life. I quickly became interested in quilt history and antique quilts, which meant reading books because I was too poor to collect, and making quilts inspired by antique quilts.

Over the years I learned about the quilt revival, how quilts became 'art' and not just 'craft'. I saw the names of people whose books I have read (Roderick Kiracofe, Julie Silber), and who now I follow on Facebook. I thought I was pretty savvy about the history of quilting in the 20th c. But Smucker's book on Amish Quilts took all I knew and put it in a narrative that enlightened me and broadened my knowledge.

http://www.antiquesandthearts.com/amish-quilts-from-the-espirit-collection-return-to-lancaster/

The book begins with an introduction to the Amish and their life and values. She tells how antique Amish quilts, relegated to closets as old fashioned and ugly, suddenly were valued for their simple 'modern' minimalist design and deemed worthy for walls and art galleries. Pickers and dealers went door to door buying the quilts, which they resold for increasingly higher prices.

The demand for affordable quilts for home decorating brought in cottage industries, and the cottage industries hired out to non-Amish, including the Hmong people who settled in the Lancaster, PA area. (Read about the Hmong here.)

1990s cheater cloth quilts which I hand quilted

Oddly, while the black and solid color minimalist quilts were becoming identified with the Amish, contemporary Amish quilters were using new easy-care fabrics and designs for their homes.

Quilts were created to meet the demand for affordable quilts for home decorators. The Country Bride Quilt, developed by Rachel Pellman of Lancaster's The Old Country Store, was in the popular country rose and blue colors and had an appliqué design of hearts and birds.

'Amish' made 1990s quilt owned by Diane Little

My Disselfink, a pattern from a 1990s Old Country Store publication

With 100 color photographs of Amish quilts, this book on quilts, art, and economics is a must-have for anyone interested in the history of quilting in the 20th c.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Amish Quilts
Janneken Smucker
John Hopkins University Press
Hard cover $36,95
ISBN: 9781142141053

1990s Amish Made Quilts

Dianne recently came across a local estate sale that included a quilt collection. She was able to purchase a number at rock bottom prices. The quilts had labels with their provenance. They were predominately hand pieced and hand quilted.

This Mariner's Compass from Scottsdale, PA was labeled as Amish made in  1990. The label called this a "designer quilt," likely because it used one of the early designer border prints.

 The Medallion style quilt's many borders!

 Here you can see the hand stitching in the compass center.

  Another Mariner's quilt variation with a Broken Star setting.

 This Flying Geese in Cabin was marked "Amish." 

 An interesting Carolina Lily variation from Scottsdale PA.

The sashing is a designer border print.

Two floral appliqués. The first is Country Love by Rachel Pellman. Her Country Bride quilt sparked a whole series of new appliqué patterns that appealed to the Country decorators in the 1990s.

 I saw this quilt in these colors on Pinterest, pinned by Amish Country Lanes .

The second looks like another Rachel Pellman pattern but I have not been able to identify it yet.

The 1990s colors of mauve and dark green predominate in these quilts. I assume the colors were chosen to coordinate with the decorating colors of the era, the quilts meant for actual use. Lucky for Dianne, these were unused and unwashed, in original condition. Quilt marking lines could be seen.

An Amish made Whig Rose is dated 1989 from Evansville, IN.

An unusually large reverse appliqué Hmong quilt was stunning.

 It was found in St. Louis.