STRING THEORY SHAMS

Quilts are often thought of as calico in design and American in origin, but this familiar vision is far from complete. Quilting as a technique has been around for centuries. The word quilt comes from the Latin word, "culcita" meaning a padded and tied mattress. Nowadays, quilting is defined as a needlework technique involving two or more layers of fabric, usually with a layer of batting in-between, which are stitched together in a decorative pattern.

The Europeans do not appear to have done quilting before the 12th century, and the art form is thought to have been brought back from the Middle East by returning Crusaders. Bed quilts are mentioned in medieval poems, and there is a reference in a 1297 French inventory to a ship captain owning a quilt. Quilted linens adorned Renaissance bedchambers, and inventories from King Henry VIII's household in 1547 list dozens of "coverpointes."

The notion of quilting being common in colonial times is a romanticized myth. During America's beginnings daily life was very difficult, leaving little time for such pastimes as quilting. The quilts often promoted as "colonial" were actually made in the first half of the 19th century. It wasn't until the 1840s, when the textile industry made fabric readily available, that quilting became a common creative pastime for the American woman.