Saturday, June 2, 2018

Quilt Museums Giving The Old And The Young A Rich Peek On History

By Margaret Price


A vacation, nowadays, is defined as going to museums that give people wonderment. Most museums being visited are space museums, or those who give people a peek on history, or aquatic museums that give land dwellers a peek on the life under the sea. However, quilt museums are deemed as boring due to its lack of high tech stuff. Vacationers are oblivious to the fact that these kinds of museums will give them a sense of pride for their country upon learning how and why quilts were made.

During the colonial period, the living conditions are tough. Families are to live in houses made from light materials that are unable to protect them from harsh temperatures. Plus, having three meals a day was a luxury rather than a necessity. With a combination of those two, family members get sick easily and death looming in.

Men during those times were the only ones allowed to work for money. Women were left in the houses, they were to take care of their respective houses, food preparation and preservation, and taking care of the other family members. However, the salaries of their husbands are too meager to make all ends meet.

Food is the number one priority of the household, their need of clothes, and other garments that will bring them warmth during the lowest temperatures are being put in the bottom of the list. This resulted to quilting. Housewives would then gather every available fabric there is just to keep their family warm, including used clothing. These fabrics are made into bedcovers, or place to cover the window, to stop the cold from coming in, or to use as blankets for children.

Over the years, the skill of quilting becomes a necessary skill to be learned by all females. That the women made it a custom for the bride to be to make a dozen pieced quilts and one applique quilt for a bridal bed. When both sides of the families have agreed on the marriage, the young woman will then sew together every quilt that was made and make it into a one huge quilt.

Another custom is for the mothers to make a quilt for each of the children. As each child starts life as an adult, the child is given a piece as a reminder of the history of their family. The child will, then, give it to their children, or grandchildren. In time, it has become an heirloom of their clan.

However, quilting is not only done by one housewife inside the house. It can be a great bonding opportunity for the neighborhood as well. Some women organize a quilting bee that will bring all women of all ages a place to gather and party. There would be food shared, along with techniques to quilt and stories are shared, too.

The purpose of a quilt is not just to keep the sickness and death at bay. They can be put onto walls and become decorative pieces in the household. This would also manifest the talent of the women in the household.

The next time you visit a city with tons of museums available. Try going to quilt museum. There might a chance that the piece of cloth being used in a quilt might from be a uniform of a civil war hero. For people to enjoy the present, sacrifices were made in the past, which resulted to a better future.




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