In preparation for the quilting, women would sit at home and piece together discarded patches of fabric. The padding, backing and quilting on the one and only quilting community frame, would then be done as a group. This, then, became a real social event.
In the morning, the ladies would gather at the home of the woman who would end up owning the quilt and they would proceed to pad, line, roll and quilt the fabrics, busily working until supper time when the sweethearts of the unmarried quilters and husbands of the married quilters were invited to dinner. The men arrived in their Sunday best in respect for the ladies and all the work they had done. After dinner there was singing, dancing and courting.
Some quilt parties were more special than others. For example, if the party was for a bride-to-be, the quilt was brought out and held high buy the young bride and groom, then it was placed on the floor. A cat was put in the middle of the quilt while everyone sat down around it. It was said that who's ever head the cat would jump over would be the next bride or bridegroom. Still, I'm not sure I'd want a nervous cat walking all over my nice new quilt.
When a man celebrated his 21st birthday, the New England Freedom Quilt was presented to him. This was a token of independence, which symbolized his freedom to leave home. It was also a means of convenience since he would no longer have his mother's quilt to keep him warm. Now he could use this gift until he found a wife to make him another one. I'd teach this man how to sew!
Memory quilts were made in memory of the deceased. The quilt was made from the clothing of the departed. It sounds sad, but it sure is a great way to honor and remember the deceased.
Then there was the bride's quilt, usually covered with hearts. Actually, before 1840 the sign of the heart on quilts was used only for decorating things for a bride. They feared that if a heart was used for anything but a bride's quilt the girls would never marry.
The county fair brought out all sorts of sewing talent, as this was the big quilt making competition of the year. To win was a real honor and the winner became famous throughout the country.
(Rosemary Sadez Friedmann, a member of the American Society of Interior Designers, is president of Rosemary Sadez Friedmann Inc. in Naples, Fla.)
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