Kansas Quilts and Quilters Barbara Brackman, Jennie Chinn, Gayle Davis, Terry Thompson, Sara Reimer Farley, Nancy Hornback 216 pages, 165 photographs, 5 tables, 8-1/2 x 11 Cloth ISBN 978-0-7006-0584-2, $40.00 Paper ISBN 978-0-7006-0585-9, $22.50 Mary Ellison came to Kansas in 1870, keeping house for her father and numerous siblings before raising her own family. By the age of 92, she estimated, she'd made more than three hundred quilts. Rose Kretsinger studied design at the turn of the century in Europe and at the Art Institute of Chicago. Quilts made from her award-winning designs are now in an art museum collection. Kay McFarland sold quilts to put herself through law school in the 1960s. Today she is the first woman on the Kansas Supreme Court. These three women, along with thousands of other Kansans from a variety of backgrounds, have pursued quiltmaking for economic and artistic purposes. The result of their efforts: a treasury of quilts, from plain to fancy, utilitarian to decorative. In 1986 the Kansas Quilt Project began an ambitious effort to find and document Kansas quilts. Aided by legions of volunteers, this group catalogued 13,107 quilts and quilt tops made in Kansas or brought to the state. From this cataloguing, from interviews with quilters and their descendants, and from extensive historical research, the six authors of this book have produced the first comprehensive discussion of quilts and quiltmaking in Kansas. They focus on specific types of quilts and fabrics, such as red-and-green appliqué quilts and conversation prints; regional and ethnic quiltmaking communities, including Mennonites, African-Americans, and an unusually prolific and talented group of quilters in Emporia a half-century ago; and present-day quilting groups. Featuring 165 photographs, 68 in full-color, this volume is a visually rich mosaic that illuminates the enduring community of quiltmakers in Kansas and chronicles its relation to the historical and cultural heritage of the state. "An exhilarating account of quilt history, Kansas history, and women's history. Rooted solidly in scholarly research and written with obvious empathy, this book excites the mind and warms the heart. It is a major contribution to the literature on quilts and women's lives. Salute!"--Gwen Marston, author of Twenty Little Patchwork Quilts "A page turner, as readable as a good historical novel with terrific writing based on rock solid research. The chapters are wonderfully inclusive--the diversity of cultural groups represented, topics, voices, as well as the styles and eras, reveal so much of the richness and complexity of the state, the women, quilts, and finally all of us."--Julie Silber, author of Amish: The Art of the Quilt "Rather than accept the unexamined myths of quilt lore, the authors have explored the data collected on approximately 13,000 quilts and present findings that question the validity of these myths. No longer will writers get away with discussions of the commonplace nature of quiltmaking on the overland trails or of a universal African-American design aesthetic. This book not only gives us a look at the range of quiltmaking in Kansas but, by extension, tells us much about quiltmaking in America."--Laurel Horton, author of Social Fabric: South Carolina's Traditional Quilts BARBARA BRACKMAN, a freelance writer who specializes in folk arts, is the author of Clues in the Calico: A Guide to Identifying and Dating Antique Quilts and coeditor of Backyard Visionaries: Grassroots Art in the Midwest. JENNIE A. CHINN, director of education and outreach at the Kansas State Historical Society, is editor of Images of Strawberry Hill: Works by Marijana. GAYLE R. DAVIS is associate professor and chairperson of the Center for Women's Studies at Wichita State University. She specializes in material culture and social history and has lectured extensively on American quilts and quilt culture. TERRY THOMPSON, author of Christmas Quilting: Twenty Decorative Projects, has achieved national recognition for her quilting patterns. SARA REIMER FARLEY is a quilter and quilt researcher who helped document quilts in the Kansas Quilt Project. NANCY HORNBACK is a founding member of the Prairie Quilt Guild of Wichita and was instrumental in the founding of the Kansas Quilt Project. Publication made possible in part by the Kansas Quilt Project   Home | About the Press | Recent Awards | Contact Us | Order New Books: | By Author | By Subject | By Title | By Series Books in Print: | By Author | By Subject | By Title | By Series ©2007 University Press of Kansas 2502 Westbrooke Circle, Lawrence, KS 66045-4444 Phone (785) 864-4155; Fax (785) 864-4586