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| ~ The Quilting Bee – Then and Now ~ |
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by Annie Fischer - Quilt Board Member
Rural American quilting bees in the 1800s were great social occasions. In the west, land was just beginning to be settled, so neighbors were few and far, and families worked tirelessly on their farms six days a week. There were crops and gardens to plant, tend, and harvest; animals to feed and care for; food to preserve and cook. Without today’s conveniences, all this work took considerable time and effort.
One welcome diversion from the daily grind and social isolation was a community quilting bee, an entire day dedicated to making beautiful and comforting necessities for the home. Up to 12 ladies would meet at a house, church, or grange hall, working around one or two frames. The women worked hard before the quilting bee, not only with their regular chores, but also sewing their quilt tops by hand in the evenings and preparing great quantities of food for the bee.
On the appointed day, they arrived on foot or by horse and wagon, bringing children who were too small to work in the fields. Soon after arrival, a finished top, batting and backing would be set up on the quilt frame, and the women would get started right away. Needles flew over the fabric, and often, several tops were quilted in one day.
The children would be close at hand – playing under the quilt or outside if the weather was agreeable. One or two responsible girls would be conscripted for threading needles so the ladies could keep their stitching rhythm. Patterns, fabric, and news would be exchanged as the women stitched. The men would work on their own farms during the day, but at supper time, they’d gather back at the house for food, singing, and dancing! Everyone, young and old, stayed up late into the night to enjoy the party.
Some of those antique quilts have been carefully preserved over the years, and we treasure them as prized possessions.
Today’s quilting bees – often in the form of a quilt guild - provide the modern quilter with a way to socialize as well. We may not sing and dance, but modern bees do offer the camaraderie and support that was such an important part of yesterday’s bees. Sewing was a required skill until about a hundred years ago, and young girls were schooled in stitching because as wives, they would be expected to sew all the bedding and clothes for their households. That requirement has changed with the times, but today’s quilting bees can provide schooling in various stitching techniques, as well as outlets for creativity, sources of ideas and inspiration, and the latest quilting news.
Our hectic, information-driven lifestyles can make us feel isolated and weary, and though we fill our days with different tasks, we are just as busy as our predecessors. Today’s quilters still need quilting bees. We need the resources and friendships. Quilts may no longer be dire necessities for cold winter nights in drafty log cabins, but they still provide comfort for our families and friends, and well-made quilts that are lovingly cared for will become tomorrow’s treasured heirlooms.
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