An unusually creative honoring of the 19th Amendment's centennial-it was ratified August 18, 1920. Twenty-nine award-winning textile artists from across the United States each crafted a quilt celebrating women's suffrage. These dazzlingly varied, sometimes troubling, always inspiring artworks reflect the long and continuing fight for equal rights for all. Introductions summarize the history of women's suffrage, an even more complicated subject than you might think, then dozens of art quilts continue the learning. Male artists are included to acknowledge the support of many men for women's suffrage, and African American artists and suffragists are recognized as well. Although the 19th Amendment made a huge stride forward for women's rights, in many voting situations that right extended to white women only because of prejudicial practices. All royalties will be shared equally between the New England Quilt Museum and Texas Quilt Museum.

Want to make your quilting easier to carry with you? Try the quilt-as-you-go methods that women of the 1800s invented so they could work on small blocks in stolen snatches of time. This quilting approach has many other benefits: It allows shorter sessions for tasks that some find tedious -- no more weeklong cutting or piecing marathons. It makes sewing-machine work less cumbersome, makes use of small batting scraps, and doesn't require a frame. Based on research ranging from the women's diaries, to finds at quilt auctions, to clues shared by worldwide quilter chat groups, Portable Patchwork tells stories about the origins of this technique and the creative women who made or owned the quilts. Included are four projects demonstrating different quilt-as-you-go methods, allowing you to master this technique and add your own unlimited variations -- just as your foremothers did.

A must-read for Civil War enthusiasts and quilters seeking accurate information on reproducing Civil War quilts. The stories of fourteen extraordinary Civil War quilts and the women who made them bring you face to face with the drama of war and its effect on thousands of lives. Some of these quilts tell love stories, others relate the determination of women seeking an active role in the war effort, but all represent efforts to support the fighting men. Each of these quilts tells stories of struggle and survival. The book contains patterns and information for making "block by block" or "potholder" quilts, with 40 traceable quilt block patterns with templates for hand piecing or rotary cutting for machine piecing. Also included is information on reproduction fabrics and how to participate in modern soldier-related community service quilting. This second edition also features a lively discussion of the Jane Stickle quilt, one of the most famous quilts made during the Civil War. With patterns rich in personal histories and strong visuals, author Pamela Weeks continues to deliver, and then some.