Rug hooking has been part of American women's household tasks for a long time. In southeast Pennsylvania, frugal sewers saved and shared their textile scraps to create useful, pretty rugs, especially in the late 19th and 20th centuries. To document the region's hooked rug arts, The Heritage Center of Lancaster County conducted the Lancaster County Rug Harvest from 2004 to 2006, which culminated in their lavish exhibit, "Rags To Rugs, Pennsylvania Hooked and Hand sewn Rugs," in 2007. This book serves as a permanent record of these rugs, the Rug Harvest, and the exhibit.The book documents each step and evolving techniques to design, make, sell, and use hooked rugs. It features regional details to look for and credit to many talented people who contributed to the art and its heritage. Over 170 color photographs display the designs, from abstract to botanical and pictorial, and illustrate the styles. Many families have shared this tradition in their homes and proudly display, use, and collect them today. They will find the descriptions here fascinating, and may be inspired to carry the skills forward to future generations.

A new and refreshing look at the role decorative arts play in the Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Amish home is revealed in this book. An encyclopedic collection of colorful, expected, and unanticipated objects associated with Amish culture are showcased in 328 color photographs distributed throughout an insightful and informative text. Author Trish Herr explores the development and use of the arts, design and style within the Amish home. Furniture, quilts, rugs, samplers, boxes, glass, china and toys made by the Amish for themselves are featured. Dr. Donald B. Kraybill, respected author and authority on Anabaptist settlements in the United States, introduces the subject with a concise history and interpretation of the present day Lancaster County Amish culture. Patricia T. Herr is an historian of antique textiles and a veterinary doctor living in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Enjoy the bold design and glowing colors of Amish quilts, specifically the 82 Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Amish quilts formerly known as the Esprit collection. These quilts have been exhibited worldwide in major museums and venues and now have come home to Lancaster. This volume gives new insight into their beauty, using over 350 detailed color photographs and discussions of Amish culture, quilting patterns, materials, and construction. Readers may be inspired to create their own versions and will understand more about how quilting evolved in the Lancaster Amish community and enjoy the full-page views of each beautiful quilt.

Quilts are bold and beautiful, treasured by family members, valued by museums and collectors, and exciting to view. Exceptional quilts were produced by the innovative quilt makers of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. This book features a spectacular array of quilts made by Amish, Mennonite, and other Pennsylvania German groups, but also spotlights significant contributions from the Scots-Irish Presbyterians and the English Quakers. The quilts are presented in 225 gorgeous color photographs, enhanced by close-up details, tools, accessories, and the people surrounding their creation. Carefully researched text breathes life into these individual works of art, and includes accounts of quilt makers that are as vibrant, intricate, and rich as the quilts themselves. For students of the distinct heritage of Lancaster County, this special book is a fascinating perspective of families and folk art. For students of the art of quilting, it is a colorful treasury of timeless and elegant designs. This is the second in a series of four books being produced by the Heritage Center Museum of Lancaster County and Schiffer Publishing to provide extensively illustrated works on the arts of the Pennsylvania Germans to a broad audience.