American Folk Art Quilts [Hardcover]

Maggi McCormick Gordon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2007

Beautiful antique quilts and a workbook of patterns come together in this lavish photography book for quilters. The 25 featured quilts from the Wisconsin State Historical Society collection are displayed in period rooms at Old World Wisconsin, the Society's outdoor museum of German and Scandinavian farm houses. Patterns and block layouts are provided for replicating each of the original quilts, and after seeing each of them in a true historical context, home sewers will be inspired to create their own versions.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Maggi McCormick Gordon is the author of The Quilting Source Book and The Ultimate Quilting Book. She lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Trafalgar Square Books (September 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157076400X
• ISBN-13: 978-1570764004
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 8.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #224,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #58 in Books > Arts & Photography > Schools, Periods & Styles > Folk Art

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Misleading title & deceptive marketing!, November 10, 2007

By 

Antique Quilt Lover (Lancaster County, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Folk Art Quilts (Hardcover)

The title clearly states "Over 30 Designs to Create Your Own Classic Quilt" and the marketing blurb says "Patterns and block layouts are provided for replicating each of the original quilts, and after seeing each of them in a true historical context, home sewers will be inspired to create their own versions." This leads you to believe that this book not only shows the antique quilts but also gives you the patterns to recreate them . . . NOT SO! There are patterns for four blocks (not quilts!) and one trapunto pattern plus one simple applique crib quilt pattern. For the rest of the quilts, she tells how many blocks there are and what techniques you need to recreate them, something anyone with any basic experience doesn't need to be told.

It is deceptive in another way as well - the title says "Folk Art Quilts." To me, this says this book is exploring this particular genre of quilts, but instead this is a general quilt history. The quilts don't meet her own definition of "naive examples by quilters with no training in art or design" or "quilts made by a child or beginner, full of charming mistakes, anomalies of scale and unusual color combinations." Instead, in this book ANY quilt is "folk art."

I realize that the titles and descriptions are often generated by the publisher, not the writer - they market to what is selling at the time, in this case patterns have a much wider market than quilt history.

As a very general quilt history, this is OK but there are much better - Roderick Kiracofe's The American Quilt being in my opinion the best.

I bought this for the cover quilt but was very disappointed to learn there was no pattern, and I was disturbed that the description, although lengthy, did not even acknowledge that this was made from a kit or published pattern, which was in turn based on a circa 1850 quilt. This knowledge is easily available (documented in Barbara Brackman's Encylopedia of Applique) and something someone of Ms. Gordon's background should certainly know. I was hoping to learn more about the exact pattern source, but instead she implies that this was the original creation of the known maker of the example in the book. She cites the family history as saying the top was made around 1912 - any quilt historian knows that family information is often incorrect. The pattern was published in a Good Housekeeping magazine around 1940, so that is undoubtedly when this quilt was made.

I agree with the first reviewer of this book . . . if you are a beginner, this should not be your first choice of a book on quilt history. If you are advanced with an already extensive library, you may want it. But above all realize that this is a QUILT HISTORY, NOT A QUILTMAKING book and the quilts may not meet your expectation of what a "Folk Art" quilt should be!

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars moderately interesting, October 7, 2007

By 

E Rice (western ny state) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American Folk Art Quilts (Hardcover)

i pre-ordered this book because of the cover quilt, which is the best quilt in the book. with two or three exceptions, none of the rest of the quilts shown is particularly interesting or unusual compared to quilts in other books in my library. in some ways, though, and this may sound odd, the mediocre examples are interesting, by giving a context to the masterpiece quilts you can admire in other books.

there isn't a clear intent to this book--is it showcasing a particular collection, is it textile or social history? historical information is limited and badly organized and some is not related to american quilting. there is one glaring mistake--the tristan quilt is fifteenth and not sixteenth century, and a similar quilt is in an italian museum. i wondered if the text was taken from lectures or previously printed articles. the quilts are categorized in arbitrary ways. and, perhaps most importantly, the 'folk art' includes quilts made by educated and middle to upper-middle class quilters who had some degree of formal education.

there is a small, unnecessary and fairly useless section offering small projects based on the quilts. techniques, such as applique and trapunto, which have had entire books devoted to them, are presented in one or two pages, with large photos, mainly of fabric under a machine needle. intermediate and experienced quilters would not need the technical information and instructions. beginners would be left befuddled. and here, also, the editing is careless: the first instructions leave out the crucial bit about putting the fabrics together before stitching--someone with sewing background would figure this out, eventually. no part of the cover quilt is offered as a design.

if you already have a good library of quilt histories and books on state quilt projects, this would be a pleasant addition because of two or three remarkable quilts and several interesting borders. if you are new to quilting and interested in quilting history, i would suggest you pass this by and get _america's quilts and coverlets_ or _the american quilt_, two of my favorite general histories. two books dealing with state collections are _quilts of virginia_ (superb) and _new york beauties_.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Folk Art History, January 28, 2008

By 

P. pierre (CT.,USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Folk Art Quilts (Hardcover)

If you are interested in the history of Folk Art Quilting,you may want to read this book,American Folk Art Quilt by Maggi McCormick.From the early settlers through the 1900's,the book presents the various types of quilt patterns,how they were used and the fabric and color choices. The colorful illustrations are high quality,and large enough to really see the quilt's makeup.The end of the book had a workshop section that showed tools needed,various pattern constructions,such as Signature Fans,Trapunto Wholecloth, Basket of Flowers ,Appliqued Wreath and Dove,and some templets for trapunto and applique.On the whole I was very pleased with the book,and certainly recommend it.