The richly diverse legacy of California’s quilts is beautifully chronicled in words and images in this extraordinary collection spanning a century of quiltmaking. Here is the story of California’s quilts, from those California bound—carried on the backs of mules and horses, in covered wagons, by ship or by train—to those California made, created on the farms and in villages and cities across the state. Whether to remember friends and family back home, mourn loved ones lost, record cultural and historical events, or illustrate their new surroundings, California’s quiltmakers pieced, appliquéd, embroidered, and embellished cloth in an astonishing variety of quilts and bedcovers.
In this volume, contemporary letters, diaries, and historical records provide authentic accounts of the social, political, and cultural contexts in which California’s quilts were brought west and worked there.