Quilts are much more than fabrics or less conventional materials stitched or otherwise secured together to adorn beds and walls. While many of these beautiful and intricate works of art are rich in history and tradition and provide a gateway into the past, others reflect the avant-garde mastery of contemporary, cutting-edge talent. Kentucky Quilts and Quiltmakers: Three Centuries of Creativity, Community, and Commerce is the first comprehensive study to approach quilts as objects of material culture that have appeared consistently throughout the history of the commonwealth and the country. Linda Elisabeth LaPinta highlights such topics as the role of quilt making in women's history; the influence of early Black quiltmakers and quilters; popular Kentucky quilt patterns, types, and colors; and the continuing importance to Kentuckians of preserving quilt history and traditions.

The author provides a panoramic view of the Kentucky quilt world—from Colonial America through the American Revolution, the Civil War to the 1900s, to the new millennium and the ever-changing landscape of today's quilting industry. LaPinta reveals the pivotal role that Kentucky's quilts and quiltmakers have played in shaping significant aspects of the national quilt scene, including the first statewide quilt documentation project, significant exhibits, major quilt organizations, and the National Quilt Museum. Rounding out this all-encompassing volume is a collection of significant and intimate recollections and artistic commentaries by notable quiltmakers who created these works of art, as well as discussion of the curators, collectors, historians, entrepreneurs, and other key players who have created, conserved, celebrated, and showcased the commonwealth's extraordinary quilt world culture.