The History of Crazy Quilts

Lauren D. Whitley, Curator of Historic Textiles and Clothing at Historic Deerfield, presents a slideshow on the history of Crazy Quilts. Crazy Quilting is a textile art form that began in the 1800s and is seeing a resurgence today. Rather than the repeating motifs of traditional quilting, crazy quilting utilizes patchwork, seams, exotic fabrics, and heavy embellishments to create unique designs that are works of art. This presentation discusses the history of crazy quilts, how they have impacted the history of art and sewing, and how current crazy quiltists employ the art form today.

Lauren D. Whitley is Curator of Historic Textiles and Clothing at Historic Deerfield where she oversees a collection of 8,000 objects focused primarily on early New England life. Prior to that she was senior curator in the David and Roberta Logie Department of Textile and Fashion Arts at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Whitley has a B.A. in Art History from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, an M.A. degree in Museum Studies: Costumes and Textiles from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, and recently completed her Ph. D. in Humanities at Salve Regina University.

This program is sponsored by a grant from the Sunderland Cultural Council, a local agency, which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.