Reviews: (by author)

Cobb, Mary. The Quilt-Block History of Pioneer Days, with Projects Kids Can Make. Illus. Jan Davey Ellis. Minneapolis : Millbrook, 1995. ISBN 1-=56294-692-7. $8.95.

For quilters and up-and-coming quilters, as well as historians and aestheticians, this is a delightful and practical book. It begins with a well-told history of quilting in America . Quilting was a necessary art, and it followed with pioneers from the Massachusetts and Virginia settlers to the migrants who headed west. On the prairie, homes made of logs or sod were warmed by quilts that retained family history. Cobb's writing provides a lot of information in a lively, flowing narrative that is beautifully accompanied by Ellis' watercolors of pioneer life scenes and quilt blocks. Many of the eye-pleasing illustrations integrate quilts into the settings, showing off the many patterns and colors. The projects for readers are designed well and the entire book is an encouragement to quilting.

A. Allison, June 2006

Back to Reviews A-C