Amish and Mennonite Quilts and Quilters: A Virtual Quilt Show

Amish and Mennonite Quilts and Quilters:
A Virtual Quilt Show

by Patricia Cummings

Photos provided by Judy Morton, taken by Daniel R. Patmore,
and edited for web use by James Cummings

We are very happy to be able to provide you with this article about the Amish as well as thirty-four photo images of outstanding Amish quilts and Mennonite quilts that were collected by Judy and Tom Morton in southern Indiana. These quilts were exhibited at the Grouseland Foundation Premier Quilt Show in Vincennes, Indiana in October 2005, a show curated by Judy Morton.

Throw everything you think you know about Amish and Mennonite quilts out the window as you view thirty-four quilts from southern Indiana. You will see some surprises such as the fact that modern women from these groups use many contemporary patterns with hundreds of pieces of cloth. Their color combinations are alive with excitement, at times, especially with the use of yellow as an accent hue. Bright colors resonate against black backgrounds. In other instances, their color palettes are more subdued. In a few quilts, especially those that feature flag motifs, the quilters employ print fabrics, once “verboten” (forbidden) as being too “worldly.”

Judy Morton, the woman of vision who collected all of these quilts had but one requirement for purchasing a quilt, besides liking it. She insisted on knowing the name of the quiltmaker(s). This appears to be a giant leap toward recognition of the women behind the needles. Historically, Amish quilters did not seek individual credit for their work, inasmuch as the trait of humility is considered to be desirable trait.

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The quilts were all acquired within the last 24 years and are contemporary quilts.

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I would like to present the reader with a little bit of a background about the people who call themselves, “Amish.”

Anabaptists

Who are the Amish and the Mennonite women who make quilts? Both of these religious sects have common roots in the Anabaptist movement of the Protestant Reformation in 1525. These self-reliant Christians believe in adult baptism, plain dress, and making Christ the center of their lives. They do not fall into the category of cults. Collectively called the “Brethren,” three main groups evolved.

In Europe, a number of leaders emerged. Menno Simons led believers in The Netherlands. Those who followed his teachings became known as Mennonites. Jacob Amman, who wanted to institute the practice of "shunning" and who disagreed on subtile religious points, broke off from the Mennonites about 150 years later, in 1693. His followers are known as the Amish. There were additional subgroups of Anabaptists. One that is most often mentioned is Jacob Hutter who led a third main sect known as Hutterites.

Persecution Led to Emigration

These groups suffered tremendous religious persecution in Europe. Like other European people who sought religious freedom in the New World, the Amish (pronounced “Ah-mish”) migrated. They first settled in Pennsylvania, and then in Ohio, and Indiana. The book, An Amish Adventure by Roberta Horton (CA: C&T Publishing, 1996, 2^nd edition), indicates that about 70% of Amish live in either one of those three states, but have also spread to many other areas and states, (page 11).

Mennonites

Some of the quilts you will see in this article were made by Mennonites. To learn more about the differences between the Amish and the Mennonites, I turned to 20 Most Asked Questions about the Amish and Mennonites by Merle and Phyllis Good (Intercourse, PA: Good Books, 1995), page 13,“Most Amish groups today consider themselves conservative cousins of the Mennonites.” While there are discernible differences between the two groups, they share much in common. Blanket statements cannot be made to sum up the activities of the diverse segments of either group. One common factor they share is that both the Amish and the Mennonite people clearly set themselves apart from their “English” neighbors, (anyone who is not one of them).

Notable Quality of Early, Amish-Made Quilts in Pennsylvania

For years, the word “Amish,” in association with “quilts,” has described textiles with distinct and recognizable color palettes, rendered with skilled workmanship, and fine hand quilting, that are the trademarks of these quiltmakers. Unfortunately, as tourism has increased to the areas where the Amish sell their quilts, some of the qualities that made the quilts so special in the past are diminishing.

For example, when we visited Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in 1999, quilted items in the marketplace, sometimes featured poly-cotton blend fabrics and exhibited poor hand-quilting that seemed to have been hurriedly done. Of course, there are still wonderful quilts to be located and purchased, and there are certainly fine examples of Amish quilts in various museums.

Author Preserves Interviews with Amish Women in Book

In her book, The Amish Quilt, Eve Wheatcroft Granick (Intercourse, PA: Good Books, 1989) makes the point of saying that by 1989, very few old Amish quilts remained in private homes. By then, most had been sold to the public. Luckily, she conducted interviews with some of the Amish quilters from whom she bought quilts, thus preserving their thoughts for future generations. She notes that some of those quilters have passed on already.

Someone once told me that the only Pennsylvania Amish quilts worth collecting were made before 1950, before the area was “discovered.” We did, indeed, see a marvelous exhibit of early quilts at the People's Museum in Intercourse, Pennsylvania: “The Quilts of Two Valleys.” All the marks of fine Amish quilting were represented from the tiny hand stitches to the frequent use of the “pumpkin seed” stitch.

We were enchanted by the colors of some of the hand-dyed fabrics. Researchers now say that it is a myth that fabrics used in Amish quilts were dyed by them, using nuts and berries. Rather, they point to traveling salesmen as a possible source of the fabrics.

Amish Quilt Styles Connected to Wales?

One interesting speculation is that wholecloth Welsh quilts have strong similarities to Amish quilts because the Amish passed through Wales on their way from Europe to America, seeking religious freedom. “Strippy” quilts, that is, quilts assembled by joining wide strips that provide a place to show off hand quilting are very common among quilts from the British Isles. These quilts often feature cable designs and/or cross hatching.

The book, Making Welsh Quilts: The Textile Tradition That Inspired the Amish? by Mary Jenkins and Clare Claridge (KP, 2005), states the following on page 7:

Indeed, experts believe that the Amish, who had no quiltmaking tradition prior to settling in America, drew their inspiration from their new neighbours, the Welsh, who had also settled in Pennsylvania. The evidence for this link between Welsh and Amish quilts is strong. Both have the same simple format, and a graphic quality that appeals to today's quilters and collectors.

Putting Pennsylvania on the Map

During the third quarter of the twentieth century, Jonathan Holstein and his wife, the late Gail van der Hoof, collected Amish quilts for their artistic qualities. They reminded Holstein of paintings, and he was one of the first (actually, the second - the Newark Museum being the first) to display quilts vertically at a landmark exhibition at the Whitney Museum in New York in 1971.

That show was a pivotal and defining moment for the history of quilts and would effect all that was to come after. Traditional quilting morphed into a new genre that has come to be known as “art quilting.” Lest we all forget the “roots” of the evolution, we have this pioneering duo to recognize for their help in the transition. Notice that many of the quilts you will see in this article look more like intentional “art” quilts, intended from the very first to be viewed vertically.

Horses and Buggies: A Quintessential Sign of the Past

A trip to “Amish country,” about ten years ago, revealed much. Amish dress is distinctive. Girls and women wear white caps. One of the first impressions was that of seeing men in the fields, plowing with animals, not tractors. The second startling awareness was witnessing an Amish horse and carriage almost being mowed down by a fast moving truck when they tried to cross a busy intersection, with the traffic light.

While Amish people are not commonly hurt while riding in their buggies, there have been cases of people being severely injured by objects hurled into their conveyances. In at least one instance, a baby was killed. The Amish customarily do not report incidents to the police, according to the book, Plain Buggies by Stephen Scott (PA: Good Books, 1998), page 38.

We went to the Lancaster area to attend a quilt show and to learn more about Amish life. To that end, besides driving around and visiting various sites, we bought every enchanting book on Amish life that we could possibly find! Years later, we are still interested in finding out more about Amish and Mennonite people, their ways of life, and most especially, the work of their hands.

We hope you have enjoyed this look at some Amish and Mennonite quilts, and we hope that we have whetted your interest to visit the areas where the quilts are made, to learn more about them by reading some of the books we suggest. Perhaps you will want to try your hand at making a quilt based on a traditional Amish color palette or favorite pattern.

There is so much more that could be said about the Amish and the Mennonite people and their quilts. A fairly recent book, yet a hard to find one is called Antique Ohio Amish Quilts by Darwin D. Bearley. A search through the books offered by amazon and other booksellers under the category of "Amish Quilts," will turn up many other possibilities for quilters and historians alike.

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ONLINE RESOURCE: The International Quilt Study Center has an online podcast in which Nao Nomura presents her research into the microscopic fiber analysis she did to determine the kinds of fibers in Old Amish quilts. She combined her study with genealogical research of Janneken Smucker, as well as a study of Amish surnames and naming practices in Mifflin Country, Pennsylvania, home to three major Amish divisions named according to the color of the top of their buggies: The Black Toppers, the Yellow Toppers, and the White Toppers.

Research included face to face visits with Amish families, to gather information about specific quilts that are now in the IQSC collection. Collective research results yielded proof that some of the quilts were made much later than the assumed cut-off date for quilts of this type (1940), and some quilts were made as late as 1965. The podcast is about 51 minutes and is well worth your while to view and listen. The title of the program is "From Fibers to Fieldwork."

http://www.quiltstudy.org/connections/resources/podcasts_video.html

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Many thanks to Judy Morton for contacting me with her offer to send the photos you see here. This is a beautiful collection and now, people across the world can enjoy it, too, thanks to Judy's most extraordinary generosity.

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Pertinent Resource Book: The Amish Community in Daviess County, Indiana: A Photodocumentation by Bill Whorrall. This well-done book has numerous photos and descriptions of Amish life in southern Indiana where the quilts featured above were made.

Click on the icon to visit Bill Whorrall's website

Questions? Comments? Write to: pat@quiltersmuse.com