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In the 1800s women commonly formed quilting groups. Their quilts offer clues
to the nature and experiences of western migration and to the ways in which women gathered for social, artistic, and
practical purposes.
Quilt making and the quilts themselves served various purposes. In addition to their function as bedding, quilts also
served as records of family or community history, observations of surrounding landscape, and documentation of life
cycle events such as births and marriages.
Certain quilting patterns were based on repeated motifs. Some images were symbolic and many were derived from nature,
such as the dove, which represented innocence; the peony, which stood for healing; and the pine tree, which foretold
fidelity and everlasting life. Although individual women made their fair share of quilts, many were made at quilting
bees, where women shared in the cutting, stitching, quilting, and local gossip.
During the western Mormon migration, the Friendship Quilt was created by 56 women in 1870 and given to Margaret McMeans
Thompson Smoot when she moved to Utah. The blocks depict images and phrases that reflect cherished values and beliefs.
This is an excellent example of a quilt that holds echoes of personal and communal history.
Quilts as symbols of women's work have also been included in other forms of the visual arts. In 1932 Mormon artist
Minerva Teichert painted Cokeville Wyoming Ward Relief Society Quilters--an image of women at a quilting bee.
Quilting is still a major form of creative expression for women and men. The quilting bee continues to provide a social
activity for women. And the quilts produced today, some of which hang in museums and art centers, are now viewed as
significant examples of craft and art.
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