Ancient history

We get a monthly newsletter from our apartment complex. It's 4 pages, a folded 11x17" sheet, and it's sort of interesting, because one side is clearly locally produced and the other side is not. Pages 1 & 4 are customized to our complex; pages 2 & 3 always have general articles - a lot of them are seasonal - and trivia and things like that, and is much more slickly produced. Usually I take a glance at this newsletter and throw it in the trash. But this month there's a piece on quilting. (On page 3, if you're wondering.) "Quilting - It's Not Just For Grandma Anymore!" it proclaims. It talks about how the perception of quilting for most people is the image of women gathered around a quilting frame in a small town, and it goes on to talk about how quilting is changed, and how it's (gasp) even done by men! But it does have a couple of interesting paragraphs in the middle about the history of quilting.

The exact origins of quilting are unknown, although historians believe the art began in China and Eqypt. The earliest recorded quilted garment was found on a carved ivory figure of a pharaoh from the first dynasty (3400 BC), but quilting, piecing and applique have been used for clothing and furnishings all over the world for centuries.

Out of necessity due to their harsh winters, Europeans in the 15th century developed primitive quilt making techniques. Basically these quilts were nothing more than layers of cloth sewn together with a few strong running stitches, but they were the forerunners of today's quilted products.

I have no idea how much research the unknown author of this article did (and for that matter I could have written most of that 2nd paragraph by pure guesswork), but it makes me realize I know almost nothing about quilting prior to the late 1700s. I always say I'm interested in history; maybe I should make it my business to find out more.