The Quilt

In 1994, as my wedding day approached, I longed for a beautiful heirloom wedding quilt to decorate the home where Marty and I would begin our lives together. Unfortunately, none of my friends or relatives quilted, and we couldn't afford to purchase an heirloom quilt on our tight student budget. I soon realized that if I wanted a beautiful heirloom wedding quilt, I would have to make it myself.

The town where we lived didn't have a quilt shop, so I purchased an instruction book and fabric and taught myself to quilt. My first project was a simple nine-block sampler, not the elaborate king-size bed quilt I had envisioned, but I was proud of my handiwork and eager to attempt a more challenging project. I bought more pattern books, browsed through quilting magazines, and sought advice from more experienced quilters on the Internet, learning through trial and error.

A few years later, with several quilts to my credit, I embarked upon another lifelong goal: to write a novel. I knew I wanted to write about friendship, especially women's friendship and how women use friendship to sustain themselves and nurture one another. I also wanted to write about women's work and how "women's work" is valued, whether it is it paid work outside the home, volunteering within the community, or raising a family.

Young writers are often advised to "write what you know," and since I knew quilters-their quirks, their inside jokes, their disputes and their generosity, their quarrels and their kindnesses-one could say that in my case, the subject chose the author. Quilters, who invest so much of themselves into their creations, ideally discover the intrinsic value of their work. Perhaps even more importantly, quilting is a wonderful artistic outlet that draws the quilter into a wider community of talented, supportive women and men who teach and encourage one another. Novices find themselves warmly embraced by more experienced quilters who are eager to pass along their traditions. Quilters form enduring bonds of friendship that time, distance, and hardship cannot overcome.

Quilters and the quilts they create inspired me to write The Quilter's Apprentice, the first of what grew into an enduring, beloved series. But I am only one of countless many to find inspiration, comfort, warmth, and sustenance in the beauty, history, and folklore of quilts. In The Quilt: A History and Celebration of an American Art Form, Elise Schebler Roberts presents the rich heritage of American quilting in what is sure to become an essential volume in every quilt lover's library. I invite you to read on and discover how the art of quilting will inspire you.

Foreword to The Quilt: A History and Celebration of an American Art Form , Voyageur Press, ISBN 0760326886 All rights reserved.