Constructing Quilts, Online Communities, and Quilter Legacies

Abstract

Quilting is a fertile ground for exploring sociohistorical issues related to women in society as they are shaped by greater access to online tools and environments. Such tools and environments have many affordances in terms of personal expression, community building, and female empowerment. This narrative case study presents the story of an online quilting artist named Faye, whose family quilted for generations and who now advocates for women’s rights, the broadening of permissible themes in quilting art, and an end to censorship. The story of the author’s personal relationship to quilting is also provided. The chapter concludes that Faye’s and the author’s stories embody the concept of family legacy in quilting and the honoring of this tradition across generations. Additionally, it is suggested that Faye’s story highlights deep divides within the online quilting community as online female quilting artists challenge traditional quilting themes and approaches to self-expression. Lastly, the chapter argues that more work needs to be done in exploring the roles of women in textile-based arts as they develop self-governing online communities using modern technologies.

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