University of Wisconsin - Extension

A Century of Quilts: America in Cloth, airing 7 p.m. Monday, November 19, on Wisconsin Public Television (WPT), is a rich and beautifully crafted documentary by WPT producer Laurie A. Gorman. The program celebrates the art of quilting by featuring selections from the best 100 American quilts of the 20th century, the stories behind their creation and the quilters as they work.

A Century of Quilts: America in Cloth visits the 1999 International Quilt Festival in Houston where many of these quilts were featured together exclusively, and for the first time. It also travels across America to capture the artists at work in their studios and homes and telling the stories behind the creation of these magnificent treasures.

Their stories are tales of a creative spirit spurred by love, sorrow, joy, fond memories, proud cultural ties, love of nature, religious beliefs and a need for artistic expression. Their quilts represent the stories in myriad colors, textures and cloth that reflect the diversity of American life and the continuing tradition of quilting in new and different ways.

Together, the quilts and their creators weave the story of how quilting transformed throughout the last century and emerged as an evolving art form that preserves history, records events and tells stories that reflect many facets of American life and the quilters themselves.

Funding for a Century of Quilts: America in Cloth is provided by Pfaff Sales & Marketing, Thirteen Moons Gallery and the Alberta Kimball Foundation.

WPT is a service of the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and University of Wisconsin-Extension.

Wisconsin Public Television is a place to grow through learning on WHA-TV/Madison, WPNE-TV/Green Bay, WHRM-TV/Wausau, WLEF-TV/Park Falls, WHLA-TV/La Crosse and WHWC-TV/Menomonie-Eau Claire.