Sewing Together a Community
For centuries women have come together to form the backbone of community. As a whole they have provided nurture and provisions for those in their circle. It is not surprising that women have developed close bonds while managing their tasks as caregivers and overseers of the brood. In the early Western communities, quilting began as a way of using limited supplies in a unique way in order to create bounty where naught could be found.

“It is pioneer women, who overcame limited supplies with great creativity and perserverence of spirit, and brought the humble Patchwork Quilt into the fabric of American history and society. The Pioneer Quilting Bee was a spring and summertime way of socializing after being housebound all winter (and of finishing the quilt tops that were pieced throughout the winter months).” (Amish Quilter website)

Bees, as they were called, were borne from necessity and grew into a greater power. The power of the feminine bond is strong. Women storytelling is a core of the bee. Quilting became an outlet and a form of sisterhood that is now very much the root of the Amish family order.

“Like the traditional barn-raising, where members of the community work together to build a barn, quilting bees offer opportunities for the women to help each other. Socializing as they work, Amish quilters gather around a quilt frame and finish several tops in a single afternoon. “(Quilting in America)

Although it began as a simple form of piecing scraps together to make use of every bit, the art of quilting became an outlet it seems for the women of this society. Quilting became a freedom from the boundaries. Eccentric designs have arisen where nondescript where the norm. It became a way for women to show there spirit without shame.

“Amish quilting grew out of a German heritage where many colors and patterns were practical. Amish