Quilts as Text(iles): The Semiotics of Quilting

by Judy Elsley

A quilt is a text. It speaks its maker's desires and beliefs, hopes and fears, sometimes in a language any reader can understand, but often in an obscure language available only to the initiated. The central idea of this book is that quilts and texts are inseparable. The author explores the concept of quilt-as-text through a series of paired chapters. The first chapter in each pairing examines quilting in a particular piece of American literature, reading the significance of textile in text. Contemporary quilt groups are the subject of the other chapter in the pair, exploring the textuality of textile.

Hardcover

First published October 1, 1996