The Quilt: Stories from the Names Project

by Cindy Ruskin

Brings together a compelling sampling of the panels that make up the beautiful quilt dedicated to those who have fallen victim to AIDS--a project created by family, friends, and companions in memory of their loved ones

Genres: Nonfiction, LGBT, Art, History, Quilting

160 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1988

Reviews

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

thrifted this masterpiece <3 so moving, i love textile art i love gay people!!!!

[D.R.O · Rating 5 out of 5]

what a fucking gift to have, i cried a lot reading through the stories this morning. it feels so important to hold the memory of those lost by the AIDS epidemic as often as you can, and there isn’t a more beautiful way to do that than through a huge community quilt 💗

[Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

your heart will swell and ache and soar

[Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

so, i actually found this book by accident. i was volunteering at bookfest last year, tidying the table of craft books, when i spotted this book. clearly someone had seen 'quilt' and assumed it was a quilting book. at the time my friends and i laughed about the shock someone would have gotten if they bought this book for quilting tips. i decided to buy it, mostly as something interesting to own. now this year, i've gotten very invested in reading and learning about queer history, and especially the AIDS crisis. so of course i suddenly remembered the book i found at bookfest, and decided it was time to read it. there is so much love and grief packed into this book, which was published in the midst of the AIDS crisis, when it still seemed like there would be no end to the suffering. getting to learn small snippets of so many lives affected by the virus, it just really hit me hard. this was a beautiful book, and i want to force everyone i know to look at it.

[Brian Kovesci · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never cried this much while reading a book. How absolutely necessary.
I'm so grateful for Cleve Jones to have thought up the framework for this project.
I wish I had a gigantic book that detailed every panel.

We can never forget, and the NAMES Project will hopefully ensure we never do.

[Vanessa (V.C.) · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's impossible for this book to not have a reader gutted. It's the bravest, most devastating, beautiful, and precious book you'll ever read. It's hard to not cry after reading the backstory on each quilt panel and all the people that made them in honor of the ones they loved and lost to AIDS. Overwhelmingly powerful, and universal. God bless them all.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cried every time I picked this book up and read it. Each page is packed with potent memories, and the stories of love, pain, loss, and joy show just how impactful this project was, even decades later.

[Weradi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I drove 400 miles to see a portion of The Names Project, the sections of quilt panels made by the loved ones of persons who died from AIDS-related illnesses, at the MSU field house in Bozeman, MT, in the early 90's. If viewing this doesn't move one to tears, I don't know what will. I read the book at the local library, which is a beautiful display of some of the panels, stories, and the history of the Names Project. The documentary, "Common Threads" won an Academy Award, and is equally as moving. Today, with medicine and better identification and less stigma, many fewer people are dying of AIDS, however, the spread of HIV is still out of control in Africa.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stories of the people who are memorialized on the Names Project Quilt who have died from AIDS. Also, "Letters from the Quilt" broke my heart. I can't find a copy of that book, but it is heartbreakingly beautiful.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just found this for $2 from Goodwill, looks like a great coffee table book.