Quilt Making and the Will to Learn

Quilts and act of quilt making are frequently used as metaphors for aspects of human life, particularly with reference to women and their lives. The meanings that are socially and culturally ascribed to quilting may not, however, be those that are most significant to people who engage in the occupation of quilt making. As part of an ongoing ethnography of the occupation of quilt making, I have identified learning as one dimension of the form, function, and meaning of quilt making for the participants in my study. Learning, in the context of quilt making, takes on many forms in both personal and social contexts. It may serve to increase knowledge or develop skill, or stretch one\u27s imagination. For some, learning is an end in itself, while for others it serves to provide tools to attain some other goal. This presentation will explore the learning dimension of quilt making among women quilters across the state of North Carolina