Most wholecloth woolen quilts of this period were probably made with fabric produced in Great Britain. While Britain had many professional quilters at the time this type of quilt was made, every indication is that this group reflects the needlework of North Americans. Earlier generations referred to this type of quilt as linsey-woolsey or calamanco

Technical notes and description: Twill-weave 2/2 wool face; tabby-weave wool back; wool fleece filling; wool thread. With a four-panel face of deep indigo, probably imported, glazed, worsted fabric, this quilt is patterned with blue quilting running stitches in a bold, five-branch Tree of Life motif, which springs from a central tuliplike bottom source. An undulating flowering vine serves as the border. Diagonal rows of quilting stitches detail the background while securing three layers: gold and blue backing, black fleece filling, and face fabric. The face fabric has permanent creases in both warp and weft directions from the glaze pressing process.

Book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.