What People are Saying


Why Quilts Matter - Quilt Collage - Vertical 3

Images on the collage above and on the homepage are courtesy of:
Darwin Bearley, Nancy Crow, Caryl Bryer Fallert, Marilyn Henrion, Roderick Kiracofe, Katie Pasquini Masopust, The National Quilt Museum, Brigitte Rutenberg, Kathy Weaver, Adrienne Yorinks, Annie Mae
Young, Shelly Zegart.

“This series is the most important thing that has happened in quilt history in the past forty years.”
– Carolyn  L. Mazloomi, Collector, Independent Curator
“I have LOVED my Why Quilts Matter and have viewed it more than once (shared it more than once, too). The whole production is gorgeous, well thought out, and covers everything. Denver’s PBS is airing it on Sunday afternoon. Congratulations!”
– Janet Finley, Lakewood, CO
“So many of us think that we know everything there is to know about quilts, but there is so much more to soak in and learn. This series takes us on an informational, fearless, and fun ride through the world of quilts and quilt making, its rich heritage and the people for whom this art form is a way of life. Viewers will be surprised and delighted by its no-holds-barred approach toward this quintessentially American art form; we urge everyone, from the novice to the expert, to order the DVD now available on http://whyquiltsmatter.org and mark their calendars to tune in to PBS this fall and watch this must-see television event.”
– Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims
Co-Founders & Co-Hosts of TheQuiltShow.com

TheQuiltShow.com is the world’s first full-service interactive online video/web TV created exclusively for quilters worldwide.
“As a professor of American Studies, I try to bring the history and culture of the American South to life in the classroom. I can think of no better resource than Why Quilts Matter: History, Art, & Politics to introduce my students to one of the most visually compelling, historically rich art forms in our country. This series presents a diverse community of artists, scholars, and collectors who speak to the powerful meaning of race, class, gender, and region sewn into every quilt.”
– Marcie C. Ferris, Associate Professor, Department of American Studies
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Why Quilts Matter: History, Art & Politics is simultaneously educational and entertaining. Its examination of a uniquely American art form is really quite fascinating for the many diverse PBS audiences.”
– Craig Cornwell, Senior Director of Programming
Kentucky Educational Television (KET), Lexington, Kentucky
“This compelling and visually rich series convinces us that quilts do matter. VERDICT: This wonderful series would be an important addition for all museums, libraries and quilt guilds.”
– Library Journal Review
“This series makes me proud to say that I am a quilter.”
– Joan Ciolino, quilter
“This fine series has aired on selected PBS stations and is recommended for academic and public library collections. Each episode is further divided into sections making it optimal for classroom selection and viewing.”
– EMRO review
“Shelly Zegart has a deep and abiding passion for quilts and it shows. With her series Why Quilts Matter, Zegart delivers a thoughtfully crafted and insightful examination of the history, community and scholarship of the American quilt. This series could just as easily serve as a primer on the subject as it could springboard detailed and layered discussions deconstructing and analyzing the aesthetics and politics of the American quilt. I would recommend this series for both academic and public library collections.”
– Winifred Metz, Media Librarian
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
“I finally had a stretch of time to immerse myself into “Why Quilts Matter” and wish to congratulate you for this phenomenal series of interviews, your own involvement from A to Z with the project and the great presentation with the series of interviews. It really is great to see something that was so very well done and is now available to everyone ! Your love for quilts and your commitment show through every aspect of the 9 episodes. Again, congratulations! All best, Christa
– Christa Thurman, Past Textile Curator of the AIC Chicago
“The time for this series is now. For too long Grandma’s hope chest and Sunbonnet Sue have dominated quilt discussions. In Why Quilts Matter: History, Art & Politics history and heritage count, but so does cutting-edge art.”
– Linda Elisabeth La Pinta, Kentucky Author & Quilt Historian
“Hi Shelly, I have been meaning to write to tell you how wonderful your film is! I have really enjoyed the series and am so thankful to be a part of it. The episodes are very insightful and interesting. It is a wonderful and thorough project! Bravo! All the very best, Vadis.
– Vadis Turner, artist in the series
“The series was a real journey for me. I have always admired quilts, seen them in many places, but all your very detailed and so well-presented subject matters were an enlightenment for me. I was making quilts before I called them quilts and once aware of it, I realized that I had been, in some fashion or other, drawn to the ‘patches’ since I was eleven years old. Just imagine, and now you put some of it into your ‘Why Quilts Matter’ – all I can say is ‘thank you, Shelly.’
– Brigitte Rutenberg, artist
“I bought this DVD as a present to myself. It spurred me on to actually sit down and figure out how to use the DVD machine! On New Year’s Day, husband was tucked safely into bed with a sinus infection and I had the whole day to myself–time for a movie orgy! With some breaks, I watched all the episodes of Why Quilts Matter and boy, was I happy I did! Shelley presents the info with intelligence and an open mind. She tackles the Gees Bend thing, the IQA vs AQS rivalry, the UGRR quilts controversy plus you get to see hundreds of images of great quilts. I watched with a pad of graph paper in my lap so I could cadge pattern ideas. If you watch all the episodes, it takes your knowledge of quilts and their history a light year forward. It voiced, for me, many of the reasons I have made quilts all my life: I KNEW they were life-empowering, I KNEW they were historically important, and I KNEW that the women’s movement was the cultural river from which today’s quilting interest flowed. Dipping into my native tongue: “Why Quilts Matter is w-a-y cool and  look at all the colors!”
– Pepper Cory, teacher, author, designer, and quiltmaker

“I suspect this will be an awesome program for my students in the Textile Design Program at St. Lawrence College when I am the Design Program Director and manage the College’s Textile Resource Library. (My paternal grandmother Edna Sumners Hord was an awarding Kentucky Quilter from Hopkinsville and lived in Louisville most of her adult life.) I so look forward to it!
– Bethany Garner
“Bought it, watched it, loved it. Love the episode on technology that has taken place in the quilt world, amazing.
– Denise Schofield
“I bought the DVD – simply awesome!!!!
– Laurie Klem Molnar
“The syllabus with the DVD is a wonderful addition! Thanks for a delightful presentation & all the hard work to bring this together for us!!
– Marilyn Barker Glenn
“Just wanted to let you know I received the DVDS today. Wow… Only had time to watch the first episode tonight but it was fantastic! Can’t wait to see the rest. This series is an enormous accomplishment. You must be extremely proud! Thank you so much, and best wishes!
– Susannah
“My computer crashed a few mos. ago and I haven’t had your e-mail. But someone sent me your video trailer and I felt like I was watching your life work in front of my very eyes. What a thrilling production for you to have created. I loved the woman talking about how proud we Americans should be of our quilt history – another about connections with our American culture. I look forward to seeing every segment. Wow! What perseverance you have to put your knowledge and contacts to work for the benefit of art history. Thank you for doing this – your hard work paid off. It is a tantalizing trailer that only whets the appetite for more. With great admiration, Genie Potter.
– Genie Potter
“Shelly thanks for this great experience. I’m hungry for more!!
– Judie Bellingham (Australia)
“I have viewed all 9 episodes of Why Quilts Matter? History, Art & Politics, a fantastic series assembled and hosted by Shelly Zegart.  The episodes collectively addresses different aspects of why quilts historically as well as the contemporary approaches to the quilting arts have incredible meaning, importance and place in the dialogue of 21st Century attention not only to the fabric arts but to our modern day perspective. Many textile curators, historians, scholars and avid collectors from universities, galleries, museums and other walks of quilting life contribute their knowledge and expertise with insightful interviews and commentary focusing on the past, present and future of the quilted arts as a genuine Art form. This series is fabulous because it provides a wonderful connection between the motivations of quilt-makers from the past and what many of us are creating today. One point truly elevates in many ways the manner of the art form and ever growing acceptance as legitimate art. And the series dispels age-old myths and makes me just want to stand up and say, ‘Hooray, at long last!’ Congratulations to Shelly and all the contributors to her efforts.”
– Carol Carol Ann Sinnreich