Baltimore Traditions: The Baltimore Album Quilt

Quilts are the same no matter where you go. Some are meant to keep you warm. Others, like cave hieroglyphics, tell of history and lives long after the passing of the original artisans.

The Baltimore Album Quilt provides a great example of the latter. According to historians, the women who produced Baltimore Album Quilts produced them with a sort of fervor not known in quilting. They had a story to tell.

The Baltimore Album Quilt is one categorized almost instantly by its bold themes and strong color patterns. Relatives of most quilt makers from the northeast can spot the motifs and influences of Germanic artistry in Baltimore Album Quilts. That's not an accident, but a real description of the history of the creators. These colors and themes are signs of the stronghold the Methodist church had on the area at the time. Many of Baltimore's Album Quilts, colorful and ornate, are thought to have Methodist influences.

Baltimore, home to both a port and a fort, has always been regarded by outsiders as a city of scrappers, not artists. The chilly air off the Baltimore port gave life to a sturdy, strong breed. Baltimoreans were raised a very serious people. We had art, but for years we were taught to make our art useful, as well as beautiful.

Long before the Inner Harbor took over the tourist set, people mistook the genetic make up of the people who settled these dock areas as a collective set of hardbacks who could unload the never-ending crates arriving daily by boat from ports unknown. But, hon, Baltimoreans found a way to bring a sort of genteel nature to the harsh environment they had to endure. Pioneers found a way to showcase their artwork: The Baltimore Album Quilt. Like Williamsburg, much of the artwork from this era has a sort of folk art charm that reflects the struggles of the people who lived through it.

It all started when friends gathered to create paper albums full of pithy quotes, inspirational sayings, and sometimes, just autographs. Then someone discovered an indelible ink that couldn't ruin fabric. Baltimoreans began duplicating their paper ideas onto squares of fabric to create quilts of memories.

Along the way, the indelible inks became prominent parts of the album quilts, and quilt makers started making squares that included special quotes, sayings, etc. The use of indelible ink had become part of Baltimore's legacy to quilt making. Still, it remained a sort of insider secret, as it was seen as prideful, sinful or boastful to take credit for it-even if you did it. Thankfully, we've outgrown that over the years. It wasn't until it started making a comeback in the 1970s that the Baltimore Album Quilt finally gained the recognition it deserved. And that recognition has come from artisans, quilt makers and museum curators alike. Elly Sienkiewicz kept the art alive by authoring a series of books on the subject giving credit to the women who started the trend.

Let's get to the nuts and bolts of it all. How different is the Baltimore Album Quilt from other quilts? It starts out much like other types of quilts. Basically, the overall format was designed from the start. Then, to make it individual, the square's creator took responsibility for a portion of the final product.

Flowers are a main theme of Baltimore Album Quilts, with lots of appliqued pieces in decorative pots. Other famous components are patriotic themes, as well as animal pieces. Probably where Baltimore began, and lost, its home in the process is when so many quilters from around the country had begun using the applique process, particularly for the flowers used in the blocks.

Where you'll see Maryland set apart from others is in the pattern of the quilt. For example, it's not unusual to find a Maryland home or two in the design mix. The Maryland Manor home is but one of the designs set forth in Elly Sienkiewicz's book The Best of Baltimore Beauties. She has done a series devoted solely to these Baltimore beauties. And she's had a lot to write about over the years. If you're interested in recreating some of these treasures, some of her books include patterns for these blocks and borders. Look closely at the designs and you're apt to find Baltimore landmarks scattered throughout quilt. There's the real giveaway!

One of the most interesting parts of the whole album quilting process is that it went against the grain of the traditional quilt in a way. Most quilts were formulated from pieces of scrap materials for the main purpose of keeping warm, though, of course, the women tried to infuse their art, if only by signing their names in some extravagant embroidered fashion. The Album Quilt, on the other hand, was made quite differently.

The quilters chose their materials judiciously, opting only for the best pieces. In quilts meant to keep warm (such as crazy quilts, for example), it was a clip of an old velvet dress here, the tie with the husband's ketchup stain cut out there, etc. The Album Quilt started and ended with the best. Add to that, the whole concept of the memory album whereby the quilters could add emblazon their signatures with the indelible ink. Other times, they would write words of wisdoms for the bride to be, the neighbor moving cross country, or the sailor going off to war-whatever the case may be.

Check out the roots of the names embroidered or sketched on these patchwork beauties and you'll find that these women were not those necessarily in need. Many, if not most, came from the middle class or lower upper class elements. So many of the patterns are based on high-end china and the like not readily accessible to the masses.

The most telling point of the Baltimore Album Quilt is that most have only a thin batting, if any. These quilts were meant to be displayed in a household or kept to be passed down to future generations. The Baltimore quilters created memories to pay tribute to sons, brothers or friends lost in a war. Families had a lasting reminder that their neighbors remembered both the family and the deceased loved one. Quilts have always been a way of bringing people together.