Quilting Bee

Painting The Quilting Bee, by Grandmother Moses, mid-20th century, USA. Painting The Quilting Bee, by Grandmother Moses, mid-20th century, USA.

A quilting bee is a social gathering during which a quilt is made. The term is commonly used throughout the USA. The word ‘bee’ was used in colonial America to refer to different forms of communal work that benefited a neighbour, for example, a logging bee to fell wood or a husking bee to strip maize.

The word first appeared in print in 1769 and referred to a spinning bee. The word bee is believed to originate from the Middle English ‘bene,’ meaning a prayer or boon. In North America, both men and women might be invited to a quilting bee, but only women are, or were expected to work on the quilt. Individuals can work on different parts of the quilt, or teams might be drawn up in order to compete against one another.

Sources:

  • Shorter Oxford English Dictionary: 'Bee'.

Digital source of illustration (retrieved 20 June 2016).

SA

Last modified on Monday, 19 September 2016 18:30
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