Interview with Joan Knight, November 11, 2001

Interview Summary

Joan Knight talks about the first full-size quilt she ever made, how it is used, and the reason she chose the log cabin design for her first-ever full-size quilt. She talks about her early quilting experiences with her family and how she continued quilting throughout college. Knight talks about the origins of the Virginia Quilt Museum and her role as its director. She talks about how women "sew their lives into their quilts." She talks about how the history of communities and regions can be seen in quilts. Knight talks about the exhibitions she has entered her quilts into and the prizes she has won. Knight talks about the importance of quilt preservation and the role of museums in preservation. She talks about how to get young people involved in quilting.

Interview Keyword

Grandmothers Family Log Cabin (Quilt pattern) African American quiltmakers Miniature quilts Crazy quilts Preservation Museums Young people

Interview LC Subject

Arts and crafts Quilts Quiltmakers Quiltmakers--United States Quilting Virginia Quilt Museum Sewing machines Machine quilting

Interview Rights

All rights to the Quilters' S.O.S. -- Save Our Stories (QSOS) oral history project, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred from the Quilt Alliance to the University of Kentucky Libraries. Please contact the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History regarding rights pertaining to individual interviews.

Interview Usage

Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.