If not older, quilting is as old as ancient Egypt and whole cloth quilts were very common trade goods in wealthy circles of Europe and Asia going back as far as the 15th century. The earliest surviving quilt is from approximately the first century BC to the second century AD. It was found in a Mongolian cave and is a quilted linen carpet. It is housed in the Saint Petersburg Department of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in the Archaeology Section. A more recent development is the making of pieced quilts made up of cut pieces of fabric sewn in block form with the blocks then sewn together to make the quilt. Pieced block quilts, often called patchwork quilt, did not become the dominant form of quilt making until the mid-19th century, and still is not the traditional form in Provence, Wales and regions of India.

Quilting in early America was far different than it is now. Over the years methods have changed from piecing and quilting being done by hand to the use of the sewing machine as it became available. Then making quilts by hand made a come back and finally the use of modern sewing and quilting machines became more prominent.

Somehow we have inherited this myth of early Colonial women sitting by their firesides making quilts. We idealize their lives with images of quilting bees and cozy handmade bed quilts. It seems as if quilting was invented by these immigrants to the New World. The truth of it all however, is far different.