The gathering and sharing of information through preservation projects, oral histories, and bibliographies has expanded our understanding of quilt history. One of the myths that these projects has put to rest is the idea that quilting is women’s work. Although the majority of quilters in America—in the past as well as today—are women, documentation projects prove that the male quiltmakers of today (think John Flynn, Ricky Tims, Joe Cunningham, and Michael James) come from a long line of male quiltmakers.

Made in 1984 by Ernest Haight, this quilt represents five decades of quiltmaking by this prolific quilter. Known for approaching his quiltmaking from an engineer’s perspective, Haight made more than 300 quilts between the 1930s and 1980s. The Nebraska Quilt Project documented Haight and some of his quilts in the late 1980s.