Blocks and strips

The string and strip quilts most fully embody the themes of utility and frugality. Taught from generation to generation, these quilt "patterns" were reserved for the smallest of leftover irregular shapes and sizes of prints and solids. Many were tied and not quilted, especially the quilts made of "tough" materials. All are indebted to the work-clothes quilts as well as the reverse sides—the backs of quilts—whose compositions many times seem random, but are often as balanced as any works of art in any medium.