Quilt, Double T pattern

Kalona, Iowa, is home to both Amish and Mennonite communities. The Amish first came to Kalona from settlements in Ohio in 1846. As the community grew, there were many internal disagreements about strict adherence to traditional Amish church rules. Some of the most conservative members left Kalona in 1914 for Hazelton, Iowa. The formation of new communities and the constant search for good farmland meant that the Amish were actually quite mobile, especially in the early twentieth century. Many families lived in two or three Midwestern states over their lifetimes, so quilting traditions were somewhat fluid in these areas, making it hard to identify the exact town or area where a quilt might have originated. Broadly speaking, however, Iowa quilts tend to have less complex pieced patterns than those from other Midwestern Amish settlements. Kalona was a plainer and less prosperous community than some of the larger settlements in other states and the lesser quality of the cotton fabrics found in Kalona quilts reflects this. Note the somewhat unusual employment of quilted hearts in the pale blue inner border.