New exhibit at Northwestern University explores history of quilting

CHICAGO (CBS)-- A new quilt exhibit is on display at Northwestern University coinciding with Black History Month. 

The practice of quilting has a rich history among African American families, dating back to the enslavement period.  

"Quilting in its origins, particularly for Black women, Black women who were enslaved, was just a matter of taking what they had to make due to bring some warmth and comfort to their homes, to their family, and it was also something that women who were cultured, of a certain class to show that you were worthy to be a domestic goddess, that you knew how to quilt, exercise precision in sewing, so it runs the spectrum of class hierarchies in America," said Tracy Vaughn-Manley, Ph.D., a quilt artist and Assistant Professor in the Department of African American Studies at Northwestern University.  

Vaughn-Manley is one of three quilt artists featured in the exhibit at Northwestern University. She sews them by hand, despite many quilt artists now using a sewing machine.  

"A handmade quilt has a certain richness that is transferred from the maker to that object that is different when it's done with machine," said Vaughn-Manley 

Visitors can view the quilt exhibit until March 4 at the university's Student Union, Norris University Center.