Indigo Quilts: 30 Quilts from the Poos Collection; History of Indigo, 5 Projects

This excellent mix of history and quilt projects is the Triplett sisters’ third book based off the Poos Collections, a large, privately held gathering of quilts and textiles managed by the authors. The sisters chose to focus on indigo because, they claim, blue is the most popular color, and indigo is “the king of that color.” Though most research focuses on India’s role in Indigo cultivation, the Tripletts instead pay honorable—though admittedly circumstantial—attention to Africa’s links to the dye. The first section addresses transfer of indigo dye to the Americas beginning in the late 15th century, carried by people whom the Portuguese enslaved for their knowledge of growing indigo and weaving indigo textiles. The second section highlights antique quilts from the Poos Collection, an album including a gorgeous pieced quilt with intricate feather stitching and a LeMoyne Star block quilt with quilted flowers skillfully stitched with “ghost” blocks. The Tripletts’ style is scholarly and readable; the pictures are stunning and seductive, and the book finishes off with five indigo design projects for the mid-level-to-expert quilter. (Nov.)