Quilting is a craft, rich with tradition and homespun, practical applications.  But it’s also an art--which, withneedle, thread, fabric, and an idea, can give us a new way of looking at, and wrapping ourselves in, the world.  This book profiles twenty American practitioners of that art, quilters whose fascinating, innovative work takes the craft one step further and makes it into something new.  These remarkable quilters describe their inspiration and methods and show us several examples of their best work.  Among them are Jeanne Williamson, a celebrated mixed-media journal quilter; Pam Rubert, whose large-scale quilts showcase her humor; Loretta Bennett, the youngest of the beloved Gee's Bend quilters; Boo Davis, a hip crafter who pieces together quilts with heavy-metal themes; Susan Else, who constructs whimsical quilted sculptures; Ai Kijima, a Brooklyn-based artist influenced by Japanese anime; and Jane Burch Cochran, whose folk-art quilts feature thousands of beads and buttons. Spike Gillespie is a journalist, documentary filmmaker, and quilt lover living in Austin, TX.  She is the critically acclaimed author of four books, including Quilty as Charged:  Undercover in a Material World, and countless magazine articles in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Real Simple, GQ, Esquire, Elle, Smithsonian, National Geographic Traveler, and other publications. Her popular blog details her misadventures in quilting. http://thesloppyquilter.blogspot.com