I know what you’re thinking: “Really Michael? You know about patchwork quilts?” Um….no, I know absolutely nothing about patchwork quilts. I don’t know how to make one, where to find one offline, or how one decides how to design it. But I did my meticulous research and actually learned about them a little bit. So brace yourself, I’m about to drop some quilting knowledge on you.

1. Quilts Were Invented Because America Was Cold.

Back in the 1700′s, electricity didn’t exist (that’s right kids, no pods or internet). No electricity meant no perks like central heating, so how did people keep warm? By wearing as much as humanly possible. Remember, back in this time most of the population still lived on the East Coast where you can’t cry in the winter because your tear ducts are frozen. So it’s frost-bite weather, you have no heater, and live in a poorly insulated house. If it’s mid-December, kinda too late to go riding into town to buy a blanket, so you have to make one. Shockingly, giant sheets of fabric weren’t lying around the house, so people had to sew a bunch of small pieces of fabric together.Viola! The quilt is born.

2. Quilts Brought Women Together

Before there was shopping, getting nails done,having Starbucks, and whatever else it is women do together (play hacky sack? Write screenplays? I have no clue), women got together to make quilts. In fact, quilting was a major social event in communities, often commemorated special events, and women were expected to have certain number of quilts made by her wedding day.

3. Old Quilts Are Pricey

People like old stuff, especially if it has history. So if someone came across a 300 year old handmade quilt where each individual block told a story about the makers and that period of time, it might fetch a pretty penny or two. Many antique quilts go for over $5000, and the most expensive ever auctioned was over $43,000.