Using excerpts from letters, diaries, and reminiscences, Cloth & Comfort illustrates how quilts went beyond their given purposes of warmth and decoration to serve as reminders of families, loved ones, and special events. Their intricate designs and deliberate stitches reflected hopes, dreams, fears, and frustrations in an age when women had few legitimate outlets for their feelings and creative impulses. Juxtaposed with the often poignant voices of the quilters are details of the quilts themselves, along with charming accoutrements of the craft, such as elaborately carved needle cases and silver thimbles, as well as period photos and advertising trade cards.