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Patchwork LivesWhy Create QuiltsWhy would a woman cut out tiny pieces of fabric and spend hours and hours sewing them together? Perhaps is was to keep the family warm, whilst making the beds look pretty. So while many quilts were made for functional purposes, and some were made for personal pleasure. Quote from the Secret to be Burried: The Diary and Life of Emily Hawley Gillespie, 1858-1888, by Judy N. Lensink, (Iowa City, Iowa: University of Iowa Press, 1989). "Finished my Sopha cushion Cover tis indeed beautiful, there are 96,256 stitches on it. could broider at the rate of 100 stitches per seven minutes, which would take days, providing it was all plain. It is worth at least 15 or 20 dollars to make it. the cost of material was one & one half dollars." New York Beauty Maker unknown, probably made in Missouri Circles and sharply jagged edges of elongated triangles collide in the New York Beauty quilt pattern. Notice how the pattern radiates from the small stars in the intersections of the sashing and expands in an increasingly larger circle. Obviously, whoever made this quilt was not a beginner. Crazy Quilt Maria Louisa Calladay Hamer, Lincoln, Nebraska Maria Louisa Calladay Hamer and her husband, Dr. Ellis Passmore Hamer, came to Lincoln in 1877 from Vermont, Illinois. They built a home in Lincoln at 1109 J Street in 1882. Members of the family occupied this house until 1952. Highly decorated crazy quilts such as these were made primarily to show off the maker's artistic talents and to add beauty to the home, rather than for utilitarian purposes. Grapes and Vines Josephine Justus, probably made in Missouri The Grapes and Vines quilt pattern, designed by Marie Webster in 1914, features her trademark use of pastel colors in intricate designs. The intricacy of the pattern in shades of purple and green is superbly carried out by the maker, who painstakingly appliquéd the grapes, vines, leaves, and tendrils. The maker took her artistry one step farther and stuffed the grapes, which appear to float softly above the quilt, ready to be plucked. Crazy Quilt Clarissa Palmer Griswold, Sioux County, Nebraska Clarissa Palmer filed a pre-emption and a tree claim on land in Sioux County, Nebraska, in 1885 and moved into her cabin in 1886. Drawing inspiration from wildflowers she found on her claim, she painted the flowers found on this crazy quilt, and wrote, "That first summer I copied these flowers with oil paints on silk and velvet pieces sent me from home. The crazy quilt I decorated and pieced then, is now quite a showpiece to be handed down." Clarissa was the mother of future Nebraska Governor and U.S. Senator Dwight Griswold. Touching Stars Maker, location unknown The brilliant night sky seen by women during their trek west may have influenced the number of star quilts made by women in the nineteenth century - the patterns are some of the most popular. This is not a simple pattern to create - the diamond-shaped pieces must be sewn exactly straight or the star blocks will not lie flat Baltimore Album Quilt N. Lowman, Baltimore, Maryland This beautiful quilt was hand stitched by the donor's great aunt, N. Lowman, who lived in Baltimore in the 1850s. It was made prior to the aunt's wedding in 1858. The quilt made its way to Brownville with one of Lowman's nieces, Sophie Schwab, in the later part of the nineteenth century. Sophie eventually came to Lincoln in 1879 and the quilt stayed in the family until it was given to the historical society in 1960. |