Title: Flowering Almond
Artist(s): Elizabeth Harned Harriman and Mary Vida Schafer
Material(s): Cotton, Polyester filling
Technique(s): Hand appliquéd and hand quilted
Dimensions: 96" x 83"
Date made: Top by Elizabeth Harned Harriman, 1968; finished by Mary Vida Schafer, 1972
Place Created: Bunceton, Missouri and Flushing, Genesee County, Michigan
Collection: Great Lakes Quilt Center/Michigan State University Museum
Photo Credit: KEVA

Interpretative Commentary:

After the death of her friend Betty, Mary took on the task of completing many of Betty’s unfinished tops. This appliqué design, a popular motif from the mid-19th century, was one of Betty’s favorites. Part of the challenge posed to Mary as she undertook the finishing of Betty’s work was trying to complete the quilts in a manner that Betty herself would have selected. Mary has completed at least sixteen of Betty’s quilts. -- Mary Worrall

Additional Commentary:

This quilt is illustrated in the publication Great Lakes, Great Quilts (page 38) and was included in the exhibit Mary Schafer Collection: A Legacy of Quilt History, July 29-December 31, 2001 at the Michigan State University Museum. For more information on Betty Harriman, see Quilter's Journal, vol. IV, no. 4. -– Beth Donaldson