QUILT INDEX RECORD

5-2-33

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Illinois State Museum

Who documented this quilt?

Illinois Quilt Research Project; Illinois State Museum Collection

Illinois Quilt Research Project Registry Number:

SP767

Alternate inventory control number:

1987.26

Person filling out this form is:

Relative of quiltmaker

Ownership of this quilt is:

Public Museum, Library or Institution

Quilt owner's name:

Illinois State Museum

Quiltmaker's Name (top):

Fravel, Mary Louise Cobb

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

What is the quiltmaker's birthdate?

1826

Date and place of quiltmaker's death:

1900

Spouse's occupation:

doctore, 2nd husband

Did the quiltmaker have any children? If so, how many?

2

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

2

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Garland, Jane Meredith

Quiltmaker's mother's birthplace:

VA

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Cobbs, John Poindexter

Quiltmaker's father's birthplace:

VA

How did the owner get the quilt?

Gift

How did the quiltmaker participate in the creation of the quilt?

Made entire quilt

Where the quilt was made, city:

Westville

Where the quilt was made, county:

La Porte

Where the quilt was made, state:

Indiana (IN)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

Anything else we should know about this quilt? (i.e. customs, stories):

Maker lived in Chicago with her first husband, Thomas Alexander Stewart, who was co-owner of "Gem of the Prairie" newspaper. He died of tuberculosis at Crystal Lake, Illinois in 1856. After marrying her second husband, George Theophilus Fravel in Chicago in 1866 and before the 1880 census, they moved to Westville, IN, where they lived until their deaths in a carriage accident in 1900. Quilt was made for daughter Jane, who may never have married. In the 1880 census, Jane wasn't living with her mother but Mary's mother (Jane) was living with them in Indiana.

Date owner signed the form:

1987

Pattern name; used by owner or by maker:

Crazy

How was the inscription marked?

Embroidery

Date provided by maker/owner:

1888

Date estimated by IQRP:

1888

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Jan Wass, Curator

Time period:

1876-1900

Length:

72

Width:

67

Binding width:

velvet border turned to back 1 3/4

Format:

Finished quilt

Piecing techinques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing; Foundation Piecing

Stitches used to apply motifs:

Many decorative stitches on seams, pictorial embroidery, including flowers and Greenaway children, 3D chenille in center.

Construction (top):

One patch or allover

Fabric; fibers:

Silk

Fabric print:

Solid/plain; Multiple scrap

Predominant colors (top):

Green

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor

Describe the quilting designs used:

Tacked with stitches that are invisible from front.

How are the layers held together?

Tied or tufted

What type of thread was used for the quilting?

cotton

What color was the quilting thread?

red

Describe the borders:

Green velvet border, mitered corners, hand sewn.

Binding and edge treatment:

Front turned to back

What is the width of the binding (measure on the top only)?

greater than one inch

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

Filler:

Cannot tell

Thickness:

Thin (Less than 3/16?)

Surface decoration:

Embroidery

What items were used to embellish the quilt?

Chenille thread

How many pieces of fabric were used to make the quilt back?

3

Backing; fiber content:

Silk

Description of the back:

pre-quilted by machine

Backing; fabric:

Same fabric used throughout; Solid/plain

Backing; width of pieces (in inches):

18

Backing; color:

Red

Condition:

Very good/almost new

Inscription:

Message

What is inscribed on the quilt?

Mother to Janie; 1888

Inscription: front/back?

on block

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Illinois State Museum

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Fravel, Mary Louisa Cobbs Stewart

The quilt was made to be used for:

Decorative throw