QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-51

Who documented this quilt?

Michigan Quilt Project; Quilts and Health

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Michigan State University Museum

Michigan Quilt Project Number:

90.0016

Owner's name for the quilt:

Lilies of the Field

Biography of the quiltmaker?

Each of her pieces is signed on the back lower right hand corner. An embroidered 5-point star, relating to the professional name she uses of U.S. Quiltworks, follows her signature.

Quilt top made by:

Southwell, Unis

Quilted by:

Southwell, Unis

Where the quilt was made, city:

Suttons Bay

Where the quilt was made, county:

Leelanau

Where the quilt was made, state:

Michigan (MI)

Time period:

1976-1999

When was the quilt started?

1-8-90

When was the quilt finished?

3-8-90

Why was the quilt made?

Fundraising

Details about why the quilt was made:

Fundraiser made by Unis Southwell for Leelanau Memorial Hospital.

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's city:

Suttons Bay

Quiltmaker's county:

Leelanau

Quiltmaker's state:

Michigan (MI)

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Engle

Quiltmaker's birth date:

3/29/1925

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

2/24/2016

Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:

Scotch, Irish, English, German

Quiltmaker's educational background:

3 years college MSU 1943-1946 Home Economics Textile and related Arts Major

Quiltmaker's religious affiliation:

Congregational Protestant

Quiltmaker's occupation:

homemaker

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Engle, Robert Bruce

Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:

Pennsylvania/German

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Engle, Eva Naomi Towers

Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:

English/Scotch-Irish

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' occupation:

Mich. Dept. of Corrections Area Manager, Muskegon, MI

Number of children:

3

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

2

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

1

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 11-19

Other notes on how the quiltmaker learned, and how and why they quilt:

I feel that we who quilt today are fulfilling a need to express ourselves with fabric.

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

more than 50

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

yes

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

yes

Does/did the quiltmaker belong to a group? Name of the group?

Christ Community Church quilters, Spring Lake, MI; Little Finger Quilters started 1989, meets in Omena, MI community room which is part of the Fire Dept. This groups name comes from Leelanau County being referred to as the little finger of Michigan. Pine

What are the main activities of the group?

About 12 women meet each Tuesday at the church to quilt tops for others, as a fund raising function for their church. I was not a member of the church but merely quilted with the group.

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

88"

How long is the quilt?

101"

Shape of edge:

Straight

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

What is inscribed on the quilt?

Unis Engle Southwell

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

1990

Describe where the inscription was found:

top

Number of quilt blocks:

4

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Describe the borders:

6 1/2",10 1/2", 1 3/4", 7/8", 3 3/8",1 7/8",7/8",3/8"

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

8

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

less than a half inch

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Polyester

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

8

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

9

Features or notes about the quilt's appearance, materials, or construction:

Rose

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Describe the sources of the quilt's materials:

All fabrics purchased at Margie Ann's Quilt Shop, Bealuh, MI.

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Commercial/Published source: Pattern

Commercial name of the pattern for the top:

Flowering Lily Hearts by designer Delored Yoder. Renamed by quilter

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

Celebration of Quilts II, Springfield, TN, March 15-17, 1990, The Center

Contests entered:

National Cherry Week Quilt Show, Opera House, Traverse City, MI, June 5-9 1990, Tied for viewer's choice

Related items such as diaries, obituaries, wills, household inventories, or pictures of the quiltmaker:

Templates

Publications (including web sites) where this quilt or maker was featured:

Patterns, Interview with quilter

Person filling out this form is:

Quiltmaker

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Elizabeth Covey

Quilt owner's city:

Dumfries

Quilt owner's state:

Virginia (VA)

How was this quilt acquired?

Raffle or contest prize

Describe anything about the history of the quilt that wasn't already recorded in a previous field:

The Northport, MI Community Hospital Auxilliary has used a quilt raffle for a number of years to raise funds to buy equipment for the hospital. Formerly made by a group, it is now made by one person each year who donates her labor. Post cards were printed for this years quilt which greatly encourage ticket sales. Quilter found it easier to piece by hand than to accurately stitch by machine the 3/16 seams called for by the designer. A flaw in the backing material made it necessary to piece it to get the length, thus pieces left from the top were appliqued top and bottom in a curving line to get the extra inches. Raffle for this quilt earned over $5000 for the Northport Community Hospital in 1990. This is the 2nd one made by this quilter as a yearly volunteer donation to the Hospital Auxiliary. Winning ticket drawn Sept. 29 at the Auxiliary Dinner/Dance at Leland Lodge, Leland, MI.

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

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

Made entire quilt

Describe any favorite patterns, tools, etc. used by the quiltmaker:

Always hand applique, especially after learning the blind stitch from Joe Cunningham at a class on Beaver Island in 1987. Chalk marker for making free-hand quilting designs. A Hoffman challenge Wall quilt that took 1st in hand applique and was one of 50 chosen to travel the country for a year in 1992 in shows and shops. The quilt flew alone to Houston, TX to see it displayed at quilt show at the Geo. Brown Convention Center

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum