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Bursting Star and Block

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QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-108

Who documented this quilt?

Michigan Quilt Project; Michigan State University Museum Collection

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Michigan State University Museum

Michigan Quilt Project Number:

92.0034

If this quilt is owned by a museum, enter the accession number:

2000:54.2

Object label:

Bursting Star and Block
Mary Elizabeth Beardslee Durkee
Birmingham,Michigan
c1870
Collection of Michigan State University Museum acc.#2000:54.2

Essay:

The work done for Digging Into Data aims to classify certain categories of quilts to answer questions about authorship and
enhance the metadata collected about the quilts. In the project’s initial phase, algorithms have been developed to classify quilts into two specific categories,“Crazy Quilts” and “Indigo Quilts,” and high performance computing has been utilized for processing power.

Owner's name for the quilt:

Bursting Star and Block

Quilt top made by:

Durkee, Mary Elizabeth

Quilted by:

Durkee, Mary Elizabeth

If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?

Received as a gift

Where the quilt was made, city:

Brimingham

Where the quilt was made, county:

Oakland

Where the quilt was made, state:

Michigan (MI)

Time period:

1876-1900

Details about why the quilt was made:

According to the appraiser (Mary J. Silber) this quilt is possibly a wedding quilt made by Mary E. Beardslee Durkee for her daughter, Martha L. Durkee.

Quilt is presently used as:

Museum collection

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's city:

Birmingham

Quiltmaker's county:

Oakland

Quiltmaker's state:

Michigan (MI)

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Beardslee

Quiltmaker's birth date:

6/26/1824

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

8/7/1884 in Bloomfield, MI

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Beardslee, Samuel

Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:

English

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Beardslee, Hannah Blaine

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' ethnic/tribal background:

Welsh

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

Farmer, landowner

Number of children:

1

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

1

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

86"

How long is the quilt?

98"

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

White

Antique colors:

Indigo Blue

Quilt's condition:

Very good/almost new

Damage:

Stains

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

16

Size of quilt blocks:

16" x 16"

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Side by side

Number of borders:

2

Describe the borders:

Inner border, 1" sawtooth; Outer border, 9 1/2" delectable mountain

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

10

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?

Cotton

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

4

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

7

Describe the sources of the quilt's materials:

The family owned a dry goods store which was the source of their fabric.

Source of the information on this quilt:

Museum employee

Ownership of this quilt is:

Public- Michigan State University Museum

Quilt owner's name:

Michigan State University Museum

Quilt owner's city:

East Lansing

Quilt owner's county:

Ingham

Quilt owner's state:

Michigan (MI)

How was this quilt acquired?

Gift

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

9/29/2000, Betty Quarton Hoard

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

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

Made entire quilt

Who photographed this quilt?

Pearl Yee Wong

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum

Cite this Quilt

Durkee, Mary Elizabet. Bursting Star and Block. 1876-1900. From Michigan State University Museum, Michigan Quilt Project; Michigan State University Museum Collection. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=12-8-108. Accessed: 03/29/24

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