QUILT INDEX RECORD
12-8-423
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:
99.0222
If this quilt is owned by a museum, enter the accession number:
1998:53.30
Object label:
Dutchman’s Puzzle
Mary Schafer, piecer
c1976
Flushing, Genesee County, Michigan
Collection of Michigan State University Museum acc.#1998:53.30
Essay:
This quilt is an example of Mary’s interest in making and completing quilts incorporating pieces of the past. The fabrics all date from the early 1900’s. Mary’s finished quilt won the blue ribbon for best pieced quilt from old fabrics at the 1978 Festival of Quilts Contest in Santa Rosa, California.
Owner's name for the quilt:
Dutchman's Puzzle
Quilt top made by:
Schafer, Mary
Quilted by:
Schafer, Mary
Other people who worked on this quilt:
Maker of the blocks unknown
If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?
Purchased the quilt
Where the quilt was made, country:
United States
Time period:
1976-1999
When was the quilt started?
1880 as quilt blocks
When was the quilt finished?
1976
Quilt is presently used as:
Museum collection
Quiltmaker's gender:
Female
Quiltmaker's city:
Flushing
Quiltmaker's county:
Genessee
Quiltmaker's state:
Michigan (MI)
Quiltmaker's maiden name:
Vida
Quiltmaker's birth date:
4-27-1910
Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:
Born Austria-Hungary 1910; emigrated to USA 1914
Quiltmaker's educational background:
9th grade
Quiltmaker's occupation:
Creamery worker; switchboard operator; book keeper; housewife
Quiltmaker's father's name:
Vida, Josef
Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:
Austrian
Quiltmaker's mother's name:
Zelka, Julianna
Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:
Austrian
Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' ethnic/tribal background:
German, Lutheran immigrant
Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' occupation:
Welder for Buick Motors
Number of children:
1
How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?
1
How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?
Self-Taught
When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?
Age 40-49
Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:
more than 50
Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?
no
Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?
yes
Does/did the quiltmaker belong to a group? Name of the group?
Genessee Star Quilters
Where does/did the group meet?
Flint, Michigan.
What are the main activities of the group?
Raffle quilts, hospital quilts, many shows.
This is a:
Finished quilt
How wide is the quilt?
79 1/4'
How long is the quilt?
95"
Shape of edge:
Straight
Quilt's condition:
Excellent/like new
What is inscribed on the quilt?
The earliest time and place of a Dutchman's Puzzle quilt is recorded as 1820-Staten Island, New York. Referred to here is Holland Dutch, to differentiate from Pennsylvania Dutch (properly German). It is not known whether the design originated with the Colonial Dutch. Mary Schafer 1976. Unbleached muslin is the background material of the quilt. The calico prints, ginghams, and chambrays are from the early 1900's. An interesting study of dress goods in that era. M.S. 1976
What is the date inscribed on the quilt?
1976
Location of inscription:
on back
Describe the quilt's layout:
Block pattern
Number of quilt blocks:
20
Size of quilt blocks:
12" x 12"
Arrangement of quilt blocks:
Straight
Spacing of quilt blocks:
Separated by plain sashing
Sashing width:
3" muslin
Number of borders:
3
Describe the borders:
6" muslin; pieced; 3" muslin
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:
2
How is the binding made?
Straight grain
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:
5
Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:
5
Quilting designs used, overall motifs:
Outline
Describe the sources of the quilt's materials:
Mary Schafer collected old quilt blocks and made them into a finished quilt.
Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:
The Mary Schafer Collection: A Legacy of Quilt History, East Lansing, MI, July 29-December 31, 2001, Michigan State Univeristy Museum
Contests entered:
Festival of Quilts, Santa Rosa California, 1978
Publications (including web sites) where this quilt or maker was featured:
Book, Mary Schafer and Her Quilts by Marston and Cunningham; Michigan State University Museum, 1990. Patterns; Templates; Prizes, awards, ribbons, etc. Photos of quilter; Interview with quilter; Clippings or photocopies; Audiotape; Videotape.
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?
Purchase
Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:
2/18/1998, Mary Vida Schafer
Access and copyright information:
Restricted
Who photographed this quilt?
KEVA
Copyright holder:
Michigan State University Museum
Cite this Quilt
Schafer, Mar. Dutchman's Puzzle. 1976. 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=12-8-423. Accessed: 03/29/24
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Exhibit
Mary Schafer: A Legacy of Quilt Histor...
Worrall, Mary
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Collection
Mary Schafer Quilt and Ephemera Collec...
Worrall, Mary
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Ephemera
Great Lakes, Great Quilts
MacDowell, Marsha
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Schafer, Mary Quiltmaker
Michigan Quilt Project