QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-452

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:

99.0254

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

1998:53.77

Object label:

Poppy Wreath
Mary Schafer
c1954
Flushing, Genesee County, Michigan
Collection of Michigan State University Museum acc.#1998:53.77

Essay:

This appliquéd piece was Mary’s second quilt. It was made from a kit produced by the Progress Company. The design of a central medallion with a floral motif is very typical of a mid-century kit quilt. Typically, kit quilts such as this would have included numbered and pre-cut appliqué pieces, and the quilting lines would have been pre-marked with dots on the background fabric. Mary continued to use the method of using dots to mark quilting lines throughout her career.

Owner's name for the quilt:

Poppy Wreath

Quilt top made by:

Schafer, Mary

Quilted by:

Schafer, Mary

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

Purchased the quilt

Where the quilt was made, city:

Flushing

Where the quilt was made, county:

Genesee

Where the quilt was made, state:

Michigan (MI)

Time period:

1950-1975

When was the quilt finished?

1954

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

Shape of edge:

Straight

Quilt's condition:

Very good/almost new

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

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:

5

Describe the quilting designs used:

Fleur-di-lis

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Commercial/Published source: Kit

Commercial name of the pattern for the top:

Progress kit

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

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

Mary Schafer and Her Quilts (1990) book, page 5.

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.

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

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

Made entire quilt

Who photographed this quilt?

KEVA

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum