QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-843

Who documented this quilt?

Michigan Quilt Project; Black Diaspora Quilt History Project

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Michigan State University Museum

Michigan Quilt Project Number:

96.0011

Quilt's title:

Family History

Biography of the quiltmaker?

Ann Smith-Dieye was helped in this project by Sandy Kittle who had taken photography courses in Junior College and is a long time friend and neighbor of Ann Smith-Dieye.

Quilt top made by:

Smith-Dieye, Ann; Kittle, Sandy

Quilted by:

Smith-Dieye, Ann; Kittle, Sandy

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

Received as a gift

Where the quilt was made, city:

San Mateo

Where the quilt was made, county:

San Mateo

Where the quilt was made, state:

California (CA)

Time period:

1950-1975

When was the quilt started?

Fall 1979

When was the quilt finished?

June 1980

Details about why the quilt was made:

50th Wedding Anniversary, 7/20/1980

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's city:

San Mateo

Quiltmaker's county:

San Mateo

Quiltmaker's state:

California (CA)

Quiltmaker's birth date:

4/2/1940

Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:

African American

Quiltmaker's educational background:

Masters Degree - English

Quiltmaker's occupation:

Teacher

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Smith, Raymond A.

Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:

African American

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Smith, Ann

Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:

African American

Number of children:

2

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Self-Taught

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Gifts

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

1-5 quilts

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Number of quilt blocks:

35

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Separated by plain sashing

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Machine Piecing

Describe the techniques used to make the quilt top:

Open/Dimensional work

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton or polyester blend

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

1

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Polyester

How are the layers held together?

Machine quilting

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Original to maker

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

African American Quiltmaking in Michigan (1997) book, figure 38 p. 32. Prizes, awards, ribbons, etc

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

Photos of quilter; Clippings or photocopies

Person filling out this form is:

Quilt owner

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Annie (Mrs. Raymond) Smith

Quilt owner's city:

Manistee

Quilt owner's county:

Manistee

Quilt owner's state:

Michigan (MI)

How was this quilt acquired?

Gift

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

A newspaper clipping: Response Publications, Inc. (an African American newpaper in Lansing, MI) 1930 July 20 1980 Mr. and Mrs. Raymond A. Smith of Manistee, Michigan celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on July 20 at a reception at the First Methodist Church in Manistee. Three of their nine living children are residents of Lansing - Homer Smith of 448 McPherson, Pat Smith of 1515 W. Kalamazoo and Marilouise Smith Mays of 1532 N. Cambridge. Relatives and friends came from distances as far away as San Mateo, California; Boston, Massachusetts; Tallahasse, Florida; St. John Virgin Islands and Agana, Guam. A special gift from the children was presented on Saturday when the children hosted their parents, relatives and special friends at a banquet. Sandy Kittle, a freelance photographer from San Mateo, California, was commissioned by the Smith children to create a memorial quilt of 35 squares incorporating photographs which represent the history of the family. The process used in creating the quilt is called "cynotype." According to Ms. Kittle, "The process includes taking copy negatives on the original photograph, transferring the image on untreated fabric. The process eliminated gray tones, leaving a silhouette effect in blue and white.

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

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

Made entire quilt

If the source helped design the quilt, describe their input:

Designed the pattern

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum