BACK TO QUILTS
Underground Railroad Reproduction; Underground Railroad, Grandmother's Fan
CITE THIS QUILT
QUILT INDEX RECORD
12-8-870
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:
01.0096
If this quilt is owned by a museum, enter the accession number:
TC2001:2
Object label:
Underground Railroad reproduction
Beth Donaldson top's maker, and John Putnam, quilter
Lansing, Ingham County, Michigan
2001
Collection of Michigan State University Museum acc.#TC2001.2
Essay:
This quilt was inspired by another Underground Railroad quilt in the collection of the Michigan State University Museum.
The design is a dynamic combination of plain blocks and pieced blocks in the Underground Railroad (also called Jacob's Ladder) and Grandmother's Fan patterns. The colors of the original quilt are soft and lovely and, since the original was made relatively recently, it is fairly easy to find fabrics and duplicate it. Beth thought it would be interesting to reverse the color palette in the reproduction to show a different view of the quilt. To add variety and show a scrappy approach as well, she placed her blocks of soft blues and a full range of yellows on a background of several deep navys.
The pattern for this reproduction can be found in Great Lakes, Great Quilts.
Quilt's title:
Underground Railroad Reproduction
Names for quilt's pattern in common use:
Underground Railroad, Grandmother's Fan
Quilt top made by:
Donaldson, Beth
Quilted by:
Putnam, John
If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?
Purchased the quilt
Where the quilt was made, city:
Lansing
Where the quilt was made, county:
Ingham
Where the quilt was made, state:
Michigan (MI)
Time period:
2000-2025
When was the quilt started?
2001
When was the quilt finished?
2001
Quilt is presently used as:
Museum collection
Quiltmaker's gender:
Female
Quiltmaker's city:
Lansing
Quiltmaker's county:
Ingham
Quiltmaker's state:
Michigan (MI)
Quiltmaker's maiden name:
Kolodziej
Quiltmaker's birth date:
5/1/1957
In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?
Urban
Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:
Polish American
Quiltmaker's educational background:
3 years of college
Quiltmaker's religious affiliation:
Roman Catholic
Quiltmaker's occupation:
Quilter, quilt historian, Quilt collections assistant, MSU Museum
Quiltmaker's father's name:
Kolodziej, Chester John
Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:
Polish American
Quiltmaker's mother's name:
Kolodziej, Joan Trybus
Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:
Polish American
Quiltmaker's marriage date(s):
June 1, 1979
Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and /or partner's/partners' name(s):
Donaldson, Thomas James
Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' ethnic/tribal background:
Irish, French Canadian, American, Scottish
Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' occupation:
Vice President, Delphi Glass Corporation, Senior Analyst Small Business Administration
Number of children:
2
How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?
2
When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?
Age 11-19
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?
Capitol City Quilt Guild, The Charm Group.
Where does/did the group meet?
Lansing, MI
What are the main activities of the group?
Raffle quilts, charity quilts, round robins, block exchanges, challenge quilts.
This is a:
Finished quilt
How wide is the quilt?
72 1/2"
How long is the quilt?
96 1/2"
Shape of edge:
Straight
Shape of corners:
Straight
Quilt's condition:
Excellent/like new
Describe the quilt's layout:
Block pattern
Number of quilt blocks:
28 fans, 8 Underground Railroads, 12 plain
Size of quilt blocks:
12" x 12"
Arrangement of quilt blocks:
Straight
Fiber types used to make the quilt top:
Cotton
Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:
Machine Piecing
Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:
Machine Applique
Materials used to make the back:
Cotton
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 or polyester blend
How are the layers held together?
Machine quilting
Where did the maker get their materials?
Purchased new
Describe the sources of the quilt's materials:
Fabrics purchased at Country Stitches, East Lansing, MI
Where did the maker find their pattern?
Another quilt
Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:
Quilts Old & New: Reproductions from the Great Lakes Quilt Center, East Lansing, MI, January 12-August 17, 2003, Michigan State University Museum
Related items such as diaries, obituaries, wills, household inventories, or pictures of the quiltmaker:
Great Lakes, Great Quilts (2001) book, page 47
Publications (including web sites) where this quilt or maker was featured:
Have published two books, Block By Block for That Patchwork Place in 1995 and Charm Quilts for EZ International in 1997.
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
Access and copyright information:
Restricted
How did the quiltmaker participate in the creation of the quilt?
Made entire quilt
Describe anything about the design of the quilt that wasn't already recorded in a previous field:
This quilt was made to produce a pattern for the book Great Lakes, Great Quilts. It is a reproduction of MSUM #7421.1
Describe any favorite patterns, tools, etc. used by the quiltmaker:
Sewing machine, Traditional, bed quilts.
Copyright holder:
Michigan State University Museum
Cite this Quilt
Donaldson, Bet. Underground Railroad Reproduction. 2001. 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=12-8-870. Accessed: 05/11/24
-
Exhibit
Quilts Old and New: Reproductions from...
Michigan State University Museum
-
Donaldson, Beth Author; Designer; Owner; Quiltmaker
Michigan Quilt Project
-
Michigan State University Museum Museum
Michigan Quilt Project