QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-1386

Who documented this quilt?

Michigan Quilt Project

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Michigan State University Museum

Michigan Quilt Project Number:

03.0064

Owner's name for the quilt:

Strip work

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

String Quilt

When was the form filled out?

10/2003

Quilt top made by:

Freed, Dora Marie; Easterly Lydia; Minto Arlene

Quilted by:

Minto, Arlene

If you are a relative of the quiltmaker, how are you related? The quiltmaker is my:

Quilt owner

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

Inherited

Where the quilt was made, city:

Marshall

Where the quilt was made, county:

Calhoun

Where the quilt was made, state:

Michigan (MI)

When was the quilt finished?

July 2003

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's city:

Marshall

Quiltmaker's county:

Calhoun

Quiltmaker's state:

Michigan (MI)

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Easterly

Quiltmaker's birth date:

2/9/1890

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

1987

Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:

Dutch English

Quiltmaker's educational background:

Grade School

Quiltmaker's religious affiliation:

Lutheran Methodist

Quiltmaker's occupation:

Homemaker

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Easterly, William

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Easterly, Lydia

Quiltmaker's marriage date(s):

4/28/1917

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and /or partner's/partners' name(s):

Freed, Guyrus Marchans

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

Contractor

Number of children:

1

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

From Relative

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 11-19

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

no

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

no

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

74 1/4"

How long is the quilt?

78 1/2"

Shape of edge:

Straight

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Describe the quilt's layout:

Vertical strip

Number of quilt blocks:

20

Size of quilt blocks:

15" x 19"

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Feedsack

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

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

8

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

8

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Meander

Describe the sources of the quilt's materials:

Family clothing scraps. Very little material was wasted, and based on the stories; neighbors and relatives often traded fabric. Pieced on foundation sugar sacks that include, "Housewife's Favorite 10 LBS. Certified Pure Sparkling Granulated Sugar A Mic

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

Photos of quilter

Person filling out this form is:

Quilt owner

Source of the information on this quilt:

Granddaughter of quiltmaker

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Dale and Carol Freed

Quilt owner's city:

Grand Blanc

Quilt owner's county:

Genesee

Quilt owner's state:

Michigan (MI)

How was this quilt acquired?

Inheritance

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

1975, Dora Marie (Easterly) Freed, paternal grandmother

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

This note will accompany the quilt to its next home: This quilt cover was made by Lydia M. (Short) Easterly (1870-1960), and her daughter Dora Marie (Easterly) Freed (1890-1987). Mother and daughter resided in the Marshall, Michigan area all their lives and represented typical housewives of the time. Being a wife, mother, and homemaker left little "free-time" for quilting, but it was a favorite activity and necessary joint winter project for both women. Many finished quilts were well used by the family, or given as gifts during the lean years of the 1920s and 1930s. Seven quilt tops, however, remained after the death of Gram Freed in 1987. My grandmother and I would unfold each top and she would explain, and name the various patterns and tell who in the family had provided certain materials or which apron or dress was represented. I told Gram that one-day I would have her quilts finished, and with the expert help of Arlene Minto of Davison, Michigan, three quilts are now complete. In keeping with the tradition, it is now being given to you as a gift from the past. Please enjoy, and cherish your Grandmother's labor of love.

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

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

Quilted or tied the top

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum