QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-1473

Who documented this quilt?

Michigan Quilt Project; Flushing Area Historical Museum Collection and Cultural Center

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Michigan State University Museum

Michigan Quilt Project Number:

03.0143

Owner's name for the quilt:

Railroad Crossing

Quilt top made by:

Schafer, Mary

Name of the group that made the quilt:

Genesee Star Quilters

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

Received as a gift

Where the quilt was made, city:

Flushing

Where the quilt was made, county:

Genesee

Where the quilt was made, state:

Michigan (MI)

Time period:

1976-1999

When was the quilt started?

1995

When was the quilt finished?

1998

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' name(s):

Schafer, Fred

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?

78"

How long is the quilt?

95 1/2"

Shape of edge:

Straight

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

What is inscribed on the quilt?

Mary Schafer

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

1995

Method used to make the inscription:

Embroidery

Describe where the inscription was found:

front lower right

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

35

Size of quilt blocks:

8 3/4"

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Alternating with plain squares

Number of borders:

4

Describe the borders:

straight 3 1/4", straight 2 3/4", pieced 2 3/4" muslin straight 7 1/2" cornerstones 7 3/4"

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

How is the binding made?

Bias 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?

Cotton or polyester blend

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

6

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

8

Width between quilting lines:

1"

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Outline

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Feathering

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Parallel lines

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.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Public-Other

Quilt owner's name:

Flushing Area Historical Museum and Cultural Center

Quilt owner's city:

Flushing

Quilt owner's county:

Genesee

Quilt owner's state:

Michigan (MI)

How was this quilt acquired?

Gift

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

1998, Mary Schafer and the Genesee Star Quilters, donor

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

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

Made entire quilt

Where did the quiltmaker find the pattern for the quilting design on this quilt?

Original to maker

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum