QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-4789

Who documented this quilt?

Michigan Quilt Project

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Michigan State University Museum

Michigan Quilt Project Number:

86.1979

Owner's name for the quilt:

Birds on Branch

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Bird Quilt

Biography of the quiltmaker?

Interest in computers; self-taught. Held computer workshops, teaching basic programming. Use Macintosh Plus computer for desk-top publishing and writing and, with Superpaint software, design quilt patterns and overall quilt designs. I find the process very satisfying. It seems to incorporate aspects of artistic expression (design, color, technique) that I enjoy. I also enjoy the tactile pleasure of fabric. In one way...the product is secondary to the process. A second motivation is the desire to recreate a bit of history; to repeat time-worn steps, enabling me to touch the composite threads of my past. And last...to leave my off-spring an affirmation of my faith in the future and a loving gift from my spirit to theirs.

When was the form filled out?

3/11/1987

Quilt top made by:

Williams, Anita Jan

Quilted by:

Williams, Anita Jan

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

Made the quilt

Where the quilt was made, city:

Huntington Beach

Where the quilt was made, county:

Orange

Where the quilt was made, state:

California (CA)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

When was the quilt started?

1973

When was the quilt finished?

1985

Details about why the quilt was made:

Made for daugher Suzanne Elaine Williams Schmaltz.

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's city:

Huntington Beach

Quiltmaker's county:

Orange

Quiltmaker's state:

California (CA)

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Lyte

Quiltmaker's birth date:

7/4/1937

Quiltmaker's educational background:

College, major fine arts

Quiltmaker's occupation:

graphic artist, community college, free lance artist, writer, desk top publisher in publication field, quiltmaker

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Lyte, Louis Oram

Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:

caucasian

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Tyner, Ardice E. Van Order

Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:

Caucasian

Number of children:

2

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

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 30-39

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Pleasure

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

5-20 quilts

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

yes

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

49 1/2"

How long is the quilt?

94 1/4"

Shape of edge:

Straight

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor

Damage:

Disintegration of fabric

Describe the damage:

Frayed

Describe the repairs:

Re-stitched

What is inscribed on the quilt?

Anita Williams

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

1973

Method used to make the inscription:

Embroidery

Location of inscription:

on block

Number of quilt blocks:

32

Size of quilt blocks:

8 1/2"

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Separated by plain sashing

Sashing width:

3"

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton or polyester blend

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Solid/plain

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Machine Piecing

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery

What color is the back of the quilt?

White

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Blanket or flannel

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

12

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

5

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Grid/crosshatch

Describe the quilting designs used:

Nest and egg

Describe the sources of the quilt's materials:

Made of gathered scraps from family members; the most precious piece being a purple scrap from Suzanne's play outfit made for her in 1963 when she was three years old. This is the oldest scrap of material left from my family sewing scraps. New scraps (few

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Commercial/Published source: Newspaper

Commercial name of the pattern for the top:

Lansing Michigan Journal newspaper in the 1930s.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Anita Jan Lyte Williams

Quilt owner's city:

Huntington Beach

Quilt owner's county:

Orange

Quilt owner's state:

California (CA)

How was this quilt acquired?

Made by owner

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

As a companion to a Sunbonnet Sue quilt (for twin beds) designed for her when she was 12 years old. The quilt is in my possession though it belong to her.

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

My aunt Wilma Louise Van Order Chapman is my mother's sister. Family members moved to California from Michigan in the 1903s. Two of my grandchildren, Jessica Suzanne Schmaltz (7) and Ryan Jerome Schmaltz (6), attempted their first quilting stitches on this quilt...none of which were removed. They proved to be "good stitchers". My daughter-in-law, Christine Norman Williams, and a dear family friend, Nell Berry, worked on the quilting also...to share the pleasure. At the lower end of the quilt I began quilting in my old method of up-down, up-down with each stitch. Determined that I MUST make myself proficient in the mutliple in-out stitching method...I changed over.. While the stitches were not as small, they were 'flatter.' I have since been able to make stitches smaller and closer together and continue to work on the skill. I quilt right-handed in two directions: toward me with ridged thimble on middle finger and away from me with homemade leather thimble on thumb Obviously, it was a pleasure for my aunt and I to make the same quilts: using a pattern she had saved for many years. While her's is not quilted, we accomplished much of the block work during the same general time period. Since the birds are all made of "gathered scraps" from various family sources, it is delightful to recall "who's dress, etc." As I got out all the old squares in 1985 and began to piece the top together, I felt little enthusiasm...I had reallly lost interest in the project but felt I should finish it before I began new projects motivated by my renewed interest in quilting. I wasn't even sure I thought it was "pretty." However, when all was done, I was delighted with the feeling it gave; one of an aviary filled with colorful birds.

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

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

Made quilt blocks or part of quilt top

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

The motif came from the Lansing Michigan Journal newspaper in the 1930s. Originally it was copied onto paper and passed along to me by my aunt Wilma Louise Van Order Chapman. How subtly the design has been altered as it was transferred, I do not know. Wilma made a bird quilt top also, and hers looks generally very much like mine, though our bird placement on branches and embroidered embellishments vary slightly. I recently found a very similar pattern shown in Issue #159 of Quilters Newsletter Magazine, on pages 25 and 27. Having only the birds and branch pattern, I determined my own placement of pieces, block size, layout and sashings. In 1985, when I assembled all the pieces, I drafted a quilt motif that would liken to an egg upon a nest.

Describe any favorite patterns, tools, etc. used by the quiltmaker:

Crazy, old traditional patchwork, medallion

Describe any unique traditions, quilting related customs, beliefs, songs or rhymes used by the quiltmaker:

I am aware of intentional misplacement of a piece in a quilt... a humility square...to denote the quilter's recognition of his/her imperfection. Personally, I feel just as compelled to make something as perfect as I can...to honor the human quest toward perfection and beauty.

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum