QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-4897

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:

05.0043

If this quilt is owned by a museum, enter the accession number:

2005:31.1

Object label:

Michigan State University Sesquicentennial Quilt
Top designed and made by Beth Donaldson with research assistance by Merry Silber and Marsha MacDowell, machine quilted by Lynne MacDowell.
East Lansing, Ingham County, Michigan
2005
Collection of Michigan State University Museum acc.#2005:31.1

Essay:

Merry Silber commissioned this quilt, filled with images and symbols important to Michigan State University history, to commemorate the university’s 150th birthday.

Beth Donaldson and Lynne MacDowell donated their time. Beth also donated the fabric.

Key to images and designs on the quilt:
1. “Community,” stained glass window, MSU Alumni Chapel
2. “Corn and Beans” traditional quilt pattern
3. “Hole in the Barn Door” (with rooster), traditional quilt pattern
4. “Aquarius,” sculpture, Butterfield Hall, Brody Complex
5. Beaumont Tower
6. “Afternoon Shadows” traditional quilt pattern (MSU Shadows printed in center)
7. “Cheesebox” traditional quilt pattern
8. “Women,” stained glass window, MSU Alumni Chapel
9. Official MSU sesquicentennial logo
10. South entrance, MSU Museum
11. “The Sower,” stone relief scuplture, Beaumont Tower
12. “Crossed Canoes” traditional quilt pattern
13. “Hole in the Barn Door” (with swine), traditional quilt pattern
14. “Sparty,” ceramic sculpture
15. Miniature version of “Star of Bethlehem” quilt in the MSU Museum’s collection
16. “Duck’s Foot in the Mud,” traditional quilt pattern
17. “Hole in the Barn Door” (with sheep), traditional quilt pattern
18. “The Rock,” site of traditional protest signs, MSU campus
19. “Metamorphosis II,” bronze sculpture, MSU Cyclotron
20. Western facade, Agriculture Hall
21. “Diffusion of Knowledge,” stained glass window, MSU Alumni Chapel
22. Detail of gate by Louis Sullivan, logo of Kresge Art Museum
23. “Flying Geese,” traditional quilt pattern
24. “4-H,” traditional quilt pattern
25. “Hole in the Barn Door” (with cow), traditional quilt pattern
26. “Orpheus,” sculpture, Wharton Center
27. “Michigan Beauty,” traditional quilt pattern
28. “Blossom Time, “traditional quilt pattern
29. “Untitled,” stone relief sculpture, Music Building
330-33. Campus lanterns

Quilt's title:

Michigan State University Sesquicentennial Quilt

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Pictorial Album

Quilt top made by:

Donaldson, Beth

Quilted by:

MacDowell, Lynn

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?

6/2004

When was the quilt finished?

8/22/2005

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 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?

87"

How long is the quilt?

95"

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Green

Overall color scheme:

Bright or primary colors

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Number of quilt blocks:

32

Size of quilt blocks:

Various

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Separated by plain sashing

Number of borders:

1

Describe the borders:

The border includes pieced letters that spell MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY 1855-2005 and a lantern in each corner.

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:

Hand 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

How are the layers held together?

Machine quilting

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Meander

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Original to maker

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

Michigan Quilt Project exhibit case, East Lansing, MI, 9/1-12/31/2005, Michigan State University Museum

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

Blanket Statements, Newsletter of the American Quilt Study Group, Issue 83, Winter 2006, p.17.

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.

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)

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

Sesquicentennial of Michigan State University, 8/22/2005, Merry Silber, Beth Donaldson, Donor and employee

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

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

Made entire quilt top

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

Designed the pattern

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

Key to the Michgan State University Sesquicentennial Quilt 1. Community, Stained Glass Window, Alumni Chapel 2. Corn and Beans 3. Hole in the Barn Door, rooster 4. Aquarius Sculpture, enamel porcelain on iron or steel, Butterfield Hall, Brody Complex 5. Beaumont Tower 6. Afternoon Shadows (with MSU Shadows printed in center) 7. Cheesebox 8. Women, Stained Glass Window, Alumni Chapel 9. Official MSU Sesquicentennial logo 10. Entrance, MSU Museum 11. The Sower, stone relief, Beaumont Tower 12. Crossed Canoes 13. Hole in the Barn Door, swine 14. Sparty, ceramic sculpture, Spartan Stadium 15. Star of Bethlehem (miniature of a quilt in the MSU Museum's collection) 16. Duck's Foot in the Mud 17. Hole in the Barn Door, sheep 18. The Rock, Farm Lane 19. Metamorphosis II, bronze, Cyclotron 20. Entrance, Agriculture Hall 21. Diffusion of Knowledge, Stained Glass Window, Alumni Chapel 22. Logo, Kresge Art Museum 23. Flying Geese 24. 4-H 25. Hole in the Barn Door, cow 26. Orpheus, cor-ten and stainless steel, Wharton Center 27. Michigan Beauty 28. Blossom Time 29. Untitled: harpist, stone relief, Music Building 30-33. Campus lanterns

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

Sewing machine, Traditional, bed quilts.

Who photographed this quilt?

Pearl Yee Wong

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum