QUILT INDEX RECORD
12-8-4915
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:
92.0022
If this quilt is owned by a museum, enter the accession number:
7410.6
Object label:
Floral Appliqué
Emma Quarton
Birmingham, Oakland County, MI
c.1930
Collection of Michigan State University Museum acc.#7410.6
Essay:
Kit quilts became very popular during the 1930s. Kits for applique quilts would include fabrics preprinted with the shapes that were to be used in the applique design. The quilter cut out the shapes and appliqued them to a background fabric stamped with markers to gide the placement of the applique. The quilting lines also were commonly pre-marked on the background fabric with a series of small dots. Once the top was appliqued, the quilter would follow these printed dots to stitch the layers together. The fabrics used in this floral applique quilt reflect the bright pastel palette popularized during the 1920s. This kit quilt is further embellished with embroidery stitches.
Donor Betty Quarton Hoard, daughter of the maker of this quilt, has spoken about her own appliqued and embroidered quilts. She recalls when in 1940 she left home as a newlywed to follow her husband to his army base, her mother sent her away with a kit for a red and white applique quilt. Betty took about a year to finish the top, and went on to make six kit quilts. She sent the finished tops away to be quilted, some by a woman in California, some by a woman in northern Michigan, and some by a local quilt group.
By Mary Worrall, excerpted from American Quilts from Michigan State University Museum.
Quilt's title:
Floral Appliqué
Owner's name for the quilt:
Applique Kit
Quilt top made by:
Quarton, Emma Blakeslee
If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?
Received as a gift
Where the quilt was made, city:
Birmingham
Where the quilt was made, county:
Oakland
Where the quilt was made, state:
Michigan (MI)
Time period:
1930-1949
Quilt is presently used as:
Museum collection
Quiltmaker's gender:
Female
Quiltmaker's city:
Birmingham
Quiltmaker's county:
Oakland
Quiltmaker's state:
Michigan (MI)
Quiltmaker's maiden name:
Blakeslee
Quiltmaker's father's name:
Blakeslee, Frank W.
Quiltmaker's father's birthplace:
Birmingham, Michigan
Quiltmaker's mother's name:
Blakeslee, Martha L. Durkee
Quiltmaker's mother's birthplace:
Birmingham, Michigan
How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?
At least 2
How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?
From Relative
This is a:
Finished quilt
How wide is the quilt?
82
How long is the quilt?
98
Shape of edge:
Straight
Shape of corners:
Straight
What color is the quilt?
Green; Pink; Purple; Red; Yellow; White
Overall color scheme:
Light or pastel colors; Multicolor
Quilt's condition:
Excellent/like new
Describe the quilt's layout:
Block pattern
Number of quilt blocks:
25
Size of quilt blocks:
15 3/4
Arrangement of quilt blocks:
Straight
Spacing of quilt blocks:
Separated by plain sashing
Sashing width:
3 1/2
Fiber types used to make the quilt top:
Cotton
Fabric styles used in the quilt top:
Solid/plain
Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:
Hand Piecing
Can you feel or see paper on the quilt that was used as a construction aid?
no
Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:
Hand Applique
Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:
Embroidery
Embellishments used:
Cotton thread
Materials used to make the back:
Cotton
Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:
4
Describe the back:
Same fabric used throughout
Materials used in the quilt binding:
Cotton
What is the width of the binding (measure on the top only)?
half inch - one inch
How wide is the binding (measure on the top only)?
1/2
What kind of filling is used in the quilt?
Cotton
How thick is the quilt?
Thin (Less than 3/16?)
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:
7
Where did the maker find their pattern?
Commercial/Published source: Kit
Related items such as diaries, obituaries, wills, household inventories, or pictures of the quiltmaker:
Image of quiltmaker and other family members, who are also quilt makers.
Publications (including web sites) where this quilt or maker was featured:
Image of quiltmaker and other family members, who are also quilt makers.
Person filling out this form is:
Quilt owner
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)
Quilt owner's country:
United States
How was this quilt acquired?
Gift
Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:
This quilt was inherited by the quiltmaker's daughter, Betty Quarton Hoard who donated it to the MSU Museum in 1992.
Describe anything about the history of the quilt that wasn't already recorded in a previous field:
Donor Betty Quarton Hoard, daughter of the maker of this quilt, has spoken about her own appliqued and embroidered quilts. She recalls when in 1940 she left home as a newlywed to follow her husband to his army base, her mother sent her away with a kit for a red and white applique quilt. Betty took about a year to finish the top, and went on to make six kit quilts. She sent the finished tops away to be quilted, some by a woman in California, some by a woman in northern Michigan, and some by a local quilt group.
Access and copyright information:
Restricted
The quilt was made to be used for:
Bedding, special occasion
Who photographed this quilt?
Pearl Yee Wong
Copyright holder:
MSU Board of Trustees
Cite this Quilt
Quarton, Emma Blakesle. Floral Appliqué. 1930-1949. 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=12-8-4915. Accessed: 04/17/24
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Collection
Durkee-Blakeslee-Quarton-Hoard Family ...
Worrall, Mary
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Gallery
Kit Quilts
Sikarskie, Amanda Grace
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Quarton, Emma Quiltmaker
Michigan Quilt Project