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Four Block Vase of Flowers

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QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-5032

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:

07.0005

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

2007:107.5

Object label:

Four Block Vase of Flowers
Maker unknown
Provenance unknown
c1850
Collection of Michigan State University Museum acc.#2007:107.5

Essay:

Although little is known about the history of this quilt or the person who made it, Four Block Vase of Flowers contains visual clues that help to tell us when it was made. The quilt was created using appliqué, a technique in which pieces of fabric are cut out and stitched to a base fabric. Appliqué quilts with floral designs set in the four-block format found here were very popular during the mid-nineteenth century. Also popular during this time period was a red and green color palette. Often the dyes used to create these colors turned out to be unstable and it is not uncommon to find appliqué quilts from the mid-nineteenth century that contain fabrics that have faded from their original hues to shades of brown.

--by Mary Worrall

Quilt's title:

Four Block Vase of Flowers

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

Received as a gift

Time period:

1850-1875

When was the quilt finished?

c1850

Quilt is presently used as:

Museum collection

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

78"

How long is the quilt?

78"

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Rounded

What color is the quilt?

Cream; Green; Yellow

Antique colors:

Double Pink; Turkey Red

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

4 vase, 1 wreath, 4 half-wreath, 4 quarter-wreath

Size of quilt blocks:

20" x 200"

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

On point or rotated on 45 degrees

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Side by side

Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:

2

Number of borders:

2

Describe the borders:

9" appliqued vine, flower and bud 1 3/4" turkey red solid

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

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

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

What color is the back of the quilt?

Cream

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

1

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

How is the binding made?

Straight grain; Front turned to back

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 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:

9

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

9

Width between quilting lines:

1/8" - 3/4"

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Outline; Single parallel lines

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Grid/crosshatch

Describe the quilting designs used:

The appliques are outline quilted. The vase blocks are quilted with vertical parallel lines 1/8" apart with 3/4" in between. The wreath blocks are quilted with a square hanging grid 5/8". The red border is quilted with a pumpkin seed and diamond cable. The appliqued border is quilted with a diamond hanging grid 3/4".

Source of the information on this quilt:

Museum employee

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

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

This quilt was donated to the MSU Museum by Kitty Clark Cole.

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Who photographed this quilt?

Pearl Yee Wong

Copyright holder:

MSU Board of Trustees

Cite this Quilt

Four Block Vase of Flowers. c1850. 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=12-8-5032. Accessed: 03/29/24

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