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Harvest Sun; Glitter Star, Rainbow Star

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QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-5040

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:

07.0013

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

2007:107.13

Object label:

Harvest Sun
Maker unknown
Arkansas
c1880
Collection of Michigan State University Museum acc.#2007:107.13

Quilt's title:

Harvest Sun

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Glitter Star, Rainbow Star

Brackman # or other source & #:

3778

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

Received as a gift

Where the quilt was made, state:

Arkansas (AR)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

Time period:

1876-1900

When was the quilt finished?

c1880

Quilt is presently used as:

Museum collection

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

63"

How long is the quilt?

76"

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Beige or Tan; Black; Brown; Navy; Red

Antique colors:

Double Pink; Lancaster Blue

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor

Quilt's condition:

Fair/worn

Damage:

Stains

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

9 full, 3 half sawtooth stars. Each star has its own 1 1/2" sawtooth border

Size of quilt blocks:

15"

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Separated by plain sashing

Sashing width:

3 1/2"

Number of borders:

1

Describe the borders:

The top has no border. The side borders are 1 1/2", the bottom border is 2 1/2".

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Mourning Prints; Solid/plain

Describe the fibers or fabrics in the quilt top:

Shirtings, ditsies

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

Materials used to make the back:

Woven or homespun

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

3

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

How is the binding made?

Back turned to front

What is the width of the binding (measure on the top only)?

half inch - one 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:

5

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

6

Width between quilting lines:

3/4

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

In-the-ditch; Single parallel lines

Features or notes about the quilt's appearance, materials, or construction:

The Description on eBay reads: This spectacular pieced star quilt with sawtooth border throughout has been called Harvest Sun or Prairie Star pattern. It is from Arkansas c1880 and has homespun fabric on the back. (See photo) The pieces in the star are VERY SMALL. The background fabric is brown dots on white. The border is light brown/dark brown geometric print. The corners of each block are black/green print. The stars have a large variety of fabrics both prints and solids. The colors are black, browns, reds, white, and blue. Many are 1800's shirting fabrics. Note that at one end of the quilt is a half row of stars. These are a different pattern of stars with larger pieces...SIZE: 63 x 76 inches. Each block measures 14 1/2"...BORDER: The homespun fabric from the back has been brought to the front of the quilts. There iis a 6 1/2 inch border between the blocks. There is a 3 1/4" border on the sides. There is a 4 1/2" border on the end. The sawtooth is 1 1/2 inches wide...QUILTING: 7 stitches per inch counting top side only. It is quilted with white and black threads. White thread is used in the white areas and black thread on all the brown areas and stars. The borders are diagonally quilted in 1/2 inch rows. The stars are quilted in a chevron pattern. The white corners of the blocks are diagonally in both directions. The triangle areas are quilted vertically...Condition: Generally the quilt is in very good condition. However, there are a few tiny pieces on the stars that have broken down on some of the brown fabric only. The half row at the end of the quilt has several worn pieces and some wear on the sawtooth pieces. There is another quilt beneath this quilt. It is things such as this that make a quilt this old so special and unique. There seems to be some general areas of light brown staining noticable on some of the white areas. I have described several age related problems with this quilt, however, this quilt is so visually outstanding that it would be a premier quilt for any serious collectoer. Buyer to pay shipping and insurance costs. Please email with any questions.

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. Kitty purchased this on eBay on 4/27/1999.

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Who photographed this quilt?

Pearl Yee Wong

Copyright holder:

MSU Board of Trustees

Cite this Quilt

Harvest Sun. c1880. 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=12-8-5040. Accessed: 03/28/24

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