QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-5427

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:

09.0085

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

2008:119.52

Object label:

Addy's Family Album Quilt
The Pleasant Company
China
c2000
Collection of Michigan State University Museum acc.#2008:119.52

Essay:

The quilt is part of the series of "American Girl" doll quilts. The American Girl has sold eight dolls, dressed as American historic characters. Each one has a book to accompany it, telling the story. Addy is the African-American doll. This quilt is one of the accessories available for her.

Quilt's title:

Sweet Dreams Addy

Owner's name for the quilt:

Addy's Family Album

Subject of the quilt:

African American history

When was the form filled out?

4/22/09

Name of the group that made the quilt:

The Pleasant Company

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

Received as a gift

Where the quilt was made, country:

China

Time period:

1976-1999

When was the quilt finished?

1994

Details about why the quilt was made:

Doll accessory

Quilt is presently used as:

Museum collection

Quiltmaker's country:

China

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

18 1/2"

How long is the quilt?

17 1/2"

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Black; Cream; Green; Orange; Red

Overall color scheme:

Bright or primary colors

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Describe the quilt's layout:

Wholecloth

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Machine Piecing

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

What color is the back of the quilt?

Black; Cream

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

1

Describe the back:

Same fabric used throughout

How is the binding made?

Ruffles

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Polyester

How are the layers held together?

Machine quilting

Color of thread used in the quilting:

cream

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Outline

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

This design is taken from a quilt formerly in the Smithsonian's collection, possibly by an African-American. Kate and Joel Kopp of the American Hurrah believe this to be true. It features nine five" blocks printed (the original is appliqued) on a white background with 2" printed "sashing" made of a red calico print separating the blocks. Each block has a different motif - a vase of flowers, a hand with a heart in the center, a tree, a house. Bright colors were used, red, green, yellow. The quilt is part of the series of "American Girl" doll quilts. The American Girl has sold eight dolls, dressed as American historic characters. Each one has a book to accompany it, telling the story. Addy is the African-American doll. This quilt is one of the accessories available for her. Although the piece doesn't have great value in and of itself, as part of Mrs. Benberry's collection, it does have more value. Also, this quilt will not be produced for many years and so will appreciate in value. From the American Girl website: "Inspired by an authentic quilt from the 1800s, Addy's colorful quilt is like a family album made out of fabric - each of the nine squares depicts the faces, places, and everyday pleasure dear to the quilt maker's heart." The booklet that came with the doll quilt reads: "When Addy and Momma first arrived in Philadelphia after their escape from North Carolina, they lived in the small garrett room above the dress shop where Momma worked. Before long, they moved into a boarding house near the shop. In Addy's time, many people in American cities rented rooms in boarding houses. If family members didn't have much money or if they were hoping to save money, they live together in just one rented room. All the people who lived in the boarding house ate their meals together. The woman who ran the boarding house or her helpers prepared all the meals for the renters. When Addy and Momma lived in the garret, there was only one bed, and they had to share it. When they moved to the boarding house, Addy had her own bed. The simpler low-post bed had ropes stretched across its frame to support the mattress. Addy especially like to lie in bed on cold mornings and snuggle under her warm quilt. She made up stories about the colorful designs on it. Addy's quilt is a "family album quilt". In Addy's time, women cut out fabric figures and shapes and sewed them onto quilts to make pictures. On cold nights before bedtime, Addy wore her knitted wool slippers and wrapped her knitted shawl, or "heartwarmer", over her pretty flannel nightgown. The shawl could be tied around Addy's waist to keep it close to her body for warmth. Every morning and night, Addy washed her hands and face with water she poured from an ironstone pitcher into a bowl. The pitcher and bowl were kept on a wooden washstand. The washstand had side bars where Addy could hang her cotton towel. It also had a drawer from her bedtime book, "Mother Goose in Hieroglyphics". The book was written partly in pictures, or "hieroglyphics", and partly in words. When Addy wasn't wearing her cowrie shell necklace, she kept it in a secret compartment in the big wooden trunk that Momma used for storage. Addy liked to read the newspaper pages that lined the trunk. The pages were filled with news stories about the Civil War. When Addy read them, she thought of her brother, Sam, who wanted to be a Union soldier. She wondered if he had escaped in the war. Every night she hoped she would see him in her dreams, returning safely to Philadelphia."

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Another quilt

Source of the information on this quilt:

MSU 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?

Purchase

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

This quilt was collected by Connie Chunn and donated given to the Cuesta Benberry collection when it was donated to the MSU Museum.

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Who photographed this quilt?

Pearl Yee Wong

Copyright holder:

MSU Board of Trustees