QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-6677

Who documented this quilt?

Michigan Quilt Project; Michigan State University Museum Collection; Quilts and Health

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Michigan State University Museum

Michigan Quilt Project Number:

16.0007

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

2016:13.1

Essay:

"Women Helping Others" is a tradition that goes back to the invention of the needle. Women would meet together to make baby blankets, quilts for the homeless, bedding for men in war and quilts for each other. The women pictured in this quilt are members of the Legion of Loyal Ladies. They have come together to make hospital bedding for the people who have been afflicted by the Flu Influenza in 1918." Text panel on the right reads:" On March 4, 1918 a company cook reported sick at Fort Riley, Kansas. By noon on March 11, 1918, over 100 soldiers were in the hospital. Within ten days, 522 men at the camp had died. By March 18, 1918 the virus had reached Queens, New York. In 1918, the United States and the world was in the grips of the 1918 Influenza pandemic, which infected 500 million people across the world and killed as many as 25 million people in its first 25 weeks. My own grandmother fell sick in 1918 and was given 24 hours to live. She survived and died at the age of 96. This pandemic has been described as "the greatest medical holocaust in history."

Quilt's title:

Women Helping Others

Subject of the quilt:

1918 Influenza epidemic

Who helped you fill out the form?

Jennifer Day

When was the form filled out?

5/31/2016

Quilt top made by:

Day, Jennifer

Quilted by:

Day, Jennifer

Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:

Museum employee

Where the quilt was made, city:

Santa Fe

Where the quilt was made, state:

New Mexico (NM)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

Time period:

2000-2025

When was the quilt finished?

2014

Why was the quilt made?

Art or personal expression; Commemorative

Quilt is presently used as:

Museum collection

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

59"

How long is the quilt?

50"

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Black; Gray

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Describe the quilt's layout:

Medallion or framed center

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Machine Piecing

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Photography/ photo transfer

How are the layers held together?

Machine quilting

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

The small quilted wall hanging is made from four printed photographs on fabric, with heavy quilting - or thread painting, over the photographs. The main photograph depicts a woman at a sewing machine, with quilts and bedding piled behind her. The photo bottom left depicts soldiers convalescing during the influenza epidemic in 1918. The photo bottom center shows several women at sewing machines with piles of quilts and bedding all around them, and the photo at bottom right depicts soldiers convalescing who are busy knitting.

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Original to maker

Ownership of this quilt is:

Public Museum, Library, or Institution

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

Details

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Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Who photographed this quilt?

Pearl Yee Wong

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum