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16 Patch Bar

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QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-7090

Who documented this quilt?

Michigan Quilt Project

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Michigan State University Museum

Michigan Quilt Project Number:

85.1222

Owner's name for the quilt:

16 Patch Bar

Biography of the quiltmaker?

Each of her pieces is signed on the back lower right hand corner. An embroidered 5-point star, relating to the professional name she uses of U.S. Quiltworks, follows her signature.

When was the form filled out?

6/20/1985

Quilted by:

Southwell, Unis

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

Made the quilt

Where the quilt was made, city:

Muskegon

Where the quilt was made, county:

Muskegon

Where the quilt was made, state:

Michigan (MI)

Time period:

1976-1999

When was the quilt started?

1979

When was the quilt finished?

1979

Quilt is presently used as:

Study or teaching aid

Describe present uses of the quilt:

It has been used as a teaching example in my classes, has been part of my exhibit when I demonstrated quilting techniques and use of frames during craft exhibits in the downtown Muskegon, MI Mall and has been part of several programs I have given on my qu

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's city:

Suttons Bay

Quiltmaker's county:

Leelanau

Quiltmaker's state:

Michigan (MI)

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Engle

Quiltmaker's birth date:

3/29/1925

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

2/24/2016

Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:

Scotch, Irish, English, German

Quiltmaker's educational background:

3 years college MSU 1943-1946 Home Economics Textile and related Arts Major

Quiltmaker's religious affiliation:

Congregational Protestant

Quiltmaker's occupation:

homemaker

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Engle, Robert Bruce

Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:

Pennsylvania/German

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Engle, Eva Naomi Towers

Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:

English/Scotch-Irish

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' occupation:

Mich. Dept. of Corrections Area Manager, Muskegon, MI

Number of children:

3

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

2

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

1

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 11-19

Other notes on how the quiltmaker learned, and how and why they quilt:

I feel that we who quilt today are fulfilling a need to express ourselves with fabric.

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

more than 50

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

yes

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

yes

Does/did the quiltmaker belong to a group? Name of the group?

Christ Community Church quilters, Spring Lake, MI; Little Finger Quilters started 1989, meets in Omena, MI community room which is part of the Fire Dept. This groups name comes from Leelanau County being referred to as the little finger of Michigan. Pine

What are the main activities of the group?

About 12 women meet each Tuesday at the church to quilt tops for others, as a fund raising function for their church. I was not a member of the church but merely quilted with the group.

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

68"

How long is the quilt?

90"

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Describe the repairs:

All the blocks weren't cut the same size and were unevenly set together. So I tore it completely apart, washed each 2" square, recut them to uniform size, sewed the entire top back together, including sashing, added 2 new borders and then I practiced quil

Number of quilt blocks:

55

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Separated by plain sashing

Sashing width:

3 1/2"

Number of borders:

2

Describe the borders:

5", 2"

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton or polyester blend

What color is the back of the quilt?

Yellow

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

2

How is the binding made?

Back turned to front

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 are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

8

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

9

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Cables

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Describe the sources of the quilt's materials:

The 2 new borders and the back plus the cotton filler came from Meijer's Thrifty Acres of Muskegon, MI.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Unis Engle Southwell

Quilt owner's city:

Suttons Bay

Quilt owner's county:

Leelanau

Quilt owner's state:

Michigan (MI)

How was this quilt acquired?

Made by owner

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

The top was given to me at the Muskegon City Rescue Mission.

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

It had been donated by an unknown person but was not usable as it was to the Mission sewing group. I wanted it to teach myself how to quilt and to see if I liked to quilt as much as I thought I would. When I got the ready pieced top by an unknown donor, I found it was so poorly made that good quilting was impossible. My daughter June, who had just graduated from the Cleveland institute of Art in 1978, helped me pick prints for the borders that would complement the old ones, in the body of the quilt.

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

How did the quiltmaker participate in the creation of the quilt?

Quilted or tied the top

Describe any favorite patterns, tools, etc. used by the quiltmaker:

Always hand applique, especially after learning the blind stitch from Joe Cunningham at a class on Beaver Island in 1987. Chalk marker for making free-hand quilting designs. A Hoffman challenge Wall quilt that took 1st in hand applique and was one of 50 chosen to travel the country for a year in 1992 in shows and shops. The quilt flew alone to Houston, TX to see it displayed at quilt show at the Geo. Brown Convention Center

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum

Cite this Quilt

;. 16 Patch Bar. 1979. From Michigan State University Museum, Michigan Quilt Project. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=12-8-7090. Accessed: 03/28/24