QUILT INDEX RECORD
12-8-7093
Who documented this quilt?
Michigan Quilt Project
Where are the records for this quilt housed?
Michigan State University Museum
Michigan Quilt Project Number:
85.1225
Quilt's title:
Cosmic Journey
Names for quilt's pattern in common use:
Trip Around the World
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
Quilt top made by:
Southwell, Unis
Quilted by:
Southwell, Unis
If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?
Purchased the quilt
Where the quilt was made, city:
Suttons Bay
Where the quilt was made, county:
Leelanau
Where the quilt was made, state:
Michigan (MI)
Time period:
1976-1999
When was the quilt started?
1/1985
When was the quilt finished?
5/1985
Why was the quilt made?
Personal income
Details about why the quilt was made:
commissioned client from IL for $350
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' name(s):
Southwell, Langdon Gaylord
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?
66"
How long is the quilt?
95 1/2"
Shape of edge:
Straight
Shape of corners:
Straight
Quilt's condition:
Excellent/like new
What is inscribed on the quilt?
Unis Southwell, Also embroidered 5 point star with which this quilter always marks her quilts.
What is the date inscribed on the quilt?
May 20, 1985
Method used to make the inscription:
Embroidery
Describe the quilt's layout:
Block pattern
Arrangement of quilt blocks:
Straight
Spacing of quilt blocks:
Side by side
Number of borders:
3
Describe the borders:
4 1/2", 2 1/4", 2"
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
Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:
3
How is the binding made?
Bias grain
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?
Polyester
How are the layers held together?
Hand quilting
Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:
10
Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:
11
Quilting designs used, overall motifs:
Clamshell
Where did the maker get their materials?
Purchased new
Describe the sources of the quilt's materials:
Fabric was purchased at Quilt and Cloth Shop, Traverse City, MI.
Person filling out this form is:
Quilt owner
Ownership of this quilt is:
Private
Quilt owner's name:
Kay Smith
Quilt owner's city:
Champaign
Quilt owner's state:
Illinois (IL)
How was this quilt acquired?
Purchase
Access and copyright information:
Restricted
How did the quiltmaker participate in the creation of the quilt?
Made entire quilt
Describe anything about the design of the quilt that wasn't already recorded in a previous field:
The pattern chosen is for the son of the woman who commissioned the quilts. He is a surgeon in the U.S. Navy and will someday inherit them. The clamshell pattern quilting that circles the center square represents the Waves of the seas washing on the shores around the world. The flowers in the prints are the gardens in the world. The pin-dot borders represent the starry night everywhere.
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
Southwell, Uni. Cosmic Journey. 5/1985. From Michigan State University Museum, Michigan Quilt Project. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=12-8-7093. Accessed: 04/23/24