QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-7177

Who documented this quilt?

Michigan Quilt Project

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Michigan State University Museum

Michigan Quilt Project Number:

85.1335

Owner's name for the quilt:

Sunbonnet Children

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Sunbonnet Sue

Biography of the quiltmaker?

Most "Sunbonnet Sue" quilts are applique. The "Sunbonnet Sue" quilts have no face and therefore display no emotional expression. Sunbonnet Sue figures have been used a the subject of greeting cards and cleansing powder ads. "Overall Boys" accompany thses quilts and have also been quilted by Mrs. Cross.

When was the form filled out?

8/12/1985

Quilt top made by:

Cross, Evelyn L.

Quilted by:

Cross, Evelyn L.

If you are a relative of the quiltmaker, how are you related? The quiltmaker is my:

Quilt owner

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

Received as a gift

Where the quilt was made, city:

Bardstown

Where the quilt was made, county:

Nelson

Where the quilt was made, state:

Kentucky (KY)

Time period:

1950-1975

When was the quilt finished?

1960s

Details about why the quilt was made:

Legacy to her first grandchild

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's city:

Bardstown

Quiltmaker's state:

Kentucky (KY)

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Lewis

Quiltmaker's birth date:

9/15/1911

Quiltmaker's educational background:

College graduate, BS degree

Quiltmaker's religious affiliation:

Baptist

Quiltmaker's occupation:

Elementary school teacher, retired

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Lewis, Ed. W.

Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:

Negro

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Lewis, Letha Thompson

Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:

Negro

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' ethnic/tribal background:

Negro

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

Remodeling Contractor

Number of children:

3

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

3

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Self-Taught

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 40-49

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Pleasure

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

Piecing quilts have been a hobby of mine for many years. She has pieced a Sunbonnet Sue quilt for each of her two granddaughters.

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

no

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

no

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

64"

How long is the quilt?

84"

Shape of edge:

Scalloped

Shape of corners:

Straight

Quilt's condition:

Good/moderate use

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

56

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Alternating with plain squares

Number of borders:

1

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

What color is the back of the quilt?

White

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

1

How is the binding made?

Bias grain

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Cotton

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Describe the quilting designs used:

Heart shaped

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

Flint, MI, February 23-April 5, 1992, Gallery, Flint Institute of Arts; African-American Quiltmaking Traditions in Michigan, exhibit, February 3-September 29, 1991, MSU Museum, East Lansing, MI; The Museum of African American History, November 1, 1991-January 1, 1992 (Detroit, MI). Ella Sharp Museum, January 14-March 7, 1993 (Jackson, MI).

Related items such as diaries, obituaries, wills, household inventories, or pictures of the quiltmaker:

African American Quiltmaking in Michigan (1997) book, figure 88, page 59.

Person filling out this form is:

Quilt owner

Source of the information on this quilt:

Granddaughter of quiltmaker

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Nicole Evon Wilhite

Quilt owner's city:

Birmingham

Quilt owner's county:

Oakland

Quilt owner's state:

Michigan (MI)

How was this quilt acquired?

Gift

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

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

Made entire quilt

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum