QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-7618

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:

01.0248

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

2001:160.7

Object label:

Nursery Rhyme Quilt
Maker unknown
Provenance unknown
c1910
Deborah Harding Redwork Collection, Michigan State University Museum, #2001:160.7

Essay:

The "Nursery Rhyme Quilt" may have been embroidered by several different people, possibly children. It is not uncommon for Redwork blocks to have been stitched by children. The simple stitches used in Redwork could teach embroidery skills and many of the whimsical designs found in Redwork would have appealed to children.

Representations from a number of nursery rhymes included on this quilt are Goosey Goosey Gander, Who Killed Cock Robin?, Old Mother Hubbard, Humpty Dumpty, and Mother Goose. A number of companies offered perforated patterns and stamped linens in sets advertised as Mother Goose or Nursery Rhymes.

An intriguing design found on the quilt is the boat located in the quilt's fifth row. It is a depiction of the Hudson River Day Lines' Henrick Hudson. The embroidered design may have been a penny square sold in souvenir shops at the pier or distributed to commemorate the boat's maiden voyage in 1906.

By Mary Worrall, excerpted from Redwork: A Textile Tradition in America.

Deborah Harding began her exploration of redwork as a means to satisfy her curiosity about a redwork quilt she purchased at a flea market. Deborah's subsequent collection of textiles and research materials on redwork culminated in the publication of the seminal work on the topic.

The Deborah Harding Collection acquired by Michigan State University Museum/Great Lakes Quilt Center in 2001, consists of twelve redwork quilts, ephemera related to redwork, Harding's research files, and other embroidered pieces, including splashers, chairbacks, laundry bags, and a child's doily. All of the quilts in the collection are featured in Harding's book.

The embroidered blocks of this "Nursery Rhyme" quilt includes depictions of nursery rhymes, the Hudson River excursion boat "Henrick Hudson," a trolley car, ethnic caricatures, girls in sunbonnets, fruit, flowers, the Sphinx, and a house. Several of the designs are repeated as many as three times. The quilt appears to have been stitched by several different hands. Harding theorizies that many of the blocks were made by children.

By Mary Worrall, excerpted from American Quilts from Michigan State University Museum.

Quilt's title:

Nursery Rhyme Redwork

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Redwork. Nursery rhymes, Hudson River excursion boat, the Hendrick Hudson. Trolley car, ethnic caricatures, sunbonnet girls, fruit, flowers, sphinx, house.

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

Purchased the quilt

Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:

This quilt is part of the Deborah Harding Redwork Collection

Time period:

1901-1929

When was the quilt finished?

c. 1910

Quilt is presently used as:

Museum collection

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

75 1/2

How long is the quilt?

78

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Cream; Red

Overall color scheme:

Two color

Quilt's condition:

Good/moderate use

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

90

Size of quilt blocks:

7 x 7

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Side by side

Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:

Several of the designs are repeated as many as 3 times. Many of the blocks are nursery rhymes. Hudson River excursion boat, the Hendrick Hudson, trolley car, ethnic caricatures, sunbonnet girls, fruit, flowers, sphinx, and house.

Number of borders:

1

Describe the borders:

Top and bottom, 6" Sides 3"

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Solid/plain

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing; Machine Piecing

Can you feel or see paper on the quilt that was used as a construction aid?

no

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery

Embellishments used:

Cotton thread

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

1

Describe the back:

Same fabric used throughout

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

Fabric structure of the binding:

Plain weave

How is the binding made?

Straight grain

What is the width of the binding (measure on the top only)?

less than a half inch

How wide is the binding (measure on the top only)?

1/4

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Cotton

How thick is the quilt?

Thin (Less than 3/16?)

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

5

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

6

Can you see any knots on the front or back of the quilt?

no

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Outline

Describe the quilting designs used:

Outline quilting around the blocks with lines extending through the border. Herringbone embroidery goes through all layers and also serves as quilting.

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

It appears to have been stitched by several different people, very likely children.

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

See Red and White: American Redwork Quilts and Patterns by Deborah Harding.

Publications (including web sites) where this quilt or maker was featured:

See Red and White: American Redwork Quilts and Patterns by Deborah Harding.

Person filling out this form is:

Quilt owner

Ownership of this quilt is:

Public- Michigan State University Museum

Quilt owner's name:

Michigan State University Museum

How was this quilt acquired?

Purchase

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

Deborah Harding purchased the quilt from Jane Lury of Labors of Love in Hillsdale, New York.

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

MSU Board of Trustees