QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-7703

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:

85.0093

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

6060.1

Object label:

Crazy Quilt
Roxanna Brazee
Tecumseh, Lenawee County, Michigan
1918
Collection of Michigan State University Museum acc.#6060.1

Essay:

Roxanna Alverson Brazee was sixty-seven years old in 1918 when she tried out her newly acquired skills of painting to embellish this "Crazy" quilt. The quilt was made as a gift to her daughter Iva Dell Piper who passed it on to her granddaughter Lucile Norelius, who in turn donated to the Michigan State University Museum. Family stories relate that Roxanna was a prolific quiltmaker who made at least one quilt for each of her seven children. Iva Dell was thirty-three when her mother made this quilt for her. The date "1918" is embroidered in the upper right corner and the name "Dick" is also inscribed. The quilt has a strip of tobacco-cloth premiums, one of which features a Harvard banner. None of the records show the name of Dick or made reference to Harvard; it is anyone's guess who Dick might be.

From American Quilts from Michigan State University Museum

Quilt's title:

Crazy Quilt

Biography of the quiltmaker?

Roxann Brazee made at least one quilt for each of her living children (6).

Quilt top made by:

Brazee, Roxanna

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

Received as a gift

Where the quilt was made, city:

Tecumseh

Where the quilt was made, county:

Lenawee

Where the quilt was made, state:

Michigan (MI)

Time period:

1901-1929

When was the quilt finished?

1918

Why was the quilt made?

Gift or presentation

Quilt is presently used as:

Museum collection

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's city:

Tecumseh

Quiltmaker's state:

Michigan (MI)

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Alverson

Quiltmaker's birth date:

1/16/1851

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

11/19/1921

Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:

Norwegian, English

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Alverson, Nathon

Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:

Norwegian

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Lamb, Mary

Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:

English

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and /or partner's/partners' name(s):

Brazee, Arthur L.

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

French

Number of children:

7

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

5

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

2

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Gifts

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

5-20 quilts

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

65 1/2

How long is the quilt?

68

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Black; Gold; Green; Red

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor

Quilt's condition:

Very good/almost new

Type of inscription:

Date

What is inscribed on the quilt?

Dick

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

1918

Method used to make the inscription:

Embroidery

Location of inscription:

on block

Describe the quilt's layout:

Crazy

Number of quilt blocks:

9

Size of quilt blocks:

20 x 20

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Side by side

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton; Silk

Fabric types used to make the quilt top:

Flannel; Velvet

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Print; 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

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery; Ink drawing; Painting

Embellishments used:

Cotton thread

Materials used to make the back:

Sateen

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

1

Describe the back:

Same fabric used throughout

How is the binding made?

Back turned to front

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

greater than one inch

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

2 1/4

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

No filling

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

Roxanna Alverson Brazee was sixty-seven years old in 1918 when she tried out her newly acquired skills of painting to embellish this ?Crazy? quilt. Family stories relate that Roxanna was a prolific quiltmaker who made at least one quilt for each of her seven children. Includes tobacco flannels, one with "Harvard" on it. Hand painting was done on some patches by the maker, who started painting at the age of 65.

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

See Michigan Quilts: 150 Years of a Textile Tradition by Ruth Fitzgerald and Marsha MacDowell. Photos of quilter.

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

Family photograph that includes a picture of the quiltmaker, from 1907.

Person filling out this form is:

Quilt owner

How was this quilt acquired?

Gift

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

The quilt was made as a gift to quiltmaker Roxanna Brazee's, daughter Iva Dell Piper who passed it on to her granddaughter Lucile Norelius, who in turn donated it to Michigan State University Museum.

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

The quilt was made to be used for:

Decorative throw

Who photographed this quilt?

Fumio Ichikawa

Copyright holder:

MSU Board of Trustees