QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-7860

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:

85.1651

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

1998:53.93

Object label:

Spirit of '76
Mary Schafer, piecer Ida Pullum, quilter
Flushing, Genesee County, Michigan
c1974
Collection of Michigan State University Museum acc.#1998:53.93

Essay:

This quilt was “dedicated to the patriots of 1776 and those who followed in service to our country.” The center block design is called “The Flag”, symbolic of the first Stars and Stripes. In Mary’s notes, she suggests that the spirit of ’76 is dynamic and still in motion today. As the final quilt of the Bicentennial, Mary chose not the subtle symbolism of the other quilts in the series, but a resplendent stars and stripes salute to the patriots of 1776.

Owner's name for the quilt:

Spirit of '76

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

pinwheel variation

When was the form filled out?

9/9/1985

Quilt top made by:

Schafer, Mary

Quilted by:

Schafer, Mary

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

Purchased the quilt

Where the quilt was made, city:

Flushing

Where the quilt was made, county:

Genesee

Where the quilt was made, state:

Michigan (MI)

Time period:

1950-1975

When was the quilt started?

1974

When was the quilt finished?

1974

Why was the quilt made?

Commemorative

Details about why the quilt was made:

Bicentennial commemorative; last of Mary's six.

Quilt is presently used as:

Museum collection

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's city:

Flushing

Quiltmaker's county:

Genessee

Quiltmaker's state:

Michigan (MI)

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Vida

Quiltmaker's birth date:

4-27-1910

Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:

Born Austria-Hungary 1910; emigrated to USA 1914

Quiltmaker's educational background:

9th grade

Quiltmaker's occupation:

Creamery worker; switchboard operator; book keeper; housewife

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Vida, Josef

Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:

Austrian

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Zelka, Julianna

Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:

Austrian

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

German, Lutheran immigrant

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

Welder for Buick Motors

Number of children:

1

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

1

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Self-Taught

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 40-49

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

more than 50

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

no

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

yes

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

Genessee Star Quilters

Where does/did the group meet?

Flint, Michigan.

What are the main activities of the group?

Raffle quilts, hospital quilts, many shows.

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

80"

How long is the quilt?

99 1/4"

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

What is inscribed on the quilt?

Mary Schafer

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

1974

Method used to make the inscription:

Embroidery

Describe where the inscription was found:

top

Number of quilt blocks:

12

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Separated by plain sashing

Sashing width:

3 3/4"

Number of borders:

3

Describe the borders:

outer: 3 3/4"- plain; middle 4 3/4" pieced; inner plain

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

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:

6

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

6

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Parallel lines

Describe the quilting designs used:

Outline/Ditch, Stars, Scrolls

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Original to maker

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

Bicentennial Quilt Show, Warren MI , 1976; Whaley House, Flint MI 1978; The Mary Schafer Collection: A Legacy of Quilt History, exhibit, July 29-December 31, 2001.

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

Observer Newspapers,(Livonia addition?), Thursday, September 4, 1988. Published in Mary Schafer and Her Quilts, figure 41, page 35.

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

Book, Mary Schafer and Her Quilts by Marston and Cunningham; Michigan State University Museum, 1990.

Source of the information on this quilt:

Museum employee

Ownership of this quilt is:

Public- Michigan State University Museum

Quilt owner's name:

Michigan State University Museum

Quilt owner's city:

East Lansing

Quilt owner's county:

Ingham

Quilt owner's state:

Michigan (MI)

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

If the source helped design the quilt, describe their input:

Designed the pattern

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

This quilt is an original interpretation by Mary, dedicated to the patriots of 1776 and those who followed in service to our country. The center square is symbolic of the first Stars and Stripes, and the block design is called "The Flag". The pinwheel design suggests that the Spirit of '76 is dynamic and still in motion today.

Who photographed this quilt?

KEVA

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum