QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-8047

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:

85.2124

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

6119.18

Object label:

Grandmother's Flower Garden
Bozena Vilhelmina Clarke
Detroit,Michigan
1934-1941
Collection of Michigan State University Museum acc.#6119.18

Essay:

Tessellations, or patterns of one or more polygons that completely cover a surface without any open space or overlapping, are often found in quilts. Shapes such as squares, equilateral triangles, and hexagons are some of the shapes most commonly used by quilters in tessellation patterns.

Bozena gave this quilt to her daughter Laura May.

Owner's name for the quilt:

Flower Garden

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Grandmother's Flower Garden

When was the form filled out?

10/11/1986

Quilt top made by:

Clarke, Laura Mae

Quilted by:

Clarke, Bozena Vilhemina

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

Received as a gift

Where the quilt was made, city:

Detroit

Where the quilt was made, county:

Wayne

Where the quilt was made, state:

Michigan (MI)

Time period:

1930-1949

When was the quilt started?

1934

When was the quilt finished?

1941

Why was the quilt made?

Gift or presentation

Details about why the quilt was made:

Made for her daughter Laura M. Clarke

Quilt is presently used as:

Museum collection

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's city:

Detroit

Quiltmaker's county:

Wayne

Quiltmaker's state:

Michigan (MI)

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Clarke

Quiltmaker's birth date:

7/22/1900

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Urban

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

3/7/1978

Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:

Bohemian (Czech), English

Quiltmaker's educational background:

BA in education from Wayne State University.

Quiltmaker's religious affiliation:

Congregational

Quiltmaker's occupation:

Kindergarten School Teacher. One year she was National President of NEA Kindergarten Division. She was Teacher of the Month in Detroit, June, 1962.

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Clarke, William George

Quiltmaker's father's birthplace:

Bad Axe, Michigan

Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:

English

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Clarke, Bozena Vilhelmina Motl

Quiltmaker's mother's birthplace:

Detroit, Michigan

Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:

Bohemian (Czechoslovekia)

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

From Relative

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 20-29

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

no

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

no

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

75"

How long is the quilt?

84"

Shape of edge:

Straight

Quilt's condition:

Good/moderate use

Damage:

Stains

What is inscribed on the quilt?

Bozena W. Clarke - for her daughter Laura M. Clarke

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

Pieced 1934, Quilted 1941

Location of inscription:

on back

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

28 full, 6 partial

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

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

2

How is the binding made?

Bias grain

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

less than a half inch

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

7

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

7

Describe the quilting designs used:

Outline/Ditch

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

A Family Legacy: Quilts from the Clarke Collection, MSU Museum, East Lansing, MI and Michigan State Fair, Detroit, Michigan, August - September, 1994.

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

Photos of quilter

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?

Gift

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

12-11-1985, Dr. Harriet A. Clarke, donor

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

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

Made entire quilt

Describe any favorite patterns, tools, etc. used by the quiltmaker:

She worked mostly on the tops and occassionally quilted. Her mother Bozena Clarke did most of her quilting.

Who photographed this quilt?

Mark Eifert

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum