QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-8048

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:

85.2125

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

6119.19

Object label:

Rags and Tatters
Bozena Vilhelmina Clarke
Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan
1941-1944
Collection of Michigan State University Museum acc.#6119.19

Essay:

Bozena made this quilt from a Detroit News quilt pattern. During the 1930s and the early 1940s, the Detroit News ran a quilt column offering free patterns. A thumbnail sketch was printed in the paper with instructions on how to acquire it. The patterns were available by mail or could be picked up at the Detroit News office. Rags and Tatters was published in 1933.

Owner's name for the quilt:

Rags and Tatters

Biography of the quiltmaker?

Fabric scraps not suitable for quilting were used to make rugs. Mother-in-law Bozena Clarke's old frame was set up in the attic. Quilts were quilted there in the spring, when it wasn't too hot or too cold for the space. One spring Harriet remembers her mother and her grandmother Arnold set up the frame in the dining room and quilted during a visit from her grandmother.

When was the form filled out?

10/8/1986

Quilt top made by:

Clarke, Bozena Vilhemina

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?

1941

When was the quilt finished?

1944

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:

Motl

Quiltmaker's birth date:

2/24/1871

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

3/17/1967

Quiltmaker's educational background:

Formal, probably to 8th grade, but she contined to read and educate herself.

Quiltmaker's religious affiliation:

Congregational

Quiltmaker's occupation:

She worked for a tailor at the site of the former downtown Hudson's store, homemaker after marriage.

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Motl, Franc

Quiltmaker's father's birthplace:

Austria

Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:

Bohemian

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Motl, Anna Smely

Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:

Bohemian. She married Franc in Bohemia and emigrated to the U.S. in 1870 and settled in Detroit.

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

English, from the Hythe, Kent, England.

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

1896 was a clerk in Gas Appliance Store. Later converted gas lights to electric lights. Sold lamps. In later years he sold insurance and retired at age 80.

Number of children:

3

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

2

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

1

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

From guild or club member

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 50 or over

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

Quilts were made for many family members for special occassions and for gifts for birthdays, weddings, graduations, etc.

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

no

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

no

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

The Rebecca Jane Circle of the Boulevard Congregational Church

Where does/did the group meet?

Located at the corner of Warren and West Grand Boulevard, Detroit, Michigan

What are the main activities of the group?

This group sewed together to make items for church bazaars. They sold "heaps of Aprons" according to Harriet Clarke, Bozena's granddaughter. The sold finished quilts for $25-$30. The also quilted tops for others.They quilted once a week and had a potluck

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

63"

How long is the quilt?

72"

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Rounded

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

What is inscribed on the quilt?

By Bozena V. Clarke

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

1941 & 1944

Location of inscription:

on back

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

56

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

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

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Cotton

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

Describe the quilting designs used:

Outline/Ditch

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Commercial/Published source: Newspaper

Commercial name of the pattern for the top:

Detroit News

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

Patterns from the Detroit News

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)

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:

Bozena had a favorite silver thimble. Her husband made her a custom frame to quilt on that was pained Nile green.

Who photographed this quilt?

Mark Eifert

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum