QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-8053

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:

85.2130

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

6119.24

Object label:

Double Irish Chain
Emilie Clarke
Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan
1924-1935
Collection of Michigan State University Museum acc.#6119.24

Owner's name for the quilt:

Double Irish Chain

Biography of the quiltmaker?

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?

10/11/1986

Quilt top made by:

Clarke, Emilie

Quilted by:

Clarke, Emilie

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)

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:

Arnold

Quiltmaker's birth date:

5/14/1897

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Urban

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

1/19/1976

Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:

German, French

Quiltmaker's educational background:

M.D. from U of M in 1922, Doctor of Public Health from Wayne State in 1937

Quiltmaker's religious affiliation:

Congregational

Quiltmaker's occupation:

Physician, Doctor of Public Health

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Arnold, Frances Christian

Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:

French, German

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Arnold, Emma L. Vogelgesang

Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:

German

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

Bohemian, English

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

Electrical Engineer

Number of children:

3

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

1

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

2

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

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

For awhile she quilted at the Boulevard Congregational Church.

Where does/did the group meet?

The corner of Warren and West Grand Boulevard in 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, Emilie's daughter. The sold finished quilts for $25-$30. The also quilted tops for others. They quilted once a week and had a potluck lunc

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

54 1/2"

How long is the quilt?

77 1/4"

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Rounded

Quilt's condition:

Fair/worn

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

23

Number of borders:

1

Describe the borders:

6", 7 1/4"

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

2

How is the binding made?

Straight grain

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:

7

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

5

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Cables

Describe the quilting designs used:

Star

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.

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

Who photographed this quilt?

Mark Eifert

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum