QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-8432

Who documented this quilt?

Michigan Quilt Project

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Michigan State University Museum

Michigan Quilt Project Number:

86.0322

Owner's name for the quilt:

Weather Vane

When was the form filled out?

3/8/1986

Quilt top made by:

Davidson, Caroline

Quilted by:

Davidson, Caroline

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

Made the quilt

Where the quilt was made, city:

Grand Haven

Where the quilt was made, county:

Ottawa

Where the quilt was made, state:

Michigan (MI)

When was the quilt started?

1926

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's city:

Fenton

Quiltmaker's county:

Genesee

Quiltmaker's state:

Michigan (MI)

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Lehman

Quiltmaker's birth date:

2/5/1914

Quiltmaker's educational background:

BS

Quiltmaker's religious affiliation:

LDS, Mormon

Quiltmaker's occupation:

Medical Secretary

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Lehman, Joseph J. (foster father/uncle)

Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:

Pennsylvania Dutch

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Lehman, Kathryn Christopher (foster mother/aunt)

Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:

Danish

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 50 or over

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

5-20 quilts

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

no

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

no

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

70"

How long is the quilt?

82"

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Number of quilt blocks:

20

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Separated by plain sashing

Sashing width:

2 1/2 "

Number of borders:

2

Describe the borders:

3", 4 3/4"

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

What color is the back of the quilt?

Cream

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

2

How is the binding made?

Bias grain

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:

9

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

9

Describe the quilting designs used:

Birds, Cats, Special square

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Another quilt

Describe the source of the pattern:

A quilt at my step-grandmothers.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Caroline Davidson

Quilt owner's city:

Fenton

Quilt owner's county:

Genesee

Quilt owner's state:

Michigan (MI)

How was this quilt acquired?

Made by owner

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

When I was 12, I visited step-grandparents and slept under a quilt I "fell in love with." I didn't know its name; I tried to copy it and did; each succeeding blocks was a little different size and I kept correcting until they looked good. I had no help or advice. It was only recently that I learned to appliqe them to squares so they could go together. The had been impossible to sew together. I will soon finished quilting it. I was allowed into my mother's fabrics; I used one block of plain pink, and another of green from her things. I erred; she was making a tulip quilt which my sis, Patricia Runyan (Mrs. Bruce) has finished. She will be entering it, too/from her own place. The pink and the green were for that tulip quilt; I think that Pat cut off the tips of the already cut tulips; so when mother went to recut pieces; between the two of us the fabrics were insufficient and mother never was quite able to match those colors exactly!! The copied quilt was stripped with white chintz with tiny yellow rosebuds. I looked for years to find the same. I could not; I liked the turquoise birds and bought it; then the yellow rosebud fabric came on the marker. For years, I carried these blocks with me from here to Alaska, CA, OR, and back again. Finally, I decided to give them away. Then Sally, my sister-in-law said she would like to have them. She saved them and when I returned from Alaska to stay, she brought them out and gave them all back to me; I made the sunbonnet (finished it) because that was her favorite. Then proceeded to finish the rest. They, partly finished tops, spent a lot of time in their barn in a barrel, too. Funny; some things must be destined for being finished.

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:

I have been so busy finishing inherited tops, I think they are all favorites. I prefer to do pieced rather than applique when the pieces are small.

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum