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Cathedral Window; Tea Leaf, Compass, Lover's Knot, Lafayette Orange Peel, Circle Upon Circle, Bay Leaf, Pinchusion

CITE THIS QUILT

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quilt

QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-9302

Who documented this quilt?

Michigan Quilt Project

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Michigan State University Museum

Michigan Quilt Project Number:

86.0912

Owner's name for the quilt:

Cathedral Window

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Tea Leaf, Compass, Lover's Knot, Lafayette Orange Peel, Circle Upon Circle, Bay Leaf, Pinchusion

Brackman # or other source & #:

301

Biography of the quiltmaker?

I found this newspaper clipping among my grandmothers "treasures" in 1984 after her death. Bertha Edens Cos. When a little girl of six years, I went to school in a little log school house in the woods, had a lady for a teacher. We had a bench for eats that only six or eight could sit on, which had no backs. I went one mile to school, crossed a big branch with a foot log to cross on. When the water was up the big boys would carry the little ones to the log and helped us across. We lived in a little log house with the cracks plastered with mud. We just had one room with a fireplace and cook stove, in one corner. We had our beds and tables, all we had in the log house, but it was nice and warm. We knit our own stockings in those days. We had flannel clothes made of sheeps wool. We sheered our sheep, washed and picked the dirt out, took it to a carden machine made into rolls spun and colored, took the rolls to the weaver which was then made into cloth then into a dress, made janes for mens pants. The were nice and warm. We planted corn by hand, father would get the ground ready, mark it off both ways, they would take us children to the field with them. I would stay with my two younger brothers under a shade tree, mother would drop the corn and father would cover it with a hoe. We'd stay till noon to get dinner, then go back and stay till night. We raised a few acres of buckwheat, cut it with a cradle, had some buckwheat cakes to eat and cornbread too in winter. We raised cane for sorgham molasses in place of sugar. We never bought any groceries, only coffee, it was green, and we had to brown and grind it. We had potatoes and turnips, cabbage and made kraut to last all winter. I never saw a carpet till I was twelve years old, then father bought us a home, built us a house. Mother made us a carpet for winter. They tacked it around the wall. In spring, they furnished the house, put the carpet on the floor, so we thought it was nice. Had a nice orchard of all kinds of fruit and of course got better little at a time and on the 4th of December, 1884, I married Thomas Hunter Edens. To this union seven children were born. Three have passed away, Charlie, Albert, and Russell four still living, Lester of Homer, Illinois, Pearlie of Tusluca, Illinois; Nellie Simmons of Cairo, Illinois and Bertha Travis of Detroit, Michigan. We lived together for fifty and one-half years. In July, 1935, he passed away, then I was left all alone. I left our home, went to live with my oldest son, Lester at Homer, Illinois. I was born and lived in Clay County, Illinois until I was seventy five years old then went to Homer, Illinois. Written by Oma Eden in 1937. Departed this life Nov. 1st, 1946 at the age of 86 years and two months.

When was the form filled out?

8/25/1986

Quilt top made by:

Holman, Oma

Quilted by:

Holman, Oma

If you are a relative of the quiltmaker, how are you related? The quiltmaker is my:

Quilt owner

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

Inherited

Where the quilt was made, city:

Clay City

Where the quilt was made, county:

Clay

Where the quilt was made, state:

Illinois (IL)

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's county:

Clay

Quiltmaker's state:

Illinois (IL)

Quiltmaker's birth date:

9/1/1860

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

11/1/1946

Quiltmaker's occupation:

homemaker

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Holman, John

Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:

English

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Holman, Sarah

Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:

English

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

English

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

farmer

Number of children:

7

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

2

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

5

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Necessity

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

75 1/2"

How long is the quilt?

85 1/2"

Shape of edge:

Straight

Quilt's condition:

Fair/worn

Damage:

Wear to edge or binding

Describe the repairs:

Rek-stitched

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Alternating with plain squares

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Solid/plain

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Novelty techniques used to make the quilt top:

Cathedral window

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

What color is the back of the quilt?

Blue or Navy

How is the binding made?

Bias 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:

6

Describe the quilting designs used:

Outline/Ditch

Person filling out this form is:

Quilt owner

Source of the information on this quilt:

Great granddaughter of quiltmaker

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Donna Merritt

Quilt owner's city:

Hancock

Quilt owner's county:

Houghton

Quilt owner's state:

Michigan (MI)

How was this quilt acquired?

Inheritance

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

Oma Holman to daughter Bertha Cox to daughter Doris E. Merritt to daughter Doona S. Merritt

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

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

Made entire quilt

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum

Cite this Quilt

Holman, Om. Cathedral Window. From Michigan State University Museum, Michigan Quilt Project. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=12-8-9302. Accessed: 03/29/24