QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-10187

Who documented this quilt?

Michigan Quilt Project

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Michigan State University Museum

Michigan Quilt Project Number:

87.0165

Owner's name for the quilt:

Kansas Sunflower

Quilt top made by:

Esch, Donna

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

Made the quilt

Where the quilt was made, city:

Mio

Where the quilt was made, county:

Oscoda

Where the quilt was made, state:

Michigan (MI)

Time period:

1976-1999

When was the quilt finished?

4/1986

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's city:

Mio

Quiltmaker's county:

Oscoda

Quiltmaker's state:

Michigan (MI)

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Handrich

Quiltmaker's birth date:

7/11/1918

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's educational background:

9th grade and Special Bible School

Quiltmaker's religious affiliation:

Mennonite

Quiltmaker's occupation:

Adult Foster Home Operator

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Handrich, Will

Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:

German

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Handrich, Marie Troyer

Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:

Irish and German

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

Farmer, builder, construction

Number of children:

2

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

1

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

1

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Under 10 years of age

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

I have given many quilts for wedding gifts. Esch regularly participates in the annual Mennonite Relief Sale held at the Oscoda County Fairgrounds

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

more than 50

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

yes

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

The WMSC of the Fairview Mennonite Church.

Where does/did the group meet?

Fairview, MI

What are the main activities of the group?

We make quilt for the Mennonite Central Committee Relief Sale, the first Saturday in August each year.

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

96"

How long is the quilt?

104"

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Polyester

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Original to maker

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

Michigan Quilts: A Celebration of 150 Years of Textile Tradition, East Lansing, MI, September 13, 1987-January 30, 1988, Michigan State University Museum

Related items such as diaries, obituaries, wills, household inventories, or pictures of the quiltmaker:

Michigan Quilts (1987) book, figure 263, page 161

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Donna Esch

Quilt owner's city:

Mio

Quilt owner's county:

Oscoda

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:

She recently made a Kansas Sunflower quilt of her own design for a quilt auction held by Heston College (a Mennonite college) in Kansas to raise scholarship money for students

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

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

Made entire quilt

If the source helped design the quilt, describe their input:

Designed the pattern

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

The Lone Star and the Broken Star. I have quilt sticks that are clamped also 3 roller type frames.

Describe any unique traditions, quilting related customs, beliefs, songs or rhymes used by the quiltmaker:

She received her first quilt as a present for her hope chest and thanks to gifts from various relatives, had 16 quilts on the day she was married, including a Friendship quilt from Detroit, three from her grandmother, and "some" from her mother.I've attended and also hosted many quilting parties and generally a full noon dinner was served by the hostess.

Who photographed this quilt?

Peter Glendinning

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum