QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-10461

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:

89.0013

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

6714.1

Object label:

Q is for Quilt
Mary Schafer, Gwen Marston, Joe Cunningham
Gwen Marston and Joe Cunningham, quilters
Flushing, Genesee County and Beaver Island, Michigan
1987
Collection of Michigan State University Museum acc.#6714.1

Essay:

Q is for Quilt is the result of a children’s book written by Gwen Marston rendering the alphabet through quilt patterns. Mary Schafer created the blocks in this quilt from traditional patterns with the exception of her original Cherry Wreath. Her collaborators, Gwen Marston and Joe Cunningham, set the blocks together and quilted the piece.

Quilt's title:

Q is for Quilt

Owner's name for the quilt:

Sampler

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Alphabet Sampler

Quilt top made by:

Schafer, Mary; Marston, Gwen; Cunningham, Joe

Quilted by:

Marston, Gwen; Cunningham, Joe

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

Purchased the quilt

Where the quilt was made, state:

Michigan (MI)

Time period:

1950-1975

When was the quilt finished?

1987

Why was the quilt made?

Fundraising

Details about why the quilt was made:

It was made for the book Q is For Quilt, a children's activity and coloring book to raise money for the Michigan State University Museum, 1987

Quilt is presently used as:

Museum collection

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's city:

Flushing

Quiltmaker's county:

Genessee

Quiltmaker's state:

Michigan (MI)

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Vida

Quiltmaker's birth date:

4-27-1910

Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:

Born Austria-Hungary 1910; emigrated to USA 1914

Quiltmaker's educational background:

9th grade

Quiltmaker's occupation:

Creamery worker; switchboard operator; book keeper; housewife

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Vida, Josef

Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:

Austrian

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Zelka, Julianna

Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:

Austrian

Quiltmaker's marriage date(s):

6/22/1934

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and /or partner's/partners' name(s):

Schafer, Fred

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

German, Lutheran immigrant

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

Welder for Buick Motors

Number of children:

1

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

1

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Self-Taught

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 40-49

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

more than 50

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

no

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

yes

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

Genessee Star Quilters

Where does/did the group meet?

Flint, Michigan.

What are the main activities of the group?

Raffle quilts, hospital quilts, many shows.

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

What color is the quilt?

Cream

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

What is inscribed on the quilt?

Mary, Gwen, Joe

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

1987

Method used to make the inscription:

In the quilting

Number of quilt blocks:

27

Size of quilt blocks:

Various

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Separated by pieced pattern sashing

Sashing width:

A variety of sashings used to connect different sized quilt blocks.

What is the shape of the quilt blocks?

Sampler

Number of borders:

1 border on top and the two sides.

Describe the borders:

4 3/4" on 3 sides

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Machine Piecing

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

3

How is the binding made?

Straight 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?

Polyester

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

8

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

6

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Outline

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

The Mary Schafer Collection: A Legacy of Quilt History, East Lansing, MI, July 29-December 31, 2001, Michigan State Univeristy Museum; Michigan Quilts exhibit, Chicago Hilton and Towers, International Quilt Market and Festival, May 9-14, 1989.

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

Cover of Q is for Quilt (1987) book.The Quilter by Bets Ramsey, The Chattanooga Times, March 17, 1988, Z11. Book reviewed in Quilting Today, February/March, 1988, page 47.

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

Book, Mary Schafer and Her Quilts by Marston and Cunningham; Michigan State University Museum, 1990. Photos of quilter; Interview with quilter.

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?

Purchase

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

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

Made entire quilt

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

Each block name begins with a different letter of the alphabet.

Who photographed this quilt?

Pearl Yee Wong

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum