QUILT INDEX RECORD

14-10-258

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Who documented this quilt?

Lands' End All-American Quilt Collection

American Folklife Center, Library of Congress Documentation Number:

AFC 1997/011: Folder 8960 P1

Alternate inventory number for this quilt. This might be a museum accession number.

afcqltle le011

Person filling out this form is:

Quiltmaker

Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:

Quiltmaker submitted information with quilt.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Echoes From the Prairie

How wide is the quilt?

84 inches

How long is the quilt?

84 inches

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Time period:

1976-1999

When was the quilt started?

September, 1989

When was the quilt finished?

June 19, 1991

Describe the quilt's layout:

Medallion or framed center

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Cotton

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Features or notes about the quilt's appearance, materials, or construction:

The following information was supplied by the quiltmaker: "This quilt is an original compilation. 12 individual blocks are antique patterns. Central medallion is an 8-point star. I collected the antique patterns and drafted the center medallion star myself to fit the space." How did you choose the materials used in your quilt? "Contains only fabric on hand. Challenge to myself not to purchase any fabric as foremothers on the prairie did not, but used only available scraps and pieces." "The wonderful quilts constructed by our great grandmothers as they forged across our new country, establishing homesteads in the face of such adversity have always fascinated me. As a fledgling quilter, I began collecting antique block patterns with small pieces. Vowing to work within the same constraints as our ancestors did, purchasing nothing, using only scraps on hand, I began piecing a few of these blocks just to try using an old piece of border print in a variety of ways. It became addictive and I continued with the challenge until I had done a dozen. Only then did I decide to attempt designing a central medallion out of a log cabin star and figuring out sashing to attempt a real quilt. Adding prairie points in honor of the prairie women, I completed the top having bought no new material, incorporating scraps from my daughter's childhood dresses and doing it all by hand -- from templates, no strip piecing. After hand quilting I named it "Echoes From the Prairie" -- and felt that it was really based on those who had gone before me -- a link that bound us together." How long have you been making quilts? "'Echoes From the Prairie' was my first real quilt, I began around 1987." How did you learn to quilt? "I only work by hand and have always done a lot of needlepoint and embroidery. Mostly I picked it up from watching my grandmother, trial and error, magazines, quilt shows." What was your primary reason for entering the Lands' End contest? Do you frequently enter your quilts in competition? "Friends 'insisted' I send 'Prairie's' picture into the contest. Since that time I have entered this and other quilts in juried shows -- AQS, AIQA, NQA, Silver Dollar City,, Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival -- at the encouragement and insistence of my husband." Has being a winner in the Land's End contest made a difference in your life? Has it changed the way you look at your work as a quilt maker? "Although the machine art of making quilts has become the norm, I still work only the old way -- don't do any except by hand. I have won several Best of Show ribbons and many others, but do not consider this my main satisfaction. The act of leaving a legacy of my own thoughts and dreams tenderly sewn into my hand-done quilts is what makes me continue to quilt. I enjoy the design process and the thrill of telling a story in cloth for the generations to come. Each of my quilts takes about 2 years and is original. My family, especially my husband, is the inspiration and focal point of their existence."

Quilt top made by:

Finlayson, Constance

Where the quilt was made, city:

Carrollton

Where the quilt was made, county:

Carroll

Where the quilt was made, state:

Missouri (MO)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

Why was the quilt made?

Challenge or Contest entry; Art or personal expression; Personal enjoyment

The quilt was made to be used for:

Bedding, daily use

Contests entered:

This quilt was part of the Lands' End All-American Quilt Contest. 1992 Missouri State Winner

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

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/qlt:@FIELD(DOCID+@LIT(le011))

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Description of quilt:

This quilt is part of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress "Quilts and Quiltmaking in American: 1978-1996 exhibit. It was winner in the Lands' End All-American Quilt Contest.

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

American Folklife Center, Library of Congress. Email: folklife@loc.gov