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Genesee Valley Quilt Club Bicentennial Quilt; Historical Quilt

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QUILT INDEX RECORD

2-33-1

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Signature Quilt Pilot Project

Who documented this quilt?

Signature Quilt Project Public Submission

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Genesee Valley Quilt Club Bicentennial Quilt

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Historical Quilt

How wide is the quilt?

73 inches

How long is the quilt?

95 inches

What color is the quilt?

Beige or Tan; Blue or Navy; Gray; Green; Red; Rust; White

Type of inscription:

Multiple Names

What is inscribed on the quilt?

Genesee Valley Quilt Club Bicentennial Quilt 23 blocks (three unsigned) x The Genesee Valley Quilt Club / Annie Foos & Helen Shepard (not signed) A1 Apples / Lois Anne Hanson A2 CHARLOTTE-GENESEE Lighthouse / Verna Classman x The Sheldon Car / Bag of Flour / Graduation cap / New York Thruway / Fish / Militia man / Horse Barn / (not signed) A3 Court Street Bridge (not signed) A4 Cherries / (not signed) B1 Erie Canal Aqueduct 1942 / Helen Shepard B2 Mercury 1882 atop of City Hall Annex 1924-1951 / Annie Foos & Helen Shepard B3 Tyron Park / Marion Clifford B4 George Eastman House (not signed) C1 Letchworth Gorge / Flora Jane Burton C2 Lilac Sunday in Flower City Rochester, NY 1976 / Mary A. Snell C3 Midtown Plaza with the Clock of Nations / Sonia I Cimino C4 Susan B Anthony - Vote / Brenda Love x Jumping Horse / Four of the Finger Lakes D1 Powers Building / Lia Zwack D2 Stone-Tolen House 1792 / Karen Dunn & Helen Shepard D3 Rochester Planetarium / Annie Foos D4 Interfaith Chapel (University of Rochester) / Edith Schwartz E1 Lincoln Tower / Peg Tuttle E2 Embroidered NY symbols Bluebirds with state flower, the Rose / Carolyn Davis x Bridge / Graduation Cap E3 Salem United Church of Christ / M. Marcotte E4 Fredrick Douglass Abolitionist / (not signed) F1 Divinity School / Ruth MacGrgregor F2 Flour Mill w/Clinton Line boat / Louise Englahardt x Airplanes / Red Cross F3 American Revolution Bicentennial 1776-1976 / Leo & Barbara Miller F4 Lilacs with Pansies / Evelyn's S. Baxter

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

1976

Method used to make the inscription:

Ink; Other

Location of inscription:

multiple locations; on block

Time period:

1976-1999

Date estimated by an antique dealer, quilt historian or appraiser:

1976

Further information concerning dates:

The design for the quilt was introduced in 1975 to commemorate both the Bicentennial and the 40th anniversary of the Genesee Valley Quilt Club.

Describe the quilt's layout:

Nontraditional or art

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton; Cotton or polyester blend

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Print; Solid/plain

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing; Machine Piecing

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Ink drawing; Painting; Other embellishment technique

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

The quilting is undulating curves across the lake, then a background grid of diamonds quilted in the river bed area. The sashing strips have quilted patterns of leaves with occasional motifs: Bus line, BL, award medal.

Quilt top made by:

Tuttle, Peggy

Where the quilt was made, city:

Rochester

Where the quilt was made, county:

Monroe

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

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

The Bicentennial Quilt (also referred to as the Historical quilt) has been displayed at most of the Genesee Valley Quilt Club shows. It was also displayed in 2001-2002 in the "Quilting a Sense of Place: The Bicentennial Quilts of the Finger Lakes" 25th Anniversary Celebration of the 1976 Bicentennial Quilt Exhibit in Ithaca, NY

Why was the quilt made?

Autograph or friendship; Commemorative

Describe the source of the pattern:

Original to maker

Quilt owner's name:

Genesee Valley Quilt Club

Quilt owner's city:

Rush

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

Peggy Tuttle was Vice President of the Genesee Valley Quilt Club in 1975. She was encouraged to do this project by Gladys Holton, the founder of the Quilt Hobby Club. Gladys offered sketched patterns of landmarks of the Rochester area to get people started.

Description of quilt:

The quilt design features a landscape of the Monroe County with Lake Ontario at the top of the quilt and the Genesee River feeding from the bottom of the quilt. The 23 blocks are arranged on both sides of the river, separated with a light green sashing. The appliquéd blocks feature landmarks of the area.

Essay:

The Genesee Valley Quilt Club started in 1936 with 10 members at the invitation of Gladys Reid Holton, quilter, lecturer and authority on history. By 1941 they had sixty members. They expanded their Help One Another motto by making quilts and cloth toys for the War Relief. The club membership has grown to 375 in 2009 and will celebrate 75th anniversary in 2010. GVQC is one of the nation's longest continuously meeting quilt club. The Club historians have been conscientious about keep written records, with meeting notes that go back to the first meeting. The meeting notes for September 1975 note that Peg Tuttle presented to the club some blocks that were being made for the proposed Bicentennial Quilt. Mary Snell was one of the first members to complete a block, titled "Lilacs". Another member, Carolyn Davis offered club members a transfer of her block. Peg asked that the quiltmakers sign their block. It was noted in November that Annie Foos and Helen Shepard completed the seal block. Early in 1976, Peg set up sessions for the quilting, which was set up in her home. The quilt was completed in February 1976; the year was also the 40th anniversary of the club.

Cite this Quilt

Tuttle, Pegg. Genesee Valley Quilt Club Bicentennial Quilt. 1976-1999. From Signature Quilt Pilot Project, Signature Quilt Project Public Submission. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=2-33-1. Accessed: 03/29/24

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