QUILT INDEX RECORD

2-33-43

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:

Amy and John's Wedding Quilt

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Inspired by a Friendship Star block

How wide is the quilt?

71 inches

How long is the quilt?

84.5 inches

What color is the quilt?

Blue or Navy; Cream; Red

Type of inscription:

Date; Message; Multiple Names; Signature

What is inscribed on the quilt?

The inscription begins with Amy and John's signatures on the bottom of the quilt's white border. The top border of the quilt is also inscribed with "Amy & John" and the bottom with "August 9, 1997". Amy Hudson Henderson John H. Fuson Elizabeth Powley Terry Kellogg Ted Schenkelberg Kelyan Diskin Aileen Kelly Charles Schwab Richard Shrock Mary Henderson (Mom) Christine Kahl Erica Tarpey K. Allison Wickens Carsten Rose Rebecca Martin Isaac Henderson Lulu Chou Jim Beck Monica Ware Helaine [Fendelman] I Love You! Burt M. Fendelman ‘97 Carolyn Mistler Jonathan Fendelman Heidi Ernst Lowell Ernst Jon Paul Fiening Terri Schroeder Doug Schroeder Grandma Fuson Ruth Jundt Wesley Wood Jonah B. Weinberg Aaron E. Weinberg Pierre Kaiser Martine Kaiser Robert Kaiser Mary Fuson Hazel Cybart Fuson Ruth Pingrey Pat Turner Anne Fuson Marilyn + Christ Langmack Craig Henderson Sandrine Gafner Daniel Strub Paul Lowenberg Marianne + Steve Driml Bob + Kathy Bye David B. Hopkins June Lowenberg Erin Hairopoulos Jon Becker Caroline Arnold Judith Boyd John Boyd Art Arnold Jennifer Arnold Humberto Gutierrez-Rivas Gina + Michael LaMark Frederica S. Ware Sally Davenport + Ben Moore Harvey and Carol Allen Mike and Patty Fuqua Ernest H. Rosenbaum The Bronson Family Burke + Kristin Bonilla Isadora Rosenbaum Lissa & Alan Glassberg With much love and joy to you both—Krysia [Swift] Best Wishes! Danielle Lawson Of perhaps 350 weddings, yours seems the most blessed—Peter Lawson The best of health & much happiness—The Freelands God’s Love Forever—Jim + Kate Fitzpatrick Kathy Kniepmann Sandi Peterson Jane Southworth Catherine E. Southworth Lily Fong & Aaron Lowenberg Letha B. Crist Kristin Swenson James K. Bronson Kristin Freeland Michael Jefferson Penny & Paul Hairopoulos Theodore J. Sather Linda H. Williamson-Sather Denis Turner Marissa Peterson [Amy & John] Marshall Leggett David B. Freeland Bill & Janet Goodson Lyman Fuson Sharon Cybart Clark Cybart-Fuson Teri Guidi Mark Guidi Nancy Lundtvedt Raedee McAleese-Kahl Kevin Kahl Lois & David Serxner Brian Dorske Lloyd A. Peterson Alice & Frank Diskin Madeleine Kaiser Rob Mullen Cindy Langmack Kiki Henderson Pam Fuson Cheryl Dorsey Larry Dorsey Jason Kimelman-Block Ginna Langmack Dorothy Turner Verne Henderson Craig McLellan Devora Kimelman-Block Christopher McLellan Sarah McLellan Lisse McLellan Jeremy Cohen Heather Dorsey Hal Fuson Uncle Bobbie [Clarence Turner] Gary Thurston Beth Dorsey Coleen Brendt & Leland Dobbs Anthony Patek Jessica Kimelman In the space following the last signature is a poem: "Understand, I'll slip quietly away from the noisy crowd when I see the pale stars rising, blooming over the oaks. I'll pursue solitary pathways through the twilit meadows, with only this one dream: you come too," by Rainer Maria Rilke from First Poems.

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

August 9, 1997

Method used to make the inscription:

Embroidery; Ink

Location of inscription:

on border

Time period:

Timespan

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

12/2004

Further information concerning dates:

The quilt top was pieced between 1996-1997; inscribed August 9, 1997; embroidered between 1997-2004; and quilted and bound in 2004.

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Floral; Solid/plain

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Machine Piecing

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery

Describe the techniques used to make the quilt top:

Amy Henderson designed the top by rearranging a Friendship Start block.

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

The quilt is hand quilted.

Quilt top made by:

Powley, Elizabeth; Powley, Sarah; Ainsworth, Elizabeth

Other people who worked on this quilt:

Crosby, Mildred; Fuson, John; Fuson, Pamela; Henderson, Amy; Henderson, Isaac; Hicks, Dottie; Kimelman, Jessica; Martin, Rebecca; Tjossem, Lois; Tjossem, Mary Ellen; Ware, Monica; Wickens, K. Allison; Wilson, Beth; Wilson, Olive

Where the quilt was made, city:

Davenport

Where the quilt was made, county:

Scott County

Where the quilt was made, state:

Iowa

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:

Elizabeth Powley pieced this quilt while she resided in Davenport, IA, although she did additional piecing in Collbran, CO. The quilt was inscribed during Amy and John's wedding ceremony in White Sulpher Springs Resort, St. Helena, CA. As Amy and John lived in a number of places between 1997 and 2004, the embroidery was done in Newark, DE; San Francisco, CA; San Diego, CA; Washington, DC; and Nantucket, MA. Finally, the quilting and binding were done by the Quilters at Mapleside in Paullina, IA.

Why was the quilt made?

Wedding

Describe the source of the pattern:

Original to maker

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

The photos include images of the quilt front, quilt back, detail of the signatures, detail of the poem, and a photograph of Amy Henderson, Elizabeth Powley, and John Fuson from August 8, 1997, the day Elizabeth presented the quilt top to Amy and John.

Quilt owner's name:

Amy Henderson & John Fuson

Quilt owner's city:

Washington

Quilt owner's state:

District of Columbia

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Description of quilt:

In the tradition of a Quaker wedding contract, Amy and John invited their guests to sign the border of their wedding quilt, pieced by their friend Elizabeth Powley, at their 1997 wedding. Amy, John, and many additional friends, embroidered the signatures and poem, and the top was quilted and finished by the Quilters at Mapleside, members of the Paullina Monthly Meeting of Friends in Paullina, Iowa.

Essay:

When John Fuson and Amy Henderson became engaged in June 1996 their friend, Elizabeth Powley, offered to help Amy make a wedding quilt. Although both Elizabeth and Amy were interested in quilts, came from quilt-making families, and had even begun teaching themselves how to make them, they were still inexperienced quiltmakers at this point in their lives. Amy initially wanted, for example, a Double Wedding Ring but quickly realized that neither she nor Elizabeth had the skills to make such a complex pattern in less than a year. Amy decided to focus instead on creating a pattern that would lend itself to signatures as she thought having the wedding guests sign the quilt, much as they would sign Amy and John’s Quaker wedding contract, would be a special way to document and preserve their wedding day. Amy drew inspiration for the pattern from a “Friendship Star” block she discovered in one of Elizabeth’s pattern books. Not understanding how to build a quilt out of the one block, Amy proceeded to map the Friendship Star block out on graph paper and rearrange the geometric pattern. She gave her drawing back to Elizabeth who, in turn, figured out how to translate the unique design into cloth. In the fall of 1996, John, Amy, and Elizabeth selected the fabric together at an Amish quilt shop, Kolona Kountry Kreations in Kolona, Iowa. Amy helped Elizabeth cut out some of the squares and triangles, but then the majority of the cutting and piecing fell to Elizabeth. Working with such small triangles was much harder than she had realized it would be, but Elizabeth worked steadily on the quilt top that entire year. By the middle of the following summer (John and Amy’s wedding was scheduled for August 9, 1997), Elizabeth realized she needed additional hands to finish the top, so she recruited her mother, Sarah Powley, and grandmother, Elizabeth Ainsworth—both experienced quiltmakers—to help her complete the piecing, which they did by the beginning of August. At their wedding, John and Amy set the quilt out on a table and invited friends and family to sign the quilt after they signed their wedding contract, immediately following the ceremony, to bear witness to their exchange of vows. As there was still space left along the white border following the last signature, Amy asked another friend, Monica Ware, to write out the text from the Rainer Maria Rilke poem she and John used on their wedding invitation to decorate the remaining space. Between 1997 and 2004, Amy worked intermittently on embroidering the signatures and the poem. She was also able to recruit a number of friends to help with the sewing: John, John’s mother Pam Fuson, Amy’s brother Isaac Henderson, and friends Monica Ware, Rebecca Martin, Allison Wickens and Jessica Kimelman, all embroidered their own names and a few others. John and Isaac did especially well considering that this was probably their first attempt at sewing! Amy and Elizabeth loved the idea of quilting the top together, yet their lives took them in different directions after 2001 making it impractical to finish it themselves. Elizabeth prepared that year to embark on a professional career in Rwanda, Africa, and Amy faced the challenges of completing graduate school while raising her young family. Amy knew that the best group to finish her and John’s wedding quilt was the Quilters at Mapleside, a collection of quiltmakers associated with the Paullina Monthly Meeting of Friends in Paullina, Iowa. Amy and her family are members of this Quaker Meeting and she had long known of the beautiful quilting they do to raise money for the Meeting and their charitable work. They have a waiting list several years long and Amy put their name down in the summer of 2002. Although the quiltmaker in charge of laying out the pattern, Mary Ellen Tjossem, invited Amy to suggest what kind of quilting she would like on the top, Mary Ellen and the other quilters are responsible for choosing the wonderful floral, feathered, and geometric patterns that best suited the layout and signatures on the quilt top. Once the Quilters at Mapleside received the top in August, 2004, they quickly went to work, completing the quilting and binding by December, 2004. The women at Mapleside who worked on this quilt include Mary Ellen Tjossem, Lois Tjossem, Beth Wilson, Olive Wilson, Mildren Crosby, and Dottie Hicks. Since 2004, John and Amy have chosen to hang the quilt in their home.

Who photographed this quilt?

Amy Henderson

Access and copyright information:

Open/Public Domain

Details

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