QUILT INDEX RECORD

33-29-14

Description of quilt:

Silk quilt with applique motifs related to the history of Chicago.

Essay:

This quilt was entered in the contest--obviously with the hopes of winning a bonus prize for its original design. The contest entry form (and the quilter's explanation of the symbolism) were separated from the quilt when it was sold sometime in the 1980s, but they were reunited when a memorabilia collector noticed that his World's Fair items connected to the I Will quilt photographed in Patchwork Souvenirs. The quilt did not win a prize despite the quiltmaker's extra efforts in design and research. In 1933 Sears National Quilt Contest was announced in January 1933 with a deadline of May 15, 1933. Over 24,000 quilts were entered at local Sears stores or sent to one of 10 regional mail order houses. Quilts were judged at each site with the top three winners moving onto the next round. Finally just 30 quilts reached the final judging held at the Sears Pavilion on the 1933 Chicago World's Fair site.

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Merikay Waldvogel Legacy Project

Who documented this quilt?

Merikay Waldvogel Legacy Project; Sears Quilt Contest 1933 Chicago World's Fair; Chicago Historical Society Collection

Merikay Waldvogel Legacy Project Number:

074

Person filling out this form is:

Quilt owner

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

Purchased the quilt

Who helped you fill out the form?

Waldvogel

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

I Will

How wide is the quilt?

75 inches

How long is the quilt?

89 inches

What color is the quilt?

Brown; Cream; Orange; Purple

Damage:

Tears or holes

Type of inscription:

Date

Describe the type of inscription:

Applique

What is inscribed on the quilt?

The official contest entry label includes contest entry information: Name of Maker. Pattern Name, When Quilt Was Made, Selling Price if willing to sell, Quilter's Name, Address, City and State, Sears Store Name/Number. Entry label also included the following statement: "I certify that this quilt is entirely of my own making, and that it has never been exhibited previously" to which the quilter signed her name. On this tag: Elizabeth M. Wiegand named her quilt "The Chicago Quilt". She'd been working on it since January 1933. She would sell it for $250.00. She entered it at the State Street Store. She signed it and gave her address as Lakewood, Michigan, Muskegon County.

Subject of the quilt:

The quiltmaker named this quilt "The Chicago Quilt". After the book Patchwork Souvenirs was published, a World's Fair memorabilia collector whose wife happened to be a quilter bought the contest tag and the quiltmaker's description of her quilt. Only then did we find out the maker's name. Here is what she wrote about the symbolism of her quilt: "The Spirit of Chicago Quilt" As the title indicates, this Quilt is designed to show the remarkable progress which has transformed a struggling frontier settlement into one of the foremost cities of the world. The center typifies the militant spirt of progress which the Century of Progress Exhibition commemorates, the shield borne by the figure bearing the slogan "I Will". Striking points in the history of the city are displayed in each corner of the quilt, and the two insets of the world in progress are carried out in the quilted design of the inner border.About the border of the quilt are one hundred green points commemorating the one hundred years of Chicago's existence as an organized community."

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Silk

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Blanket, buttonhole, or other decorative applique stitch; Hand Applique

Describe the techniques used to make the quilt top:

"All applique work is outlined with embroidery floss sewed in." This handwritten notation is on the Quilt description card that belongs to this quilt.

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Other

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Parallel lines

Describe the quilting designs used:

The spinning earth logo is used to fill out the inner purple border. This quiltmaker made her own rendition of the World's Fair logo. Notice she also used it in two applique motifs.

Quilt top made by:

Wiegand, Elizabeth M.

Quilted by:

Wiegand, Elizabeth M.

Where the quilt was made, city:

Lakewood

Where the quilt was made, county:

Muskegon

Where the quilt was made, state:

Michigan (MI)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Purchase

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

Quilt was purchased by Marilyn M. Woodin for the Kalona (IA) Quilt and Textile Museum. She loaned the quilt to the Patchwork Souvenirs exhibit. Afterwards, she donated it to the Chicago Historical Society.

Why was the quilt made?

Challenge or Contest entry

Quilt is presently used as:

Museum collection

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Original to maker

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

The center image is of the "I Will Lady" from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. I Will is the motto of Chicago and it reflects the city's efforts throughout its history to overcome calamaties (such as the raid on Fort Dearborn and the Chicago Fire). The marble bust of the I Will Lady was a popular souvenir of the 1893 fair. And this quiltmaker decided to use it in her quilt. See pg 81 (Patchwork Souvenirs) for a photo of the I Will Lady bust. Because at the time of the exhibition the curators did not have the information on the contest entry form and the quiltmaker's own description, Waldvogel named it "I Will" quilt.

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

This quilt travelled in the exhibition of 30 quilts entitled “Patchwork Souvenirs of the 1933 World’s Fair” curated by Merikay Waldvogel and Barbara Brackman. The Knoxville Museum of Art and Smith-Kramer, Inc. coordinated the travelling exhibition to the following sites: Jan 7-Feb 7, 1994 Palm Beach, FL (The Society of the Four Arts); Mar 20-July 17, 1994 Lexington, MA (Museum of Our National Heritage); Aug 7–Sep 25, 1994 Midland, MI (Midland Center for the Arts); Oct 16–Dec 4, 1994 Logan, KS (Dane G. Hansen Memorial Museum; Dec 18, 1994–Apr 23, 1995 Chicago, IL (Chicago Cultural Center); May 10-Jul 2, 1995 Grosse Pointe Shores, MI (Edsel and Eleanor Ford House); Jul 23-Sep 10, 1995 Los Angeles, CA (Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum); Oct 1-Nov 19, 1995 Janesville, WI (Rock County Historical Society); Dec 10, 1995-Jan 28, 1996 Neenah, WI (Bergstrom-Mahler Museum); Feb 18-Apr 8, 1996 Lexington, KY (University of Kentucky Art Museum); May 3-July 24, 1996 Knoxville, TN (Knoxville Museum of Art).

Contests entered:

Sears National Quilt Contest, 1933 Chicago World's Fair

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

Merikay Waldvogel and Barbara Brackman. Patchwork Souvenirs of the 1933 World's Fair (Nashville, TN: Rutledge Hill Press, 1993)

Ownership of this quilt is:

Public Museum, Library or Institution

Quilt owner's name:

Chicago Historical Society

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's county:

Muskegon

Quiltmaker's city:

Lakewood

Quiltmaker's state:

Michigan (MI)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Who photographed this quilt?

Gary Heatherly

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Merikay Waldvogel