QUILT INDEX RECORD

33-29-17

Description of quilt:

Star of the Bluegrass Quilt made from a 1948 Mountain Mist pattern based on the quilt pattern of the 1933 contest's grand prize winning quilt.

Essay:

The grand prize winning quilt entered by Margaret Caden of Lexington, KY is missing. It was named Star of the Bluegrass in honor of the quiltmaker's hometown. Following the contest, quiltmakers were eager to make their own quilt from the design. Sears put out a pattern as well as Cappers Weekly. It wasn't until 1948 that this Mountain Mist pattern was published. This quilt is clearly not the grand prize winning quilt. Its fabrics appear to be of the late 1940s and early 1950s. And most importantly, the trapunto quilting for which the prize winning quilt was praised is not evident here. The 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

Merikay Waldvogel Legacy Project Number:

082

Person filling out this form is:

Quilt owner

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

Other

Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:

This quilt was made for the Stearns & Foster Co.'s corporate collection.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Star of the Bluegrass

How wide is the quilt?

77 inches

How long is the quilt?

90 inches

What color is the quilt?

Green

Overall color scheme:

Bright or primary colors

What is inscribed on the quilt?

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

1950

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Merikay Waldvogel

Further information concerning dates:

The copyright date for the pattern is 1948.

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:

Hand Piecing

What color is the back of the quilt?

Green

Describe the back:

Same fabric used throughout; Solid/plain

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Grid square

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

The original prizewinning quilt was notable for its "trapunto" quilting. This quilt does not have this type of quilting.

Quilt top made by:

Unknown

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

Why was the quilt made?

Other

Details about why the quilt was made:

It was commissioned as a sample quilt to be exhibited at department stores or at fairs and other occasions.

Quilt is presently used as:

Other collection

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Commercial/Published source: Pattern

Commercial name of the pattern for the top:

Star of the Bluegrass Pattern 100 (Copyright 1948) Stearns & Foster Co.'s Mountain Mist Pattern Line

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

This quilt was chosen for the exhibition of 30 quilts entitled “Patchwork Souvenirs of the 1933 World’s Fair” curated by Merikay Waldvogel and Barbara Brackman. Although the quilt was not entered in the contest, it provided the exhibit viewers an opportunity to see what the prize winning quilt looked like. 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), pp 50-51.

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

An advertising photo of the Star of the Bluegrass quilt on a bed is in the Waldvogel Collection. Mountain Mist batting wrapper with Pattern #100 Star of the Bluegrass is in the Waldvogel collection.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Who photographed this quilt?

Gary Heatherly

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Merikay Waldvogel