QUILT INDEX RECORD

33-29-20

Essay:

The 1933 Sears National Quilt Contest was announced in January 1922 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:

002

Person filling out this form is:

Blood relative of quiltmaker

When was the form filled out?

c. 1980

Choose the best description of the source to the quilt:

Quilt owner

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

Inherited

Who helped you fill out the form?

Barbara Brackman

Location of data collection:

Correspondence

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Garden Kaleidoscopes

How wide is the quilt?

73 inches

How long is the quilt?

86 inches

What color is the quilt?

Blue or Navy; Coral; Cream; Green; Lavender; Pink; Red; White; Yellow

Overall color scheme:

Light or pastel colors

Type of inscription:

Date

What is inscribed on the quilt?

'33 in two places at center of quilt.

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

1933

Time period:

1930-1949

When was the quilt started?

c. 1933

When was the quilt finished?

c. 1933

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

1933

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Solid/plain

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Quilt top made by:

Barnfield, Mayme Heltman

Quilted by:

Barnfield, Mayme Heltman

Where the quilt was made, city:

Woodford

Where the quilt was made, state:

Oklahoma (OK)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Inheritance

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

The pictorial embroidered design was added after the contest when the quilt was given to quilter's daughter and current owner in the early 1940s.

Why was the quilt made?

Challenge or Contest entry

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Describe the sources of the quilt's materials:

According to daughter, "Her mother chose Sears best sunfast all cotton fabric for the contest quilt."

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Original to maker

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

The exhibition of 30 quilts entitled “Patchwork Souvenirs of the 1933 World’s Fair” was 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). Quilt has also been exhibited at Woodward, OK museum in 1985 and at a craft fair in Taloga, OK.

Contests entered:

Made to enter the Sears Quilt Contest, 1933 Chicago World's Fair, but she did not finish it in time.

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), xvi-xvii.

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

Quiltmaker's photo appears in Patchwork Souvenirs (p. xvi). Quilt was also featured in exhibit catalog: "Quilts, Cars, and Trains" Enid, OK, April 12-21, 1985.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Heltman

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

03/27/1875

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

07/31/1945

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's state:

Oklahoma (OK)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Pleasure

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

She had 7 years of art at Greeley Colorado College prior to her marriage. she knew color and design fairly well.

Who photographed this quilt?

Gary Heatherly

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Merikay Waldvogel