QUILT INDEX RECORD

33-29-44

Description of quilt:

Patriotic quilt that won a prize in the Seattle region.

Essay:

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. This patriotic quilt made by Verna Merrill won a Blue Ribbon given to winners in the Mail Order Division. In her region, three other quilts won the top regional prizes and were sent on to Chicago for judging in the final round.

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:

190

Person filling out this form is:

Daughter of quiltmaker

When was the form filled out?

July 1997

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?

Waldvogel

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Eagle and Swags

How wide is the quilt?

What color is the quilt?

Blue or Navy; Red; White

Overall color scheme:

Bright or primary colors

Time period:

1930-1949

When was the quilt finished?

1933

Describe the quilt's layout:

Medallion or framed center

Subject of the quilt:

Patriotism

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Silk

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Describe the techniques used to make the quilt top:

Swag border

What color is the back of the quilt?

Gold

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Describe the quilting designs used:

Stars in the quilting design

Quilt top made by:

Merrill, Verna Marinda

Quilted by:

Merrill, Verna Marinda

Where the quilt was made, city:

Grace

Where the quilt was made, state:

Idaho (ID)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Inheritance

Why was the quilt made?

Challenge or Contest entry

Quilt is presently used as:

Keepsake/memento

Describe present uses of the quilt:

Owner (quilter's daughter) has exhibited the quilt at local exhibits.

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Original to maker

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

Exhibited at the Seattle Regional site in June 1933. Exhibited in Salt Lake City, UT at the Tribune-Telegraph exhibition in 1937.

Contests entered:

Sears National Quilt Contest, 1933 Chicago World's Fair. Won Blue Ribbon in Mail Order Division/Seattle

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

Blue Ribbon (Mail Order Division) with a metal holder which has her name typed on a paper name plate. Box the quilt was returned in. The quilt owner still keeps it in the original box. There is a small square piece of silk-- on which she wrote: "this is my own work." Newspaper clipping (Seattle Times, May 15, 1933) advertising the Seattle contest and an exhibit to follow. An undated news clipping (probably in the Grace, Idaho newspaper) reads: A Beautiful Quilt Being Made by Mrs. R. D. Merrill Mrs. R. D. Merrill will exhibit through a Seattle organization at "The Century of Progress" at Chicago that may finally become the property of Mrs. Franklin Roosevelt. It is a beautiful creation, quality of material, artistry and symbolism combining to qualify it as a worthy treasure for "the First Lady of the Land." Mrs. Merrill is entering it in competition with others, which, too, have been created out of the ambition of makers that Mrs. Roosevelt will be the owner. The prize quilt under contest rules will be presented to the wife of the President of the United States. Mrs. Merrill's quilt is of her own design and is constructed of silk. The theme of patriotism is expressed through the American eagle, gorgeous feather coloring looming impressively. The field of the quilt is of pure white, varied details of design contributing for the sum total of beauty. The back of the quilt is of golden color."

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Skidmore, Verna Marinda

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

1899

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

1986

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and /or partner's/partners' name(s):

Merrill, Royal D.

Quiltmaker's city:

Grace

Quiltmaker's state:

Idaho (ID)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

She was born in Utah, but followed her husband to the little town of Grace, Idaho. The quiltmaker was a milliner in Grace, Idaho. She made drapes, wedding dresses, etc. According to her daughter, she was an artist. The quilt is all her own design. She dyed some of the fabric and quilted it herself.

Access and copyright information:

Restricted