QUILT INDEX RECORD

33-29-56

Description of quilt:

State Flower Quilt made with Ruby McKim newspaper series published in 1931-32.

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. The contest organizers added a bonus prize of $200 if the grand prize winning quilt was in the theme of the Century of Progress. Some quilters simply embroidered a message to their quilt entry as the maker of this quilt did. Irene Schramm entered this quilt in the 1931-32 Ruby McKim State Flower Quilt Contest. A few months later with the words "Century of Progress 1933" embroidered across the top, she entered it in the Sears contest, hoping to win the $200 bonus prize.

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:

224

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:

State Flower Quilt

How wide is the quilt?

76 inches

How long is the quilt?

78 inches

What color is the quilt?

White; Yellow

Overall color scheme:

Light or pastel colors

Type of inscription:

Date; Message

What is inscribed on the quilt?

CENTURY OF PROGRESS 1933

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

1933

Method used to make the inscription:

Embroidery

Location of inscription:

other

Describe where the inscription was found:

On front at top border

Time period:

1930-1949

When was the quilt started?

1932

When was the quilt finished?

1933

Further information concerning dates:

This newspaper series of 48 blocks of State Flowers appeared in newspapers nationwide from 1931-32.

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Subject of the quilt:

State Flowers

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

Describe the techniques used to make the quilt top:

Note also that every embroidered block has the initials of the state--as per the original McKim designs.

What color is the back of the quilt?

Yellow

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Outline

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Cables

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

The embroidered message Century of Progress 1933 was not part of the State Flower series.

Quilt top made by:

Schramm, Irene

Quilted by:

Schramm, Irene

Where the quilt was made, city:

Gridley

Where the quilt was made, county:

McLean

Where the quilt was made, state:

Illinois (IL)

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 in El Paso, Illinois in Sept 2003.

Why was the quilt made?

Art or personal expression; Challenge or Contest entry

Quilt is presently used as:

Study or teaching aid

Describe present uses of the quilt:

Owner has loaned it to exhibits and gives lectures about the 1933 Contest using this quilt as an example.

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Commercial/Published source: Newspaper

Commercial name of the pattern for the top:

Ruby Short McKim "State Flower Quilt"

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

Quilts made from this State Flower quilt series were entered in a 1932 national quilt contest. Quilts were judged at local and national levels. Emma Leonhard (see 031) won the national award. The huge response to that contest might have been the inspiration for the 1933 National Contest sponsored by Sears Roebuck & Co. This quilt was created by Irene Schramm from the McKim series design which she collected and clipped from the Pantagraph newspaper of Bloomington, Illinois. The oral history surrounding this quilt is that it was entered in the 1931-32 "State Flower Quilt Contest" and then she turned around a few months later, added a top section to the quilt with the words "Century of Progress 1933" and entered it in the Sears contest. When the quilt was purchased, there was a blue ribbon attached to it that reads "Fall Festival and Colt Show Gridley, Illinois August 29-31, 1940." This quilt was officially entered in three separate quilt events.

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

2004 Spring International Quilt Festival "The World's Fair of Quilts", Rosemont, Illinois, March 26-18, 2004. Organized by Quilts, Inc. Houston, TX.

Contests entered:

"Ruby McKim series State Flower Quilt Contest, 1932. Sears Quilt Contest, 1933 Chicago World's Fair "Fall Festival and Colt Show Gridley, Illinois August 29-31, 1940."

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

Obituary published in Daily Leader (Pontiac, Illinois) on March 8, 1974.

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

State Flower Series Quilt - overview and 48 daily blocks. Collection of Merikay Waldvogel.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Janette Dwyer

Quilt owner's city:

Atkinson

Quilt owner's state:

Illinois (IL)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Andrews

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

27-07-1892

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

03-07-1974

Quiltmaker's religious affiliation:

Methodist

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' occupation:

Salesman in Hardware Store in 1930

Quiltmaker's county:

McLean

Quiltmaker's city:

Gridley

Quiltmaker's state:

Illinois (IL)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

According to her obituary, Irene Schramm was known as " 'Grandma Schramm' to hundreds of servicemen with whom she corresponded. Mrs. Schramm was a former reporter at Gridley for the Bloomington Pantagraph . . . She was a member of the United Methodist church, the Royal Neighbors of America and was past president of the American Legion Auxiliary."

Who photographed this quilt?

Sue Wildemuth

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Susan Wildemuth