Introduction
Welcome to Quilts A to Z! an enjoyable overview of quilting terms and techniques,
a brief examination of the multitude of quilt patterns and their
even more numerous names, and a revolving exhibit of fabulous
quilts from the collections of the Nebraska State Historical
Society and the International Quilt Study Center.
This exhibit is arranged alphabetically
by pattern name, and each section
features definitions of a few quilting terms. In selecting the
quilts for this exhibit we chose ones that have rarely (if ever)
been exhibited. Some of the patterns were easily identifiable,
while others proved more difficult. As quilt historian Judy Anne
Johnson Breneman said, "Rarely does a quilt pattern have
just one name and often a quilt name is given to more than one
quilt pattern." Whether or not you agree with the pattern
names assigned to the quilts in this exhibit, we hope you will
enjoy viewing them and that you will learn a little more about
quilts and quilting . . . A to Z!
Quilts A to D
Amish Shadow Quilt
Alternate pattern name: Shadows
Maker unknown
Date Unknown
67" x 63"
Nebraska State Historical Society, Source: Meda Knapp,
8631-1
This quilt belonged to Mrs. Anna Holliet
Knapp, the donor's mother-in-law, who received it
from her mother. Anna Knapp was born in 1876 and married Robert
Knapp around 1893. This quilt was one of Anna's prized possessions.
Appliqué:
A process in which small pieces of fabric are sewn onto larger
pieces of fabric by
hand or machine. Appliqué, the French word for "apply,"
is commonly referred to in earlier publications and "laid
work."
Album Quilt: A
quilt assembled from individual blocks, each designed and/or
executed by a
different person. Album blocks are appliquéd, pieced (or
both), and frequently stitched into a
quilt by a group for presentation to a public figure or to commemorate
a special occasion. In the past, blocks were often signed and
dated by the maker in India ink or embroidery. Today, special
markers are available for signing.
Baskets
Ethel King Bates, Omaha
1920-1940
80 .5" x 72"
Nebraska State Historical Society, Source: Beverly Dorwick,
11137-1
This typical basket pattern may have developed
from the earlier method of quilting known as Broderie Perse,
from the French for "Persian Embroidery." Broderie
Perse quilts feature motifs cut from printed chintz that are
then arranged and appliquéd onto a solid fabric. Baskets
were popular motifs in these quilts and the pieced basket pattern
may have been adapted from them. The earliest dated pieced basket
quilt is from 1855. Ethel King Bates, the donor's maternal grandmother,
made this basket quilt for Marjorie Bates, her daughter and the
donor's aunt.
Backing:
The fabric used as the bottom layer of the quilt sandwich.
Batting: The filling in a quilt or the middle layer of
the quilt sandwich. Batting may be of cotton, wool, or polyester.
Bear's Paw
Attributed to Clara Bontranger, probably Holmes County, Ohio
1874
81" x 68"
International Quilt Study Center, Ardis and Robert James Collection,
1997.007.0340
The genesis of the Bear's Paw pattern is
seen in the saw tooth designs found in early American quilts,
most commonly as borders. This design is the building block of
numerous patterns from the Bear's Paw to the Feathered Star and
Delectable Mountains.
Calico: Any
cotton fabric with small repeated print designs, commonly floral.
Cherry Basket
Fannie Scheafer Lightner, Pennsylvania
Pre-1887
97" x 93"
Nebraska State Historical Society, Source: Mrs. William Fleming,
8911-1
Fannie Scheafer Lightner, the donor's grandmother,
made this basket quilt in Perry County, Pennsylvania, sometime
before 1887.
Crazy
Ladies Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Filley,
Nebraska
1893
86" x 69"
Nebraska State Historical Society, Source: Mrs. K. L. McGill,
8636-1
This fabulous crazy quilt was used as a
fundraising project for the Ladies Aid Society of the Methodist
Episcopal Church in Filley, Nebraska, in 1893. Twenty quilt blocks
were made and nineteen were embroidered with the names or initials
of the maker. The twentieth block (in the center) featured the
inscription for the Society and the year. Money was raised by
selling the privilege of having one's name inscribed on the back
of the quilt. Whoever raised the most money won the quilt. The
donor's mother, Kate Williams Filley (Mrs. O. E. Filley), was
the winner and received the added bonus of having to back the
piece. Ingeniously, Kate typed the names of the "benefactors"
onto seventeen-inch strips, and laid them so that each maker's
square would be backed by her list of names. This quilt won many
prizes at the Nebraska State Fair before Kate and her husband
left Nebraska for Muskogee, Oklahoma, (then called Indian Territory),
around 1900. It won another prize from the New State Fair Association
in Muskogee before being retired from competition due to signs
of wear.
Chintz:
A cotton fabric, often with large, predominantly floral prints,
which has been treated so the surface is shiny, or has a sheen
to it. Chintz was quite popular in the Civil War era.
Crazy Quilt:
The origin of crazy quilts may be linked to the Philadelphia
Centennial Exposition of 1876, where Japanese art and home furnishings
were exhibited and popularized. Seeking to replicate the asymmetry
found in some Japanese art, quilters and women's publications
encouraged the making of crazy quilts. Although seemingly random
and made from scraps, many crazy quilts were carefully planned,
highly embellished, and used the finest fabrics. While crazy
quilts were also constructed in plainer fashion with sturdier
fabrics, the fancier quilts were not meant solely as bedcovers
but as decoration or a testament to the maker's skill
Directional Borders:
Borders that flow in a particular direction.
Directional Prints: Fabrics with prints that flow in a particular direction.
Double Wedding Ring
Bertha G. Cairns, Nebraska
Circa 1920
84" x 72"
Nebraska State Historical Society, Source: Edmund B. Cairns,
7570-8
Although an adaptation of the older Pickle
Dish and Friendship Knot designs, the Double Wedding Ring pattern
on this quilt emerged in the 1920s. Mrs. Bertha G. Cairns constructed
the quilt entirely by hand over a period of several years, and
her family enjoyed it for many more years in Seward, Lincoln,
and Omaha.
Double X
Alternate pattern names: Old Maid's Puzzle, Fox & Geese
Maker Unknown
Date Unknown
84" x 70"
Nebraska State Historical Society, Source: Gladys K. Dolan,
6115-33
The donor's father, Homer L. Kindred, was
two years old when his family came to Nebraska from Indiana in
1868, bringing with them this lovely quilt. They settled near
Omaha and later at Homer, Nebraska. Homer Kindred eventually
married, took up the practice of medicine, and raised a family
in Meadow Grove.
