He did not know who made the quilt. He just felt that it was a part of his childhood and he cherished it. He rescued the quilt and found a quilt restorer in New Jersey to repair the edge of the quilt and replace two brown square patches that were deteriorating.
It spent the last 11 years under our bed in an old suitcase until last week when we took Jerry's quilt to the Quiltcon Show in Savannah, Georgia. Jerry was hoping to find someone that could appraise his quilt and give him more information about it.
We did not know at the time that Merikay was the Author of several books about quilting as well as a Curator and Lecturer on the subject. She was at the show simply to see the quilts and connect with friends!
Time Period: Late Depression 1930's-1940's
Pattern: 8 Pointed Star
Fabric Cotton, Some Acetate, Plaids, Solids, Outer Border and Binding Replaced in restoration.
Thread for quilting is a thick coarse thread - utilitarian
Hand carded cotton Thicker, Lumpy
Backing: Quilt "gauzey" loosely woved. Easy to Quilt - Utilitarian. Not many stitches per inch. Material might be a 100 pound sugar sack
Pieced by Hand. Quilted by Hand
"A Make Do Quilt"
She told us that this quilt was made to be used with materials that were available at the time. Below are photos of pieces of the quilt that might have been made with material from used clothing.
Jerry's Grandparents immigrated to America from Poland in 1904. His mother was born in the United States in 1921 and she worked as a child with her parents picking string beans on farms in Cordova, Maryland during the depression era.
She learned to be frugal and "make do" with resources available at the time. Jerry thinks the quilt may have been sewn by an Aunt or his maternal grandmother and then given to his mother. He is not sure though; and the people who might know the quilt maker are now deceased.
Do you have a quilt that has been handed down in the family? Are you a quilter? Do you belong to a quilt guild? You might want to learn more about the Quilt Alliance.
QSOS "creates through recorded interviews, information concerning quilt making both past and present. The archive for the original recordings and photographs is the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress."
You can learn more about this and volunteer to conduct your own QSOS interviews.