D2013-CMD. Quilt 1974-193 with corner turned down

Images(2)

Quilt, Wool Embroidered

Date1790-1820

OriginAmerica, New England (probably)

MediumWool, wool and cotton, wool and linen; silk and linen quilting threads

DimensionsOH 102"; OW 84"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1974-193

DescriptionRectangular quilt with a center panel of medium-dark blue glazed worsted pieced up from reused crewel embroidery in multicolored floral and leaf designs. Flowers include thistles, carnations, lilies, with serrated leaves, strawberries in isolated sprays, and fanciful arrangements, all worked in long and short, stem, seed, and bullion stitches. Wide borders, 15 1/2 to 16" wide, on three sides and a narrow border at the top are bright pink glazed worsted without embroidery. Quilting design in the center (blue) area consists of diagonal lines that create a widely spaced chevron; the pink borders have undulating leafy vines, sometimes called "feathers," and diagonal lines. Quilting worked with running stitches at six to eight stitches per inch. Backing consists of numerous pieced scraps of homespun and imported wool textiles, one mixed with cotton, in stripes and solid colors of brown, tan, yellow-green, and blue. Woolen batting. Edges finished by turning them in toward each other.
Label TextThis quilt is made from a variety of recycled materials. Bright crewel embroidered flowers and leaves worked through a dark indigo blue ground have been pieced together from earlier scraps of an unknown artifact (perhaps originally bed hangings) to create the center panel of the quilt. A variety of woolen and woolen mixtures are pieced together to make up the quilt's backing. Around the edges, new pink glazed worsted is quilted with an undulating "feather" design on three sides, giving a unity and polish to the bedcover. The crewel embroidery at the center probably dates around the middle of the eighteenth century.