Quilt, Pieced Schoolhouses in Diamonds

Date1900-1930

MediumCotton

DimensionsOH: 73 1/4" x OW: 74"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2009.609.5

DescriptionQuilt pieced of white solid cotton and red geometric-printed cotton in a design consisting of 12 schoolhouses, each set within a diamond created by angled narrow sashing. Each schoolhouse has two windows, a door, and one chimney positioned in the center of the roof. Textile is quilted with running stitches to white cotton backing through medium weight batting in curving lines that create lily flower shapes within the diamonds.
Label TextSchoolhouses in Diamonds Quilt
Maker unknown
Probably New Jersey, 1900–1930
Cotton
5–6 running stitches per inch
73 1/4 x 74 in. (186 x 188 cm)
Museum Purchase, 2009.609.5
The popular schoolhouse quilts were made in a wide variety of designs. The twelve buildings in this quilt are set upright within diamonds created by angled narrow sashing. Instead of being made of solid red cotton, the buildings here are cut from cotton printed in a geometric design that suggests bricks and shingles. The quilting, which was first drawn with pencil, is worked with running stitches in curving lines that suggest lily flowers within the diamonds, and the border is quilted in waves.