1912: The Old Quilt #2

Photo taken in 1912 from the Lund family in Taos, New Mexico.

Arizona's star was the 48th, added in February, 1912. New Mexico was added a month earlier in January. We've been looking at quilts date-inscribed 1912 trying to get an idea of what was happening when Marie Webster began publishing her "New Quilts," modern applique designs.

Quilters working in 1912 had many published patterns for inspiration, among them the Ladies'
Art Company catalog from St. Louis, which featured a popular pieced alphabet.

Collector Lila Laurette Carroll had to have this L quilt

dated 1912.

Quiltmakers might follow traditional designs passed hand to hand as in this strip quilt of diamonds set with double pink strips (strip patterns hard to show in magazines and catalogs.)

And then there are independent artists---

Made by Ms Gehman for Jacob H. Gehman in Lancaster County.

The Gehmans were Mennonite.

Quilters all over the country had access to mail order patterns but in some areas they put their own stamp on the style.

The date is hard to see:

Perhaps Ella ETH 1912

We might guess the quiltmaker was a Southerner although the regional clues are
rather weak.

Mainly her use of a triple strip sashing, no border and the solid fabrics she chose for the sashing.

Teal blue-green and a red that faded to salmon tan.

Quilt inscribed Flora 1912 made by Laura Jones Pressgrove for her baby daughter who brought it to the Tennessee project for documentation decades later. Flora called it Bat Wing. All solids in red-brown and teal blue-green. This pattern we might call Pickle Dish was not published until 1931. When Laura made it the design must have been passed around
hand to hand.

From the Brown Collection of Amish quilts

Holmes County, Ohio

98 Y?

1912

JEH

Amish quilters had developed their own style based on their household fabrics, wool and wool blends, which included a good deal of black and other fabrics more colorfast than the solid cottons of the time.

Applique was no longer as popular as it had been during the 1840-1880 period, but women in Darke County, Ohio made many album samplers using pieced and appliqued designs in traditional primary colors. The eagle in the center was often added to these quilts dated between 1880 and 1920.

Again solid cottons were preferred.

This one 1912.

Tomorrow: If applique was out of favor just what were quiltmakers doing

instead in 1912?