FRUGAL AND FANCY QUILTS

Last month I went to the Indiana State Museum to see their exhibit of Indiana quilts.  I was absolutely amazed at the beauty of the work the ladies made.  There modern and antique quilts displayed.  The exhibit's last day is July 17th.  Below are some of the pictures that I took.  Enjoy!

The Indiana Fancy Quilt was made by Clarissa Rohrbaugh Strong of Delaware County.    She made the quilt in 1854.  Her masterpiece is named and signed in bold appliqued letters.

This quilt was made by Marie Webster of Marion, Indiana.  She revived quilting in the early 20th century and wrote the first book about it.  The Dogwood design was published in the Ladies Home Journal in January 1912.  The exhibit also has the original blue print templates, tissue paper sample layouts and brief instructions she provided.

This basket quilt was made by Ruth Ann Trinkle in the 1890's-1900's.  These blocks are tiny!  There are five different blue prints used to form these tiny baskets.  Below is an up close picture of the basket block.

                                
The Pomegranate appliquéd quilt was made by Mary Jane Summers McClellan of DeKalb County in the 1850's.  This four-block or "quadrant" appliqué quilt is an early style favored before the Civil War.  

This QR Code quilt was made by Sherry McConnell of Madison County.  It was quilted by Deb Geyer.  Both of these ladies are friends of mine.  You can use your smartphone and see what this quilt will show.  It's pretty amazing.

So go to the museum and make time to see these quilts.  Take your time to soak up the history of these quilts and imagine what the quilters were like.