“…when a girl got married, she always had to have twelve quilts to start off with…the lady usually made some of the quilts herself. And then the community usually got together and quilted a quilt or two for the bride.”
~ Ellene Gowder
History:
Most girls learned to quilt at a young age, usually before or around the age of ten. By the time girls were of marrying age, they were expected to have several quilts made. Some of these would be of her own creation, some would be made as gifts by the community. The poor quality of piecing and stitching evident in this quilt suggests that it was probably a beginning project for a young quilter. This quilt hung in the Foxfire classroom for several years before it was moved to the museum where it is now kept in climate-controlled storage.
Description:
A six-pointed star quilt made of dark teal and white stars on a brown background. The border of star blocks made from orange fabric. The star blocks are alternated with blocks of plain brown. The quilting on star blocks is done around pattern edges while brown blocks have a quilted design of circles with radial lines. The top right and left corner blocks are stitched in grid pattern. Some stars are on tan backgrounds. The stitching is done in tan or blue thread. The back of quilt is plain cotton. Half of the quilt has binding with rounded corners. This binding is a mix of small, floral-printed calico; the rest has an iron work design on a beige background. The quilt blocks are offset and do not match up correctly.
