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1812 - 1814 "Pinwheel" Quilt

1812 - 1814 "Pinwheel" Quilt

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Description
In 1962 a great-great-granddaughter of one of the makers of this quilt donated it to the Museum with the information that it had been made by women in the Adams family. They were said to have made the quilt while the men were away during the War of 1812. The donor’s great-grandfather was Jackson Adams, her great-great uncle, Joshua Adams, and her grandmother, Jane Adams.
This quilt is made up of 7-inch blocks pieced in the "Pinwheel" pattern, alternating with plain white blocks. Detailed stuffed quilting embellishes the white blocks and border. Ten different quilting patterns are used for the plain blocks, all but one repeated.
The 8-inch white border has a quilted-and-stuffed feathered vine with small quilted-and-stuffed floral motifs. White cotton fabric was used for the lining, cotton fiber for the filling and stuffing. The pieced blocks and border are quilted at 9 stitches per inch. The “Pinwheel” Quilt, with its contrast of elaborate stuffed quilting and simply pieced blocks, is a fine example of early 19th-century quilting making.
Location
Currently not on view
Object Name
quilt
date made
1812-1814
maker
unknown
place made
United States: Maryland
Physical Description
fabric, cotton (overall material)
thread, cotton, linen (overall material)
filling, cotton (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 90 in x 82 in; 229 cm x 208 cm
ID Number
TE.T12815
accession number
242609
catalog number
T12815
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Cecil H. Naylor
subject
Quilting
See more items in
Cultural and Community Life: Textiles
Domestic Furnishings
Quilts
Family & Social Life
Data Source
National Museum of American History
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