QUILT INDEX RECORD
12-8-6430
Who documented this quilt?
Michigan Quilt Project; Quilts and Health
Where are the records for this quilt housed?
Michigan State University Museum
Michigan Quilt Project Number:
15.0050
Owner's name for the quilt:
Lone Star
When was the form filled out?
1/14/2015
Quilt top made by:
Batkins, Dorothy
Quilted by:
Treece, Margaret Fay Gerst
If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?
Inherited
Where the quilt was made, city:
Mt. Clemens
Where the quilt was made, county:
Macomb
Where the quilt was made, state:
Michigan (MI)
Where the quilt was made, country:
United States
Time period:
Timespan
When was the quilt started?
1940s
When was the quilt finished?
1980s
Quiltmaker's gender:
Female
Quiltmaker's city:
Mt. Clemens
Quiltmaker's county:
Macomb
Quiltmaker's state:
Michigan (MI)
Quiltmaker's country:
United States
Quiltmaker's maiden name:
Rocker
Quiltmaker's birth date:
1/31/1919
Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:
Mt. Clemens
Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:
Michigan
Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:
United States
Quiltmaker's date and place of death:
7/21/1956
Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:
German American
Quiltmaker's educational background:
High School
Quiltmaker's religious affiliation:
Lutheran
Quiltmaker's occupation:
home maker/mother
Quiltmaker's father's name:
Rocker, Amiel
Quiltmaker's mother's name:
Rocker, Flora Faulman Porth
Quiltmaker's marriage date(s):
October 1941
Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and /or partner's/partners' name(s):
Batkins, Leonard H.
Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' occupation:
machinist
Number of children:
3
How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?
3
How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?
Self-Taught
Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:
1-5 quilts
Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?
no
Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?
no
This is a:
Finished quilt
How wide is the quilt?
75"
How long is the quilt?
89"
Shape of edge:
Straight
What color is the quilt?
Brown; Cream; Orange; Yellow
Describe any colors not included in the other color fields:
salmon
Describe the quilt's layout:
Medallion or framed center
Number of borders:
Short end: 4 Long Side: 2
Describe the borders:
Short end: 8", 2", 1", 8" Long side: 8", 3.5”
Fiber types used to make the quilt top:
Cotton
Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:
Machine Piecing
Materials used to make the back:
Cotton
Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:
2
Materials used in the quilt binding:
Cotton
How is the binding made?
Bias grain
What kind of filling is used in the quilt?
Cotton
How are the layers held together?
Hand quilting
Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:
8
Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:
9
Quilting designs used, overall motifs:
In-the-ditch; Outline; Single parallel lines
Ownership of this quilt is:
Private
Quilt owner's name:
Donald Batkins
Quilt owner's city:
Nashua
Quilt owner's state:
New Hampshire (NH)
Quilt owner's country:
United States
How was this quilt acquired?
Inheritance
Describe anything about the history of the quilt that wasn't already recorded in a previous field:
Dorothy Rocker Batkins made quilts for her family beginning in the 1940s. She was terminally ill at the time she finished piecing this quilt top. It was a work of love for her 13 year old son, Donald L. Batkins. Dorothy had cancer and was bed-ridden for a considerable time before she died. She loved to do hand work and pieced quilt tops for her three sons, Donald (13), Dale (5), and Dean (3). She placed these quilt tops, as well as baby clothing and photo albums into boxes for each of her children to receive when they became adults. Donald received his when he married Linda Lee Gerst in 1966, in Belleville, Michigan. Linda asked her sister, Margaret Fay Gerst Treece, to put borders and backing on the pieced top and to quilt it. It was presented as a Valentine's Day gift to Donald in the mid-80's.
Details
Access and copyright information:
Restricted
How did the quiltmaker participate in the creation of the quilt?
Made entire quilt top
Copyright holder:
MSU Board of Trustees
Cite this Quilt
Batkins, Doroth. Lone Star. 1980s. From Michigan State University Museum, Michigan Quilt Project; Quilts and Health. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=12-8-6430. Accessed: 04/25/24