QUILT INDEX RECORD
12-8-7353
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:
85.1692
Quilt's title:
Tropical Sanctuary
Names for quilt's pattern in common use:
Tree of Life
When was the form filled out?
9/16/1985
Quilt top made by:
Eitel, Jean Frances Parker
Quilted by:
Eitel, Jean Frances Parker
If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?
Made the quilt
Where the quilt was made, city:
North Palm Beach
Where the quilt was made, county:
Palm Beach
Where the quilt was made, state:
Florida (FL)
Time period:
1976-1999
When was the quilt started?
12/1984
When was the quilt finished?
1/1985
Why was the quilt made?
Therapy
Details about why the quilt was made:
This quilt was made as a form of therapy while I was taking care of my sick mother-in-law.
Quiltmaker's gender:
Female
Quiltmaker's city:
North Palm Beach
Quiltmaker's county:
Palm Beach
Quiltmaker's state:
Florida (FL)
Quiltmaker's maiden name:
Wright
Quiltmaker's birth date:
11/22/1941
Quiltmaker's educational background:
Fine Arts Textiles
Quiltmaker's religious affiliation:
Anglican, Episcopal Church
Quiltmaker's occupation:
Quilt magazine editor, quilt book author, quilter, lecturer
Quiltmaker's father's name:
Wright, Max Henry
Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:
English
Quiltmaker's mother's name:
Wright, Ernestine Elaine Havers
Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:
English
Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' ethnic/tribal background:
English Scottish German
Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' occupation:
Design Engineer
Number of children:
3
How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?
3
How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?
From Class
When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?
Age 30-39
Why does the quiltmaker quilt?
Pleasure
Other notes on how the quiltmaker learned, and how and why they quilt:
I make them because I have a compulsion to work with fabric, color, form and texture. Each finished quilt leads to a new idea, a new design. I just can't stop.
Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?
yes
Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?
yes
Does/did the quiltmaker belong to a group? Name of the group?
Sand Dollar Quilters
Where does/did the group meet?
North Palm Beach, Public Library
This is a:
Finished quilt
How wide is the quilt?
60"
How long is the quilt?
66"
Shape of edge:
Straight
Shape of corners:
Rounded
Quilt's condition:
Excellent/like new
What is inscribed on the quilt?
Jean Eitel
What is the date inscribed on the quilt?
1985
Method used to make the inscription:
Embroidery
Describe the quilt's layout:
Medallion or framed center
Number of borders:
1
Fiber types used to make the quilt top:
Cotton
Fabric types used to make the quilt top:
Chintz
Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:
Hand Applique
Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:
Embroidery
Materials used to make the back:
Cotton
What color is the back of the quilt?
White
Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:
2
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:
10
Quilting designs used, overall motifs:
Clamshell
Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:
Feathering
Quilting designs used, background fills:
Grid/crosshatch
Describe the quilting designs used:
Outline/Ditch
Where did the maker get their materials?
Purchased new
Describe the sources of the quilt's materials:
Fabrics purchased at various quilt shops.
Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:
Michigan Quilts: A Celebration of 150 Years of Textile Tradition, East Lansing, MI, September 12-November 1, 1987, Museum, Kresge Art Museum, MSU; Barrinton Folk Art Museum, Del Ray Beach, FL
Contests entered:
National Quilt Association Show, Sanford, FL; AQS Show, Paducah, KY
Related items such as diaries, obituaries, wills, household inventories, or pictures of the quiltmaker:
Michigan Quilts (1987) book, figure 254, page 156.
Publications (including web sites) where this quilt or maker was featured:
The Evening Times, Wednesday, January 30,1985
Ownership of this quilt is:
Private
Quilt owner's name:
Jean Frances Wright Parker Eitel
Quilt owner's city:
North Palm Beach
Quilt owner's county:
Palm Beach
Quilt owner's state:
Florida (FL)
How was this quilt acquired?
Made by owner
Access and copyright information:
Restricted
How did the quiltmaker participate in the creation of the quilt?
Made entire quilt
Describe anything about the design of the quilt that wasn't already recorded in a previous field:
The Tree of Life is first mentioned in Genisis in Bible. Maker is a student of theology.
Who photographed this quilt?
Peter Glendinning
Copyright holder:
Michigan State University Museum
Cite this Quilt
Eitel, Jean Frances Parke. Tropical Sanctuary. 1/1985. From Michigan State University Museum, Michigan Quilt Project; Quilts and Health. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=12-8-7353. Accessed: 03/29/24