QUILT INDEX RECORD
12-8-7805
Who documented this quilt?
Michigan Quilt Project; Michigan State University Museum Collection
Where are the records for this quilt housed?
Michigan State University Museum
Michigan Quilt Project Number:
85.2133
If this quilt is owned by a museum, enter the accession number:
6119.27
Object label:
Flower Garden
Bozena Vilhemina Clarke
Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan
Appliquéd 1933, quilted 1934
Collection of Michigan State University Museum acc.#6119.27
Essay:
Eveline Foland, who was a designer for the Kansas City Star newspaper, created the pattern used for this quilt. When the patterns appeared one at a time in the Star, they were part of a twenty part series known as “Memory Bouquet.” The pattern was sold to the Detroit News, where, renamed “Flower Garden Quilt,” it appeared during 1931-1932. Foland’s work apparently appeared only in these two newspapers.
Bozena Clarke appliquéd the quilt in 1933 and then quilted it the following year as a gift for her daughter, Laura May Clarke. Clarke’s “Flower Garden” was entered in the 1937 Detroit News Quilt Show.
The Clarke Family Quilt Collection, given to Michigan State University Museum in 1986 by Dr. Harriet A. Clarke and her brother, George M. Clarke, includes forty-five quilts and quilt tops completed between 1926 and 1946 by Bozena Vilhemina Clarke, her daughter Laura May Clarke, and daughter-in-law Emilie Ann Clarke. The collection also includes numerous handmade templates and patterns, unique hand-colored graphs of planned quilts, newspaper and magazine clippings, and personal inventory notes written by the quilters.
By Mary Worrall, excerpted from American Quilts from Michigan State University Museum.
Quilt's title:
Flower Garden
Owner's name for the quilt:
Memory Bouquet
Brackman # or other source & #:
73.4
Quilt top made by:
Clarke, Bozena Vilhelmina
Quilted by:
Clarke, Bozena Vilhelmina
If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?
Received as a gift
Where the quilt was made, city:
Detroit
Where the quilt was made, county:
Wayne
Where the quilt was made, state:
Michigan (MI)
Time period:
1930-1949
When was the quilt started?
1933
When was the quilt finished?
1934
Why was the quilt made?
Gift or presentation
Quilt is presently used as:
Museum collection
Quiltmaker's gender:
Female
Quiltmaker's city:
Detroit
Quiltmaker's county:
Wayne
Quiltmaker's state:
Michigan (MI)
Quiltmaker's maiden name:
Motl
Quiltmaker's birth date:
2/24/1871
In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?
Urban
Quiltmaker's date and place of death:
3/17/1967
Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:
Bohemian (Czech)
Quiltmaker's educational background:
8th grade.
Quiltmaker's religious affiliation:
Congregational
Quiltmaker's occupation:
Worked for a tailor, then as a home maker.
Quiltmaker's father's name:
Motl, Franc
Quiltmaker's father's birthplace:
Austria
Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:
Bohemian (Czech)
Quiltmaker's mother's name:
Motl, Anna Smely
Quiltmaker's mother's birthplace:
Austria
Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:
Bohemian (Czech)
Quiltmaker's marriage date(s):
4/28/1896
Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and /or partner's/partners' name(s):
Clarke, William George
Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' ethnic/tribal background:
English
Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' occupation:
Lighting salesman and insurance salesman
Number of children:
3
How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?
2
How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?
1
How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?
From Friend
When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?
Age 50 or over
Why does the quiltmaker quilt?
Pleasure
Other notes on how the quiltmaker learned, and how and why they quilt:
Bozena was an accomplished needleworker when she learned quilt making from members of the Rebecca Jane Circle at her church.
Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:
20-50 quilts
Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?
yes
Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?
only informally
Does/did the quiltmaker belong to a group? Name of the group?
Rebecca Jane Circle
Where does/did the group meet?
Boulevard Congregational Church, West Grand Boulevard and Warren Avenue, in Detroit, Michigan
What are the main activities of the group?
This group quilted each others tops, quilted tops for friends, and made many items (especially aprons) for the church bazaars.
This is a:
Finished quilt
How wide is the quilt?
68 1/4
How long is the quilt?
93 1/2
Shape of edge:
Scalloped
Shape of corners:
Scalloped
Describe the corners:
Curved
What color is the quilt?
Green; Lavender; White
Overall color scheme:
Multicolor
Quilt's condition:
Excellent/like new
Type of inscription:
Date; Message
What is inscribed on the quilt?
Detroit News Pattern. Made for Laura M. Clarke by her mother. Entry in Detroit News Quilt Show 1937
Method used to make the inscription:
Attached label; Embroidery
Describe the method used to inscribe the quilt:
cross stitch
Location of inscription:
on back
Describe the quilt's layout:
Block pattern
Number of quilt blocks:
20 floral baskets in center. 42, tulip blocks around the outer edge.
Size of quilt blocks:
8 1/4 x 11
Arrangement of quilt blocks:
Straight
Spacing of quilt blocks:
Separated by plain sashing
Sashing width:
3 1/2
Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:
21
Number of borders:
1
Describe the borders:
The 42, 8 1/2 x 8 1/2, appliqued tulip blocks create the border.
Fiber types used to make the quilt top:
Cotton
Fabric styles used in the quilt top:
Solid/plain
Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:
Hand Piecing; Machine Piecing
Can you feel or see paper on the quilt that was used as a construction aid?
no
Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:
Hand Applique
Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:
Embroidery
Embellishments used:
Cotton thread
Materials used to make the back:
Cotton
Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:
2
Describe the back:
Same fabric used throughout
Materials used in the quilt binding:
Cotton
How is the binding made?
Bias grain; Commercial
What is the width of the binding (measure on the top only)?
less than a half inch
How wide is the binding (measure on the top only)?
1/4
What kind of filling is used in the quilt?
Cotton
How thick is the quilt?
Thin (Less than 3/16?)
How are the layers held together?
Hand quilting
Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:
7
Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:
7
Can you see any knots on the front or back of the quilt?
no
Quilting designs used, overall motifs:
Grid/crosshatch
Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:
Floral
Quilting designs used, background fills:
Parallel lines
Features or notes about the quilt's appearance, materials, or construction:
This quilt was made by Bozena for her daughter Laura and was entered in the Detroit News Quilt Show, 1937. The entry tag for the quilt is in the MSU Museum collection.
Where did the maker get their materials?
Purchased new
Where did the maker find their pattern?
Commercial/Published source: Newspaper
Commercial name of the pattern for the top:
Eveline Foland, 1930. 20 blocks were published in the Kansas City Star and 25 were published in the Detroit News.
Related items such as diaries, obituaries, wills, household inventories, or pictures of the quiltmaker:
Image of quilt maker, story of quiltmaker in Michigan Quilt: 150 Years of a Textile Tradition, patterns cut out from the Detroit News, and 6119.48 for handmade templates.
Publications (including web sites) where this quilt or maker was featured:
Image of quilt maker, story of quiltmaker in Michigan Quilt: 150 Years of a Textile Tradition, patterns cut out from the Detroit News, and templates.
Person filling out this form is:
Quilt owner
Ownership of this quilt is:
Public- Michigan State University Museum
Quilt owner's name:
Michigan State University Museum
Quilt owner's city:
East Lansing
Quilt owner's county:
Ingham
Quilt owner's state:
Michigan (MI)
How was this quilt acquired?
Gift
Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:
This quilt was made by Bozena Clarke as a gift to her daughter Laura. It was inherited by Laura's niece Harriet Clarke, who donated it to the MSU Museum in 1985.
Details
Access and copyright information:
Restricted
The quilt was made to be used for:
Bedding, special occasion
Describe any favorite patterns, tools, etc. used by the quiltmaker:
Bozena enjoyed the Detroit News quilt column and clipped and collected patterns from it. She also traded among family and friends.
Who photographed this quilt?
Fumio Ichikawa
Copyright holder:
MSU Board of Trustees
Cite this Quilt
Clarke, Bozena Vilhelmin. Flower Garden. 1934. From Michigan State University Museum, Michigan Quilt Project; Michigan State University Museum Collection. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=12-8-7805. Accessed: 07/27/24
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Ephemera
Handmade Household Inventory Booklet
Clarke, Laura May
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Collection
Clarke Family Quilt Collection
Michigan State University Museum
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Collection
Detroit News Quilt History Project
Salser, Susan
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Ephemera
Beauty in the Home
Crumb, Edith B.
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Ephemera
Beauty in the Home
Crumb, Edith B.
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Ephemera
Flower Garden Quilt - Pattern No. 01 -...
Foland, Eveline
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Ephemera
Beauty in the Home
Crumb, Edith B.
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Ephemera
Double Rose Is 14th Block
Crumb, Edith B.
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Ephemera
Beauty in the Home
Crumb, Edith B.
-
Ephemera
Beauty in the Home
Crumb, Edith B.
-
Ephemera
Beauty in the Home
Crumb, Edith B.
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Ephemera
Beauty in the Home
Crumb, Edith B.
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Clarke, Bozena Quiltmaker
Michigan Quilt Project