QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-399

Who documented this quilt?

Michigan Quilt Project; Michigan State University Museum Collection; The Black Diaspora Quilt History Project

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Michigan State University Museum

Michigan Quilt Project Number:

92.0014

If this quilt is owned by a museum, enter the accession number:

7435.2

Object label:

Zinnia
Leona Johnson
Monrovia, Liberia
1992
Collection of Michigan State University Museum acc.#7435.2

Essay:

Modern-day Liberia was founded in the early 1800s largely by freed slaves from the United States and records listed seamstresses among some of the earliest settlers.

Though the history of quilting in Liberia has been traced to the nineteenth century, self-help qulting cooperatives established in the last quarter of the 20th century have quickly grown in membership and productivity.

From Great Lakes, Great Quilts.

Quilt's title:

Zinnia variation

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Floral Applique

Quilt top made by:

Johnson, Leona

Quilted by:

Johnson, Leona

If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?

Purchased the quilt

Where the quilt was made, city:

Monrovia

Where the quilt was made, country:

Liberia

Time period:

1976-1999

When was the quilt started?

1992

When was the quilt finished?

1992

Why was the quilt made?

Personal income

Quilt is presently used as:

Museum collection

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's city:

Monrovia

Quiltmaker's country:

Liberia

Quiltmaker's birth date:

about 1944

Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:

Liberian

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

From Relative

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

yes

This is a:

Finished quilt

How wide is the quilt?

94"

How long is the quilt?

96"

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Describe the borders:

5 1/2"

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

4

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Polyester

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

6

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

7

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Traditional pattern variation

Related items such as diaries, obituaries, wills, household inventories, or pictures of the quiltmaker:

Great Lakes, Great Quilts (2001) book, page 19.

Publications (including web sites) where this quilt or maker was featured:

Photos of quilter

Source of the information on this quilt:

Museum employee

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?

Purchase

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

11-3-1992, Rev. Emmanuel and Taylorie Bailey

Describe anything about the history of the quilt that wasn't already recorded in a previous field:

The quilt was brought to Flint, Michigan by the maker's sister's son, Rev. Emmanuel Bailey. Emmanual goes to Monrovia, Liberia about every 6 months to see his relatives and to work on the building of an orphanage for the victims of war. He put his order in for these quilts last January and then picked them up in August. He brought back 12 quilts this time, took them in mid October to the International Institute of Flint's fall sale and sold four. We purchased two at $250 each for the MSU Museum. The remaining quilts will be shown Brethren United Methodist Quilt Show in mid-November. Many Liberian quilters are decendents of American Slaves. Popular patterns include the Lone Star and Wig Rose (or Zinnia variation).

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

How did the quiltmaker participate in the creation of the quilt?

Made entire quilt

Who photographed this quilt?

Mark Eifert

Copyright holder:

Michigan State University Museum