QUILT INDEX RECORD

15-11-150

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Wisconsin Quilt History Project

Who documented this quilt?

Wisconsin Quilt History Project

Wisconsin Quilt History Project Number:

858

Person filling out this form is:

Daughter of quiltmaker; Quilt owner

When was the form filled out?

04-28-1990

Choose the best description of the source to the quilt:

Quilt owner

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

Inherited

Interviewer:

Wendt, Kathy

Where was the quilt documentation day held?

Home of Gertrude Wiseman

This is a:

Finished quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

Steps to the Flower Garden

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Steps to the Altar

Brackman # or other source & #:

2288

How wide is the quilt?

76.5 in.

How long is the quilt?

98.5 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Blue or Navy; Brown; Cream; Green; Red; Yellow

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor

Quilt's condition:

Very good/almost new

Type of inscription:

Date

What is inscribed on the quilt?

quilted March 1939

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

03-1939

Time period:

1930-1949

When was the quilt finished?

03-1939

Family/owner's date for quilt:

03-1939

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

12

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Side by side

Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:

1

Number of borders:

3

Describe the borders:

1.25 in. solid cream cotton, 1.25 in. solid light green cotton, 1.25 in. solid darker green cotton

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric types used to make the quilt top:

Broadcloth

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Dotted; Floral; Geometric; Multiple scrap; Plaid; Print; Solid/plain; Striped

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Can you feel or see paper on the quilt that was used as a construction aid?

no

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

What color is the back of the quilt?

Green

Describe the back:

Same fabric used throughout; Solid/plain

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

Fabric structure of the binding:

Plain weave

How is the binding made?

Hand sewn

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

Thread type used for the quilting:

cotton

Color of thread used in the quilting:

white

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Outline

Describe the quilting designs used:

Strips and squares quilted on all sides.

Quilt top made by:

Roth, Zoe Johnson

Quilted by:

Roth, Zoe Johnson

Where the quilt was made, city:

Prairie du Chien

Where the quilt was made, state:

Wisconsin (WI)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Inheritance

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

The owner acquired the quilt when her mother broke up housekeeping in 1975--picked by toothpicks.

The quilt was made to be used for:

Bedding, special occasion

Describe present uses of the quilt:

Gretchen uses this quilt on her spare bed. She hasn't washed it. She recognizes their own dress fabrics, bought from Seas at 9 cents per yard.

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new; Sewing scraps

Where did the quiltmaker find the pattern for the quilting design on the quilt?

Public domain

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

The fabrics came from a scrap bag from sewing for her three girls. She bought new fabric from Montgomery Ward and Sears for 9 cents a yard. She would wait for the sale. Background and back were from Greeley's in Prairie du Chien. Sometimes she ordered patterns from Needle Art Guild in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She used cardboard for templates.

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

One of her quilts is on page 138 of Wisconsin Quilts: History in the Stitches, 2nd edition, by Ellen Kort.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Johnson

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

06-27-1893

Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:

Hillsboro

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Wisconsin

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

05-07-1983

Quiltmaker's occupation:

homemaker,canning factory worker, worked at Marouskek's bakery

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Johnson, Washington Albert

Quiltmaker's father's birthplace:

Hillsboro, WI

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Johnson, Effie May Shelton

Quiltmaker's mother's birthplace:

Lowell, WI

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' occupation:

stationery engineer at the box factory, kept boilers, worked at woolen mill, Phillip Morris tobacco factory

Number of children:

3

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

3

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

From Relative

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

20-50 quilts

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

yes

Describe any favorite patterns, tools, etc. used by the quiltmaker:

Zoe had 3 daughters. She would often make a quilt for each of them from the same pattern. After she ended up being the grandmother of three granddaughters and three grandsons, this practice of making quilts in threes continued – making a series for her granddaughters, then a series for her grandsons, then a series for the future husbands’ of her granddaughters, and then a series for the future wives’ of her grandsons. Some of her favorite patterns to work with were the Gold Star, the Rose of Sharon, the Ferris Wheel, but her most prolific quilting seemed to be developing creative and colorful patterns by piecing small triangle cut fabric in quilts she called Triangle quilts.

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

She couldn't wait to get everything done, and then she'd change her dress. Her daughter writes, "She made this potato cake but we can't make it like her." Zoe was very artistic, multi-talented, and worked in many mediums. In her teen years before Zoe was married, Zoe painted and framed some six pictures of local landmarks and other scenes that have since been passed down to her grandsons. Zoe also painted china dishes and glass bowls that her daughters and granddaughters have on display in their homes and treasure to this day. As for needlework, Zoe was very active with knitting, tatting, embroidering, crocheting, making throw rugs from unused rags, and of course her quilting throughout her life. Zoe had drawers’ full of handkerchiefs with crocheted borders that she loved to make. And Zoe’s daughter, Gertrude, still has the blue baby set (bonnet, sweater, booties, and blanket) that Zoe made for her grandson, Ron Wiseman, when he was born in 1947. Sewing was common for Zoe too, as she made many clothes for her family, especially dresses for her daughters – even making herself a split skirt suit in order to drive her motorcycle to work at the local canning factory.

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts