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Morning Glory ; Blue Morning Glory (Doris)

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QUILT INDEX RECORD

18-14-34

Description:

Although several Gasperik quilts appear to be copies, in fact they are not. This matching pair of Blue Morning Glory quilts (#009 and #016) is an exception. They were made for Gasperik's son and daughter-in-law who probably requested the appliqué and quilting be identical because they were made for twin beds.

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Mary Gasperik Legacy Project

Who documented this quilt?

Mary Gasperik Private Collection

Gasperik Legacy Project Number:

009

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Morning Glory

Owner's name for quilt:

Blue Morning Glory (Doris)

How wide is the quilt?

66 inches

How long is the quilt?

98 inches

Shape of edge:

Scalloped

Shape of corners:

Scalloped

What color is the quilt?

Blue or Navy; Green; White

Overall color scheme:

Light or pastel colors

Quilt's condition:

Good/moderate use

Describe the type of inscription:

cloth label sewn to back lower left

What is inscribed on the quilt?

MARY GASPERIK
1411 W 174th STREET
EAST HAZELCREST
ILLINOIS

Method used to make the inscription:

Attached label; Ink

Location of inscription:

on back

Time period:

1930-1949

When was the quilt finished?

1938-1945

Date estimated by an antique dealer, quilt historian or appraiser:

1938-1945

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Merikay Waldvogel

Further information concerning dates:

Earliest estimated date is based on a 1938 packing slip for Bucilla kit #2005, Morning Glory.

Describe the quilt's layout:

Medallion or framed center

Describe the borders:

Three wide borders echo the scalloped edge. Colors of border are shaded from dark blue, through medium blue to light blue. Center panel is encircled with a morning glory vine. This border design element is part of the Bucilla kit #2005, Morning Glory.

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Solid/plain

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?

Blue or Navy

Describe the back:

Solid/plain

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Cotton

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Describe the quilting designs used:

Gasperik created her own quilting patterns for this pair of blue Morning Glory quilts.

The elaborate basket of fruit and flowers quilted into the very center of this quilt is found on 4 Gasperik quilts: #009, #016, #024, and #061. It is from an unknown source. The scale and elaborateness of this quilted vase is reminiscent of commercial applique flower basket block patterns widely available in the 1930s and 1940s.

Features or notes about the quilt's appearance, materials, or construction:

Applique is nearly identical in these two blue quilts except for one leaf turned in a different direction on each quilt.

Quilt top made by:

Gasperik, Mary

Quilted by:

Gasperik, Mary

Where the quilt was made, city:

Chicago

Where the quilt was made, county:

Cook County

Where the quilt was made, state:

Illinois (IL)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Inheritance

Why was the quilt made?

Gift or presentation

Details about why the quilt was made:

Made for her son Elmer and his wife, who may have requested them to be made in shades of blue.

The quilt was made to be used for:

Bedding, special occasion

Quilt is presently used as:

Keepsake/memento

Describe present uses of the quilt:

Mary's grandchildren regard her quilts as a unique collection to be preserved and appreciated.

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Commercial/Published source: Book; Commercial/Published source: Newspaper; Commercial/Published source: Kit

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

Commercial pattern

What is the commercial name of the quilting design used for this quilt?

Quilted oval feathered wreath may be adapted from quilting design #521 in Colonial Quilts by Hubert Ver Mehren.

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

Bucilla Applique Bedspread kit #2005, Morning Glory. Morning Glory Design No. 2005 kit was used to design the four Gasperik Morning Glory quilts, but Marie Webster's child's quilt design Morning Glory in pink was likely used as the inspiration for making adjustments and changes to the Bucilla design. Bucilla kits did not come in blue, they included multicolored flowers, and their flower and leaf pattern shapes do not match the shapes on the Gasperik quilts. It requires only 4 different pattern shapes to make the morning glory wreath: one flower, one bud, one calyx and one leaf. The patterns are simple: it is their arrangement and embroidery which create the beautiful complexity. Gasperik clearly admired the Bucilla border design. The Nancy Cabot quilt column (in the Chicago Tribune) also published a Morning Glory (oval wreath) quilt based closely on Marie Webster's 1912 design which appeared in her book and in Ladies Home Journal.

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

An exhibit tag which is separated from its quilt reads "Morning Glory Wreath First Prize in Springfield Mrs. Mary Gasperik".

The Quilts of Mary Gasperik, Ravenswood Historic Site, Livermore, CA, March 14-15, 1992.

Contests entered:

Illinois State Fair

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

Merikay Waldvogel and Barbara Brackman. Patchwork Souvenirs of the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, (Nashville, TN: Rutledge Hill Press, 1993)102-103.

Merikay Waldvogel "One American Dream Comes True", Quilters Newsletter Magazine, March 2008, 46-49.

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

Bucilla kit #2005, Morning Glory with entire contents: instructions, paper pattern, green and white fabrics for the background and yellow, peach, orange, blue and henna for the floral elements.

A Lazarus packing slip "Form 100-1-38" dates the kit to 1938

Nancy Cabot newspaper illustration of Morning Glory; Marie Webster's color photo of child's quilt Morning Glory

Bucilla boxtop indicates the kit was available in two colors: Orange and white or Green and white. Salser has an ebay printout of a quilt offered for sale in 2003 which looks like a completed Green and white Bucilla kit. That ebay quilt had a sewn on patch identifying the quilt as a gift "Made by Mary Reid 1927 and presented to Betsy Nichols 1952 Christmas".

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Elmer Gasperik heirs - Kathy Jacob contact

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Person filling out this form is:

Relative of quiltmaker; Author/researcher

If you are a relative of the quiltmaker, how are you related? The quiltmaker is my:

Grandmother

Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:

Grand-daughter Susan Salser began this research effort in 1991, after she and her two sisters divided up the quilts which belonged to their mother (Elsie Gasperik Krueger) who died in 1988. Her ongoing research has been fruitful and interesting.

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Mihalovits, Maria

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

01/25/1888

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

Hungary

Quiltmaker's date of death:

05/25/1969

Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:

Hungarian

Quiltmaker's educational background:

Elementary School

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's city:

Chicago

Quiltmaker's county:

Cook

Quiltmaker's state:

Illinois (IL)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Mihalovits, Istvan

Quiltmaker's father's birthplace:

Hungary

Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:

Hungarian

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Mihalovits, Vidoszava

Quiltmaker's mother's birthplace:

Hungary

Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:

Hungarian

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' ethnic/tribal background:

Hungarian

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

Milk Dealer/Grocery Store Owner/Butcher

Number of children:

3

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

1 (Elsie 1909-1988)

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

2 (Elmer and Stephen)

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

From guild or club member; Self-Taught

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 40-49

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Pleasure; Other

Other notes on how the quiltmaker learned, and how and why they quilt:

Mary Gasperik made quilts because it was her life passion and greatest talent. As opportunities arose, she entered contests and exhibited them publicly. She also made special quilts for her family.

Does/did the quiltmaker belong to a group? Name of the group?

Tuley Park Quilt Club and Detroit News Quilt Club

Does/did the quiltmaker belong to a group?

Chicago, IL and Detroit, MI

What are the main activities of the group?

Chicago group met to quilt and held periodic quilt shows; Detroit group held national exhibits and contests.

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

more than 50

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

no

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

no

Who photographed this quilt?

Don Gonzalez

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Susan Salser

Details

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Cite this Quilt

Gasperik, Mar. Morning Glory . 1938-1945. From Mary Gasperik Legacy Project, Mary Gasperik Private Collection. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=18-14-34. Accessed: 03/28/24

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