QUILT INDEX RECORD

12-8-6078

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Michigan State University Museum

Who documented this quilt?

Michigan Quilt Project; The Henry Ford Collection

Michigan Quilt Project Number:

13.0059

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

72.140.1

This is a:

Finished quilt

Owner's name for the quilt:

Leaves and Vines

How wide is the quilt?

75.5 in

How long is the quilt?

80.5 in

Shape of edge:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Blue; Gold; Green; Maroon; Pink; Purple; Red; White

Antique colors:

Double Pink

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor

Describe the quilt's layout:

Vertical strip

Number of quilt blocks:

13

Size of quilt blocks:

75.5 in X 5 in

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Separated by plain sashing

Sashing width:

1.25 in

Number of borders:

1

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric types used to make the quilt top:

Muslin

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Floral; Plaid; Print; Solid/plain; Striped

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Cotton

How thick is the quilt?

Thin

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Grid diamond; Outline

Thread type used for the quilting:

Cotton

Color of thread used in the quilting:

White

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

9-10 stitches per inch

Can you see any knots on the front or back of the quilt?

no

How is the binding made?

Edges turned in/ no separate binding; Hand sewn

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

Describe the back:

Hand sewn; Solid/plain

What color is the back of the quilt?

White

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

3

Width of pieces on the back:

34.75 in; 34 in; 6 in

Quilt's condition:

Good/moderate use

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

This stunningly beautiful quilt is indisputably Susan McCord’s masterpiece. The trailing vine design is a McCord original. McCord pieced together printed and solid cotton fabric scraps to create the over 300 leaves on each of the thirteen vine panels. McCord used variations of this vine in the borders of several quilts. But McCord’s vine design is rendered to perfection in this work of genius.

When was the quilt finished?

1880-1890

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

1880-1890

Time period:

1876-1900

Quilt is presently used as:

Museum collection

Where the quilt was made, city:

McCordsville

Where the quilt was made, county:

Hancock

Where the quilt was made, state:

Indiana (IN)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

Susan McCord's Quilts: A Farmwife's Legacy, 1988. Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, Michigan. Quilting Genius, 2004. Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, Michigan.

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

Bryk, Nancy Villa, "Susan McCord's Quilts: A Farmwife's Legacy." Dearborn, Michigan: Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village, 1988. "Fons and Porter Presents Quilts from The Henry Ford: 24 Vintage Quilts Celebrating American Quiltmaking." Urbandale, Iowa: Landauer Corporation, 2005. Brackman, Barbara, Shauna Christensen and Deb Rowden,"Our Favorite Quiltmakers; Susan McCord: the unforgettable artistry of an Indiana Quilter." Lawrence, Kansas: Sunflower Pattern Cooperative, 2004. Fons, Marianne, "Fons and Porter Presents Quilts from The Henry Ford:24 Vintage Quilts Celebrating American Quiltmaking." Urbandale, Iowa: Landauer Corporation, 2005

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

Bryk, Nancy Villa, "Susan McCord's Quilts: A Farmwife's Legacy." Dearborn, Michigan: Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village, 1988. "Fons and Porter Presents Quilts from The Henry Ford: 24 Vintage Quilts Celebrating American Quiltmaking." Urbandale, Iowa: Landauer Corporation, 2005. Brackman, Barbara, Shauna Christensen and Deb Rowden,"Our Favorite Quiltmakers; Susan McCord: the unforgettable artistry of an Indiana Quilter." Lawrence, Kansas: Sunflower Pattern Cooperative, 2004.

Biography of the quiltmaker?

Susan McCord (1829-1909) was an ordinary Indiana farmwife with an extraordinary genius for quilt making. McCord, like other thrifty housewives of the era, sewed her quilts from fabric she had on hand, mostly clothing scraps. Her everyday life was filled with household and farm chores; her “scraps” of leisure time were filled with masterful quilt making. Susan and her husband Green McCord farmed an eighty-acre farm in McCordsville, Indiana. Here Susan McCord kept house, brought up her children, sewed clothing for her family, knitted accessories, practiced homeopathic medicine, read her bible through each year, participated in sewing bees, gardened, took care of the cows and chickens--and found time to make at least thirteen extraordinary bed quilts. McCord used traditional materials, techniques and patterns—but her considerable skill at manipulating fabric, color and design turned the traditional into something exceptional. McCord’s bed coverings stand as the extraordinary legacy of an otherwise little-known Indiana farmwife.

Quilt top made by:

McCord, Susan Noakes

Quilted by:

McCord, Susan Noakes

Quiltmaker's city:

McCordsville

Quiltmaker's state:

Indiana (IN)

Quiltmaker's county:

Hancock

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Other names quiltmaker was known by:

Noakes

Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:

Butler

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Ohio

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's birth date:

10-07-1829

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

12-12-1909

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's religious affiliation:

Methodist

Quiltmaker's occupation:

Farmwife

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Noakes, Amos

Quiltmaker's father's birthplace:

Vermont

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Noakes, Mahala Weathers

Quiltmaker's mother's birthplace:

Indiana

Quiltmaker's marriage date(s):

08-02-1849

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and /or partner's/partners' name(s):

McCord, Green

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

Farmer

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

5-20 quilts

Number of children:

7

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

2

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

5

Quilt owner's name:

The Henry Ford

Person filling out this form is:

Quilt owner

Source of the information on this quilt:

Museum representative

How was this quilt acquired?

Purchase

Ownership of this quilt is:

Public Museum, Library, or Institution

Quilt owner's city:

Dearborn

Quilt owner's county:

Wayne

Quilt owner's state:

Michigan (MI)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

The Henry Ford

When was the form filled out?

2013

Who photographed this quilt?

The Henry Ford

Details

• 

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

  Made entire quilt

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

  Purchased the quilt

  Shape of corners:

  Straight