QUILT INDEX RECORD
12-8-6078
Who documented this quilt?
Michigan Quilt Project; The Henry Ford Collection
Where are the records for this quilt housed?
Michigan State University Museum
Michigan Quilt Project Number:
13.0059
If this quilt is owned by a museum, enter the accession number:
72.140.1
Owner's name for the quilt:
McCord Vine Quilt
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.
When was the form filled out?
2013
Quilt top made by:
McCord, Susan Noakes
Quilted by:
McCord, Susan Noakes
If you are a relative of the quiltmaker, how are you related? The quiltmaker is my:
Quilt owner
If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?
Purchased the quilt
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
Time period:
1876-1900
When was the quilt finished?
1880-1890
Date estimated by an antique dealer, quilt historian or appraiser:
1880-1890
Quilt is presently used as:
Museum collection
Quiltmaker's gender:
Female
Quiltmaker's city:
McCordsville
Quiltmaker's county:
Hancock
Quiltmaker's state:
Indiana (IN)
Quiltmaker's country:
United States
Quiltmaker's maiden name:
Noakes
Quiltmaker's birth date:
10-07-1829
Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:
Butler
Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:
Ohio
Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:
United States
In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?
Rural
Quiltmaker's date and place of death:
12-12-1909
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 spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' occupation:
Farmer
Number of children:
7
How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?
2
How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?
5
Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:
5-20 quilts
This is a:
Finished quilt
How wide is the quilt?
75.5 in
How long is the quilt?
80.5 in
Shape of edge:
Straight
Shape of corners:
Straight
What color is the quilt?
Blue; Gold; Green; Maroon; Pink; Purple; Red; White
Antique colors:
Double Pink
Overall color scheme:
Multicolor
Quilt's condition:
Good/moderate use
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
Materials used to make the back:
Cotton
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
Describe the back:
Hand sewn; Solid/plain
How is the binding made?
Edges turned in/ no separate binding; Hand sewn
What kind of filling is used in the quilt?
Cotton
How thick is the quilt?
Thin
How are the layers held together?
Hand quilting
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
Quilting designs used, overall motifs:
Grid diamond; Outline
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.
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.
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.
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
Person filling out this form is:
Quilt owner
Source of the information on this quilt:
Museum representative
Ownership of this quilt is:
Private- Nonprofit Organization
Quilt owner's name:
The Henry Ford
Quilt owner's city:
Dearborn
Quilt owner's county:
Wayne
Quilt owner's state:
Michigan (MI)
Quilt owner's country:
United States
How was this quilt acquired?
Purchase
Details
Access and copyright information:
Restricted
How did the quiltmaker participate in the creation of the quilt?
Made entire quilt
Who photographed this quilt?
The Henry Ford
Copyright holder:
The Henry Ford
Cite this Quilt
McCord, Susan Noake. McCord Vine Quilt. 1880-1890. From Michigan State University Museum, Michigan Quilt Project; The Henry Ford Collection. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=12-8-6078. Accessed: 03/29/24