QUILT INDEX RECORD

18-14-3

Essay:

Lilies block was a Detroit News quiltING pattern, which Gasperik used as an appliqué design on several quilts. This framed appliqué always hung in our parents' bedroom. It is one of the Krueger granddaughters' sentimental favorites, linking us to our mother and our mother to her mother.

To make this, Gasperik 'translated' a quiltING pattern into an applique pattern. In earlier years she had enlisted the drafting assistance of her daughter Elsie to help with such quilt projects. The Double Feather Star quilts (#045, #081, #006) and the Tree of Life (#031, #065, #044, #082, #083),  series, and the child's quilt called Four Little Pigs are documented examples of this. Salser wonders if perhaps Elsie helped her mother with the adaptation of the Detroit News Lily Bouquet pattern to applique. This could mean that the framed applique gift to Elsie was actually a Gasperik study in preparation for making her two most important quilts of 1944 - the ones celebrating the wedding of Elmer and Doris Gasperik (#012, #013).

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Mary Gasperik Legacy Project

Who documented this quilt?

Mary Gasperik Private Collection

Gasperik Legacy Project Number:

084

This is a:

Quilt blocks or pieces

Quilt's title:

Calla Lilies

Owner's name for quilt:

Calla Lilies

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Lily Bouquet

How wide is the quilt?

inches

How long is the quilt?

inches

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Cream; Green; Yellow

Overall color scheme:

Light or pastel colors

Quilt's condition:

Good/moderate use

Damage:

Fading

Notes on condition, damage, or repairs:

This framed applique hung in the bay window-seat of our parent's bedroom at 5317 University Avenue in Chicago when we were growing up. That is where it faded. Linda had it reframed to preserve it.

Type of inscription:

Date; Message; Single

What is inscribed on the quilt?

To Elsie 1944.

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

1944

Method used to make the inscription:

Embroidery

Location of inscription:

on block

Time period:

1930-1949

When was the quilt finished?

1944

Family/owner's date for quilt:

1944

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

1944

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Merikay Waldvogel

Subject of the quilt:

bouquet of calla lilies

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

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

No filling

How are the layers held together?

Not quilted

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?

Gift

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

Elsie brought this to Linda in the 1960s

Why was the quilt made?

Gift or presentation

Details about why the quilt was made:

Gasperik made this especially as a gift for her daughter

The quilt was made to be used for:

Artwork/wall hanging

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: Pattern

Commercial name of the pattern for the top:

The Detroit News Lily Bouquet Quilting Pattern 1743-ID48

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

Gasperik used the lily bouquet pattern featured in this framed applique on at least four completed quilts: #012 (a 1944 bridal bouquet), #013 (a 1944 wedding anniversary quilt), #064 (a circa 1956 wedding bouquet) and #068 (an undated and now missing quilt, which the family calls "Mom's Quilt" because Gasperik used it on her own bed, surviving as two family photographs).

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:

The family has Gasperik's own copy of The Detroit News Lily Bouquet Quilting Pattern 1743-ID48 (Karen, Linda and Susan Kruger - contact Karen Krueger Finn)

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Linda Krueger MacLachlan

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 marriage date(s):

11/18/1906

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' name(s):

Gasperik, Stephen

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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