QUILT INDEX RECORD
18-14-35
Description:
The pair of Blue Morning Glory quilts are alike in both appliqué and quilting. This 1992 photograph of the second of the quilts shows the damage caused by a family dog 50 years earlier. In 1999, Mary's grand-daughter, Joanne Gasperik, an award-winning quilter in her own right, repaired the damaged lower section of the quilt.
Where are the records for this quilt housed?
Mary Gasperik Legacy Project
Who documented this quilt?
Mary Gasperik Private Collection
Gasperik Legacy Project Number:
016
This is a:
Finished quilt
Quilt's title:
Morning Glory
Owner's name for quilt:
Morning Glory (Doris)
How wide is the quilt?
66 inches
How long is the quilt?
99 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:
Fair/worn
Damage:
Tears or holes
Repairs:
Patched with new fabrics
Notes on condition, damage, or repairs:
Mary Gasperik's grand-daughter Joanne Gasperik repaired the quilt in 1999.
Type of inscription:
Other
Describe the type of inscription:
Joanne Gasperik, who repaired the torn quilt, sewed an inked label on the repaired quilt in 1999.
What is inscribed on the quilt?
Mary Gasperik is the maker of this quilt. Above is the remnant of her original label. It is thought to be an early quilt - before 1939. Sandy, the boxer, got lonesome and bored one day, and took her frustrations out on this quilt, one of a pair. Granddaughter Joanne Gasperik restored it June 5-22, 1999
What is the date inscribed on the quilt?
1999
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 #2005 Morning Glory.
Describe the quilt's layout:
Medallion or framed center
Number of borders:
3
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
Can you see any knots on the front or back of the quilt?
no
Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:
Feathering; Wreaths
Describe the quilting designs used:
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 #06. 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:
Details about the quilt's original construction can be found in a letter from Joanne Gasperik, who repaired the quilt in 1999. Her letter describes in detail both what she learned about Gasperik's original quilt-making techniques, and the exact nature of the repairs that she made. The contents of this letter are transcribed by Salser under the field category: "Other related items such as publications, image, oral history, or ephemera"
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:
Given by Mary Gasperik to her son Elmer and daughter-in-law Doris
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?
Published material
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 "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"
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; 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". Letter from Joanne Gasperik documenting her restoration of this quilt: "I began the restoration of "Blue Morning Glory" late in the day June 5, 1999. It took 2 days to "reverse stitch" the applique of the middle scallop to the border scallop. Then I "unquilted" the first row of quilting in the middle scallop, to easier slip the new border under. Original quilting threads seemed normal length, were knotted at one end only and back-woven 1" to 1.5". Starts and stops of applique thread were difficult to determine. New backing fabric was appliqued first, along the entire bottom and up the right side of the quilt about 30", and a little part of the damaged area. Then I appliqued the front fabric, trimming to a generous curved seam allowance. Not wanting two seams next to each other, I decided against mitering the left hand corner, and ran the fabric straight across to the first available original binding fabric. After all new fabric was attached, I cut away the torn areas in a straight line, parallel to the back seam and whip-stitched the new batting - Hobbs Organic Cotton/ with scrim - to the old batt. This was the thinnest of all cotton batting I could find, to match the thin, but uneven old batting. When it came time to quilt, I first tried painstakingly to replace each stitch where it had been, but the scallops and points on the original were random and uneven. Two corners originally had 5 quilting rows, one had 6, and one had 7 rows. I decided to have all points meet at the top, and therefore adjusted the new corner to have 7 quilting rows, instead of the original 5. The quilting was completed June 20. I began working on the binding on June 21 and finished on June 22, 1999. The original double French binding was 1.5" wide and pleated at each "V". I replaced it in the same manner. I tried hard to match the new fabric to the old, though in the final analysis it doesn't look like I did." Joanne sent a series of color photographs detailing her repair progress, and the torn original quilt pieces which she replaced, to Susan Salser.
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 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?
Southside Chicago 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
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=18-14-35. Accessed: 11/07/24
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Gallery
Gasperik 04: Kit Quilts
Waldvogel, Merikay
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Exhibit
The Quilts of Mary Gasperik
Salser, Susan
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Ephemera
Bucilla-Morning Glory Design No. 2005
Bucilla
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Ephemera
The Quilts of Mary Gasperik
Salser, Susan
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Gasperik, Mary Quiltmaker
Mary Gasperik Legacy Project
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1938-1945
Morning Glory Gasperik, Mary
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1935-1945
Morning Glory Gasperik, Mary
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1938-1945
Morning Glory Gasperik, Mary
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1938-1945
Morning Glory Gasperik, Mary