QUILT INDEX RECORD

18-14-40

Description:

This quilt was made for the 1944 wedding anniversary of her son and his wife--Elmer and Doris Gasperik. Gasperik adapted a commercial kit when she made three versions of her Leaf and Vine quilt. Each one has a signature appliqué motif. This one includes the appliqué Lily Bouquet. The other two versions included an elaborate quilted basket of flowers and fruit at the quilt center. This one has quilted wedding bells in honor of the occasion.

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Mary Gasperik Legacy Project

Who documented this quilt?

Mary Gasperik Private Collection

Gasperik Legacy Project Number:

013

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Leaf and Vine

Owner's name for quilt:

Pink Leaf and Vine (Doris and Elmer Anniversary)

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Leaf Quilt, Pink Leaf

How wide is the quilt?

73 inches

How long is the quilt?

89 inches

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Pink; White

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor; Light or pastel colors

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Type of inscription:

Date

What is inscribed on the quilt?

1944

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

1944

Method used to make the inscription:

In the quilting

Location of inscription:

other

Describe where the inscription was found:

Inside the quilted wedding bells

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:

1940s

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Merikay Waldvogel

Further information concerning dates:

The quilt is based on a 1940s Homeneedlecraft Creations kit #7182.

Describe the quilt's layout:

Vertical bands

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Side by side

Describe the borders:

Two wide pink panels along right and left sides and one narrow pink border across top. A band of quilted feathering provides the bottom border

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Floral; Print; 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

Describe the back:

Solid/plain

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

How is the binding made?

Bias grain

What is the width of the binding (measure on the top only)?

less than a half inch

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Cotton

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Color of thread used in the quilting:

white

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

no

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Double parallel lines; Grid diamond; Grid square

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Feathering; Floral; Other

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Grid/crosshatch

Describe the quilting designs used:

Wedding bells quilted into center of wreath.
Two Doves of Peace are quilted on either side of the applique yellow calla lilies at the top.

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

The quilt is personalized, as are its mates - Gasperik quilts #024 and #061. This one has a lily appliqued to the center panel above the wreath.

Gasperik may have used the blue and grey fabrics from Homeneedlecraft Creation kit No. 7182 to make quilt #061; but in this quilt (and in quilt #024 ) the fabric choices are ALL Gasperik's personal selections.

Gasperik added four extra flowers to the kit's wreath. She used a least a dozen different fabrics to make the applique flowers of her wreath (where the kit has a very restricted palette of, basically, two different hues).

In a graceful improvement to the kit design, Gasperik added a second vining stem connecting the two ends of the wreath. The kit's wreath is open at the top.

Where the kit orients the four vertical rows of appliqued leaves to point downward, Gasperik orients them upward.

The Dove of Peace quilted twice into this quilt closely resembles design No. 7 Plate XII Hall/Kretsinger, The Romance of the Patchwork Quilt in America. Gasperik quilted these same doves into quilt #020 (Hosannah), quilt #021 (Delectable Mountains), quilt #071 (Nosegay) and into quilt #061 (a variation of this 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

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

This quilt was made for and given to Gasperik's son and daughter-in-law (Elmer and Doris Gasperik) as a wedding anniversary present.

Why was the quilt made?

Personal enjoyment

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: Kit

Commercial name of the pattern for the top:

Homeneedlecraft Creations #7182, Home Decorator's Quilted Spread

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

Original to maker

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

Quilting Pattern C5576 Feather Band from Aunt Martha's Answer to How How Shall I Quilt It?.
"Dove of Peace" applique pattern (See Hall and Kretsinger Romance of the Patchwork Quilt, (1935) page 7, Plate XII No. 7 was used as a quiltING motif.

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

The calla lily is a favorite Gasperik pattern. It is the Lily Bouquet Quilting Pattern from Detroit News leaflet #1743-ID48. It was Gasperik's idea to transform this into an applique pattern. Gasperik made, also in 1944, a second applique yellow lily bouquet as a single framed block for her daughter Elsie. In 1956, Gasperik appliqued the Detroit News' Lily Bouquet (this time in white) onto the wedding quilt she made to celebrate the wedding of grand-daughter Karen (see #064). Gasperik appliqued single calla lilies from this Detroit News bouquet onto Bridal Bouquet #012 and quilt #068.

Gasperik adapted fern border C5573 from Aunt Martha's Answer to design the dense triple fern border she quilted along the inner edge of each pink border panel. She quilted this same border onto quilt #061, another version of Homeneedlecraft Creations #7182,.

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

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

This is one of the 23 Mary Gasperik quilts exhibited in the Carnegie Room of the Marion Indiana Public Library July 16-17, 2021 in connection with the ceremony honoring the induction of Mary Gasperik into The Quilters Hall of Fame as their 2021 Legacy Quilter honoree. Mary Gasperik Quilters Hall of Fame Induction Exhibit.

Contests entered:

Probably a blue ribbon winner at an 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:

Kit envelope - Homeneedlecraft Creations #7182 Home Decorator's Quilted Spread. Complete kit, in the private collection of Susan Salser, contains blue and grey fabrics.

Detroit News Leaflet #1743-ID48 Lily Bouquet Quilting Pattern. Gasperik's own copy of pattern in family's private collection.

Three separate yellow paper exhibit tags reading:
1) "Leaf Quilt First Prize at Springfield, Mrs. Mary Gasperik"
2) "Leaf Quilt First Prize in Springfield given to Doris Gasperik as a first anniversary gift, by Mrs. Mary Gasperik" - this tag would have been attached to quilt #013)
3) "Leaf Quilt First Prize at Springfield. Given to Daughter Elsie Krueger. by Mrs. Mary Gasperik" - this tag would have been attached to quilt #061).

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Elmer Gasperik heirs - contact Kathy Jacob

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:

This quilt (like its sister quilts: #061 and #024) is an experiment in transforming commercial Homeneedlecraft kit #7182. 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. Gasperik made quilts to exhibit in shows held by her Tuley Park quilt club in Chicago, the Detroit News quilt show in Detroit, many Illinois State Fairs, at least one Indiana State Fair. She entered quilts in at least 2 Chicago department store contests. She made at least one quilt and one quilt top specifically for the 1939 New York Worlds Fair quilt contest. She also made children's quilts specifically for grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and wedding and wedding anniversary quilts for her son Elmer and grand-daughter Karen. Primarily, she wanted to make quilts because it was her life passion and her greatest talent. The occasions and venues to show them presented themselves. It should be noted that prior to Mary's emigration to America in late 1904, at age 16, she was an apprenticed needleworker in her native Hungary. The intricate and colorful floral embroideries traditional to Hungary lend themselves especially well to applique, the quilt style Mary preferred.

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:

Hank Finn

Details

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