QUILT INDEX RECORD

18-14-55

Description:

This quilt was made in 1959 for a great grandson. It is kit #7122 Crib Quilt from Homeneedlecraft Creations. The name of the kit design is not known. It is likely that Gasperik used a quilt top which she had put together from the kit decades earlier. At the time she finished this quilt she was 71 years old.

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Mary Gasperik Legacy Project

Who documented this quilt?

Mary Gasperik Private Collection

Gasperik Legacy Project Number:

025

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Baby Blocks

Owner's name for quilt:

Baby Blocks

How wide is the quilt?

47 inches

How long is the quilt?

65 inches

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Blue or Navy; Pink; White; Yellow

Overall color scheme:

Light or pastel colors

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Method used to make the inscription:

Embroidery

Time period:

1950-1975

When was the quilt finished?

1959

Family/owner's date for quilt:

1959

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Merikay Waldvogel

Further information concerning dates:

Gasperik made quilt for a great grandson born in Feb. 1959.

Describe the quilt's layout:

Medallion or framed center

Number of borders:

2

Describe the borders:

Outer border is blue. Inner border is pink.

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Print; Solid/plain

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery

Describe embellishment materials or techniques:

Gasperik added her own blue border to the kit's pink border.

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Cotton

How thick is the quilt?

Thin (Less than 3/16

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:

Elbow/fan; Grid diamond; Patches outlined/in the ditch

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Feathering; Wreaths; Other

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Grid/crosshatch; Other

Describe the quilting designs used:

Outer blue border quilted in feathers with square grid pattern in four corners. Inner pink border quilted in a fan and arch pattern to fit the inner scalloped edge. Embedded in the diamond cross-hatching of the center panel are quilted blocks (a pattern supplied in the kit) and four feathered wreaths filled with cross-hatching. A crown of feathers is quilted above the baby's head. The quilted blocks are from the kit; the rest of the quilting is probably Gasperik's own selection of patterns.

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

The blue border was added to Homeneedlecraft kit #7122. Gasperik used the kit's fabrics and applique patterns. She designed her own quiltING.

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 to Linda Krueger MacLachlan to celebrate the birth of her first child, in 1959.

Why was the quilt made?

Baby or crib

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:

#7122 Crib Quilt from Homeneedlecraft Creations

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

Kit

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

Feathered wreath (No. 19, page 2) and feathered crown (No. 83, page 5) from Needleart Guild's Original Master Quilting Patterns, Grand Rapids, MI

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

Gasperik's great grandson purchased (in 2004) on ebay auction site a quilt in the same design--evidence that it was a kit. Another quilt of the same design was purchased in Indiana by Xenia Cord in 2008.

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

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

Contests entered:

The quilt's owner, Linda MacLachlan, remembers that this quilt won a blue ribbon 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:

A quilt of this design, made by an unknown quilter, was purchased on eBay in 2004 and is in the private collection of Linda MacLachlan.

Another quilt of this design was purchased in Indiana in 2008 (Xenia Cord - private collection).

It should be noted that these two quilts have the same pink border and share the same set of fabrics with each other and with the Gasperik quilt (except for the blue border added to the Gasperik quilt).

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:

East Hazelcrest

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:

Hank Finn