QUILT INDEX RECORD

18-14-60

Essay:

This quilt made for a grand-daughter is another example of Gasperik's ability to successfully re-work a quilt kit (Bucilla Crib #2271) by adding a border and quilting more densely than the kit prescribed. The tulip hovering at a rakish angle next to the windmill is also Gasperik's own addition.

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Mary Gasperik Legacy Project

Who documented this quilt?

Mary Gasperik Private Collection

Gasperik Legacy Project Number:

018

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Dutch Girl

Owner's name for quilt:

Dutch Girl With Tulips

How wide is the quilt?

66 inches

How long is the quilt?

82 inches

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Blue or Navy; White

Overall color scheme:

Light or pastel colors

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Time period:

1930-1949

When was the quilt finished?

1950

Family/owner's date for quilt:

1950

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

1935-1940

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Merikay Waldvogel

Further information concerning dates:

Finding copyright date of the kit will confirm the date the pattern became available to Gasperik, if not the date when she made the quilt.

Describe the quilt's layout:

Medallion or framed center

Subject of the quilt:

Dutch Girl with Tulips and Windmill

Describe the borders:

Wide outer blue border with white appliqued tulips; narrower inner white border with blue appliqued tulips.

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Solid/plain

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery

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

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

10

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

11

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

no

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Outline

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Wreaths

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Grid/crosshatch; Parallel lines

Describe the quilting designs used:

Quilted wreaths between each upright tulip on the border.

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

Gasperik added to the quilt kit an extra border; the color blue is slightly darker than the blue of the kit-supplied fabrics.

Quilt top made by:

Gasperik, Mary

Quilted by:

Gasperik, Mary

Where the quilt was made, city:

East Hazelcrest

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:

Selected by Doris Gasperik during a division of Gasperik quilts after Mary died.

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

Following the Gasperik quilt show, in California in 1992, at which time Mary Gasperik's grandchildren reconnected, the quilt was given by Elmer and Doris Gasperik's heirs to their cousin Joanne Gasperik.

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:

Bucilla Crib #2271

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

Quilted tulips, see: Border D10 from Grandmother's Perforated Quilting Patterns;
For Double Feathered Wreath between tulips, See Pattern A in Grandmother Clark's Quilting Designs Actual Size Patterns Book #22 (WLM Clark, St. Louis, MO)

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

For comparison purposes, Salser purchased a quilt in the same design--and found Bucilla Crib #2271 printed on the selvedge. No pattern name.

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

Illinois State Fair - 1954
The Quilts of Mary Gasperik, Ravenswood Historic Site, Livermore, CA, March 14-15, 1992.

Florida exhibit called A Celebration of Quilts and the Women Who Made Them, Naples Historical Society, Inc. and The Naples Quilters Guild, Inc. January 25-29, 2005.

Contests entered:

That this quilt won a prize at an Illinois State Fair is evidenced by an undated family newspaper clipping which reads: "Mrs. Stephen Gasperik, our local quilting expert, continued her winning ways at the Illinois State Fair this year by winning 2 first & a second prize on her three entries. A first was awarded her "Double Feather Star" design which she copied from a book. It was originally designed in 1835 by a bridegroom for his bride. Another first went to her beautifully original "Indian Boys" which she made for her grandson. A second prize was awarded to her "Dutch Girl" which she made for her granddaughter." This may have been the 1954 Illinois State Fair because among Doris Gasperik's collection of quilt prize ribbons is a 1954 blue ribbon with attached cardboard on which it is noted in pencil that Michael's Indians quilt was the particular quilt which won that ribbon: first prize, best novelty, Illinois State Fair, 1954.

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:

Quilt made from same kit (Collection of Susan Salser). Woman's Day February 1943 pages 22-25 "Prize-Winning Needlework" about the Woman's Day National Needlework Exhibition. In a photograph on page 24 showing some of the quilt display a small portion of a Dutch Girl quilt can be seen. This is not to suggest that the Gasperik quilt itself is in that picture, it is cited only to aid in determining the time period when quilts of such design were made.

Undated family newspaper clipping which reads: "Mrs. Stephen Gasperik, our local quilting expert, continued her winning ways at the Illinois State Fair this year by winning 2 first & a second prize on her three entries. A first was awarded her "Double Feather Star" design which she copied from a book. It was originally designed in 1835 by a bridegroom for his bride. Another first went to her beautifully original "Indian Boys" which she made for her grandson. A second prize was awarded to her "Dutch Girl" which she made for her granddaughter."

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Joanne Gasperik

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 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:

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:

Susan Salser

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