1930-1939

Black Diaspora Quilt History Project; Old Statehouse Museum, Little Rock, Arkansas

Magnolia, Arkansas, United States

A pattern and sample of Kite Quilt Blocks.

This unfinished quilt pattern piece is classified as a heritage pattern made by Black Arkansas quilters. String quilt block piece was made by Herma Wilson Williams of Magnolia, Arkansas. It has been made in the string quilting method where the scrap pieces are sewn directly onto a paper foundation. The name for this pattern piece is “Kite Quilt Block.” The paper pattern was cut from a page from the Marietta Daily Times, Marietta, Ohio c.1930.

The fabric pieces are cotton and made using a variety of colors in gingham, stripe, solid, and plaid.

In the book A Piece of My Soul: Quilts by Black Arkansans, the pattern is referred to as “Kite Quilt Block.”

The pieces are 6 3/4" wide x 14" tall. Fabric scraps are machine pieced to the newspaper foundations.

1988.017.11-13