March 1, 1941

Detroit News Quilt History Project; Michigan State University Museum; Susan Salser

Detroit, Michigan, United States

A Quilt Club Corner Column featuring quilts made by the Goodale Mothers' Club.

Quilt Finished by Mothers' Club
Members of the Goodale Mothers' Club have recently completed this Irish Chain quilt. They are, back row, left to right: Mrs. Mary Evans, Mrs. Katherine Mierau, Mrs. Irja Parssinen, Mrs. Lillian Oldani, Mrs. Erma Glann, Mrs. Agnes Anderson; front row - Mrs. Jessie Schwab, Mrs. Gertrude Zettner, Mrs. Julia Jewll, Mrs. Marie Boss, Mrs. Iva Harrison and Mrs. Catherine Grenat.

Proceeds Are Used for Many Charities

By Edith B. Crumb

You would be surprised to know how easily women learn to quilt. A group of women who belonged to the Goodale School Mothers' Club were anxious to do something to earn money for charity work, so someone suggested that they make a quilt.

This looked like a difficult task because none of them had ever done any quilting. But just to show what can be done by perserverance and guidance, the quilt in the picutre were made by this group.

It is made from the Single Irish Chain design in red and white print with plain white material. To make this there are nine patches of one-and one-half inch patches. These were made into large nine-patch blocks which are nine inches square and then arranged diagonally with plain nine-inch blocks.

Each of the small blocks is quilted around the inside, this also being the size of the quilting on the plain white three-inch squares so that they appear to be made of nine plain white patches. The large blocks have a feathered circle quilted in them. The border is of three-inch bands of the red and white print and plain white material with the print being used for the binding.

There are 60 members in the club and 15 of these are in the quilting group. Besides the 12 which came down to have their pictures taken with the quilt there are Mrs. Jennie Gilson, Mrs. Ruth Palmer and Mrs. Geo. Grimm who are hard working quilters and did a great deal to make this quilt beautiful.

The Goodale School Mothers' Club was organized three years ago and there is a meeting of the entire group once a month; but the quilters meet every week in a home of one of the members. The session begins at 10 in the morning, a potluck lunch breaks up the day and they stay late in the afternoon. The quilting was done at the home of Mrs. Jewell who is the home-craft chairman. Mrs. Parssinen is the memership chairman and Mrs. Grenat is the publicity chairman.

Mrs. Mierau has been a member of the Detroit News quilt club for many years and yesterday she brought Mrs. Zettner who also joined and hopes to come every Friday. We would be happy if the 15 quilters would join and be with us every week.

To earn money for the quilt materials, these women have a bazaar and the quilt is more than paid for when it is raffled, the proceeds being used to send children to camp for holiday baskets and any emergency that might arise in the neighborhood.

Now that this quilt is finished, these womern are anxious to start another one. They plan to piece quilts or quilt them and they have their first order - a Double Wedding quilt of Mrs. Harrison's which she has just finished and has ready for the frames.

Quilt-making is gaining steadily in popularity and every Friday we see many pretty designs being worked into beautiful blocks. Mrs. Gabrielle Baecheroot spent most of yesterday afternoon cutting small green leaves for her Laurel Wreath quilt which she is making.

May Mancuse has strayed from quilt-making, but in-as-much as she is finishing the sweater which I started for the British War Releif she is foregiven. She is working very hard at it and before long she will have it completed.

Cornerites' Birthdays
March 6 - Mrs. Celia Panke, 12162 Whithorn avenue; Mrs. Harold Wilson, Box 322, Belleville, Mich.; Mrs. Gladys Martin, 1143 Phillip aveune.

March 7 - Mrs. P. A. Hoover, Wakeman, Ohio; Mrs. Harry Hill, 13972 Armore avenue.

March 8 - Miss Betty A. Ferguson, 8325 Bryden avenue.

March 9 - Mrs. Marian Ridler, 2330 Honorah avenue; Mrs. Anna Le Duc, 37 Pine street, River Rouge; Mrs. Anna Simon, 71 Forest avenue, River Rouge.

March 10 - Mrs. Sadie Ashler, 5208 Lincoln avenue; Miss Thelma Garvey, 7727 Phelps avenue; Ruth Mary Inch, 3761 Walnut street, Route 1, Rochester, Mich., (18 years old); Mrs. Delia Hunter, 4454 16th street.

March 11 - Mrs. Margaret Sherk, 16147 Freeland avenue; Mrs. C. Frost, Mt. Morris, Mich.; Mrs. Elizabeth McGrath, Hotel Detroiter.

March 12 - Mrs. Frank Andres, 5115 Seyburn avenue; Mrs. W. R. Roland, 320 Belmont avenue; Mrs. Gertrude Jones, 17140 Oakfield avenue.

​​Courtesy of The Detroit News Archives.