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Unique Nursery Quilt, Care Is Given to Details

November 26, 1940
Detroit News Quilt History Project; Michigan State University Museum; Susan Salser
Detroit, Michigan, United States
A Quilt Club Corner column describing a prize winning nursery quilt.
Unique Nursery Quilt
This unusual nursery quilt was made by Mrs. W. R. Goodson, 501 E. Elm street, Monroe. Many of the blocks were made from The Detroit News Mother Goose designs, while others were created by Mrs. Goodson.

Care is Given to Details

By Edith B. Crumb


There was so much interest in the details of the nursery quilt which won a prize at the last Detroit News quilt show and there have been so many requests to see a picture of it that I asked Mrs. W. R. Goodson, 501 E. Elm street, Monroe, the make of the quilt, to bring it in to be photographed.

You will probably recognize many of the designs as being our own Mother Goose patterns, but Mrs. Goodson has also added many of her own.

She worked out the details of each block with great care, searching for just the right bit of material for each small portion of a design.

For example, there is "John who went to be with his stockings on - one shoe off and one shoe on." A small scrap of striped material not much larger than your thumb nail had to be found to represent the mattress. The comforter is tied with little wool rosettes. Mary not only has a little really wooly lamb but the lamb is wearing a real bell that rings. Another bell is worn by the cow that jumped over the moon.

You should see the collar of the little lad who is asking the black sheep if he has any wool (at least three bagsful). This is a little white linen collar which is attached at the neck as if it were on a regulation blouse. The edge is trimmed with very narrow lace.

Narrow lace also trims the top of Contrary Mary's gaily sprigged dress, and equally fascinating is the shawl of Old Mother Hubbard, trimmed with real wook fringe.

The Old Woman who live in a shoe may have had so many children that she didn't know what to do, but Mrs. Goodson knew what to do about dressing them. Even the tiniest has a little printed dress on, and all of the little girls have the silkiest, curlies hair you could possibly imagine.

In one block is the illustration of the nursery rhyme the Five Little Pigs. One little pig is hurrying off like everything to market and right next to him is the one that is staying home. She is settled down in an easy chair, has spectacles on and is ready to have a nice quiet time reading her book.

The little pig that had roast beef is right in the center of the block having a good time while the little one that had none looks very despondent - but not so much so as the little one that is crying all the way home.

Little Bo-Peep has a sprigged dress over which is a plain apron trimmed with rickrack braid.

​​Courtesy of The Detroit News Archives.

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