Quilt

PeriodCirca 1900

Place MadeShrewsbury, New Jersey, U.S.A.

MediumSilk, cotton, cotton velvet, silk tafffeta, silk satin, cotton sateen

Dimensions64 × 60 in. (162.6 × 152.4 cm)

ClassificationsQuilts and Coverlets

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Nazaire Jutras, 1967

Object numberT1974.224

DescriptionA quilt in the Rail Fence variation of the traditional Log Cabin pattern, using black and darker velvets, velvet brocade, and taffeta alternating with lighter silks of a wide variety, including solids, and plaids. Two of the fabric strips are actually yellow, green, and red premium ribbons from the Monmouth County Agricultural Fair in Red Bank, dated 1900. The quilt backing is a rose colored cotton sateen. The quilt's binding is gold silk sewn straight grain around all four edges.
Curatorial RemarksAfter the Civil War, many women embraced the "crazy quilt" craze, using a dizzying array of silks, satins, and velvets to create eye-catching quilts to adorn parlors and bedrooms. It was not unusual for award ribbons or other suitable fabric memorabilia to be incorporated into a crazy quilt. Amelia used three ribbons from the 1900 Monmouth County Agricultural Fair in her Rail Fence quilt.NotesThis quilt entered the collection with the notation that Shrewsbury resident Janetta (Jennet) Louisa Van Schoick Patterson (1818-1889) was the maker. It is more likely that her daughter, Amelia Patterson Spinning, constructed this quilt as three County Fair premium ribbons dated 1900 are incorporated into the design. Janetta may well have taught her daughter how to sew and quilt. Amelia was born in Shrewsbury in 1837 to Stillwell Patterson (1814-1892) and Janetta Van Schoick Patterson. Amelia was the oldest of eight children, and the only girl. She married Benjamin Spinning (1837-1896) in 1861, and the couple lived in Shrewsbury, then in Red Bank, where they raised four children including George, Netta, Edith, and Blanche. Donor Mrs. Nazaire Jutras donated three quilts.It is uncertain if Amelia Patterson Spinning made the other two quilts, as one of them is marked with the initials "M. L. M."

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