Virtues

This quilt was my favorite for its theme. It also had the most provenance, which made it that much more interesting. It is wool, and was made by a group of church women in Kansas for their pastor and his wife, who were leaving to go to Denver. They each made two blocks; one with their name or initials, and one with a virtue. So on this first block we have Prudence (which could be a name or a virtue) and the date 1920, Grace (again, name or virtue), and Mrs. Butler. Click on each picture for a larger version, on which you may or may not be able to read the words.

Then we have Submission, a very interesting choice of virtue.

Delight! I would love to have overheard some of the conversations going on as these ladies were stitching their virtue blocks. Would Submission have been sitting near Delight? Or perhaps Desire? Yes, there was a block for Desire, and also one for Mrs. Clapp.......

Industry, Conscience, Hopeful, Miss Lucy.

The backing was a lovely old cotton print. In order to see backings, since we were not allowed to touch the quilts, we had to ask one of the gloved conservators to turn a corner back.

The whole quilt, tied on the front in red thread or yarn. This is why I always tie mine to the back, as I think the ties are distracting.

Mary Francis, Cathy, Gerry H., Lauri, Leslie, and Debbie ogling an antique quilt.