The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1932-11-30
Quilting as
Art Winning
New Interest

:, This IS the. second Of two articles on
tne revival OF quilting as pastime for
modern women.
The old quilt patterns which have
been brought down from the past
generations are being reproduced in
the work Of many indianapolis
women.
There is sort Of common bond
Of feeling between these modern
quilt artists" One knows about
the other, and has admired and
sometimes copied the design that a
friend has made.
Mrs. Harry McNeely, 3135 North
Delaware street, has just finished
piecing a beautiful appliqued quilt,
named "The Memory Bouquet" 1t
is composed of twenty blocks, nine
by twelve inches large. In each
block is a small green flower pot, out
Of which grow vari-colored flowers.
Miss Ethel Simmons, 1884 Ken
wood avenue, is ready to quilt a
Double Wedding Ring" design. She
will do this herself, with the help Of
friends.
Owns Unique Quilt
Mrs. j. A. Shearer, 1880 Ruckle
street, owns unique quilt, I'M
named, which is copy Of one more
than 100 years old. Mrs. Shearer
has attempted in piecing this to
reproduce, as nearly as she can in
modern material, the tiny patches of
old-fashioned calico which make up
the original.
Mrs. Shearer has also a completed
f1ve-row Irish chain" quilt, in Law
endar and white, considered quite
unusual and beautiful. Single and
double Irish Chains" are not I'M
usual, but a five-row one infre-
quently is seen.
Mrs. Shearer does some Of her
own quilting. 1t is quite difficult,
she says, to find any one in Indian
apolis who can do the type of quilt
ing necessary to bring out the real
beauty in these artistic quilts. Often
indianapolis quilters send them to
well-known quilters in small towns
here, or even out of the state, ac-
cording to Mrs. Shearer.
Says Art is Intricate
The art of quilt making, accord
ing to Miss Bertha Ellis 1903 North
Pennsylvania street, is quite intri-
cate. pieces must be small for the
guilt to be beautiful" Miss Ellis
says, and quilting must be very
fine"
Miss Ellis has blue and orange
double Irish Chain" quilt, which
greatly has been admired.
Besides this, quilt experts in In
dianapolis mention with much pride
one Miss Ellis has made of all col
ors, which is a copy of an old pat
tern more than 100 years old.
AS Miss Ellis only worked on this
quilt during her spare time, and the
design was so complicated, it has
taken her about six years to COM
plete it, It has been displayed in
Indianapolis several times.
AssailS Machine Piecing
Il am afraid that I am not as
enthusiastic over quilt making as
once was" Miss Martha Gill, 1925
Kenwood avenue said, when dis
cussing her work. Il still make
quilts, but not with the Joy that l
experienced when a child. Then
saw the older people working on
them, and begged scraps from them
to make quilts of my own. How
ever, I do admire the quilts that
many Of my friends are making.
"The one thing that I have never
been able to understand is how any
one coud piece quilts, as I hear
of some people doing, by machine.
1t seems to me that the whole art
is lost when this is done"
Teachers Take Up Hobby
Even busy school teachers have
taken up the art. Miss Edith Comp
ton, lit East Fiftieth street, who is
a teacher of sewing and millinery
at the Manual Training high school,
Is busy making a quilt which is
known as "Grandmother's Flower
Garden"
Miss Compton's quilt is made with
stx-sided pieces. She has used a
lemon colored center piece, with
plain colorS about that, and blend
ING. light shades about that. The
blocks are joined with diamond
shaped green pieces, to appear as
the grass, with white piece be-
tween, which is the path leading up
to "Grandmother's Garden"
At the recent roundup of the
Needlework Guild, several large
sized quilts were turned in, and
about three dozen baby quilts. ac-
cording to Mrs. Hartley Sherwood.
president.
Clubs Provide Quilts
"They were mostly just the crazy
quilt pattern" Mrs. Sherwood ex-
planned. Our women showed econ
oniy in piecing them. They took
the scraps of material from the gar
ments they made, and pieced them
into quilts"
The. beds at the indianapolis Day
Nursery, which always are noticed
by visitors because they are so we'll
kept and attractive, are furnished
with quilts by several of the clubs
here.
Among the clubs making them are
the Independent Social Club, the
Amicitia Club, the Oct-Dahl Club.
and the Artemus Club.
The baby beds have quilts made
by these clubs as attractive as any
on the beds of the most pampered
babies. Several have appliqued nur-
sefy designs on them.
The End.