Quilt Research Fellow, Olivia Jospeh, adds new insight to Mingei's quilt collection.
UnfoldingExplore "Flower Garden" quilt pattern blocks with Quilt Fellow, Olivia Joseph
Explore "Flower Garden" quilt pattern blocks with Quilt Fellow, Olivia Joseph
...examining patterns such as that of Martha Washinton’s Flower Garden and Grandmother’s Flower Garden...help to paint fuller pictures of what was valued by people of the past.
As I've explored the quilt collection, it has been amazing to learn many of the stories which exist within these textiles. While dyes and fabrics help to tell a version of quilt history, what about the pattern blocks themselves? Quilt blocks, also known as pattern blocks, are smaller pieces of a larger quilt–comparable to building blocks. To construct a complete quilt, blocks are crafted separately, varying in shape and design, then pieced together. Examples of pattern block shapes include squares, hexagons, triangles, and so on. While some quilts may use repeating patterns, others use a variety.
This subseries, One Block, Many Stories, explores how respective quilt block patterns carry meanings that are shaped by people and the communities which use them. For now, take a peek into ‘Quilted Gardens,’ and stay tuned for other stories in this series!
My Quilt Research Fellow position is made possible through support from the Terra Foundation for American Art.
The name ‘Quilted Gardens’ emerged from two hexagonal patterns, Martha Washington’s Flower Garden and Grandmother’s Flower Garden. Both Flower Garden Quilts can be identified by their mosaic arrangements. If you’ve had a chance to visit Mingei’s Entry Level in person lately, the quilt, shown above, may look familiar. It’s referred to as a Hexagon Diamond, or a Field of Diamonds patterned quilt–both names reference the use of smaller hexagon pieces arranged in a diamond shape. However, it should be noted that this quilt pattern has also been referred to as Martha Washington’s Flower Garden! More on this later.
Quick Fact: Martha Washington was the very first First Lady of our nation whose husband, George Washington, was the first President of the United States.
One block can have many associated names. Geography, oral traditions, socio-cultural, and personal influences are some of the many things that can impact the naming of a pattern. For instance, while the quilt pattern above is recognized by some as Martha Washington’s Flower Garden, others recognize the quilt pattern shown below by this same name. In a 1932 issue of the Knoxville Journal, Florence Mae LaGanke, writer of The Nancy Page Quilt Column, clarifies that the center hexagonal piece symbolizes a stone or sundial in a garden. Surrounding it is a ring representing flowers, followed by a ring of leaves, then another ring of flowers, and finally, the garden path. Both Martha Washington’s Flower Garden and Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilts are referred to as Flower Gardens because of this understanding of the garden structure with the quilt.
Barbra Brackman, Quilt Historian and Author of the Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns, notes that both patterns–oblong hexagonal and symmetrical hexagonal–have instances in which the name Martha Washington’s Flower Garden has been used to classify each respective quilt pattern. However, the quilt above is catalogued in our system as Grandmother’s Flower Garden which was popular in the early 20th century. Although similar, this name is commonly used to refer to the hexagon shaped quilt blocks as opposed to the prominent diamond shape present in the Hexagon Diamond quilt.
Although the Washingtons had been out of office for over one hundred years, the name Martha Washington’s Flower Garden is believed to have come into use around the 1930s, within a time when colonial revival styles were popular. During this period, people took inspiration from the pre-Victorian era to influence their design. Wares, crafts, interiors, and architecture were all influenced by colonial and Greek/Roman aesthetics, or, in relation to quilts, early quilting techniques and popular patterns.
When thinking about this revival of styles and crafts, my mind goes back to the 19th century fascinations with gardens. In this era, upper class women were encouraged to cultivate flower gardens. Carolyn Ducey, Curator of Collections at the International Quilt Museum, notes that the pastime was encouraged in popular women’s magazines. It was an activity thought of as exercise and a demonstration of one's taste. Furthermore, the early 19th century marked a time of American interest in European gardens and their elaborate designs. Examples include baroque and renaissance gardens. With this in mind, this influence on daily life and trends could also make its way into quilts.
By the same token, in a research article titled The Colonial Revival: The Past That Never Dies, Mary M. Theobald mentions historical preservation as a goal for some during this revival movement; so, the utilization of Martha Washington’s name in a quilt pattern would have been an effort to reference a historical figure known to be a role model for women in the late 1800s. It is difficult to know for sure, but this name may have signified very particular sentiments, feelings, and ideas to quiltmakers and women of the era.
While not all patterns have clear origin stories or historical context, examining patterns such as that of Martha Washinton’s Flower Garden and Grandmother’s Flower Garden, which pull largely from trends of their era, help to paint fuller pictures of what was valued by people of the past. Diving deeper into the histories behind the quilts has filled me with a deep appreciation and desire to understand both the history and norms of the time.