Windblown Tulips Quilt

Windblown Tulips Quilt

1930-1940

Windblown Tulips

Webster, Marie

60 x 74 inches

Cotton

Windblown Tulips (Marie Webster design published in 1911) This quilt is both pieced and appliqued. The major design element is a three-by-three grouping of swirling tulips in two shades of yellow with stems and leave of overdyed (blue-over-yellow) green. This central grouping is banded with two strips in the same yellow shades as the blossoms. Each border segment consists of a central three-tulip "bouquet", out from which along the segment "bow" individual tulips. The 1" binding comes from the same green fabric that produced the leaves and stems. Above the banding, the quilting is in "fans"; below it is in "diamonds", including the binding. The quilting stitches are good, but the stitching used to fix the binding and to join the segments on which the tulips swirl is outstandingly fine. All sewing is by hand. The quilt is all-cotton, the backing is plain (though not the outlined appliques), and the batting is "dirty". Also note the carbon-black star-wheel pattern transfer dots visible under the loosened leaf of the top or bottom central tulip swirl. The stems of the swirling tulips simply cross each other and are layered, an uncommon technique.

2001.001.0005

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