Quilt Documentation Day!

Last Saturday was amazing!  We held a Quilt Documentation Day at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts, in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.  We do this four times per year now, twice at the museum and twice at other venues around the state.  I'm the Documentation Chair (fancy title, just a volunteer).
Quilt owners bring in their quilts, new and old, and we record their stories, which eventually go on the Quilt Index online (see below for link).  It's an exacting process, but one I thoroughly enjoy.
Here are some photos from quilts we saw.

 This is a detail from the quilt above.  At the time this quilt was made, the Swastika was a symbol of good luck and the Nazis had never been heard of.

 This quilt (above) was made last year by a wife to honor her husband's work as a pilot.

 Beautiful crewel embroidery on felt is the center of this amazing quilt above, circa 1910.

 This is an antique UFO, done in the English piecing style around papers.

Here's a picture of the back, with a paper showing typewriting.  Details like this help us date the quilts.

 This is a red and green applique quilt from around 1890.  We can tell its date because of the way the green fabric faded.  It's a summer spread, with no batting in it.

 We always see great 1930s-1940s quilts.  This one is called Many Trips Around the World.  The maker is unknown.

 Here's a detail of the quilt above.

 This is one I want to make!  A wonderful scrap quilt called Bricks and Bars.

 These "squares" are actually rectangles.

I love Red Work!  And check out these dancing squirrels!

We only saw one kit quilt this time.  It's Progress Kit #1355, Gladiola.  Beautifully done.  It dates to the early 1950s.

This scrap quilt had us all searching our pattern books.  We think it's a variation of Brackman's 275.8a. 

This is a detail.  The block is a hexagon, with a six pointed star in the center and five circles appliqued on the white hexagons.  There is a seam in the center of the light blue diamonds.  If you know a better name for it, could you let me know?  I've searched my sources and come up empty.

These are just some of the highlights of our day.  We have the best volunteers ever.  I forgot to take any pictures of us in action this time!  Here's a photo of the volunteers at our last documentation day, in Waukesha in October.

If you missed this one, don't worry.  We'll be documenting quilts again at the museum during Strawberry Fest, on June 22 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and on June 23 from 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m.  You can contact me for an appointment.  All quilts are welcome, new or old.  All volunteers are welcome, too!

If you'd like to check out the museum, click below:
http://wiquiltmuseum.com/
If you'd like to check out the Quilt Index, here's the link:
http://www.quiltindex.org/