Lobster
Mary Schafer
1969
Flushing, Genesee County, Michigan
Cotton with polyester batting
80 x 94
MSUM# 1998:53.53
Photo by KEVA, all rights reserved Michigan State University Museum

Mary discovered a picture of this quilt in Florence Peto’s Historic Quilts (1939). Peto credited the name of the design as a reference to the red uniforms of the British soldiers known as “Lobsterbacks” during the American Revolution. Depicted in the appliqué design are lobsters’ pincers and tails. Mary considered this quilt not only as a rare, historic pattern, but also as a tribute to the pioneering quilt study work of Florence Peto. Responding to Schafer’s work, Peto wrote “Do you know I have never seen another ‘Lobster’ quilt since the one pictured in Historic Quilts; I am happy to know you are keeping the design alive.” (Peto in letter to Schafer, February 7, 1968)

Mary's pattern for the Lobster quilt.