Sampler Album
Friends of Annie Risser Horst
Middleton, Pennsylvania
c.1890
79" x 79"
Cotton
MSU Museum Accession 2001:158.11
Photo by Ichikawa Fumio, all rights reserved by MSU Museum

Quilts containing blocks of different patterns are known as "Samplers". This sampler is made of both pieced and appliquéd designs of varying degrees of difficulty, including "Basket," "Ohio Star," "Postage Stamp," "Pine Tree," "LeMoyne Star," "Zig Zag," and "Churn Dash." The blocks are set on point and separated by sashing with cornerstones.

Quilts made by a group of individuals as a present for a friend are often referred to as "Friendship" quilts. When quilts carry the names of individuals, they are referred to as "Album" and/or "Signature" quilts. This "Sampler Album" quilt is believed to have been made as a going away present for Annie Risser Horst, a teacher in Pennsylvania, by her friends and family members. Names embroidered in various colors of floss on the blocks include "Aunt Lorrie Risser," "My mother G.," "Mother Risser," "Mother Hosrst," "Aunt Ella Horst," "Edna Bachman Roy," and "Sadie Risser."

By Mary Worrall, excerpted from American Quilts from Michigan State University Museum.