Flower Garden
Laura May Clarke and the Rebecca Jane Circle
Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan
Pieced by Laura in 1932, quilted by the Rebecca Jane Circle in 1933
82" x 81 1/2"
Cotton
MSU Museum Accession 6119.6
Photo by Fumio Ichikawa, all rights reserved by the MSU Museum

When Bozena and Laura saw a quilt similar to this one on display at Hudson's Department Store in downtown Detroit, Michigan, they immediately began planning to make one. Together they made a detailed hand-colored diagram, then Laura pieced it, and, lastly, it was quilted by their quilting group, the Rebecca Jane Circle from the Union Boulevard Congregational Church.

The quilt is a simple pattern consisting of thirty-four bands of multicolored and solid fabrics. The fabrics are arranged in groups of like-colored prints followed by a coordinating solid. Small squares of fabric are sewn together and arranged by color to form a series of brightly colored concentric squares. The work was hand quilted in a grid of straight lines runing through every square.

In 2002, RJR Fashion Fabrics of Gardena, California collaborated with the MSU Museum to create a line of reproduction fabrics based on this quilt - Trip Around the World: Reproductions from the Michigan State University Museum.

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