Ocean Waves variation, barn raising set
Maker unknown
Provenance unknown
ca 1850-1880
90" x 90"
Cotton with wool filling
6715.1
Photo by KEVA, all rights reserved by the MSU Museum

This Birds in the Air quilt in the Barn Raising setting is made with madder-style prints. These prints, made to look like those early fabrics dyed with the root of the madder plant, were popular in the last half of the 19th century. The palette of madder-style prints resembled that of the paisley shawl, a very popular fashion accessory of the day.

Excerpted from Great Lakes, Great Quilts.