This is the longest paper I have ever written for a class, and I found it difficult to organize a semester’s worth of thoughts in an orderly, logical manner. I read several scholarly articles on quilts to help get a feel for how others have formatted their work. It was…

One of the most time consuming parts of this project was “reading” the paper templates on the back of the quilt. I took images of the front and back of the quilt, numbered each of the 23 pieced blocks, then, within those blocks, numbered the hexagonal pieces. I also included…

For the comparative analysis, I used Microsoft Excel to organize data and SPSS to process data. A simple dataset of appurtenant information…

In addition to comparative analysis, I will be experimenting with a new approach to quilt dating. In HISP 462: Lab Methods in Archaeology, we discussed archaeologist Stan South’s method of Mean Ceramic Dating. This involves identifying the dates of manufacture for each ceramic sherd found on an archeological site and…

After watching Dr. Long’s lecture last week, I began compiling a spreadsheet of mosaic patchwork quilts that I could use to compare with the quilt at the Rising Sun Tavern. I identified thirty pieces that I felt would be most productive to analyze because they were made in the same…

Dr. Ducey also directed me to the work of quilt historian Bridget Long, who curated an exhibition of mosaic patchworks at the International Quilt Museum in 2011. The exhibition, called Elegant Geometry, included 16 quilts made in the mosaic patchwork style and discussed themes of Americanness and changes in culture…

I reached out to a number of textile experts and had a couple of lovely conversations that were very productive for directing my focus and helping clarify some things I was unsure about. As three of her books sit on my desk, it seemed natural to reach out to Brabara…

After doing preliminary research to ground myself in the world of printed fabric dating, I listed each type of fabric found in the quilt top and started digging in. For each piece, I consulted the three books Professor Turdean lent me (again, godsends) as well as scholarly articles, primarily from…

This is very hard, and there is a reason there are dozens of books on the subject. I think the most difficult part of fabric dating for me is the apparent subjectivity of it. In a fabric, slightly more wine colored red as opposed to a cinnamon or rusty color…