Signature Quilt
Signature quilts and friendship quilts have people’s names written on them. This quilt, made in 1936/37 by Anna Holien, has signatures of several relatives of the donor, JoAnn Berntsen, whose grandparents, Henry and Anna Holien, built a farm between LaClede and Wrenco around 1916. JoAnn’s mother, Anna Holien Stocaasli, taught in Wrenco School in the early 1930’s.
Signature quilts were generally made by groups for specific purposes. For example, someone in an organization might make a quilt on which she listed the members of the organization, then the quilt would be raffled to earn money for the organization. The names were not necessarily written by the individuals. Or sometimes a signature quilt had “signatures” written by one who was chosen for the job because she had beautiful penmanship.
Friendship quilts were made by different methods. For example, neighborhood ladies might gather at the home of one who had a quilt pieced, backed and ready to quilt. They would spend the day quilting and visiting. At the end of the day (or two) the quilt would be ready to use. Each one who participated signed her name somewhere on the part she quilted. In another method, each lady used the same pattern to make a quilt block, in the center of which she would sign her name. The ladies would take their completed block to the person whose quilt it was going to be, and she would piece the blocks together, then quilt it, or all would gather and help quilt it. Other times, each person supplied their own block and the blocks would be pieced together and made into a quilt. The blocks would not necessarily be by the same pattern. This type was called a sampler signature quilt.
Signatures were generally written with ink until the 20th century, when it became more popular to embroider the signatures.
Donor: JoAnn Bernsten
Adopted by: Mary Bianchetti
Signature quilts and friendship quilts have people’s names written on them. This quilt, made in 1936/37 by Anna Holien, has signatures of several relatives of the donor, JoAnn Berntsen, whose grandparents, Henry and Anna Holien, built a farm between LaClede and Wrenco around 1916. JoAnn’s mother, Anna Holien Stocaasli, taught in Wrenco School in the early 1930’s.
Signature quilts were generally made by groups for specific purposes. For example, someone in an organization might make a quilt on which she listed the members of the organization, then the quilt would be raffled to earn money for the organization. The names were not necessarily written by the individuals. Or sometimes a signature quilt had “signatures” written by one who was chosen for the job because she had beautiful penmanship.
Friendship quilts were made by different methods. For example, neighborhood ladies might gather at the home of one who had a quilt pieced, backed and ready to quilt. They would spend the day quilting and visiting. At the end of the day (or two) the quilt would be ready to use. Each one who participated signed her name somewhere on the part she quilted. In another method, each lady used the same pattern to make a quilt block, in the center of which she would sign her name. The ladies would take their completed block to the person whose quilt it was going to be, and she would piece the blocks together, then quilt it, or all would gather and help quilt it. Other times, each person supplied their own block and the blocks would be pieced together and made into a quilt. The blocks would not necessarily be by the same pattern. This type was called a sampler signature quilt.
Signatures were generally written with ink until the 20th century, when it became more popular to embroider the signatures.
Donor: JoAnn Bernsten
Adopted by: Mary Bianchetti