Quilt
Artist
Jennie Sessions
(American, 1863 - 1957)
Date1890
MediumSilk with embroidery
DimensionsOverall: 71 1/4 x 66 1/4 in., (181 x 168.3 cm,)
ClassificationsFURNISHINGS
Credit LineGift of Miss Nettie D. Sessions
Object number75.72
DescriptionSilk pieced quilt top composed of alternating plain black stripes with yellow leaf stitching along one edge and multicolored quadrilateral pieces of fabric. The fabrics used in the quilt top are a variety of woven stripes, compound weaves, and plain weave. The lining is comprised of maroon silk with machine-stitched diamond quilting.On View
Not on viewCollections
Copyright<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/80x15.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>.
Label TextThe silks and elaborate embroidery found on so many traditional crazy quilts of the later 1800s were also used to create less typical examples, like this one made by Jennie Sessions. Here, Sessions used printed silks as well as solids, which she embellished with embroidery, to create a vertical herringbone pattern. She alternated these herringbone stripes with columns of solid black silk that reinforce the vertical composition and create a graphic rhythm across the surface. Sessions mimicked the zig-zagging flow of the herringbone panels by placing a feather stitch in bright gold thread on the black silk beside it, subtly highlighting the piecing. In this work, the versatility of the crazy quilt aesthetic is evident.
