One Sue, Two Sue, Old Sue , New Sue

After many years of quilting I have finally made my first Sunbonnet Sue block.

This Sunbonnet Sue is very much a country cousin.  This is my Malaga 1937 friendship sampler quilt.  On the left is Mary McWilliams's block and my copy is on the right.  I have been putting off making this block but when I had no others left I had no choice.  It actually was a quick block to make.

Sunbonnet Sue is an old girl; embroidery patterns for a sunbonnet girl existed in the 1800s.  The design we know as Sunbonnet Sue probably came from a popular children’s illustrator in the early 1900s, Bertha Corbett.

In 1902 author Eulalie Osgood Grover and artist Bertha Corbett teamed up to create a new series of learning to read primers called The Sunbonnet Babies.  Babies May and Molly and their friends Fisherman Fred and Suspender Sam became very popular and the characters appeared everywhere.

The babies grew up and, somewhere, somehow, became Sunbonnet Sue.  The pattern was well known in the 1920s and stayed popular through the 1930s and 1940s.  Sue was bright and cheerful and she had no tricky face to applique (although her hands proved to be slightly challenging).

This Sunbonnet Sue may be hiding a secret.  Don't look under her bonnet, judging from her skeletal fingers she may be one of The Undead and her bonnet may be hiding a zombie.

Miss Mabel Taggart and Mrs. Sam Boswell are, very wisely, keeping their hand in their pocket. 

  

Digging for Gold - Looking for Those Signature Quilts

This blog has been a little quiet because I have been searching for stories to use on my Remember Me signature quilt digest.  Oh, and there was Christmas and New Year and visitors and grandchildren and all sorts of good things too.

I found a story about a set of old blocks discovered in a flea market.  The blocks were dated 1863 and made during the American Civil War.  The blocks were traced to their original home, and were returned to the local historical society.  Believe it or not, one of the names on the blocks was the great-grandmother of the person who received them into the collection!  You can read the whole good news story at Cape News.

I found the webpage of the Illinois Quilt History group.  They have an index of stories about quilts, archived newspaper articles and links to all sorts of interesting places. There is a detailed article about researching one of the quilts in their collection, the 1933-1935 Schuyler County Signature Quilt.

1933-1935 Schuyler County Illinois Album Signature Quilt

I also found pictures of the infamous "The Sun Sets on Sunbonnet Sue".  Made in 1979 it is a tongue-in-cheek depiction of poor Sunbonnet Sue's demise in a variety of incidents.  But it was also a statement about women who quilt - we are not all Grandmothers and Old Maids and faceless women doing nothing.  This quilt and others are referenced at "In the Shadow of the Quilt: Political Messaging in Quilts" at the Quilt Index.  The article includes a signature quilt that I'm hesitant to list - a 1926 fund-raising quilt for the KKK.

I am on the lookout for more gems of quilts.  If you have a favourite signature quilt in your local museum, or have discovered a great website, or if you have a quilt or some blocks in your own collection that you would be willing to share I am always ready to hear from you.

Have you signed up for the Remember Me When This You See email digest?  It's not a dated newsletter, when you sign up you receive the first email the next day and the second email a week later so you never miss out on the 'news'. It's easy to begin, just jump to Two Bits Patches and fill in the blanks.  Enjoy!