Pattern : Tumbling Blocks

Date Range : 1876-1900

Fabric Type & Color :

Silk. Colors are deep reds, purples, and blues set with black. Silks are solids, plaids, and striped with some shattering of the weighted silks.

Quilt Size : 79" x 85"

Block Size : 1" on side of diamond

Construction :

Template-pieced. Quilted by the piece at 9 stitches per inch. Binding is red silk applied by machine.

Quiltmaker : Malvenie Becknell Barker

Locale : Owsley County, KY

History/Comments : Quiltmaker was housewife/weaver from Owsley County, KY. Her husband was a Civil War veteran. Family lore dates the quilt to the 1870s. The size of the basic diamond is extremely small. Traces of the paper templates (possibly hand-written letters) are visible, but no dates are discernable. The number of pieces is remarkable--too many to count. And then, she quilted it allover at 9 stitches per inch!