One of your blogger’s personal favorites from the MCHS collections, the Sandy Spring Quilt, has a fascinating – and somewhat puzzling – history. It is a “friendship quilt,” made and signed by (or on behalf of) 36 women, most from the Sandy Spring area, sometime around 1860. Each block consists of a pieced “Blazing Star” with an ink signature, such as Anna Farquhar’s, below (her signature is in the upper left corner).
Over the past several years, researcher Mary Robare has dedicated time to helping us solve some of the quilt’s mysteries, such as who made each square, when the full quilt was completed, and why it was created in the first place. (As Mary says, the quilt “offers a dizzying array of seemingly contradictory clues.” The best kind of artifact!) Thanks to her efforts, the quilt has been featured in scholarly articles, off-site exhibits, and now on the Quaker Quilts blog. Curious about the quilt’s mysteries? Want to see some more photos? Take a look at Quaker Quilts! “The Sandy Spring Quilt – Part One” is here, and “Part Two” is here, with more to come.
A Fine Collection 
Leave a Reply