The rose has a long tradition in western art and culture as a symbol of love, elegance, and the beauty of spring. In ancient times, the rose was the sacred flower of Venus, Goddess of Love and Fertility, and was one of her attributes in art of the Renaissance and later periods. It was also the mark of her handmaidens, the Three Graces, who personified beauty and grace. To this day the rose remains a symbol of affection and beauty, and is a common element in quilts with floral themes.

This particular floral quilt is the product of several hands. It was begun by Dorthy MacCallum in the mid to late 1950s. In 1963 she moved to Spain to work for the United States Air Force. There, according to MacCallum, her Spanish seamstress “finished” the work. Most likely finishing the applique of the quilt top. MacCallum returned to the United States with the quilt in the 1980s, where it was quilted by Carol Stanford in 1977.

MacCallum ordered the quilt through one of the many women’s magazines of the 1950s, most likely as a kit that included the pattern as well as the fabric. Still visible are the lines that mark the quilting pattern, as well as those for the folding and placement of the applique pieces. These widely available commercial kits evolved from early practices of sharing quilt patterns. Nineteenth-century patterns were circulated among family, friends, and throughout communities, defining distinctive regional styles. By the 1920s, kits that included both patterns and fabric were available to a national audience in newspapers and magazines such as Ladies’ Home Journal and Good Housekeeping. Patterns were submitted by readers, sometimes in response to quilt contests. They were also created by a new breed of business women-nationally known professional designers such as Marie Webster and Ruby McKimm.

By the late 1940s and early 1950s, quilt kits with pre-cut fabric were a solid commercial product. Technological innovations such as the die-cut machine enabled the making of inexpensive, mass-produced kits. For the busy consumer, kits saved time. For the novice quilter they introduced the basic process of quiltmaking, as women had done for each other in previous generations. Although these kits were mass-produced, a finished piece retained a sense of individuality as each maker brought her own aesthetic vision to the work through design variations, fabric choices, and quilting stitches.

Techniques: Hand appliqued, hand quilted
Culture: American
Geographic Location: North and Central America, United States
Credit Line: Gift of Dorothy MacCallum