In this installment of Quilt of the Month, we see a style of album quilt that was unique to the Miami Valley region of Ohio around the turn of the 20th century. Appliquéd and inscribed, quilts like this one were often given as gifts to commemorate life's milestones and to share folk-art designs. 

This particular piece was made by Gertrude Olinger Arnett for her only son, Jesse Arnett, in celebration of his twentieth birthday. Jesse's date of birth is embroidered on the banner suspended from the eagle's beak near the center. Notice, also, the embroidered initials included throughout the quilt representing close family members. 

This piece was on display at the IQM as part of "Common Threads: Album Quilts of Ohio's Miami Valley" in 2023. It entered the museum's permanent collection in 2016.

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Jesse Arnett Quilt

Made by Gertrude Olinger Arnett

Made in Ohio, United States; dated 1912

Cotton

IQM 2016.014.0016