Feathered Star
Feathered Star on exhibition in Star Struck Jan. 2023
Name/Title
Feathered StarEntry/Object ID
1997.001.010Description
The blocks are a variation of Haley's Comet pattern, also known as a Feathered Star. The twenty 15” x 15” Feathered Star blocks in multi-colored scrap fabrics made in the 1870s blocks were pieced much earlier by Ellen Rebecca Spitzer (Jan. 29, 1854 and died Sep. 16, 1933). Her niece, Emma Mabel Baldwin Spitzer (1882 – 1997), later had the blocks assembled into a quilt by neighbors, Berta and Effie Long of Harrisonburg in the 1930s. The Long sisters also did the sashing in the green color. This green fabric is also the backing. They did many varieties of quilting on this quilt, including crosshatching and straight lines through the eight-pointed stars. The sashing is 5'' wide with eight pointed star at each post. The border is a single green cotton fabric used for the sashing. The binding is back to front with mitered corners and is only 1/4'' wide. The batting is a thin cotton. The quilting uses a variety of different patterns, but there is cross hatching within the border and sashing. An "E" is inked on the quilt for Ellen. Emma Mabel Spitzer’s daughter, Mary Rebecca Spitzer donated the quilts to VQM.Context
Mary Spitzer Etter of Harrisonburg, Virginia donated her family's entire quilt collection to the Virginia Quilt Museum in 1997. The collection contained 27 quilts, most of which were made by Mary's aunts, the Spitzer sisters. Their names were Sarah Josephine Spitzer (Walters), Margaret Melinda Spitzer (Jones), and Ellen Rebecca Spitzer. It is unknown if the other two Spitzer sisters, Hannah Spitzer (Brown) and Jane Spitzer (Evers), did much quilting. Of the quilts completed by the Spitzer sisters, there is a single initial embroidered on the front of quilt to mark who made each quilt. Ellen Spitzer's daughter, Irene, also completed three pieces of the collection. Some of the quilts contain blocks were done by Mabel Spitzer, Mary's mother. These blocks were then quilted by either Berta or Effie Long, Mabel's neighbors. There are a few quilts not made by a Spitzer, yet they were still made by relatives of the Spitzer family. The Long sisters did the sashing, border, and backing of this quilt (in green), while the blocks were done by Ellen.Collection
Permanent CollectionAcquisition
Accession
1997.001Source or Donor
Mary Spitzer EtterNotes
Donated Feb. 23, 1997Made/Created
Artist Information
Ellen Rebecca Spitzer
Long Sisters