Name/Title
Cotton Crazy TopEntry/Object ID
1997.001.006Description
This crazy quilt top was machine pieced at the top. It is not quilted. There is embroidery at the seems, with the initials "HH" in orange silk. On the back there is "PF Spitzer" written in ink.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.
Margaret would often quilt while staying with and caring for Ellen and Josephine.Collection
Permanent CollectionAcquisition
Accession
1997.001Source or Donor
Mary Spitzer EtterNotes
Donated Feb. 23, 1997Made/Created
Artist
Margaret Melinda SpitzerDate made
circa 1900Place
* Untyped Place
Bridgewater, VirginiaInscription/Signature/Marks
Location
BackTranscription
"PF Spitzer"Material/Technique
InkNotes
For brother, Perry Franklin SpitzerLocation
At SeamsTranscription
"HH"Material/Technique
EmbroideredDimensions
Dimension Description
Overall Quilt DimensionWidth
70-1/2 inLength
80 inDimension Description
Individual Full Block DimensionsWidth
18 inLength
18 inDimension Notes
16 Total Full Block (4 half blocks)Condition
Overall Condition
Very GoodNotes
Four areas of spotting on edges
