Within the Amish religion, great variety exists from settlement to settlement, and from church district to church district. The Swartzendruber Amish are a very conservative group with a significant presence in eastern Ohio. Unlike more progressive Amish groups, they still make quilts in old dark colors and traditional patterns. In the mid-1990s, Swartzendruber Amish member Susan Hershberger Gingerich made this small quilt as a wallhanging to sell at Helping Hands Quilt Shop in Berlin, Ohio. Following an unknown path, the quilt made its way into the hands of Amish crib quilt collector Sara Miller, who assumed it was made circa 1930-50. With solid colored fabrics and traditional patterns, it can be difficult to tell if an Amish quilt is antique or made more recently for the consumer market.

Pattern: 
Nine Patch
Maker: 
Susan Gingerich
Circa
1995
Probably made in
Wayne County
Ohio
United States
35
40
IQM, Sara Miller Collection
2000.007.0014