To construct the design for this repeated block pieced quilt, the maker hand pieced each of the 90 pinwheels, and then separated the blocks with sashing, the long strips of madder printed paisley fabric. The maker even pieced the border. During the time this quilt was likely made, the sewing machine became available on the consumer market, yet this maker opted to piece by hand using the running stitch, which quilt historian Barbara Brackman notes is sometimes called the “American method.”  

Pattern: 
Pinwheel
Maker: 
Maker unknown
Circa
1865
1885
Possibly made in
Maryland
United States
97
85
IQM, Ardis and Robert James Collection
1997.007.0413