Mary McElwain of Wisconsin ran both a shop and a mail-order business specializing in quilt goods. She published her catalogue, The Romance of Village Quilts, in 1936 with kits of her own design as well as some of Marie Webster’s and copies of historical quilts. She offered paper patterns, ready-cut kits, basted kits, and finished quilts. She also provided quilting services.

McElwain sold Painted Daisy as a stamped kit or as a finished quilt. The quilted feather wreath hearts and 15-17 stitches per inch quilting demonstrates that skilled quilters chose to use kits. Commercial patterns and kits regularly provided quiltmakers room for original touches, too. For example, the maker of this quilt added the white border to McElwain's design. Mary Gasperik, a prolific Hungarian-born Chicago quiltmaker who modified many commercially available designs, made an original interpretation of a related McElwain design, Daisy Chain, she titled Daisies Won't Tell.

Pattern: 
Painted Daisy
Maker: 
Maker unknown
Circa
1936
Possibly made in
Indiana
United States
36.5
27.5
IQM, Ardis and Robert James Collection
1997.007.0499