Family history passed along with this quilt recounts that Cora James made it out of tailor’s samples. Its appearance suggests both thrift and utility, right down to its no-nonsense machine stitching. Yet this quilt, like Carrie Steltzer’s Grandmother’s Flower Garden, exhibits little wear, despite the fact that the wool rectangles and the knitted fabrics on its back would have provided great warmth as a utilitarian spread.