Since many Amish quiltmakers used solid colored fabrics and historical patterns, it can be difficult to accurately estimate a quilt’s date. At first glance, this quilt looks like it was made in the early twentieth century from cotton and wool. In fact, a dealer represented this quilt as from circa 1930. Fieldwork in the Big Valley Amish community revealed a different story; this quilt was made for Moses E. Hostetler, possibly by his mother Barbara, prior to his marriage in 1975.

Pattern: 
Nine Patch
Maker: 
Barbara (Speicher) Hostetler
Circa
1970
1975
Made in
Mifflin County
Pennsylvania
United States
80.5
71
IQM, Henry and Jill Barber Collection
2003.010.0017