Two months after Franklin Roosevelt’s inauguration, a brief mention in the Pasadena Post read, “A quilt made up of more than 3000 pieces of cloth and named ‘The Steps to the White House,’ has been completed by Esther and Juliet Romeo of this city. The quilt was sent to Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House in Washington.” The quilt was a very conventional one for the era, a Grandmother’s Flower Garden, rather than a new pattern commemorating the White House. Perhaps due to what was then the novelty of sending quilts to the White House, a wire service picked up the story and added the following details, along with a photograph of the sisters: “Having heard that Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt is one of the Nations [sic] foremost old fashioned quilt collectors, Esther and Juliet Romeo of Poicoima [sic] are forwarding one of their finest hand-made quilts to the new First Lady of the Land. The Romeo girls are recognized authorities on the old fashioned coverings and have the greatest collection in the country.”

Title: 
“Old Fashioned Quilt for White House"
Maker: 
International News Photos
17 March 1933
Image courtesy of Janet Finley