Like countless other women of the Modern Age, it appears that Louise Thonstad of South Dakota purchased a kit to make this quilt. How can we tell? Often, as is the case with this quilt, the fabrics provide the first clue. The fabrics in this quilt are a veritable sampler of Depression-era prints. There are no older, vintage fabrics, such as one would expect to see if the fabrics were from a scrapbag. Also, while a wide variety of fabrics are included, there is repetition from plate to plate. Further, some of the fabrics are printed in different colorways of the same print. Die-cut quilt pieces were often cut from stacks of scraps left over from ready-to-wear garment construction, so finding the same print in different colors is a clue that points toward a kit origin.

Pattern: 
Dresden Plate
Maker: 
Louise Thonstad
Circa
1930
1940
Probably made in
Deadwood
South Dakota
United States
97
76.6
Ardis and Robert James Collection
1997.007.0681