Some History of Bonneted Children

How many of you viewed this quilt when it went up for auction earlier this year? It sold for an astounding amount for a Sunbonnet Sue, in my opinion. But it truly is one very interesting and unique quilt due to its extensive embroidery. It would make for a great pattern series.

Since I have two in my collection that are somewhat similar but much simpler (one even rather primitive due to the "hammerhead" style of Sue ), I have tried tracking down possible pattern sources of this style.

In the photo below of the next SBS quilt, the embroidery is very simple but the fabrics in the dresses are very colorful and varied.

Don't you just love that "dainty" hand and arm!"

Betty J. Hagerman Book

One of the most likely influences to me is L-3 seen on page 27 of Betty J. Hagerman's 1979 book A Meeting of the Sunbonnet Children because it shows an embroidered fence in the background.

You can usually easily find a used copy of Hagerman's book via the Internet. I highly recommend it.

Wonky "Hatchet-head" Sue

My other quilt that only somewhat resembles the quilt in the recent InvaluableAuction is actually no longer a quilt with three layers. It is now only a top but shows that one time it was tied. It needs a good pressing but no time for that right now. I'll press it before the exhibit goes up October 5th. See the photos below.

Another one of my funky SBS quilts

The hat in this SBS top (once a tied quilt) rather resembles several of the SBS patterns on pages 46 & 47 in A Meeting of the Sunbonnet Children written by Betty Hagerman as mentioned earlier.

Unfortunately, there is no last name on what is written on this separated quilt top but at least someone thought to make a stab at labeling it for the next generation. Obviously, by analyzing the fabrics, you can tell the top was made well before 1990.

The heavy red fringe on this block ran when someone laundered it.

Click here to see some more of my wacky SBS quilts and tops.

Sunbonnet Sue & Overall Sam, Still Kickin'

"A Meeting of the Sunbonnet Children"

by Betty J Hagerman (1979)

I never set out to collect Sunbonnet Sue & Overall Sam quilts.

Then how did so many wind up in my Quilt Cabin?

That could be a rather long story. How about we go with the short version. As I was moving quilts about the cabin recently, I suddenly realized I had so many SBS quilts that I could no longer ignore the fact that I must have been unconsciously collecting them. 

Most are rather eccentric and roughly made though. The photo below says it all.

(Below) Overall Sam/Bill hides his light under a lampshade.

However, there are a few very nicely made examples as well.

The most exciting part of collecting is the hunt, some say. But for me, there is also the documentation. That is another kind of "hunt" and requires time and sleuthing skills....and often sheer luck. Take "Sue Dusting the Flowers" as a case in point, a quilt added to my collection in November 2017. Whimsical, no?  I had never seen one like it before!

Now to find the source of the pattern. 

The first thing I did was check my copy of Betty Hagerman's book which you saw at the beginning of this post. Nada.....though there were a couple of designs that one could see might have inspired someone to rift in this direction, creating their own unique variation of SBS. But there certainly was no exact match.

Then I checked two other books in my personal library: Quilts for Babies & Children by Dolores A. Hinson (1983), Barbara Brackman's "Encyclopedia of Applique" (1993). Again, nothing.

But Lady Luck came a knocking the very next month via eBay. Though she didn't bring me the complete answer, she gave me a strong clue as to where to go digging next.......published embroidery patterns maybe?

Somebody inspired somebody.  Which came first?  The embroidered version or 

the appliqued version? What do you think? 

If you have any leads or clues, please leave a comment!

I hope to hang an exhibit of my eclectic SBS and Overall Sam collection next May or June telling the history if images of children and human figures on quilts. The exhibit will be here on Lopez island and will be a fund fund raiser for the maintenance of Woodman Hall, one of the oldest community buildings on the island. I hope to wrap it in with a meeting of the Washington Quilt Study Group as well  so stay tuned!

(I think we need to tweak this sign a bit so it is Sue & Sam doing the sawing!)

Click here to see more of my wacky SBS quilts and tops.

PS: See it again here: http://barbarabrackman.blogspot.com/2018/05/sue-narratives.html