I came across this small article in a 1947 issue of McCall’s Needlework magazine, which sent me looking for more information about Grace Snyder and better photos of her quilt. These types of grid designs have always fascinated me, and I’m a huge fan of Anne Orr’s pieced quilt patterns. Grace, though, takes the grid idea to a whole new level by adding the “tiny piece” element.
Grace’s Flower Basket quilt, as well as another tiny pieced quilt made with hexagons, were included in the “100 Best 20th-Century Quilts” by Quilters Newsletter Magazine in 1999. There is much more information about Grace and her quilts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the UNL International Quilt Study Center and Museum. You can zoom in on the color photo below the article to see the quilt close up — this image was also on a UNL page, but because the image links in the article are broken, I have included it here.
On a completely different subject, I have had to disable my email sign-up and notifications. The plug-in is having a conflict with my server, and I am working on a fix. Thank you for your patience.
I saw this quilt in person in Nebraska and it is beyond words. Grace’s book “No Time on my Hands” is an excellent compilation of her memoirs. Let me know if you cannot find it and I will lend it to you by mail. It is such a wonderful read, quilter or not.
Thanks, Wendy, for the information on Grace’s book. I ordered a copy and can’t wait to read it.
What an amazing quilt! Thanks for sharing it.
I saw the quilt in Lincoln also and it is so much more unbelievable in person. Oh my, the tiny, tiny pieces. Just gorgeous! The patience it took to stitch so many small pieces by hand is just incredible. I also purchased the book and it is a wonderful read about her life. Thank you for highlighting Grace Synder and her marvelous work.
What an incredible find! I cannot believe she did this in a mere 15 months.
I used to have a few odd dishes with that basket design on them. Salem brand if I remember correctly.
I have an original copy of her book. I actually live near Cozad Nebraska, near where she grew up. It’s amazing that somebody could live out on the prairie, in sod or frame houses, raise a family, and still have time to make over 100 quilts. We have a periwinkle quilt that my husband’s great aunt made back in the 30’s out of feedsacks completely by hand.