1825 - 1850 Rachel Burr Corwin's "Feathered Star" Pieced Quilt

This example of the “Feathered Star” pattern was among several quilts, quilt blocks, and other household textile items that were donated in 1932. It is the work of Rachel Burr Corwin. At the time of the donation the quilt was considered by the curator “. . . a valued addition to the Museum’s collection of old cotton prints . . . one is amazed at the work required to piece together patches of ½-inch dimensions.”

Fifteen-and-a-half-inch “Feathered Star” pieced blocks are set diagonally with sashing pieced in the “Garden Maze” pattern. These are framed by a six-inch pieced border. An 1829 date was given on a note pinned to the quilt, but the roller-printed cottons are more typical of those used a few years later. Small quilted floral motifs and outline quilting, 7 stitches per inch, complete the quilt.

Rachel Burr, daughter of Samuel Burr and Sibyl Scudder Burr of Massachusetts, was born March 3, 1788. She married Samuel Corwin of Orange County, New York, October 14, 1809. They had four children. Needlework examples by one of their daughters, Celia, are also in the Collection. Rachel Burr Corwin died March 14, 1849, in Orange County, New York.

Currently not on view