Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
BR976.1.48 |
Object Name |
Quilt |
Title |
Carr Family Quilt |
Description |
A hand-pieced, hand-sewn, 'Pin Wheel' Log Cabin quilt with an alternating red and green striped border. The back is plain brown cotton. Three of the edge corners are rounded and one is square. |
Year Range from |
1875 |
Year Range to |
1925 |
Dimensions |
W-170.2 L-185.4 cm |
History |
The centre log cabin design dates from 1875 to 1900 with the red and green striped border added later (1900-1925). The cotton is possibly Indian Head, an American-made high-quality muslin that looks like linen and was used for quilting. Quilt belonged to the Carr family who lived in the Burnhamthorpe and Cooksville area of Toronto Township. It is believed that the earliest Carr family to own it would have been William Park Carr and his wife Mary Ann Carr. William was originally from England and immigrated to Canada in the mid-19th Century. They had a farm in Burnhamthorpe Village and later owned the farm located at 55 Burnhamthorpe Road West. Today the site of the Carr farm in Cooksville is home to Square One Shopping Centre. The Log Cabin pattern is a textile interpretation of the buildings that were so important to early settlers. Traditional Log Cabin blocks were usually sewn to a square background cloth and normally started with a small central square, usually red, to represent the fireplace as the centre of the home. Around the square are sewn strips of cloth that project into each other. This geometric block allowed for great variation in the patterns. The pattern was both popular and practical. They could be made from scraps of material; individual blocks were easier to work with. They could also be used unquilted and unstuffed due to the amount of fabric used. References: Quilts and Other Bed Coverings in the Canadian Tradition, Ruth McKendry, 1979. Mary Carr, 2019 Carr Family, ancestry.ca |
People |
Carr, William Norman Carr, Robert Norman Carr, Mary Ann Carr, Mary Alice |