Tree of Paradise

Maintenance and Project History

Overall

Size

• Length: 82.5″
• Width: 68.5″

Condition

• Very Good

Top

Fabric Description

• Cotton
• Prints
• Yardage
• Predominant Colors: White, Burgundy, Black, Blue

General Organization

• Grid
  • 5 x 6 grid with every other block piece to form a checkerboard. There are a total of 15 pieced blocks and 15 blocks of unpieced yardage.
  • Unit Description
    • Unit Name: Tree of Paradise (BB ID: 811) or Temperance Tree (BB ID: 811.5).
      • The Tree of Temperance Pattern was published in 1894.
      • While the foreground and background patterns of this quilt top’s blocks the the Tree of Paradise and Temperance Tree, this quilt’s blocks are not an exact match to the piecing pattern. The variations are found in the tree trunks. This quilt’s trunks are solid, not split along their length. In this quilt, the root flair at the bottom of the trunk is a single piece of fabric that is pieced to the background and appliqued to the narrow portion of the trunk.
    • Width: –“
    • Length: –“
  • Straight setting
• Techniques: Patchwork / Applique / Embroidery
  • Embroidery of name with chain stitch.
• Stitching Method: Mostly by Hand, some machine applique/top stitching
• Workmanship of Piecing: Good
• Workmanship of Setting: Very Good
• Other Descriptions
  • The quilt blocks were mostly stitched by hand. The hand-stitching was not terribly skilled. The stitch length is uneven and there is a great deal of extra or stretched fabric across the field of the quilt top.
  • Many points were lost. This seems to run against what I would expect from someone who aspired to this block. Lost points are a beginner’s issue when piecing by hand. This is not a beginner’s block.
  • The assembled tree blocks were sewn into the top with a machine. The background fabric of the tree blocks varies. In some cases the background fabric matches the fabric used in the setting squares. In any case, the trees are hand pieced and the assembled blocks sewn to the top by machine.
  • The fabrics are mourning prints. This may have been used as a coffin cover. George’s coffin?

Appraisal

No.

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