Made by Gertrude Olinger Arnett for Peter Shank
Dated 1898
Darke County, Ohio
Cotton; Hand pieced and quilted
IQM, Sue Cummings and Glynn Marsh Collection 2016.014.0003

February’s quilt is featured in an upcoming exhibition of a group of appliquéd and inscribed album quilts made in Ohio’s Miami Valley between 1888 and 1918. The albums were given as gifts to young adult to celebrate life’s passages and share folk art designs, fabric and construction methods. The collection was acquired and researched by scholar Sue Cummings over a thirty-five year period. They comprise one of the most unusual and significant regional quilt styles known.  

The Peter Shank Quilt was the first Miami Valley quilt Cummings acquired.  It took sixteen years from the quilt’s purchase for her to learn its story. After interviewing relatives and looking at marriage and birth records, she discovered that this quilt was presented to Peter Shank for his nineteenth birthday. Through further investigations into Peter Shank’s family history, Sue learned that the quilt was made by Gertrude Olinger Arnett, Peter’s cousin. Gertrude Olinger Arnett made several quilts that will be featured in the upcoming exhibition.