Appliqued Quilt 1935 - 1942

Lon Cronk made this Appliqued Quilt. It's a small-ish quilt, maybe something to keep your knees warm. It has this muted palette, almost like it's been faded by the sun, or aged with love. You can tell this piece was really made, and not just designed. The background has these soft, repetitive motifs like little leaves, and then these bolder shapes sit on top. The pinks and blues, they have a slightly chalky, almost powdery feel. The concentric circles in the middle, they radiate out like a target, or like the rings of a tree. Someone really took time to carefully craft those zig-zag edges. It's kind of obsessive, you know? I think of Ree Morton sometimes when I look at this. She was another artist who worked with soft materials, but I am drawn to that quiet labor and the kind of beauty that emerges from slow, repetitive processes. This quilt is a conversation, it's not about perfection, but about the stories and connections woven into the fabric itself.