Appliqued Quilt

This is a hand-pieced and appliqued quilt composed of bright blue, pink, white and green printed and solid calico patches arranged in a series of alternating crossed oak leaves in blue calico. The borders have a script appliqued inscription in the same material as the pots. The inscription reads "Mary Cordelia Hawkins, Stony Brook, Long Island, May 24, 1846." The quilt is surrounded by a sawtooth border. Mary Cordelia Bayles (1821-1888) made this stunning cotton coverlet to commemorate her marriage to her first cousin Nicholas Hawkins (1814-1903) in 1846. The couple had three children that survived to adulthood and the pair stayed together until her death in 1888.