One Woman's Life
1941
Hand-appliquéd and quilted cotton, with corded quilting and embroidery

Collection of Carolyn Golden

1941 represents the midpoint of Bertha Stenge's 25-year quilting career. As she turned fifty, she decided to document historic events and important aspects of her own life in a quilt. One Woman's Life is divided into five rows which represent her early life, hobbies, married life, the eras she lived through, and other personal interests. This was Stenge's first attempt at portraiture with a needle and includes detailed appliqué and embroidery work depicting her parents, husband, children, and herself. One block contains a miniature Palm Leaf quilt block pictured with Mickey Mouse and Dopey to represent her New York World's Fair Award. Another commemorates the marriage of her daughter Ruth to Mickey, for whom she has named other quilts in this exhibit. The border contains the names of places she has visited. The block in the bottom right corner is the artist's embroidered and appliquéd hand signing her name to her "Scrapbook Quilt."