Crow Foot in Mud
Sina R. Phillips
1983
Muskegon, Muskegon County, Michigan
Cotton/polyester
72” x 80”
MSUM 6788.1
Photo by KEVA, all rights reserved Michigan State University Museum

Quilter Sina Phillip's contention that "any colors look good together" is proven in this quilt top that she calls Crow Foot in the Mud. The blocks are pieced entirely of a variety of colored polyester-knit fabrics, which the quilter finds to be "best to stitch". The variety of colors put together in a bold pattern, rather than fine or detailed stitching, is what makes this top "good."

Born in 1901 in Demopolis, Alabama, Phillips learned the art of "making covers" from her mother, Ida Jones, at the age of 10. She has since made quilting a lifetime hobby, producing more than 50 quilts in all. Phillips belongs to a quilting group in Muskegon which meets to exchange patterns and to quilt together. To raise money the group puts on chicken dinners. The real heyday of quilting, Phillips noted, was before 1925 when many women would meet for a quilting bee, bring food, and spend the day quilting. Today, says Phillips, when young women get together to quilt, all they do is eat.

From, Michigan Quilts: 150 Years of a Textile Tradition