Rose Kretsinger took up quilting at the age of forty, while living in Emporia, Kansas. Her first
quilt was the “Ohio Rose,” which won a blue ribbon at the fair. The Kansas City Art Museum
featured her quilts in a one-woman exhibition in the early 1930s.
Rose received training in design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; her artistic talent
shone forth in the colors and patterns of all her award-winning quilts. Two of her patterns,
“Oriental Poppy” and “Old Spice,” were published in the Farm Journal. Her rendition of the
“Garden” quilt, which she renamed “Paradise Garden,” was her last quilt and has been termed
her masterpiece. This quilt, along with her “Orchid Wreath” quilt, was selected for The 20th
Century’s 100 Best American Quilts, International Quilt Festival, Houston, Texas, 1999.
In 1935, Rose co-authored, with Honoree Carrie Hall, the third quilt book of the 20th century.
The Romance of the Patchwork Quilt in America. Twelve of Rose Kretsinger’s quilts were
donated to the Spencer of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence.
quilt was the “Ohio Rose,” which won a blue ribbon at the fair. The Kansas City Art Museum
featured her quilts in a one-woman exhibition in the early 1930s.
Rose received training in design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; her artistic talent
shone forth in the colors and patterns of all her award-winning quilts. Two of her patterns,
“Oriental Poppy” and “Old Spice,” were published in the Farm Journal. Her rendition of the
“Garden” quilt, which she renamed “Paradise Garden,” was her last quilt and has been termed
her masterpiece. This quilt, along with her “Orchid Wreath” quilt, was selected for The 20th
Century’s 100 Best American Quilts, International Quilt Festival, Houston, Texas, 1999.
In 1935, Rose co-authored, with Honoree Carrie Hall, the third quilt book of the 20th century.
The Romance of the Patchwork Quilt in America. Twelve of Rose Kretsinger’s quilts were
donated to the Spencer of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence.
| Rose G. Kretsinger |
Quilt designer, appliqué artist, coauthor of The Romance
of the Patchwork Quilt. Inducted in 1985 at the
Contintental Quilting Congress, Arlington, Virginia.
Research Associate: Barbara Brackman
of the Patchwork Quilt. Inducted in 1985 at the
Contintental Quilting Congress, Arlington, Virginia.
Research Associate: Barbara Brackman