Examine the Creative Work of the First First Lady Up Close
The vibrant but delicate quilt top is now on display at Mount Vernon after conservation, courtesy of the Founders, Washington Committee Endowment Fund.
Explore What Makes This Quilt Unique
Martha Washington selected nearly all of the colors of the rainbow for this design. When she pieced this quilt top together, she created one of the largest and most colorful expressions of her creative personality.
The technical composition and stitching reveal her expertise as a quilter. She used a common format—the framed center medallion—and made it her own with design choices that set her work apart from other quilters of the period.
View the Quilt as Martha Washington Left It
While intended to be completed and used as a decorative bed cover, the quilt remained unfinished at her death. Her granddaughter, Elizabeth Parke Custis Law, inherited and carefully preserved it.
