Office of the President

The UW System Quilt

The quilt displayed in the sunroom was completed in August 1991, coinciding with the UW System's 20th anniversary. It was commissioned from the Mad-City Quilters by Mary Ann Shaw, wife of former President Kenneth Shaw, to represent "the creation of unity out of diversity”—the consolidation of 15 into the UW System—and to convey a special warmth and sense of history.

Months of research resulted in the design of 15 squares, each appliquéd with a wildflower representing a UW institution and a 16th signature square of the UW System seal. The wildflowers were chosen carefully to reflect the area of Wisconsin each UW institution serves. The quilting pattern in the borders is the wood violet, Wisconsin's state flower. The hand-quilted project took more than 70 quilters one year to complete.

Quilt commissioned to honor the University of Wisconsin System’s 20th anniversary, 1991.
UW-Eau Claire UW-Green Bay UW-La Crosse UW-Madison UW-Milwaukee UW-Oshkosh UW-Parkside UW-Platteville UW-River Falls UW-Stevens Point UW-Stout UW-Superior UW-Whitewater UW Colleges UW-Extension	Jacob's Ladder Blue Lobelia Jack-in-the-Pulpit Purple Cone Milkweed Prairie Phlox Black Eyed Susan Pasque Flower Wild Rose Lady's Slipper Bellwort (Merrybells) Wild Iris Prairie Dock Bottle Gentian Trillium
The quilting pattern is the Wood Violet, Wisconsin's State Flower.

>> Learn more

<< Back to home