The Short Story of One Quilt's Long Journey to Completion
James Robert Brunk, grandfather of Billy Brunk Moody, had a housekeeper named Mary who appliqued and embroidered the blocks for this quilt. She passed away when Billy was 10 or 12 years old and he received the blocks at that time. Billy subsequently gave them to his daughter, Sherry (Moody) Tracy. The raw blocks were approximately 16" - 17" square.
Sherry commissioned Wanda Gard of Kansas City, Missouri to join the blocks and make into a queen-sized quilt. Wanda designed the setting, picked setting, border and backing fabrics, machine-pieced the top, designed and marked the quilting, and did all the quilting by hand. It took Wanda approximately 8 months to complete (finished in April 2010).
According to "Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Applique" (published in 2009), the 6 different designs of the 12 blocks made up a set named "Colonial Belles" and the pattern was published in Capper's Weekly. The exact date is not known, but the fabrics used in the applique suggest the blocks may have been made during the 1930's or 1940's.
The attached photo shows Sherry Tracy and her father, Billy Brunk Moody, holding their "new" family heirloom.