QUILT INDEX RECORD
25-21-10
Who documented this quilt?
Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association, Texas Quilt Search
Where are the records for this quilt housed?
Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin
Texas Quilt Search Number:
tqs_0049
Person filling out this form is:
Quilt owner; Relative of quiltmaker; Other
Source of the information on this quilt:
This quilt was identified and reviewed during the Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association's Texas Quilt Search, 1983-1985. Karey Bresenhan served as quilt historian.
When was the form filled out?
1983-1985
Choose the best description of the source to the quilt:
Quilt owner; Other
If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?
Inherited
Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:
The present owner of this quilt is the great granddaughter of the quiltmaker.
This is a:
Finished quilt
Owner's name for quilt:
Stars and Stripes
How wide is the quilt?
87 in.
How long is the quilt?
91 in.
Shape of edge:
Straight
Shape of corners:
Straight
What color is the quilt?
Blue or Navy; Red; White
Overall color scheme:
Bright or primary colors
Quilt's condition:
Very good/almost new
Damage:
Discoloration or dyes ran; Open seams; Stains; Uneven batting
Notes on condition, damage, or repairs:
In 1985, as part of the preparations for the “Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1836-1936” exhibit in the Texas Capitol Rotunda, the Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association sponsored a Quilt Conservation Seminar. Part of the seminar was a two-day intensive hands-on laboratory attended by quilt experts who stabilized, backed, or otherwise prepared the quilts, including this one, for this exhibition.
Time period:
1901-1929
Family/owner's date for quilt:
ca. 1910
Date estimated by an antique dealer, quilt historian or appraiser:
1895-1910
Who estimated the quilt's date?
Karey Bresenhan
Further information concerning dates:
Family tradition states that the quiltmaker presented the quilt to her first grandson, born May 4, 1910. The quilt was unquilted at that time; the present owner Ilona Smith had it quilted in 1970.
Describe the quilt's layout:
One patch or allover
Subject of the quilt:
red, white, and blue stars and stripes
Fiber types used to make the quilt top:
Cotton
Fabric styles used in the quilt top:
Dotted; Print; Striped
Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:
Hand Piecing
Can you feel or see paper on the quilt that was used as a construction aid?
no
Materials used to make the back:
Cotton
What color is the back of the quilt?
Blue or Navy
Describe the back:
Print; Same fabric used throughout
Materials used in the quilt binding:
Cotton
Fabric structure of the binding:
Unknown
How is the binding made?
Back turned to front
What is the width of the binding (measure on the top only)?
half inch - one inch
What kind of filling is used in the quilt?
Cotton
How are the layers held together?
Hand quilting
Thread type used for the quilting:
cotton
Color of thread used in the quilting:
white
Quilting designs used, overall motifs:
Other
Describe the quilting designs used:
quilted in 1970 in a simple rainbow pattern
Features or notes about the quilt's appearance, materials, or construction:
Karey Bresenhan refers to this quilt as one that "breaks the rules." She notes that it is full of movement and images, yet the pieced stripes don't match up, points in stars are cut off, the quilt edge ripples. . . "yet it is inspired." The two full pieced stars are mirrored above and below by half stars. What would normally be the white field or negative space, in this quilt is festooned with small red, white, and blue prints set into strip-pieced stripes and then cut into geometric shapes to surround the stars. There are two complete blocks each consisting of carefully matched strips that seem to braid into one another. One effect is to produce blue swastikas--a symbol of good luck or of the sun until World War II.
Quilt top made by:
Myers, Laura Maria Ott
Quilted by:
Lee, Inez
Where the quilt was made, county:
Erath
Where the quilt was made, state:
Texas (TX)
Where the quilt was made, country:
United States
How was this quilt acquired?
Inheritance
Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:
The present owner of the quilt is Ilona Dee Tanner Smith, the daughter of Cecil Dale Tanner-- the grandson who received this unfinished quilt as a birthday gift from his grandmother. Cecil Tanner passed the quilt on to his daughter.
Describe anything about the history of the quilt that wasn't already recorded in a previous field:
Quiltmaker Laura Myers moved to Texas from Louisiana in 1880 along with many members of the Myers family. Laura was pregnant during the nine-week wagon trip. The group reached Eastland, Texas in late June 1880. Less than a month later the couple's first son was born. The present owner of this quilt had it quilted in 1970 for her father, who was given it originally as a birthday gift by his grandmother, the quiltmaker.
Why was the quilt made?
Art or personal expression
Details about why the quilt was made:
possibly commemorative, patriotic
The quilt was made to be used for:
Bedding, special occasion
Quilt is presently used as:
Keepsake/memento
Where did the maker get their materials?
Sewing scraps
Where did the maker find their pattern?
Original to maker
Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:
One of 62 Texas quilts exhibited in “Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1836-1936,” Texas State Capitol Rotunda, Austin, Texas, April 19-21, 1986.
Related items such as diaries, obituaries, wills, household inventories, or pictures of the quiltmaker:
Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association’s Texas Quilt Search Archives
Publications (including web sites) where this quilt or maker was featured:
Bresenhan, Karoline Patterson and Nancy O'Bryant Puentes, Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, Vol. I, 1836-1936 (Austin: University of Texas Press), p. 120-121.
Ownership of this quilt is:
Private
Quilt owner's name:
Ilona Dee Tanner Smith
Quilt owner's state:
Texas (TX)
Quilt owner's country:
United States
Quiltmaker's maiden name:
Ott, Laura Maria
Quiltmaker's gender:
Female
Quiltmaker's birth date:
09/08/1853
Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:
Holmesville
Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:
Mississippi
Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:
United States
Quiltmaker's date and place of death:
07/18/1948
Quiltmaker's occupation:
homemaker
In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?
Rural
Quiltmaker's father's name:
Ott, George Washington
Quiltmaker's mother's name:
Higgins, Mary
Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' occupation:
farmer
Number of children:
9
How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?
4
How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?
5
Who photographed this quilt?
Sharon Risedorph
Access and copyright information:
Restricted
Copyright holder:
Assistant Director Winedale
Cite this Quilt
Myers, Laura Maria Ot. Stars and Stripes. 1901-1929. From Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin, Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association, Texas Quilt Search. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=25-21-10. Accessed: 03/29/24