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Stars and Stripes

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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