QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-27

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_0064

Person filling out this form is:

Quilt owner; Relative of quiltmaker; Other

Source of the information on this quilt:

This quilt was documented during the Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association's Texas Quilt Search, 1983-1985, and/or during the second phase of the Texas Quilt Search, 1986-1989; Karey Bresenhan served as quilt historian.

When was the form filled out?

1986-1989

Choose the best description of the source to the quilt:

Quilt owner

If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?

Received as a gift

Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:

This quilt was made by the present owner's mother-in-law.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

Spring Bouquet

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Floral Applique

How wide is the quilt?

76 in.

How long is the quilt?

88 in.

Shape of edge:

Scalloped

Shape of corners:

Rounded

What color is the quilt?

Blue or Navy; Green; Lavender; Pink; White

Overall color scheme:

Light or pastel colors

Quilt's condition:

Very good/almost new

Damage:

Pencil or pen or marking lines; Wear to edge or binding

Describe the damage:

quilting design markings still visible

Time period:

1930-1949

Family/owner's date for quilt:

ca. 1942

Date estimated by an antique dealer, quilt historian or appraiser:

ca. 1936

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Karey Bresenhan

Further information concerning dates:

The quiltmaker put this quilt in her son's trousseau when he married in 1942.

Describe the quilt's layout:

Medallion or framed center

Describe the borders:

quilted border of flowers similar to those appliqued

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Solid/plain

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Other embellishment technique

Describe the techniques used to make the quilt top:

appliqued with very tiny buttonhole stitch

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?

White

Describe the back:

Machine sewn

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

Describe the binding:

narrow blue contrast binding

How is the binding made?

Bias grain

What is the width of the binding (measure on the top only)?

less than a half inch

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Cotton

How thick is the quilt?

Thin (Less than 3/16?)

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Thread type used for the quilting:

cotton

Color of thread used in the quilting:

white

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

7

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

7

Width between quilting lines:

1-2 in.

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Outline; Single parallel lines

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Floral

Describe the quilting designs used:

floral border quilting; parallel lines on diagonal begin at corner and meet at center medallion frame; straight parallel lines in center medallion

Features or notes about the quilt's appearance, materials, or construction:

This quilt may have been made from a kit or a purchased pattern. Quilting designs flatten the fabric and emphasize the appliqued flowers, which are appliqued with a tiny bottonhole stitch. Karey Bresenhan calls this quilt a "splendid example of all the elements so popular in the pre-war period: bows, ribbons, bouquets, graceful flowers, and elaborate quilting." This quilt was appliqued by Bessie Evans Carruthers in Crystal City, Texas, and quilted by Mrs. J. E. Peal, also from Crystal City.

Quilt top made by:

Carruthers, Bessie Evans

Quilted by:

Peal, Mrs. J. E.

Where the quilt was made, city:

Crystal City

Where the quilt was made, county:

Zavala

Where the quilt was made, state:

Texas (TX)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Gift

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

"This quilt was in my husband's 'trousseau' when we married in 1942," recalled the daughter-in-law of the quiltmaker, who today owns this quilt. She added that "At that time, there were few pretty things to be had, so it brought joy and color to our home, even though the first three years were spent with Uncle Sam."

Describe anything about the history of the quilt that wasn't already recorded in a previous field:

The quiltmaker was born in 1886 in Marble Falls, Texas; she attended school through the 7th grade. She and her husband had three children and adopted a fourth; but her husband died and left Mrs. Carruthers to raise at least two of them on her own. She worked as a cook and as a seamstress to support her family. According to her daughter-in-law, "Bessie spent many hours doing handwork of all kinds. I'm sure it was her therapy as she was alone, raising two children, and there were no 'freebies' from Uncle Sam in those days." Bessie Evans Carruthers made her first patchwork quilt as a child living near Mertzon, Texas.

Why was the quilt made?

Art or personal expression

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?

Purchased new

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Commercial/Published source: Pattern; Commercial/Published source: Kit

Describe the source of the pattern:

either kit or pattern purchase

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

“Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1936-1986,” Annual International Quilt Festival, November, 1990, Houston, Texas.

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. II, 1936-1986 (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1990), p. 28-29.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Emalee Carruthers

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Evans, Bessie

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

04/15/1886

Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:

Marbel Falls, Burnet County

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Texas

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

11/17/1964

Quiltmaker's educational background:

through 7th grade

Quiltmaker's occupation:

cook, seamstress, homemaker

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Evans, [unknown]

Number of children:

4

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

at least one

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Self-Taught

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Under 10 years of age

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Gifts; Pleasure; Therapy

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

yes

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

no

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

current owner of the quilt states that it was used and enjoyed and that washing has faded the design.

Who photographed this quilt?

Sharon Risedorph

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale