QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-34

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_0071

Person filling out this form is:

Blood relative of quiltmaker; Quilt owner; Other

Source of the information on this quilt:

This quilt was reviewed and 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?

Inherited

Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:

The present owner of this Cobweb quilt is the great granddaughter of the quiltmaker.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

Cobweb

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Spiderweb

How wide is the quilt?

64 in.

How long is the quilt?

72 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Blue or Navy; Green; Red; White; Yellow

Antique colors:

Nile Green

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor

Quilt's condition:

Fair/worn

Damage:

Wear to edge or binding

Describe the damage:

overall wear

Family/owner's date for quilt:

ca. 1938

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

ca. 1938

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Karey Bresenhan

Further information concerning dates:

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

12 full; 11 half; 7 partial

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Alternating with plain squares; Side by side

Describe the quilt setting:

Pieced octagons joined by plain Nine green blocks.

Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:

1

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Checked; Multiple scrap; Print; Solid/plain; 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?

White

Describe the back:

Same fabric used throughout; Solid/plain

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

How is the binding made?

Back turned to front

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:

4

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

6

Width between quilting lines:

1-2 in.

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Clamshell

Describe the quilting designs used:

clamshell quilting overall

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

This quilt was pieced by hand, joining eight pie-shaped wedges. Fabrics from several decades are used in the construction.

Quilt top made by:

Towler, Prunella Bowmer

Quilted by:

Towler, Prunella Bowmer

Where the quilt was made, city:

San Angelo

Where the quilt was made, county:

Tom Green

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 quiltmaker made this quilt for her grandson's future wedding; he was about six years old when she made the quilt. It was given to him on the occasion of his marriage years later. He passed the quilt on to his daughter, the quilt maker's great granddaughter, during the first year of her marriage.

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

Quiltmaker Prunella Towler was taughter to quilt by her mother and made her first quilt as a child.

Why was the quilt made?

Gift or presentation

Details about why the quilt was made:

Made as a gift for a future family wedding, even though the family member was a child at the time.

The quilt was made to be used for:

Bedding, daily use

Quilt is presently used as:

Keepsake/memento

Where did the maker get their materials?

Sewing scraps

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Public domain/traditional pattern

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

scrap bag quilt

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. 42-43.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Vicki Walz

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Bowmer, Prunella

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

02/26/1877

Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:

Maxdale, Bell county

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Texas

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's marriage date(s):

09/24/1905

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

06/15/1969

Quiltmaker's educational background:

attended Baylor Belton Girl's College, where she studied art and piano

Quiltmaker's occupation:

homemaker;bookkeeper for husband's cotton gin, taught piano

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Bowmer, [unknown]

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and /or partner's/partners' name(s):

Towler, [unknown]

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' occupation:

owned a cotton gin

Number of children:

4

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

2

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

2

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

From Relative

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Under 10 years of age

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Gifts; Necessity

Notes on how the quiltmaker learned, and how and why they quilt:

pleasure of giving to her family

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

no

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

no

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

The quilt maker's mother taught her to quilt as a child. Her first quilt was probably a Nine Patch.

Who photographed this quilt?

Sharon Risedorph

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale

Details

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