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Little Women Quilt; Little Women

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quilt

QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-54

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_0089

Person filling out this form is:

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, 1983-1986, and/or during the Association's Phase II of the Texas Quilt Search, 1986-1989. Karey Bresenhan served as quilt historian

When was the form filled out?

1983-1989

Choose the best description of the source to the quilt:

Quiltmaker

How did the quiltmaker participate in the creation of the quilt?

Made entire quilt

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

Made the quilt

Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:

This quilt is owned by the quiltmaker.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Little Women Quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

Little Women

How wide is the quilt?

78 in.

How long is the quilt?

94 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Blue or Navy; Pink; Red; White

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor; Light or pastel colors

Quilt's condition:

Very good/almost new

Damage:

Fading

Describe the damage:

slight fading

Time period:

1950-1975

When was the quilt started?

1951

When was the quilt finished?

1951

Family/owner's date for quilt:

1951

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Subject of the quilt:

Little Women, scenes from the book by Louisa May Alcott

Number of quilt blocks:

30; 15 pictorial and 15 plain

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Alternating with plain squares; Side by side

Describe the quilt setting:

pictorial motifs on pink blocks alternate with plain pale blue blocks

Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:

15

What is the shape of the quilt blocks?

Squares

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Dotted; Floral; Multiple scrap; Print; Solid/plain

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery

Describe the techniques used to make the quilt top:

embroidered details some some pictorial motifs

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?

Pink

Describe the back:

Same fabric used throughout; Solid/plain

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

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:

9

Width between quilting lines:

2 in.

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Grid/crosshatch

Describe the quilting designs used:

crosshatch diamond grid, with 2 in. between quilt lines

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

15 scenes from the cherished novel Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott are depicted on pink blocks, with alternate pale blue blocks in between.

Quilt top made by:

Huegele, Betty

Quilted by:

Huegele, Betty

Where the quilt was made, city:

San Antonio

Where the quilt was made, county:

Bexar

Where the quilt was made, state:

Texas (TX)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Made by owner

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

This was the quiltmaker's first quilt effort; she had some help from family members on the quilting.

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

Betty Huegele chose this quilt pattern as her first subject because she loves the Little Women story. The quilt is made using a pattern ordered from Ladies Home Journal in 1951. Today Mrs. Huegele makes baby quilts as gifts.

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:

Bedding, special occasion

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Commercial/Published source: Magazine

Describe the source of the pattern:

quilt pattern from Ladies' Home Journal

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

“Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1936-1986,” 16th 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. 78-79.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Betty Huegele

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

1927

Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:

San Antonio, Bexar County

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Texas

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's educational background:

high school and nuses training

Quiltmaker's occupation:

registered nurse

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Urban

Quiltmaker's state:

Texas (TX)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Number of children:

3

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Self-Taught

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 20-29

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Gifts; Pleasure

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

creative outlet, makes crib quilts as gifts for babies

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

no

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

no

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

The quiltmaker today focues on making baby quilts, which she makes on a hoop while she watches television. She was always fond of the Little Women story, and she reports that when she "saw the pattern advertised in the Ladies Home Journal in 1951, I ordered it and went to work on it right away. I was working at the time, so did the sewing in my spare time."

Who photographed this quilt?

Sharon Risedorph

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale

Details

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Cite this Quilt

Huegele, Bett. Little Women Quilt. 1951. 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=25-21-54. Accessed: 03/29/24

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