QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-57

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_0092

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?

1986-1989

Choose the best description of the source to the quilt:

Quiltmaker; Quilt owner

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:

The Great Eagle Quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

The Great Eagle

How wide is the quilt?

72 in.

How long is the quilt?

78 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Rounded

What color is the quilt?

Blue or Navy; Brown; Gold; Green; Orange; Red; White

Overall color scheme:

Bright or primary colors

Quilt's condition:

Good/moderate use

Time period:

1950-1975

When was the quilt finished?

1957

Family/owner's date for quilt:

1957

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

1957

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Karey Bresenhan

Describe the quilt's layout:

Pictorial

Subject of the quilt:

Patriotic American eagle

Number of borders:

1

Describe the borders:

thick black border on all sides

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Print; Solid/plain

Describe the fibers or fabrics in the quilt top:

small red and orange print forms eagle's body

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 eagle's eye

Can you feel or see paper on the quilt that was used as a construction aid?

no

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

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?

Medium (3/16?)

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Thread type used for the quilting:

cotton

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

6

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

7

Width between quilting lines:

1/2 - 1 in.

Can you see any knots on the front or back of the quilt?

no

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Outline

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Other

Describe the quilting designs used:

outline quilting on both sides of appliqued pieces; stars quilted in white set

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

A sophisticated folk art quilt depicting the national symbol. The quiltmaker's aunt, Nancy De Phillips, created this pattern, and Lotta Snyder was "so happy over the pattern I just had to make it." The impressive eagle bears a warlike shield but also carried olive branches in both his talons. Embroidered details on the eye and wings add to the realism.

Quilt top made by:

Snyder, Lotta Meeks

Quilted by:

Snyder, Lotta Meeks

Where the quilt was made, city:

Oakwood

Where the quilt was made, county:

Leon

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:

Lotta Meeks Snyder makes three or four quilts each year. Many of her quilts, including The Great Eagle Quilt, have been featured at local and regional quilt shows and contests.

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

Mrs. Snyder learned to quilt as a young child from her mother. She lived in New Mexico, and quilts were a necessity since they had no electric blankets. She was twenty years old when she made her first complete quilt; she used a pattern published in a 1930 issue of the Fort Worth Star Telegram.

Why was the quilt made?

Art or personal expression

Details about why the quilt was made:

The quiltmaker thought the eagle design was pretty.

The quilt was made to be used for:

Artwork/wall hanging

Quilt is presently used as:

Artwork/wall hanging; Exhibit; Keepsake/memento

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Original to maker; Other

Describe the source of the pattern:

The pattern for this Great Eagle quilt was designed by the quiltmaker's aunt, Nancy De Phillips.

Where did the quiltmaker find the pattern for the quilting design on the quilt?

Public domain

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

“Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1936-1986,” 16th Annual International Quilt Festival, November, 1990, Houston, Texas; has been shown at numerous quilts shows and fairs between 1957 and 1989.

Contests entered:

numerous quilt shows and fairs

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, 84-85.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Lotta Meeks Snyder

Quilt owner's city:

Oakwood

Quilt owner's county:

Leon

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Meeks, Lotta

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

1910

Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:

Logan

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

New Mexico

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's marriage date(s):

1930

Quiltmaker's occupation:

retired realtor

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's state:

Texas (TX)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

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

Snyder, [unknown]

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

businessman, cattleman

Number of children:

2

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

1

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

1

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; Pleasure

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

creative rewards: "I love to see the pretty quilts."

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

more than 50

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

no

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

no

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

Lotta Meeks Snyder made her first complete quilt in 1930, when she was twenty. She got a pattern out of the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram. Before that time, "Mama let us help on her quilts." Now, Mrs. Snyder makes three or four quilts a year. In 1989 she was working on a Double Irish Chain quilt.

Who photographed this quilt?

Sharon Risedorph

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale