QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-60

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_0095

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?

Inherited; Received as a gift

Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:

The present owner of this quilt received it from her grandmother, the quiltmaker.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

Sunburst

How wide is the quilt?

74 in.

How long is the quilt?

87 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Blue or Navy; White

Overall color scheme:

Light or pastel colors

Quilt's condition:

Very good/almost new

Damage:

Stains

Describe the damage:

some stains on back

Type of inscription:

Multiple Names

What is inscribed on the quilt?

Kathy 19 by Lillie Henderson

Method used to make the inscription:

Embroidery

Location of inscription:

on border

Time period:

1950-1975

When was the quilt started?

1966

When was the quilt finished?

1966

Family/owner's date for quilt:

1966

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

1966

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Karey Bresenhan

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

42 blocks, 20 with sunbursts; 12 plain (some plain are appliqued with swags)

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Alternating with plain squares; Side by side

Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:

2

What is the shape of the quilt blocks?

Squares

Number of borders:

1

Describe the borders:

navy swag and bows border

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Print; Solid/plain

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

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

Describe the binding:

navy blue bias binding

How is the binding made?

Bias grain

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 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:

10

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

12

Width between quilting lines:

1/2 - 1 in.

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Echo; Outline

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Feathering; Other

Describe the quilting designs used:

Heavily and intricately quilted using outline and echo quilting around geometric pieces of the sunbursts and around the curves of the swags and bows; beautiful feather and bouquet quilting in plain blocks.

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

This is one of two quilts of the Sunburst pattern made by Lillie Henderson. This complicated pattern features hand piecing of forty different pieces in each sunburst (out of both solid and prints blue fabrics), for a total of some 800 pieces. The thin elegance of the sunburst rays is complemented by the graceful curves of the swags and bows and the heavy hand quilting.

Quilt top made by:

Henderson, Lillie Anna Witt

Quilted by:

Henderson, Lillie Anna Witt

Where the quilt was made, city:

Lubbock

Where the quilt was made, county:

Lubbock

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:

Mrs. Henderson made this quilt for her granddaughter Kathryn McCabe. The Sunburst design is based on a Mountain Mist/Stearns and Foster pattern.

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

Lillie Henderson was commissioned to make a second Sunburst Quilt in about 1987. This quilt became a special gift on the occasion of the 35th wedding anniversary of a couple from Amarillo.

Why was the quilt made?

Gift or presentation

Details about why the quilt was made:

made as a gift for a granddaughter

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: Pattern; Public domain/traditional pattern

Describe the source of the pattern:

Stearns and Foster

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

“Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1936-1986,” 16th Annual International Quilt Festival, November, 1990, Houston, Texas. Some of Mrs. Henderson's many other quilts have also been exhibited, including in the Museum of American Folk Art in 1978.

Contests entered:

Mrs. Henderson's Sunburst Quilt won ribbons at the South Plains Fair, 1966 and at the Texas State Fair, 1967.

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. 90-91.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Kathryn McCabe Shirley

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Witt, Lillie Anna

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

1895

Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:

Puryear

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Tennessee

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's educational background:

graduate of Oklahoma College for Women, 1920

Quiltmaker's occupation:

teacher

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's state:

Texas (TX)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Witt, [unknown]

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

oil supply company manager

Number of children:

2

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Self-Taught

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 50 or over

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Gifts; Income; Pleasure

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

creative outlet, artistic self-expression

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

20-50 quilts

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

yes

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

Mrs. Henderson decided to try her hand at quilting when she was in her fifties after her daughter-in-law admired a quilt made by Mrs. Henderson's mother. Today her quilts are well known and have been displayed widely.

Who photographed this quilt?

Sharon Risedorph

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale

Details

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