QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-73

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_0106

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 Phase II of the Texas Quilt Search, 1986-1989. Karey Bresenhan served as quilt historian. Ms. Bresenhan also owns this quilt.

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; Other

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

Made the quilt; Other

If the source helped design the quilt, describe their input:

Designed quilt motif; Designed the pattern

Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:

Karey Bresenhan received this quilt as a gift from its maker, Grace Simpson Caudill.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Texas Bluebonnet quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

Texas Bluebonnet

How wide is the quilt?

108 in.

How long is the quilt?

108 in.

Shape of edge:

Scalloped

Shape of corners:

Rounded

What color is the quilt?

Blue or Navy; White

Overall color scheme:

Two color

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Time period:

1976-1999

When was the quilt finished?

1981

Family/owner's date for quilt:

1981

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Subject of the quilt:

Texas bluebonnets, the state flower of Texas

Number of quilt blocks:

39 complete blocks with applique; 6 plain half blocks

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Side by side

Describe the quilt setting:

plain half blocks at top and bottom betwen appliqued blocks

Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:

1

What is the shape of the quilt blocks?

Hexagons

Number of borders:

1

Describe the borders:

deep, quilted scalloped border on four sides

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric types used to make the quilt top:

Muslin

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Fusible Applique

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery

Describe the techniques used to make the quilt top:

Each bluebonnet block contains 39 tiny pieces that form the petals of the bluebonnets and its realistic leaves. Stems and leaf details are embroidered. Perfect applique buttonhole stitches are so tiny and close that no raw edges show between stitches.

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

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:

10

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

12

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Feathering; Floral; Vines; Other

Describe the quilting designs used:

Quilting pattern was marked by "laying off" the design, i.e. tracing each element with a long sharp needle or a hat pin and then quilting before the indentation had time to fade. Quilting includes small swirling curlicues, delicate rosettes and leaves, and feathering at border that perfectly rounds the corners.

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

Karey Bresenhan calls this quilt "the work of a master quilter." Its hexagonal blocks feature Texas Bluebonnets, the State Flower of Texas. The tiny buttonhole stitching on the flower petals allows no edging to be seen. The stark white muslin, elegantly quilted, makes the perfect fresh backdrop for the Bluebonnet's blue tones.

Quilt top made by:

Caudill, Grace Bowman Simpson

Quilted by:

Caudill, Grace Bowman Simpson

Where the quilt was made, city:

Houston and Greensboro

Where the quilt was made, county:

Harris

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:

Karey Bresenhan acquired this quilt as a gift from its maker in appreciation for editing Mrs. Caudill's manuscript for her "Quilts Beautiful: Their Stories and How to Make Them" (1981), which she published under the name Grace Simpson, by which she is known in the quilting world.

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

Mrs. Caudill began this quilt while living in Houston, Harris County, Texas; she quilted it in 1981 after moving to Greensboro, North Carolina.

Why was the quilt made?

Art or personal expression

The quilt was made to be used for:

Artwork/wall hanging

Quilt is presently used as:

Bedding, special occasion; Exhibit; Keepsake/memento; Study or teaching aid

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Original to maker

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

Mrs. Caudill--Grace Simpson (the name by which she is known in the quilt world) has designed at least eighteen patterns, which she lists in her "Quilts Beautiful" book. The include Yellow Rose of Texas, Bluest Day, and Tal Heel Daisy.

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:

Simpson, Grace, "Quilts Beautiful: their Stories and How to Make Them" (Winston-Salem, NC: Hunter Publishing Co., 1981); Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association’s Texas Quilt Search Archives

Publications (including web sites) where this quilt or maker was featured:

Grace Simpson, Quilts Beautiful: Their Stories and How to Make Them (Winston-Salem, NC: Hunter Publishing Co., 1981); 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. 112-113.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Karey Bresenhan

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Bowman, Grace

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Kentucky

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

1989

Quiltmaker's educational background:

attended Eastern Kentucky State Teachers College

Quiltmaker's occupation:

quilt lecturer, teacher, pattern sales, making custon quilts

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

college professor

Number of children:

2

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

2

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

From Relative; Self-Taught

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Under 10 years of age

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Gifts; Income; Pleasure

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

Grace Simpson notes in her book "Quilts Beautiful: Their Stories and How to Make Them," p. viii, "By no stretch of the imagination could ever a 'livin' soul,' except another quilter, understand the delight, enjoyment, and pleasure that hanging over a quilting frame can bring and how quilting can transform an otherwise loving wife and mother into someone totally oblivious to all mundane and earthly distractions, such as dusty furniture, unmade beds, yelling kids, or hungry husbands!"

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

more than 50

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

yes

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

yes

Describe any favorite patterns, tools, etc. used by the quiltmaker:

Mrs. Simpson (Caudill) has designed many of her own patterns, some of which are based on state symbol motifs (Texas Bluebonnet, Yellow Rose of Texas).

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

Mrs. Simpson (Caudill) considered herself a professionl quilter and supported herself largely through her quilt-related teaching, lectures, custom quilts, pattern sales, and her book "Quilts Beautiful."

Who photographed this quilt?

Sharon Risedorph

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale

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