QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-83

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_0115

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.

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

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

Designed quilt motif; Designed the pattern

Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:

This quilt is currently owned by the quiltmaker.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Houses, Barns, and Churches Quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

Houses, Barns and Churches

How wide is the quilt?

96 in.

How long is the quilt?

104 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Black; Blue or Navy; Brown; Cream; Gold; Green; Orange; Red; Rust

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor; Bright or primary colors

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Time period:

1976-1999

When was the quilt started?

1984

When was the quilt finished?

1984

Family/owner's date for quilt:

1984

Describe the quilt's layout:

Pictorial

Subject of the quilt:

houses, barns and churches that hold special meaning to quiltmaker

Number of quilt blocks:

12 rectangles; 12 squares

Size of quilt blocks:

12 in. x 12 in. squares; 12 in. x 24 in. rectangles

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Separated by inner and outer sashing (sashing surrounds all sides of all blocks); Separated by pieced pattern sashing

Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:

24

What is the shape of the quilt blocks?

Squares

Sashing width:

1 1/2 inch strp-pieced sashing with thin black strip on both sides of strip

Number of borders:

1

Describe the borders:

plain brown border on all sides

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric types used to make the quilt top:

Broadcloth

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Dotted; Print; Solid/plain

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing; Machine Piecing

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery; Other embellishment technique

Describe the techniques used to make the quilt top:

each block is double matted in plain brown border, then black border; embroidered detail on each structure

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

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?

Polyester

How thick is the quilt?

Medium (3/16?)

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

6

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

8

Width between quilting lines:

1/2 in.

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Echo; In-the-ditch

Describe the quilting designs used:

each piece of each building is quilted in the ditch; shadow quilting in background

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

Hand and machine piecing, hand embroidery, hand applique, and hand quilting are featured in each of the twenty-four blocks. Each block is double matted and the sashing is strip pieced with fabrics left over from the quilted buildings.

Quilt top made by:

Fowlkes, Shirley Ann Godbold

Quilted by:

Fowlkes, Shirley Ann Godbold

Where the quilt was made, city:

Dallas

Where the quilt was made, county:

Dallas

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:

Each block features a different house, church, or barn that was interesting or personally meaningful to the quiltmaker, who is a residential real estate agent, and her architect husband. This is a memory quilt that includes quilted representations of "homes we have lived in, the church we were married in, and my parent's home and barns."

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

The quiltmaker chose to make a memory quilt of buildings because they have played such a major role in her life. The quilt was designed to be displayed on a wall rather than used on a bed.

Why was the quilt made?

Art or personal expression

Details about why the quilt was made:

to honor and commemorate special buildings in the quiltmaker's life

The quilt was made to be used for:

Artwork/wall hanging

Quilt is presently used as:

Artwork/wall hanging; Exhibit

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Describe the sources of the quilt's materials:

strip pieced sashing is made of scraps left over from blocks

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Original to maker

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

Quilters Guild of Dallas Annual Show, 1985; First Annual American Quilter's Society Show, Peducah, KY, 1985; "Contemporary Art Quilts," Museum of the Southwest, 1986; “Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1936-1986,” 16th Annual International Quilt Festival, November, 1990, Houston, Texas

Contests entered:

Quilters Guild of Dallas Annual Show, 1985; First Annual American Quilter's Society Show, Peducah, KY, 1985; "Contemporary Art Quilts." Museum of the Southwest, 1986.

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. 130-131.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Shirley Ann Godbold Fowlkes

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Godbold, Shirley Ann

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:

Leakey

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Texas

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's marriage date(s):

1955

Quiltmaker's educational background:

University of Texas at Austin BFA

Quiltmaker's occupation:

real estate agent; quilt teacher and lecturer

Quiltmaker's state:

Texas (TX)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

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

Fowlkes, [unknown]

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

architect

Number of children:

2

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

From Class

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 40-49

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Gifts; Income; Pleasure

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

artistic expression; professional

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

more than 50

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

yes

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

Enjoys making quilts with themes or subjects that have special meaning to her.

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

Mrs. Fowlkes made her first quilt--a Sampler--in 1981 and is now a consistent winner at fairs and shows. She teachers quiltmaking and lectures widely, and her quilts have been featured in magazines, books, and museum exhibitions.

Who photographed this quilt?

Sharon Risedorph

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale

Details

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