QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-94

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_0125

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 presently owned by the quiltmaker.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

An American Sampler Quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

An American Sampler

How wide is the quilt?

78 in.

How long is the quilt?

78 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Beige or Tan; Brown; Rust; Turquoise or Teal

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor; Dark colors

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Time period:

1976-1999

When was the quilt started?

1979

When was the quilt finished?

1985

Family/owner's date for quilt:

1985

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

9

Size of quilt blocks:

3 different sizes (4 of one size, 4 of a second size, 1 of largest size)

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Other

Describe the quilt setting:

four blocks are set straight at the four corners of the central block, which is set on point; four additional blocks, all identical and set on point, are between the for corner blocks

Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:

6

What is the shape of the quilt blocks?

Sampler; Squares

Number of borders:

1

Describe the borders:

single dark tan strip frames the central motif; outer teal set serves as backdrop

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Floral; 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:

trapunto

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

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?

Polyester

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:

tan

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

10

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

12

Width between quilting lines:

less than 1/2 inch in places

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

no

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Outline; Single parallel lines; Stipple

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Floral

Describe the quilting designs used:

outline quilting around pieced designs; extensive stipple quilting in center to give dimension to pieced motifs and floral trapunto designs; geometric quilting sets off complex pieced and appliqued blocks

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

Intended as an heirloom quilt, this An American Sampler Quilt features six 19th-century quilt patterns: President's Wreath, Lady of the Lake, Pennsylvania Basket, Snowflake, Tree of Life, and Princess Feather, in addition to stipple quilting, trapunto, and fabric colors reminiscent of 1840s colors.

Quilt top made by:

Young, Lynn Lewis

Quilted by:

Young, Lynn Lewis

Where the quilt was made, city:

Houston

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?

Made by owner

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

Intended as a family heirloom quilt, and begun as blocks to use in teaching her quilting class, this quilt ultimately took six years to create.

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

While working in the cancer research field, Lynn Young began taking quilting classes as a source of relief and relaxation. With respect to her "An American Sampler," Lynn Young states that she "was aiming for workmanship of the highest heirloom quality and a setting for the blocks which showed the design ideas and traditional approach of quiltmaking today. I feel it is one of my finest traditional efforts, and I enjoy sharing it. I will probably never make another one like it, as I am now interested in other aspects of quiting."

Why was the quilt made?

Commemorative

Details about why the quilt was made:

commemorative heirloom quilting patterns

The quilt was made to be used for:

Artwork/wall hanging

Quilt is presently used as:

Artwork/wall hanging

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Public domain/traditional pattern; Traditional pattern variation

Describe the source of the pattern:

original design based on traditional patterns and techniques

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

Lynn Young spent two years quilting her "An American Sampler."

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

“Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1936-1986,” 16th Annual International Quilt Festival, November, 1990, Houston, Texas.

Contests entered:

awarded First Runner Up for the Founders' Award, International Quilt Festival, 1985.

Related items such as diaries, obituaries, wills, household inventories, or pictures of the quiltmaker:

Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association, 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. 150-151; "Home Quilt Show: A Quilter's Wish Book," Issue no. 1, 1989.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Young, Lynn Lewis

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Lewis, Lynn

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

1950

Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:

Huntsville

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Texas

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's marriage date(s):

1972

Quiltmaker's educational background:

University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Services, MS

Quiltmaker's occupation:

teaches quilting; professional quilter

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Urban

Quiltmaker's state:

Texas (TX)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

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

Young, [unknown]

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

From Class

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 20-29

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Income; Pleasure

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

creative and artistic rewards, self expression, monetary rewards

Does/did the quiltmaker belong to a group? Name of the group?

Quilt Guild of Greater Houston; Contemporary Quilt Goup

Where does/did the group meet?

Houston

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

yes

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

yes

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

Lynn Young's first quilt designs were traditional--quilts were in her past, and she recalls her grandmother quilting and that she sat underneath her quilting frame. Today she focuses on abstract contemporary designs and wearable art, hand-dyed fabrics and surface design.

Who photographed this quilt?

Sharon Risedorph

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale