QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-99

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_0130

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?

1986-1990

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

Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:

The present owner of this quilt is the quiltmaker.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Flying X (As in TeXas) Quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

Flying X

How wide is the quilt?

96 in.

How long is the quilt?

100 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Red; White

Overall color scheme:

Two color; Bright or primary colors

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Time period:

1976-1999

When was the quilt started?

1985

When was the quilt finished?

1986

Family/owner's date for quilt:

1986

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

56 poeced blocks; 42 plain blocks

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

On point or rotated on 45 degrees

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Alternating with plain squares

Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:

1

What is the shape of the quilt blocks?

Squares

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

Describe the techniques used to make the quilt top:

deliberate error in quilt (see upper left)

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:

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?

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:

9

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

10

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:

Feathering; Other

Describe the quilting designs used:

outline quilting by the piece; feather quilting in circles and half circles in white blocks, each containing quilted shape of state of Texas, the word "Texas," and five-pointed Lone stars. Crosshatch quilting is used to fill in remainder of the circles.

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

The quiltmaker selected an old quilt pattern, the Flying X, which was in use when her great great grandmother Judith Damron Duncan first arrived in Texas in 1829. She intended for this quilt to celebrate the 1986 Texas Sesquicentennial both through the use of this quilting heritage and through the design of the quilted Texas motifs in each plain block. The tiny white dots on the red fabric adds to the quilt's crisp look.

Quilt top made by:

Collins, Karen Louise Sikes

Quilted by:

Collins, Karen Louise Sikes

Where the quilt was made, city:

Midland

Where the quilt was made, county:

Midland

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:

Quiltmaker Karen Collins states that this quilt celebrates the migration of her ancestors and others to Texas. She is a fifth generation descendant of a quilter who came to Texas in 1829. She treasures her quilt heritage, which includes learning from her mother and both her grandmothers.

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

This quilt contains an intentional mistake in the piecing--it symbolizes, says the quilt maker, "the one old sorehead who also came to Texas along with the millions of wonderful people."

Why was the quilt made?

Commemorative

Details about why the quilt was made:

celebrate the 1986 Texas Sesquicentennial and her Texas ancestors.

The quilt was made to be used for:

Unknown

Quilt is presently used as:

Keepsake/memento

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Public domain/traditional pattern; Traditional pattern variation

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

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

Contests entered:

Judge's Choice Award, Great Texas Quilt RoundUp, Austin, Texas, 1986.

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. 160-161.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Collins, Karen Louise Sikes

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Sikes, Karen Louise

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

11/16/1941

Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:

Brenham

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Texas

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's marriage date(s):

1962

Quiltmaker's educational background:

University of Texas, MA in history

Quiltmaker's occupation:

librarian, editor, researcher

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural; Urban

Quiltmaker's state:

Texas (TX)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Sikes, [unknown]

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Sikes, Bertha Mitchel

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

Collins, [unknown]

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

archaeologist

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

From Relative; Self-Taught

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 20-29

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Pleasure; Therapy

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

approval, creative rewards, "a sense of heritage for sure--a good comforting feeling."

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

Midland Quilters Guild; Austin Area Quilt Guild

Where does/did the group meet?

Midland, Austin

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

more than 50

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

no

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

This quilter wants to carry on the tradition of her quilter ancestors. For a time, Mrs. Collins and her husband lived in a former dairy building made of rock as they worked to restore other buildings on their property. On the wall of their temporary home was one of Mrs. Collins' Log Cabin quilts, a reminder of their goal of completing and moving into the old log cabin structure on their site.

Who photographed this quilt?

Sharon Risedorph

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale