QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-100

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_0131

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

Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:

This quilt is presently owned by the quiltmaker.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Tribute to the Heroes of the Alamo Quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

Tribute to the Heroes of the Alamo

How wide is the quilt?

102 in.

How long is the quilt?

102 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Blue or Navy; Red; White

Overall color scheme:

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:

Medallion or framed center

Subject of the quilt:

patriotic symbols

Number of borders:

2

Describe the borders:

Two borders frame a central medallion star and its inner frame featuring 49 four-pointed stars in blue and red set on white and blue fabric against a blue field, with a Star of Liberty at each corner. The outer border features pieced triangles that mirror the triangles of the central star motif.

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:

Print; Solid/plain

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Machine Piecing

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?

Medium (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 and blue

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

9

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

7

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Outline

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Grid/crosshatch

Describe the quilting designs used:

outline quilting around pieced designs; medium crosshatch quilting; geometric designs and interlocking chains on frames and borders

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

Quiltmaker Annick Harris describes her design and pattern as follows: "The quilt is constructed around three traditional patchwork squares: the Battle of the Alamo, the Star of the Alamo, and the Star of Liberty. The center medallion is made of four squares of the Battle of the Alamo. The colors are arranged to form a six-pointed star. The second row is composed of four 3/4 squares of the Battle of the Alamo, set in each corner, also forming a Texas Lone Star. The two Texas Lone Stars appear to be laying against a huge Star of the Alamo. This Star of the Alamo is repeated 28 times around the center square. Each of them represents a State of the Union or a foreign country which lost gallant men during the Battle of the Alamo. A Star of Liberty can be found at the four corners of the quilt because the Alamo is also called the "Cradle of Texas Liberty." The pattern of blue and white triangles found in each of the star points was also used in the border to provide continuity. The colors are RED for the courage shown by the Heroes of the Alamo, WHITE and BLUE for the loyalty of the Alamo's fighters to the vision of the free and independent Texas more than to the value of their own lives."

Quilt top made by:

Harris, Annick Thorr

Quilted by:

Harris, Annick Thorr

Where the quilt was made, city:

Harker Heights

Where the quilt was made, county:

Bell

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 Annick Harris, a native of France, began this quilt in 1985, the year she became a citizen of the United States. She made this quilt as her tribute to the heroes of the Alamo and to her new state for its 150th birthday.

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

This quilt was Annick Harris's first quilting project. She notes: "I am a real novice quilter since this quilt is my first project ever and the quilting designs could have been more researched and elaborate. I nonetheless tried to find a pattern with something resembling a Fleur de Lys. This choice is like an apology for the man who decided not to stay for the final stand on that March Day of 1836 at the Alamo, the French man Louis Rose, who also happens to have been one of my countrymen."

Why was the quilt made?

Commemorative

Details about why the quilt was made:

made on the occasion of the Texas Sesquicentennial in 1986

The quilt was made to be used for:

Bedding, special occasion

Quilt is presently used as:

Artwork/wall hanging; Keepsake/memento

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Commercial/Published source: Book; Traditional pattern variation

Describe the source of the pattern:

Beverly Ann Orbelo, A Texas Quilting Primer.

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:

"Great Texas Quilt RoundUp," Austin, Texas, 1986; regional contests

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. 162-163.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Harris, Annick Thorr

Quilt owner's state:

Virginia (VA)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Thorr, Annick

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

1951

Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:

Laxou

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

France

Quiltmaker's occupation:

teacher; secretary U.S. Department of Defense

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Urban

Quiltmaker's state:

Virginia (VA)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's father's birthplace:

France

Quiltmaker's mother's birthplace:

France

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

career U.S. military

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Self-Taught

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 30-39

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Pleasure

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

"Creating a quilt is a great way to unleash my creativity."

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

1-5 quilts

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

no

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

no

Who photographed this quilt?

Sharon Risedorph

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale