QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-102

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_0133

Person filling out this form is:

Other

Source of the information on this quilt:

Roberta Norris was project director for this quilt made by fourteen women from Huntsville. This quilt was documented during the Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association's 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:

Participated in design of the quilt

How did the quiltmaker participate in the creation of the quilt?

Participated in group quilting

Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:

This documentation comes from the quilt's project head Roberta Norris.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Huntsville's Birthday Quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

Huntsville's Birthday

How wide is the quilt?

52 in.

How long is the quilt?

86 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

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

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Type of inscription:

Date; Place

Time period:

1976-1999

When was the quilt started?

1986

When was the quilt finished?

1986

Family/owner's date for quilt:

1986

Describe the quilt's layout:

Pictorial

Subject of the quilt:

151 years of Huntsville, Texas, history

Number of borders:

2

Describe the borders:

An inner rust-colored border frames the pictorial motif; outside this border is a dark printed border of each side, a pale green border with Huntsville Texas" appliqued at the top, and a cream border with 1835-1986 appliqued at the bottom.

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:

Hand Piecing

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery

Can you feel or see paper on the quilt that was used as a construction aid?

no

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

Description of the back:

muslin

What color is the back of the quilt?

White

Describe the back:

Hand sewn; 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?

Polyester

How thick is the quilt?

Thick (More than 3/16?)

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Thread type used for the quilting:

cotton

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

10

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

12

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

no

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Outline

Describe the quilting designs used:

outline quilting around all appliqued designs

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

The design for this quilt evolved from oral histories recorded by Roberta Norris from fourteen members of the Grandperson's Center in Huntsville. The rough, overall design resulting from their stories was divided into blocks, each one to be worked on separately but with the overall design in mind. The blocks were cut from muslin and fabric appliqued on top. Blocks completed depicted various Huntsville structures and historic events, including a railroad accident, the Sam Houston Museum, and a scene at Huntsville Prison, complete with a mounted guard overseeing prisoners. Completed blocks were sewn together and integrated through additional applique. A back and borders were added, then there was a group quilting to finish the quilt over a July 4th weekend. Within days of completion, the quilt was hanging in the Sam Houston Museum in time for the commemorative celebration.

Name of the group that made the quilt:

Huntsville Grandpersons Center

Quilt top made by:

Russell, Eleanor; Murray, Bennie; Mosley, Evelyn; Martin, Robbye; Hilliard, Joyce; Crockett, Lillie; Cass, Ruth; Bass, Fannie; Alexander, Lois; Adamson, Annie; Frazier, Hester; Andrea, Iona; Schultz, Bessie; Goodin, Mabel

Quilted by:

Mosley, Evelyn; Martin, Robbye; Hilliard, Joyce; Crockett, Lillie; Cass, Ruth; Bass, Fannie; Alexander, Lois; Adamson, Annie; Goodin, Mabel; Frazier, Hester; Andrea, Iona; Murray, Bennie; Russell, Eleanor; Schultz, Bessie

Other people who worked on this quilt:

Norris, Roberta

Where the quilt was made, city:

Huntsville

Where the quilt was made, county:

Walker

Where the quilt was made, state:

Texas (TX)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Presentation/award

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

This quilt was made by fourteen members of the Huntsville Grandpersons Center as a project to celebrate the city's 151th birthday. The project was supported by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Huntsville Arts Commission.

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

This quilt was finished in time for it to be hung in Huntsville's Sam Houston Museum for the city's birthday festivities on July 12, 1986.

Why was the quilt made?

Commemorative

Details about why the quilt was made:

Created to celebrate the 151 birthday of the City of Huntsville, during the Texas Sesquicentennial in 1986.

The quilt was made to be used for:

Artwork/wall hanging

Quilt is presently used as:

Artwork/wall hanging; Museum collection; Study or teaching aid

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Original to maker

Describe the source of the pattern:

the recollections of 14 women in the Huntsville Grandpersons Center

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

Roberta Norris and Iona Andrea, the Center's Arts and Crafts Director, were the only experienced fabric artists who worked on this quilt. The finished quilt took six months to complete. The project served to bring the participants together and to allow them to realize that with Roberta's direction and expertise they could express their individual and never-before explored talents through the familiar medium of quilting. The project also allowed these seniors to show their pride in the community they pioneered by giving this quilt to the City of Huntsville to commemorate its 151th birthday.

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

Exhibited in Sam Houston Museum, Huntsville, 1986; "Great Texas Quilt RoundUp," Austin, 1986; “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:

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. 166-167.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Public

Quilt owner's name:

City of Huntsville, Texas

Quilt owner's city:

Huntsville

Quilt owner's county:

Walker

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's gender:

Group

Quiltmaker's county:

Walker

Quiltmaker's city:

Huntsville

Quiltmaker's state:

Texas (TX)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

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

Huntsville Grandpersons Center

Where does/did the group meet?

Huntsville, Texas

What are the main activities of the group?

arts and crafts

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