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Yellow Rose of Texas Quilt; Yellow Rose of Texas

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QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-103

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_0134

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:

Yellow Rose of Texas Quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

Yellow Rose of Texas

How wide is the quilt?

66 in.

How long is the quilt?

80 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Beige or Tan; Green; Pink; Red; Yellow

Overall color scheme:

Bright or primary colors

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Type of inscription:

Date; Signature

What is inscribed on the quilt?

Donoene McKay 1986

Method used to make the inscription:

Embroidery

Location of inscription:

other

Describe where the inscription was found:

lower front, center

Time period:

1976-1999

When was the quilt started?

1983

When was the quilt finished?

1986

Family/owner's date for quilt:

1986

Describe the quilt's layout:

Pictorial

Subject of the quilt:

Yellow Rose of Texas

Number of quilt blocks:

mosaic of more than 5000 pieces to make up pictorial motif

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Side by side

Number of borders:

1

Describe the borders:

green border, as in set, 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:

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

Description of the back:

cotton muslin blend

What color is the back of the quilt?

Green

Describe the back:

Same fabric used throughout; Solid/plain

How is the binding made?

Front turned to back

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:

yellow, green

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

7

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

9

Width between quilting lines:

1 - 2 in.

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Outline

Describe the quilting designs used:

hand quilting outlines each piece on both sides

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

Quiltmaker states: I always wanted to do something in mosaic and did not know how. Had always done my own needlepoint designs and realized one day that each stitch could be used as a square. I worked out a needlepoint rose from [the Jackson & Perkins] catalog--then painted it in oils, then marked a grid. The Olfa cutter was new and gave me trouble to learn to use, but what a godsend for cutting out 5000+ little squares. I sewed on 4 machines with different colors thread, having filed the presser feet to one eighth in width. I made a mock-up with muslin background and began again with the green background. Both quilts were finished in one year."

Quilt top made by:

McKay, Donoene

Quilted by:

McKay, Donoene

Where the quilt was made, city:

Gilmer

Where the quilt was made, county:

Upshur

Where the quilt was made, state:

Texas (TX)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Made by owner

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

After Mrs. McKay made this Yellow Rose of Texas quilt, she entered it in the American International Quilt Association's judged show, held each fall in Houston at the International Quilt Festival. Because she had quilted the rose design and tacked the background, the quilt hung unevenly, a fact pointed out by the judge during her critique. With the benefit of this helpful criticism, Mrs. McKay decided to remove all her tacking and then to quilt the background like the rose. Her quilt then hung flat. She retained a border of the tacking for the difference in texture. She changed her "finish date," embroidered on her quilt's front to 1986 to make her quilt a Texas Sesquicentennial quilt, because that is the year she considered she finally had finished her project.

Why was the quilt made?

Commemorative

Details about why the quilt was made:

Texas Sesquicentennial

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?

Original to maker

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

The Story of Emily Morgan, known as The Yellow Rose of Texas--is celebrated in story and song. According to popular tradition, Emily Morgan was a mulatto servant captured in 1836 by Mexican General Santa Anna on his way to the Battle of San Jacinto during the Texas Revolution. Legend states that Emily Morgan deliberately distracted the General, thereby enabling Houston's forces to rout the Mexican army. Her owner subsequently freed Miss Morgan for her loyalty to the Texas cause.

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

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

Contests entered:

Best in Category, "Great Texas Quilt RoundUp," Austin, 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. 168-169.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

McKay, Donoene

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

1917

Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:

White Mountain

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Texas

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's educational background:

some college; many art classes

Quiltmaker's occupation:

retired hairstylist for motion pictures and TV

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's state:

Texas (TX)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

From Class; From guild or club member; From Relative

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Under 10 years of age

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Gifts; Pleasure

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

creative rewards, sense of heritage

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

Houston Quilt Guild

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

no

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

no

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

Quiltmaker continues to take classes in fiber art, including painting on silk.

Who photographed this quilt?

Sharon Risedorph

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale

Cite this Quilt

McKay, Donoen. Yellow Rose of Texas Quilt. 1986. From Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin, Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association, Texas Quilt Search. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=25-21-103. Accessed: 03/29/24

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