QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-105

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_0136

Person filling out this form is:

Daughter of quiltmaker; Quiltmaker; Quilt owner; Other

Source of the information on this quilt:

Information about this quilt comes from the quiltmaker's daughter, Karey Patterson Bresenhan, one of the co-founders of the Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association.

When was the form filled out?

1989

Choose the best description of the source to the quilt:

Quiltmaker; Quilt owner; Other

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

Made entire quilt top

If you are the quilt owner, how did you acquire this quilt?

Made the quilt; Other

If the source helped design the quilt, describe their input:

Designed quilt motif

Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:

Jewel Pearce Patterson designed and pieced this quilt; her sister helped select the designs and cut pieces; their two daughters also assisted in the project.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Founders' Star Quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

Founders' Star

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Feathered Texas Star

How wide is the quilt?

96 in.

How long is the quilt?

96 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Blue or Navy; Cream; Red

Overall color scheme:

Bright or primary colors

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Time period:

1976-1999

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:

Lone Star of Texas

Number of borders:

3

Describe the borders:

Feathered Star medallion is framed by a sawtooth border; the next border features four-pointed stars known as Texas Tears; the outer border is a row of Battle of the Alamo blocks, named in honor of that Shrine of Texas Liberty.

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:

Hand 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:

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)?

half inch - one inch

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Polyester

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:

9

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Other

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Feathering; Other

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Grid/crosshatch; Other

Describe the quilting designs used:

Quilting designs were chosen and placed by the quiltmaker; Marge Weisheit quilted this piece. Designs include quilted Texas wildflowers such as the Bluebonnet, the state flower; feather quilting; and a row of five-pointed stars.

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

This quilt's name derives from the fact that the four founders of the International Quilt Association helped create this quilt. The center medallion is a Feathered Texas Star, an original pattern created by the quiltmaker and based on the traditional five-pointed Lone Star on the Texas Flag.

Quilt top made by:

Patterson, Jewel Pearce

Quilted by:

Weisheit, Marge

Other people who worked on this quilt:

Bresenhan, Karoline Patterson; Puentes, Nancy O'Bryant; O'Bryant, Helen Pearce

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:

This quilt was made by four members of the same family: two sisters and their two daughters--in honor of the 150th birthday of the Republic of Texas. It is the work of Jewel Pearce Patterson, a fourth generation Texan and Texas quilter and a quilting teacher, who designed and pieced the quilt. Her sister Helen Pearce O'Bryant, also a fourth generation Texas quilter, helped her select the designs, plan the quilt, and cut the pieces. Their daughters Karoline Patterson Bresenhan and Nancy O'Bryant Puentes also assisted in the family project, a testament to their quilting heritage and their love of Texas.

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

This quilt was offered as the Grand Prize at the International Quilt Festival in Houston in 1986. Kathleen McCrady, a member of the American International Quilt Association and an award-winning quilter from Austin, Texas, won the quilt. Two years later, in 1988, Mrs. McCrady donated the Founders' Star back to the AIQA founders because she felt that "the quilt should stay in this family in appreciation for all they have given to quilting."

Why was the quilt made?

Fundraising

Details about why the quilt was made:

Made as a fundraising quilt for the American International Quilt Association during the Texas Sesquicentennial, 1986.

The quilt was made to be used for:

Artwork/wall hanging

Quilt is presently used as:

Artwork/wall hanging; Exhibit; Keepsake/memento

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Original to maker; Traditional pattern variation

Describe the source of the pattern:

original design based on Feathered Star pattern

Describe where the quilting design pattern was found:

inspired by Texas wildflowers

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

The colors in the quilt are deep red, navy blue, and cream, chosen to symbolize the colors of the Texas flag.

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

“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. 58, 92, 172-173.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Patterson, Jewel Pearce; O'Bryant, Helen Pearce; Bresenhan, Karoline Patterson; Puentes, Nancy O'Bryant

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Pearce, Jewel Estelle

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

1910

Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:

Sabinal, Uvalde County

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Texas

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's educational background:

MA in Library Science

Quiltmaker's occupation:

teacher, librarian, quilt professional

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's state:

Texas (TX)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Number of children:

1

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

1

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

From Relative

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Under 10 years of age

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Fundraising; Gifts; Necessity; Pleasure; Other

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

strong family tradition

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

taught classes and worked in Great Expectations Quilt Shop, Houston; helped found (with her sister, daughter, and niece) American International Quilt Association (formerly South/Southwest Quilt Association); works with Quilt Guild of Greater Houston

Where does/did the group meet?

Houston

What are the main activities of the group?

shows, classes, fundraising events

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

more than 50

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

yes

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

Mrs. Patterson comes from generations of quilters and learned to quilt as a child. Prior to teaching quilting, she was a professional seamstress. Her daughter, Karoline Patterson Bresenhan, recalls "My mother made every dress I owned--school dresses, church dresses, even prom dresses--and they were wonderful. I never started the first day of school without a new dress, but sometimes Mama was finishing the hem five minutes before I had to walk out the door!"

Who photographed this quilt?

Sharon Risedorph

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale