QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-106

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_0137

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 owned by the quiltmaker.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Wild, Wild West Quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

Wild, Wild West

How wide is the quilt?

62 in.

How long is the quilt?

82 1/2 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Beige or Tan; Black; Blue or Navy; Brown

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor

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:

Pictorial

Subject of the quilt:

humorous cowboy and his horse

Number of quilt blocks:

framed pictorial medallion

Number of borders:

1

Describe the borders:

Deep brown border edged in black at inner and outer edges. Brown fabric was chosen to look like leather; it is quilted in off white thread with symbols from Texas's cowboy era to look like saddle stitching.

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

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

Embellishment materials used in quilt top:

Buttons attached

Describe embellishment materials or techniques:

family heirloom buttons attached to cowboy's clothing

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)?

greater than one 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:

off white

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

7

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

9

Width between quilting lines:

2 in.

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Outline

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Other

Describe the quilting designs used:

outline quilting around appliqued pieces and to give dimension to land and sky; decorative stars, flowers, and symbols from Texas's cowboy past are quilted into the border. These include cattle brands, armadillos, windmill, bow and arrow, cowboy hat, tom tom, sunbonnet, The Alamo, a saddle, a one-room jail, the Yellow Rose of Texas, and a roadrunner.

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

The quiltmaker presents a humorous take on the conflict between the cowboy and his horse vs. the American Indian, symbolized by the arrows. For her border, she chose brown fabric to look like leather and quilted it in off white thread with symbols from Texas's cowboy era to look like saddle stitching. Buttons on the cowboy's regalia came from a button box belonging to her mother. As she recalls, "they could easily have been authentic to the period depicted in the quilt."

Quilt top made by:

Shults, Willoa Stockton

Quilted by:

Shults, Willoa Stockton

Where the quilt was made, city:

Boerne

Where the quilt was made, county:

Kendall

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 Willoa Shults made this quilt for Great Texas Quilt RoundUp, held in Austin, Texas in 1986 and sponsored by the Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association's Texas Quilt Search II. She notes that her original design "tweaks the nose" of "historical buffs hung up on grand & glorious heritage, yet humorously depicts some of the problems of the day. Who says quilts can't be fun?"

Why was the quilt made?

Challenge or Contest entry

Details about why the quilt was made:

Created for the Texas Sesquicetennial Quilt Association's Great Texas Quilt RoundUp held in 1986.

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

Where did the quiltmaker find the pattern for the quilting design on the quilt?

Original to maker

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

Mrs. Shults notes this about her design: "The main figure represents the mainstay of Texas symbolism--the cowboy and his faithful companion--the horse. His nemesis--the Indian--is inferred from the arrows. The background represents the terrain of West Texas with the Guadalupe Mountains in the distance."

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:

"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. 174-175.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Shults, Willoa Stockton

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

05/27/1931

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

California

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's educational background:

BA from Chico State College

Quiltmaker's occupation:

retired from U.S. Women's Air Force, retired bookstore owner; now owns Sew Special, a quilt store

Quiltmaker's state:

Texas (TX)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Number of children:

3

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

1

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

2

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

From Class

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 40-49

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Pleasure

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

recognition, "satisfies urge to create something personal and unique"

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

Greater San Antonio Quilt Guild, Hill Country Quilt Guild, Hoop n' Frame Quilt Bee

Where does/did the group meet?

San Antonio, Boerne

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:

Quiltmaker taught quilting at a store in her hometown, then ended up buying the store in 1987. She makes eight to ten quilts per year, "mostly by machine."

Who photographed this quilt?

Sharon Risedorph

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale