QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-109

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_0139

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:

The quiltmaker owns this quilt.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Indian Quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

Indian Quilt

How wide is the quilt?

58 in.

How long is the quilt?

66 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Green; Rust; White

Overall color scheme:

Dark colors

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Type of inscription:

Date; Message

What is inscribed on the quilt?

1836--Texas Sesquicentennial--1986

Method used to make the inscription:

In the quilting

Describe the method used to inscribe the quilt:

backstitching

Location of inscription:

on border

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:

American Indian

Number of quilt blocks:

central framed medallion

Medallion size:

medallion is a printed silk handkerchief/bandanna

Number of borders:

3

Describe the borders:

three pieced borders frame the printed bandanna: inner border of solid rust and striped fabrics with corner blocks in rust; middle border of bright green fabric with rust corner blocks; outer border of striped and solid rust fabric with four-patch corner blocks in solid green and rust

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton or polyester blend; Silk

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Novelty

Describe the fibers or fabrics in the quilt top:

center medallion is a silk bandanna featuring a print of an American Indian in full regalia

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

Embellishment materials used in quilt top:

Other attachments

Describe embellishment materials or techniques:

a printed silk bandanna is sewn is as the center medallion

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton or polyester blend

Describe the back:

Same fabric used throughout

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton; Cotton or polyester blend

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?

Thin (Less than 3/16?)

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

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.

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

no

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Grid/crosshatch; Outline; Other

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Other

Describe the quilting designs used:

close grid crosshatch quilting in medallion area; each line of Indian motif is quilted; decorative arrowheads are quilted into the border's corners, with crosshatch grid on border sides

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

The printed bandanna used as the central medallion on this quilt features a print on silk of a very famous drawing by artist George Catlin (1796-1872). Catlin's drawing, which he later rendered as an oil painting (now in the Smithsonian Institution) depicts Chief Mato-tope, the second chief of the Mandan tribe in 1832. This tribe was located along the Upper Missouri River, where Catlin traveled in 1832. The quiltmaker purchased the silk bandanna in a dime store in Lampasas, Texas. She created concentric borders around the motif to further emphasize it, then "quilted it to death" while listening to Bible tapes. When she first made this quilt, she used light-colored fabrics on her border. But when she showed her quilt at a local quilt show, judges urged her to change the border from light to dark. She did, and her quilt has received a number of awards since then.

Quilt top made by:

Wolfe, Ruby Greer

Quilted by:

Wolfe, Ruby Greer

Where the quilt was made, city:

Lampasas

Where the quilt was made, county:

Lampasas

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:

Ruby Greer Wolfe grew up with her mother making quilts "for cover." Some were made from old clothes, and the family "always had plenty of cover to crawl into on cold winter nights." Ruby received a Broken Star quilt top from her mother, which she finished and entered in a local show in Lampasas around 1976. She was confident she would win a ribbon, and when she didn't, she decided to "start looking at the quilts that had ribbons, their stitches, & etc. I made up my mind if they could, I could too." She made this award-winning quilt especially for the Texas Sesquicentennial celebration in 1986.

Why was the quilt made?

Commemorative

Details about why the quilt was made:

Made on the occasion of the 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

Describe the sources of the quilt's materials:

center printed silk bandanna was purchased by the quiltmaker in a local dime store

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Traditional pattern variation; Other

Describe the source of the pattern:

traditional medallion motif around a printed pictorial of an American Indian

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

Lampasas Quilt Show, 1985; Texas State Fair, 1986; Great Texas Quilt RoundUp, 1986; “Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1936-1986,” 16th Annual International Quilt Festival, November, 1990, Houston, Texas

Contests entered:

Lampasas Quilt Show, 1985; Best of Show, Texas State Fair, 1986; "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. 178-179.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Wolfe, Ruby Greer

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Greer, Ruby

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

1921

Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:

Lometa

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Texas

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's marriage date(s):

1937

Quiltmaker's educational background:

grammar school

Quiltmaker's occupation:

owned a sewing machine and antique shop, now retired

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Rural

Quiltmaker's state:

Texas (TX)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Greer, [unknown]

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Greer, Viola

Number of children:

4

How many of the quiltmaker's children were girls?

1

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

3

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

From Relative; Self-Taught

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 11-19; Age 40-49

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Necessity; Pleasure

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

creative outlet, professional activity

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. Wolfe quilted a bit for necessity as a young child, then stopped quilting once married and raising a family of four children. She picked quilting back up around 1976 and now makes about two quilts per year.

Who photographed this quilt?

Sharon Risedorph

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale