QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-310

Who documented this quilt?

Winedale Quilt Collection

Where are the records for this quilt housed?

Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin

Texas Quilt Search Number:

TMM2511-1

Person filling out this form is:

Quiltmaker; Other

Source of the information on this quilt:

technical reviewer

When was the form filled out?

1985, 2007

Choose the best description of the source to the quilt:

Quiltmaker; Other

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?

Received as a gift

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

Other

Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:

Information about this quilt and its maker was gathered in 1985 when the quilt was commissioned by and presented to the Texas Memorial Museum, University of Texas at Austin; also in a March 29, 2007 telephone interview by Kate Adams with the quiltmaker.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Quilt's title:

Our Texas Heritage

Owner's name for quilt:

Texas Memorial Museum Anniversary Quilt

How wide is the quilt?

68 1/2 in.

How long is the quilt?

81 1/2 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Blue or Navy; Cream; Gold; Gray; Red; Yellow

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor

Quilt's condition:

Excellent/like new

Damage:

Pencil or pen or marking lines

Type of inscription:

Other

Describe the type of inscription:

Identifiction label

What is inscribed on the quilt?

Cloth label: Our Texas Heritage/Beth Kennedy/Austin, Texas 1986. Embroidery on back: Made by Beth Thomas Kennedy to Celebrate the fiftieth anniversary/ of the/Texas Memorial Museum/Austin, Texas, 1986.

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

1986

Method used to make the inscription:

Attached label; Embroidery

Location of inscription:

on back

Time period:

1976-1999

When was the quilt started?

1985

When was the quilt finished?

1986

Family/owner's date for quilt:

1986

Date estimated by an antique dealer, quilt historian or appraiser:

1986

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Jan Wass

Describe the quilt's layout:

Medallion or framed center

Subject of the quilt:

Texas motifs: including the Seal of the State of Texas, the Texas Lone Star, Texas wildflowers, the Texas flag, architechtural elements from the Texas Memorial Museum building

Medallion size:

38 in. x 49 1/2 in.

Number of borders:

3

Describe the borders:

Three borders (two having three pieced borders each) frame the central medallion, with four one-inch wide red borders separating the two pieced borders from the middle plain and unpieced cream border. According to the quiltmaker, the two pieced and quilted borders were inspired by architectural elements in the Texas Memorial Museum building.

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Print; Solid/plain

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing; Machine 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:

chintz print

What color is the back of the quilt?

Cream

Number of pieces of fabric in the quilt back:

2

Width of pieces on the back:

34 in., 34 in.

Describe the back:

Machine sewn; Print; Same fabric used throughout

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

Fabric structure of the binding:

Plain weave

How is the binding made?

Hand sewn; Home cut; Machine sewn; Straight 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 thick is the quilt?

Thick (More 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:

white

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 1:

10

Number of quilting stitches per inch, place 2:

9

Width between quilting lines:

1/2 - 1 in.

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

no

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Patches outlined/in the ditch; Single parallel lines

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Other

Describe the quilting designs used:

Parallel lines of quilted are directed to the center in medallion; in-the-ditch quilting in inner pieced border; geometric quilting pattern in plain border; parallel lines through outer pieced border.

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

Center medallion features her appliqued variation of the Seal of the State of Texas in gold. The central design is encircled by a wreath of appliqued and embroidered Texas wildflowers, including a Bluebonnet and Indian Paintbrush. All wildflowers were designed by the quiltmaker. Pieced architecturalelements of the Texas Memorial Museum building form three distinct borders around the central medallion.

Quilt top made by:

Kennedy, Beth Thomas

Quilted by:

Kennedy, Beth Thomas

Where the quilt was made, city:

Austin

Where the quilt was made, county:

Travis

Where the quilt was made, state:

Texas (TX)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Gift

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

This quilt was one of approximately forty-two quilts transferred by the Texas Memorial Museum (TMM) at the University of Texas at Austin to the University’s Center for American History (CAH) in April 2003 as part of TMM’s transfer of selected material culture objects from its collections to CAH and other research facilities on the UT-Austin campus. These TMM quilts are now part of CAH’s Winedale Quilt Collection. Information relating to each quilt’s provenance is based on documentation recorded by TMM staff at the time of acquisition, which began in the early 1940s and continued until 2003.

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

In 1985, the Texas Memorial Museum at the University of Texas at Austin invited area quilters to submit designs for a quilt commemorating TMM's 50th anniversary and the Texas Sesquicentennial in 1986. Beth Thomas Kennedy of Austin won the competition and thus received the commission to make this quilt. TMM purchased this quilt from her.

Why was the quilt made?

Challenge or Contest entry

Details about why the quilt was made:

Quilt was commissioned by Texas Memorial Museum after its design won a competition for a Texas Memorial Museum Sesquicentennial quilt.

The quilt was made to be used for:

Artwork/wall hanging

Quilt is presently used as:

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:

Quiltmaker invents her own patterns; all wildflowers in this quilt are of her own design.

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:

Quiltmaker stated that the "Texas things" in this quilt are interconnected by the nature of the medallion design, i.e. none of the motifs is isolated on the medallion quilt as it would be on a quilt composed of separate units or blocks. The quiltmaker also states that she is most interested in "matching the texture of the fabric with the feel of the subject."

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

"From Our Hands: A Sesquicentennial Celebration of Quilts," February 16 - March 29, 1986, Texas Memorial Museum, University of Texas at Austin

Contests entered:

Quilt design was winner of Texas Memorial Museum's contest in 1985 to Austin area quilters to design a quilt to commemorate TMM's 50th anniversary and the 1986 Texas Sesquicentennial.

Related items such as diaries, obituaries, wills, household inventories, or pictures of the quiltmaker:

Ms. Kennedy's quilt and some information about her thoughts on quilting are described in exhibition catalog "From Our Hands: A Sesquicentennial Celebration of Quilts," Texas Memorial Museum, University of Texas at Austin, 1986. She also has a website www.Bethtkennedy.com that talks about her fiber art and workshops. Additional information about Beth Thomas Kennedy, and a photo of her quilt "To Pele, Goddess of Volcanoes," is in Bresenhan, Karoline Patterson, and Nancy O'Bryant Puentes, Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1936-1986 (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1990), p. 188-189.

Publications (including web sites) where this quilt or maker was featured:

Described in exhibition catalog "From Our Hands: A Sesquicentennial Celebration of Quilts," Texas Memorial Museum, University of Texas at Austin, 1986. Additional information about Beth Thomas Kennedy, and a photo of her quilt "To Pele, Goddess of Volcanoes," is in Bresenhan, Karoline Patterson, and Nancy O'Bryant Puentes, Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1936-1986 (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1990), p. 188-189.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Public Museum, Library or Institution

Quilt owner's name:

Winedale, Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin

Quilt owner's city:

Round Top

Quilt owner's county:

Fayette

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Thomas, Beth

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

04/24/1941

Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:

Dallas

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Texas

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's marriage date(s):

11/27/1968

Quiltmaker's ethnic background/tribal affiliation:

Anglo

Quiltmaker's educational background:

BA and MA from University of Texas at Austin

Quiltmaker's religious affiliation:

Protestant

Quiltmaker's occupation:

fiber artist

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Urban

Quiltmaker's county:

Travis

Quiltmaker's city:

Austin

Quiltmaker's state:

Texas (TX)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Thomas, Frank Henry

Quiltmaker's father's birthplace:

Akron, Ohio

Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:

Anglo

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Badik, Elizabeth Margaret

Quiltmaker's mother's birthplace:

Lorraine, Ohio

Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:

Anglo

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and /or partner's/partners' name(s):

Kennedy, John Randall

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' ethnic/tribal background:

Anglo

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' occupation:

attorney

Number of children:

1

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

1

How did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

From Class

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 30-39

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Gifts; Income; Pleasure

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

Austin Area Quilt Guild

Where does/did the group meet?

Austin, Texas

What are the main activities of the group?

lectures; quilt shows

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

more than 50

Does/did the quiltmaker sell quilts?

yes

Does/did the quiltmaker teach quilting?

yes

Describe any favorite patterns, tools, etc. used by the quiltmaker:

Beth Kennedy is a professional fiber artist who designs and dyes, prints, and embellishes her own fabrics. She learned to quilt in a class after she opened, in 1978, an Austin, Texas, natural fabrics store named High Cotton, which is no longer in operation. She has exhibited her work internationally, although now that she is retired, she shows mainly in the Austin area.

Who photographed this quilt?

Billy Moore

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale

Details

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