QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-337

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_0005

Person filling out this form is:

Blood relative of quiltmaker; Quilt owner; Other

Source of the information on this quilt:

This quilt was identified and reviewed during the Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association's Texas Quilt Search, 1983-1985. Karey Bresenhan served as quilt historian.

When was the form filled out?

1983-1985

Choose the best description of the source to the quilt:

Quilt owner

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

Inherited

Describe the relationship to the quilt's maker:

The quiltmaker was the maternal grandmother of the present owner of this quilt.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

Love Apple

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Pomegranate

How wide is the quilt?

98 in.

How long is the quilt?

82 1/2

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Rounded

What color is the quilt?

Green; Red; White; Yellow

Overall color scheme:

Bright or primary colors

Quilt's condition:

Very good/almost new

Damage:

Stains

Describe the damage:

one light stain

Notes on condition, damage, or repairs:

Karey Bresenhan described the quilt's condition as "pristine." In 1985, as part of the preparations for the “Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1836-1936” exhibit in the Texas Capitol Rotunda, the Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association sponsored a Quilt Conservation Seminar. Part of the seminar was a two-day intensive hands-on laboratory attended by quilt experts who stabilized, backed, or otherwise prepared the quilts, including this one, for this exhibition.

Type of inscription:

Date; Signature

What is inscribed on the quilt?

A. J. S. Perrin 1849 [9 is embroidered backwards in inscription]

What is the date inscribed on the quilt?

1849

Method used to make the inscription:

Embroidery

Location of inscription:

on back

Time period:

1800-1849

Family/owner's date for quilt:

1849

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

1849

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Karey Bresenhan

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

16 single blossom blocks

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Side by side

Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:

1

What is the shape of the quilt blocks?

Squares

Number of borders:

1 quilted border

Describe the borders:

Elaborate border of appliqued small-scale Love Apples perfectly planned to turn the corners without a break. No applique border at top.

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

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Applique

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

What color is the back of the quilt?

White

Describe the back:

Hand sewn; Same fabric used throughout; Solid/plain

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Cotton

What is the width of the binding (measure on the top only)?

less than a half inch

How thick is the quilt?

Thin (Less than 3/16?)

Describe the quilt filling:

very thin batting

How are the layers held together?

Hand quilting

Thread type used for the quilting:

cotton

Color of thread used in the quilting:

white

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Clamshell

Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:

Feathering; Other

Quilting designs used, background fills:

Other

Describe the quilting designs used:

Quilted with single hearts and double hearts, which form a butterfly with heart-shaped wings, as well as with leaves from plants. The quiltmaker has also quilted a small pair of embroidery scissors in the bottom border just above the third flower from the left center.

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

The quiltmaker has added extra leaves around each flower to reflect more accurately the way a Love Apple or tomato blossom is surrounded by greenery. The quilt is very flat, which showcases the extraordinary quilting.

Quilt top made by:

Perrin, Ambrosia Jane Smith

Quilted by:

Perrin, Ambrosia Jane Smith

Where the quilt was made, city:

Chillicothe

Where the quilt was made, state:

Missouri (MO)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Inheritance

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

The owner of this quilt, Kathryn Simms Sprecher, is the maternal granddaughter of quiltmaker Ambrosia Jane Smith Perrin 1832-1916). Ambrosia made this quilt at age seventeen as her wedding quilt. One of her daughters inherited the quilt, then passed it on to her own daughter, owner Kathryn Sprecher.

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

This quilt was made by Ambrosia Jame Smith, age seventeen, just before her marriage. According to family history, her fiance drafted the pattern for Ambrosia's quilt and also drew the quilting patterns. Ambrosia Smith married Cary Allen Perrin in Missouri in 1849; the couple moved to Texas in 1898, settling first in Dallas, then Waco. The current quilt owner states that her grandmother made clothing and was an accomplished embroiderer. Kathryn Sprecher owns some of her grandmother's embroidery work and her sewing apron.

Why was the quilt made?

Wedding

The quilt was made to be used for:

Bedding, special occasion

Quilt is presently used as:

Keepsake/memento

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

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

This quilt was made by Ambrosia Jame Smith, age seventeen, just before her marriage. According to family history, her fiancee drafted the pattern for Ambrosia's quilt and also drew the quilting patterns.

Exhibitions where this quilt was displayed:

One of 62 Texas quilts exhibited in “Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1836-1936,” Texas State Capitol Rotunda, Austin, Texas, April 19-21, 1986.

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

Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association’s 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. I, 1836-1936 (Austin: University of Texas Press: 1986), p. 32-33.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Sprecher, Kathryn Simms

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Smith, Ambrosia Jane

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

05/05/1832

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Missouri

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

03/05/1916

Quiltmaker's state:

Texas (TX)

Quiltmaker's country:

United States

Number of children:

9

When did the quiltmaker learn to quilt?

Age 11-19

Who photographed this quilt?

Sharon Risedorph

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale

Details

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