QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-365

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_0029

Person filling out this form is:

Quilt owner; Relative of quiltmaker; 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 present owner of this quilt is the great granddaughter of the quiltmaker.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

Sawtooth Variation

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Tiny Triangles

How wide is the quilt?

80 in.

How long is the quilt?

89 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Blue or Navy; White

Antique colors:

Indigo Blue

Overall color scheme:

Two color

Quilt's condition:

Fair/worn

Damage:

Wear to edge or binding

Describe the damage:

heavy wear in muslin

Notes on condition, damage, or repairs:

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.

Time period:

1876-1900

Family/owner's date for quilt:

ca. 1880

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

ca. 1880

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Karey Bresenhan

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

56 (28 indigo print triangles; 28 triangles of tiny triangles)

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:

4

Describe the borders:

4 alternating indigo blue and white bands. Note: there are an extra two bands of blue and white triangles pieced onto the bottom and left side blocks to insure that the block pattern has the sawtooth pattern on all four sides.

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Cotton

Fabric types used to make the quilt top:

Muslin

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Dotted; Print; Solid/plain

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Describe the techniques used to make the quilt top:

precise hand piecing of 3,584 individual sawtooth triangles

Can you feel or see paper on the quilt that was used as a construction aid?

no

Materials used to make the back:

Cotton

What color is the back of the quilt?

White

Describe the back:

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

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

Cotton

How thick is the quilt?

Thin (Less 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

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Grid/crosshatch; Triple parallel lines

Describe the quilting designs used:

triple quilting in border; allover grid quilting in indigo blue triangles

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

Hand piecing is very precise; there are 3,584 tiny "sawteeth" pieced to achieve this geometric masterpiece.

Quilt top made by:

Slater, Margaret Cameron

Quilted by:

Slater, Margaret Cameron

Where the quilt was made, city:

Jeromesville

Where the quilt was made, county:

Ashland

Where the quilt was made, state:

Ohio (OH)

Where the quilt was made, country:

United States

How was this quilt acquired?

Inheritance

Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:

Quiltmaker Margaret Cameron Slater made this quilt for her grandson, William C. Slater, when he was a small boy. As an adult William Slater brought the quilt to Texas, when he moved his family to Liberty, Carson County, in 1906. The quilt has passed to his son John Slater, who gave it to his daughter, the present owner Trula Jo Slater Sutton. She plans to pass it on to her eldest daughter.

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

The present owner was the first great grandchild in her family. When she was only 17 months old, her parents took her to Ohio so that her great grandmother, the quiltmaker, could meet her first great grandchild.

Why was the quilt made?

Art or personal expression

Quilt is presently used as:

Keepsake/memento

Where did the maker get their materials?

Purchased new

Where did the maker find their pattern?

Public domain/traditional pattern

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; "1880s Indigos--Quilts from 100 Years Ago," 13th Annual International Quilt Festival, Nov. 1987.

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), p. 80-81.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Sutton, Trula Jo Slater

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Cameron, Margaret

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

07/05/1852

Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:

Buffalo

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

New York

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

11/16/1936

Quiltmaker's occupation:

homemaker, school teacher

Quiltmaker's father's birthplace:

Scotland

Quiltmaker's father's ethnic/tribal background:

Scots

Quiltmaker's mother's birthplace:

Scotland

Quiltmaker's mother's ethnic/tribal background:

Scots

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

farmer

Any other notes or stories about the quiltmaker:

Quiltmaker taught school before she married. She made the family's clothing and did some embroidery.

Who photographed this quilt?

Sharon Risedorph

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale

Details

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