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Indian Feathers; Indian Teepee; 1000 Pyramid variation, Sugar Loaf variation
CITE THIS QUILT
QUILT INDEX RECORD
25-21-370
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_0036
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 quiltmaker was the great aunt of the present owner of this quilt.
This is a:
Finished quilt
Owner's name for quilt:
Indian Feathers
Names for quilt's pattern in common use:
Indian Teepee; 1000 Pyramid variation, Sugar Loaf variation
How wide is the quilt?
72 in.
How long is the quilt?
79 in.
Shape of edge:
Straight
Shape of corners:
Straight
What color is the quilt?
Gray; Green; Orange; Red; White
Overall color scheme:
Multicolor; Bright or primary colors
Quilt's condition:
Very good/almost new
Damage:
Fading; Quilting thread broken or ties missing; Stains; Tears or holes
Repairs:
Patched with new fabrics
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:
1885
Date estimated by an antique dealer, quilt historian or appraiser:
ca. 1885
Who estimated the quilt's date?
Karey Bresenhan
Further information concerning dates:
Quiltmaker made it for her hope chest; she married in 1885.
Describe the quilt's layout:
Block pattern
Number of quilt blocks:
25
Arrangement of quilt blocks:
Straight
Spacing of quilt blocks:
Separated by cornerstones or connecting blocks sashing (different fabric in intersection); Separated by inner only sashing (no sashing along outer edge of outer blocks)
Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:
1
What is the shape of the quilt blocks?
Same block throughout; Squares
Number of borders:
1 border at top and bottom only
Describe the borders:
plain brown bad at top and bottom; no border on 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:
Print; Solid/plain
Describe the fibers or fabrics in the quilt top:
strawberry print
Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:
Hand Piecing
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
What is the width of the binding (measure on the top only)?
less than a half inch
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:
Other
Quilting designs used, decorative motifs:
Other
Describe the quilting designs used:
Arrowheads quilted into the corners of each block; around one block are three two-pronged arrowheads quilted into the sashing and irregularly spaced. Outline quilting in each diamond.
Features or notes about the quilt's appearance, materials, or construction:
Quilt contains 1500 small pieced diamonds and the diamond shape is repeated in the quilting pattern. In three blocks gray replaces strawberry print in diamonds. Quilt offers optical illusions: for example, the four-pointed white star centered with a red square and bisected with green sashing gives an entirely different look to this quilt. Teepee motif is thoroughly American.
Quilt top made by:
Findley, Mary Jane Reese
Quilted by:
Findley, Mary Jane Reese
Where the quilt was made, city:
Harmony Hill
Where the quilt was made, county:
Rusk
Where the quilt was made, state:
Texas (TX)
Where the quilt was made, country:
United States
How was this quilt acquired?
Inheritance
Tell the story of how the quilt was obtained:
The quiltmaker made this quilt for her hope chest in 1885, the same year she married. She outlived her husband and three sons. The quilt passed to the present owner's mother, who passed it on to her.
Describe anything about the history of the quilt that wasn't already recorded in a previous field:
The quiltmaker also sewed and did embroidery. She was known a "brave, neat, and Christian woman."
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?
Sewing scraps
Where did the maker find their pattern?
Public domain/traditional pattern; Traditional pattern variation
Describe the source of the pattern:
Based on the Sugar Loaf 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.
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. 94-95.
Ownership of this quilt is:
Private
Quilt owner's name:
Ann Thomas Williams
Quilt owner's state:
Texas (TX)
Quilt owner's country:
United States
Quiltmaker's maiden name:
Reese, Mary Jane
Quiltmaker's gender:
Female
Quiltmaker's birth date:
12/10/1865
Quiltmaker's birthplace, city:
Harmony Hill, Rusk County
Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:
Texas
Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:
United States
Quiltmaker's date and place of death:
04/18/1959
Quiltmaker's occupation:
homemaker
In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?
Rural
Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and/or partner's/partners' occupation:
farmer
Number of children:
3
How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?
3
Who photographed this quilt?
Sharon Risedorph
Access and copyright information:
Restricted
Copyright holder:
Assistant Director Winedale
Details
Cite this Quilt
Findley, Mary Jane Rees. Indian Feathers. 1876-1900. From Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin, Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association, Texas Quilt Search. Published in The Quilt Index, https://quiltindex.org/view/?type=fullrec&kid=25-21-370. Accessed: 03/28/24