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Indian Feathers; Indian Teepee; 1000 Pyramid variation, Sugar Loaf variation

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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

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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