QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-371

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_0037

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 present owner of this quilt is the granddaughter of the quilt's maker.

This is a:

Finished quilt

Owner's name for quilt:

Sunburst

Names for quilt's pattern in common use:

Blazing Sun variation; Mariner's Compass variation

How wide is the quilt?

62 in.

How long is the quilt?

78 in.

Shape of edge:

Straight

Shape of corners:

Straight

What color is the quilt?

Gold; Green; Red; Turquoise or Teal; White

Overall color scheme:

Bright or primary colors

Quilt's condition:

Fair/worn

Damage:

Disintegration of fabric; Fading; Stains; Wear to edge or binding

Describe the damage:

fading is typical of fugitive green

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

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

ca. 1885

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Karey Bresenhan

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

4 full; 2 half

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Separated by cornerstones or connecting blocks sashing (different fabric in intersection); Separated by inner and outer sashing (sashing surrounds all sides of all blocks); Separated by pieced pattern sashing

Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:

1

What is the shape of the quilt blocks?

Squares

Number of borders:

1

Describe the borders:

vining border is identical to sashing. This vining motif with leaves is pieced, not appliqued onto the quilt, which is rare and only attempted by the master quilter.

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:

Solid/plain

Describe the fibers or fabrics in the quilt top:

two muslin fabrics used; fading differently

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Other embellishment technique

Describe the techniques used to make the quilt top:

The vining border is not applique; it is hand pieced into the quilt

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

How wide is the binding (measure on the top only)?

thin binding in contrasting greeen

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; matching threads

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

no

Quilting designs used, overall motifs:

Clamshell

Describe the quilting designs used:

outline quiting around pieced designs; clamshell quilting on blocks and border

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

This quilt is entirely hand pieced, including the vining on sashes and border. The half suns were planned to cover pillows at the head of the bed. Twelve miniature sunbursts repeat the main sunburst motif. The long slender patches, tiny pieces, and sharp points are what Karey Bresenhan has called "postgraduate work for any quilter." The points are even, well defined, and exact. Design is a direct visual abstraction of a natural image, the sun.

Quilt top made by:

Lewellin, Sally Beaird

Quilted by:

Lewellin, Sally Beaird

Where the quilt was made, city:

Brownwood

Where the quilt was made, county:

Brown

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 present owner of this quilt Murl Lewellin Dobbs inherited this quilt and several others made by her grandmother.

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

Sally Beaird was born in Georgia in 1852; she moved to Texas between 1870 and 1880 and married a rancher in 1883. The quilt's date is close to her wedding date, so she may have made it as a wedding quilt. This quilt is one of a pair of matching quilts made by Sally Lewellin, each with designs in different color combinations. The mate to this quilt is predominantly green and gold. Her granddaughter recalls that there "were several [quilts] that she left in her trunk." She remembers her grandmother and grandfather as "very well read, loved home, people and country. They were Christian in every respect."

Why was the quilt made?

Art or personal expression

Details about why the quilt was made:

possibly made as part of her trousseau

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?

Original to maker; Traditional pattern variation

Where did the quiltmaker find the pattern for the quilting design on the quilt?

Original to maker

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. 96-97.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Murl Lewellin Dobbs

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Beaird, Sally

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

1852

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Georgia

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

1949

Quiltmaker's occupation:

homemaker

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

rancher

Number of children:

had children, number unknown

Why does the quiltmaker quilt?

Pleasure; Therapy

Estimated number of quilts made by this quiltmaker:

20-50 quilts

Who photographed this quilt?

Sharon Risedorph

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale