QUILT INDEX RECORD

25-21-372

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_0038

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:

Crazy Quilt

How wide is the quilt?

69 in.

How long is the quilt?

71 in.

Shape of edge:

Other

Describe the edge:

square tabs or petals

Shape of corners:

Other

Describe the corners:

area between square tabs on edge

What color is the quilt?

Brown; Cream; Fuchsia; Gold; Red

Overall color scheme:

Multicolor

Quilt's condition:

Good/moderate use

Damage:

Disintegration of fabric

Repairs:

Stabilized with netting

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.

Type of inscription:

Initials

What is inscribed on the quilt?

O.L.B. [Orville Leroy Brown, quilt maker's husband]

Method used to make the inscription:

Embroidery

Location of inscription:

on block

Time period:

1876-1900

When was the quilt finished?

1886

Family/owner's date for quilt:

1886

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

1886

Who estimated the quilt's date?

Karey Bresenhan

Further information concerning dates:

commemorative ribbons dated 1886

Describe the quilt's layout:

Block pattern

Number of quilt blocks:

9

Arrangement of quilt blocks:

Straight

Spacing of quilt blocks:

Separated by cornerstones or connecting blocks sashing (different fabric in intersection); Separated by pieced pattern sashing

Number of different block patterns used in the quilt:

9

What is the shape of the quilt blocks?

Squares

Number of borders:

1

Describe the borders:

Border is lush velvet with elaborately hand-embroidery and cut out to shape tabs or petals.

Fiber types used to make the quilt top:

Silk; Other

Fabric types used to make the quilt top:

Velvet

Fabric styles used in the quilt top:

Multiple scrap; Print; Solid/plain

Piecing techniques used to make the quilt top:

Hand Piecing

Applique techniques used to make the quilt top:

Blanket, buttonhole, or other decorative applique stitch

Embellishment techniques used to make the quilt top:

Embroidery; Painting; Other embellishment technique

Describe the techniques used to make the quilt top:

pieced commemorative ribbons; hand painted figure; embroidered sashing and sashing in different colors; elaborate edge

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

no

Embellishment materials used in quilt top:

Chenille thread; Other Embroidery

Materials used to make the back:

Satin/Sateen

Description of the back:

wine sateen machine quilted in a cross hatch pattern, typical of commercially available backing fabrics manufacturered during 1880-1890 period.

What color is the back of the quilt?

Red

Describe the back:

Machine sewn; Same fabric used throughout; Solid/plain

Materials used in the quilt binding:

Other

Fabric structure of the binding:

Velvet

What kind of filling is used in the quilt?

No filling

How are the layers held together?

Not quilted

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

Quiltmaker's husband's initials are embroidered in center block. Pieces in each block are small and elaborately stitched and embroidered. Many commemorative ribbons are sewn into the quilt, including five featuring the names of Texas rifle teams participating in the Galveston Interstate Drill, August 1886. Also featured is a large souvenir ribbon from the Dallas State Fair and Exposition of 1886 containing etched depictions of Sam Houston, the Alamo, and other Texas scenes. There is also a hand-painted rear view of a Mexican soldier on this quilt, complete with sombrero and bandoliers.

Quilt top made by:

Brown, Sue Dee Grainger

Quilted by:

Brown, Sue Dee Grainger

Where the quilt was made, city:

Houston

Where the quilt was made, county:

Harris

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 inherited it from her mother.

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

It is possible Mrs. Brown made this quilt as a wedding quilt for her marriage, which was either in 1887 or 1888. Her husband's initially are featured in the quilt's center block. Her granddaughter remembers her grandmother as doing a lot of needlework; she owns a table cloth and napkins that her grandmother made lace for. She also owns her grandmother's gold thimble, with her initials SDG (Sue Dee Grainger). Family history on this quilt states that it won first prize at the St. Louis World's Fair.

Why was the quilt made?

Art or personal expression

Details about why the quilt was made:

possibly a wedding quilt or commemorative

The quilt was made to be used for:

Decorative throw

Quilt is presently used as:

Keepsake/memento

Where did the maker get their materials?

Sewing scraps

Describe the sources of the quilt's materials:

souvenir ribbons

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.

Contests entered:

Family states quilt maker entered this quilt in the St. Louis World's Fair, where she won a first prize.

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. 98-99.

Ownership of this quilt is:

Private

Quilt owner's name:

Dorothy Brown Jennings

Quilt owner's state:

Texas (TX)

Quilt owner's country:

United States

Quiltmaker's maiden name:

Grainger, Sue Dee

Quiltmaker's gender:

Female

Quiltmaker's birth date:

11/23/65

Quiltmaker's birthplace, state:

Texas

Quiltmaker's birthplace, country:

United States

Quiltmaker's marriage date(s):

1887 or 1888

Quiltmaker's date and place of death:

12/06/1932

Quiltmaker's occupation:

homemaker

In which kind of environment did the quiltmaker live?

Urban

Quiltmaker's father's name:

Grainger, Charles J.

Quiltmaker's mother's name:

Grainger, Elizabeth Jane Perry Capron

Quiltmaker's mother's birthplace:

Mississippi

Quiltmaker's spouse's/spouses' and /or partner's/partners' name(s):

Brown, Orville Leroy

Number of children:

2

How many of the quiltmaker's children were boys?

2

Who photographed this quilt?

Sharon Risedorph

Access and copyright information:

Restricted

Copyright holder:

Assistant Director Winedale

Details

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