The museum houses an impressive display of quilts. Starting at the front door to the left: The 4 feed sack tied quilt lying on the wooden trunk was loaned to the Museum by Judy Selph. Quilts of this type could be quickly made for warmth and were used in early farmhouses where there was no heat on cold winter nights.
The Grandma's Flower Garden quilt top in the exhibit case was made by a member of the staff while she was still in high school.
The Crazy Quilt in the Gone to Texas Exhibit was made by Nannie C. McIlvain Merrimon when she was a young girl. The embroidered hand was made from a tracing of the hand of her younger sister, Bess. The quilt was donated to the Museum by Sue Still Wallace.
The 16-square-block quilt in the trunk was made by "Deanie" Hughes Kemp, great-grandmother of Judy Selph. Mrs. I. J. Kemp lived in Sanger.
On the ceiling:
The red, yellow and green Bull's Eye Quilt was made about 1933. The pattern was submittedto the Nashville Banner by a woman in Granite City, Ill., and immediately became a hit with quilters all over the country. The quilt is on loan to the Museum.The nine-patch quilt with blue and yellow border was made in the later 1940's by Bertie Alesta Stevens Dayton (Mrs Fowler Hannan Dayton) of Spring Creek Community in Cooke County, Texas. The patches were from flower sacks and dress fabric. The quilt was on Mrs. Dayton's bed when she died. It was loaned to the Museum by her granddaughter, Diane Hughes Barentine, of Farmers Branch, Texas.
The Dresden Plate Quilt with the gold and blue background hanging in the center of the ceiling was made for a single bed and was loaned to the Museum by Judy Selph.
Hazel Copp loaned the Grandma's Flower Garden quilt hanging from the ceiling by the Parlor Exhibit. She states, "This quilt was pieced in 1932-33 but not quilted until 1937 after I married in 1935. As you can see, some of the material was not colorfast at that time."
The quilt on the ledge over the Wash Day Exhibit is called a Variable Star or Ohio Star, depending on what part of the country you are from. It was loaned to the Museum by Shirley Ann Trietsch Haisler. The quilt belonged to her grandparents, Irving Bertis and Mattie Elizabeth Reed who lived near Decatur.
The wall of the Sewing Room Exhibit displays a delightful Sunbonnet Sue quilt. It was loaned by Judy Selph who had one similar to it on her bed as a child in the 1950's. It was made from scraps of dresses that belonged to her mother, June Knowles of Sanger. The quilt was made in the 1940's.
On the quilt rack in the Sewing Room Exhibit are three quilt tops. One is called a Beggar's Quilt or a Charm Quilt and the other is another example of an eight point rolling star. These quilts were donated to the Museum by Alma Clark. The third quilt is a tumbling block design made by Mrs. Bryan Nance of Sanger.
On the ledge between the Office Exhibit and the Early Tool Exhibit is a rectangle patch quilt made by Rachel Kemp Seal of Sanger. This quilt is an example of quilts attached to the backing with tied string.
Rachel Kemp Seal made the Double Wedding Ring quilt hanging by the Sewing Room Exhibit. It was made for her sister "Choc" Douglas of Celina when she married in the mid 1930's.
Gladine Fritz Imes donated the Flying Geese pattern quilt over the research table. Mrs. Imes was the daughter of Samuel Fritz and the granddaughter of Dr. Emmanuel William Fritz, an early dentist in Denton County.
The green background Medallion Quilt hanging on the center back ceiling was loaned to the Museum by Letitia deBurgos. The quilt was stitched in Roanoke about 1930 by Effie McWhorter Rose.
Starting at the front door to the right:
The Friendship pattern quilt on the railing in front of the county survey map was donated to the Museum by Mary K. Martin who received it from the estate of Mrs. Cora Wilkirson. Some of the names on the quilt are: Mrs. C. C. Cox, Mary Jo Hargis, Buford Berry, Alonzo Seelye, C. J. Wilkirson, Mrs. Wilson Stiff, J. C. Vance, M. N. Taliaferro, Mrs. J. A. Jarnigan and Sy LockhartThe Eight Point Rolling Star quilt on the rack by the Parlor Exhibit is a loan from Shirley Ann Trietsch Haisler. The quilt belonged to her grandmother, Martha (Mattie) Elizabeth Reed who lived near Denton. The quilt was made in the 1930's.
On the ceiling:
The red background Strip Piecing quilt was loaned by Letitia deBurgos and was made by Letitia Myers McWhorter of Stewart's Creek between 1885 and 1890.The yellow and green Eight Point Star quilt was owned by Lillian Averitt of Sanger and loaned to the Museum by Judy Selph.
Letitia deBurgos made the Double Wedding Ring quilt hanging from the ceiling by the Parlor Exhibit when she was 15. The quilt is on loan to the Museum.
The pink background quilt hanging from the ceiling in the office area was loaned by Bessie Lou Dobson and is called a Crystal Star or Bull's Eye, depending on the quilt book used. The quilt was originally owned by Wilson and Lou McKinney.
The red background quilt on the card cabinet at the back of the room was loaned by Judy Selph. The quilt belonged to her aunt, Pearl Kemp Nance of Sanger. Mrs. Nance died in 1996. The pattern is a Six Point Star.
The silk Crazy Quilt top is a loan from Letitia deBurgos and was made about 1900 in Roanoke by Effie McWhorter Rose.
Selected quilt pattern books:
Polly Prindle's Book of American Patchwork Quilts, by Alice GammellScrapMania, More Quick-Pieced Scrap Quilts, by Sally Schneider
Basic Quiltmaking Techniques for Strip Piecing, by Paulette Peters
A Perfect Match, A Guide to Precise Machine Piecing, by Donna Thomas
Machine Quilting Made Easy, by Maurine Noble
Ask to see our catalogs on quilting books
