HUNTSVILLE — In “Lone Stars:  A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1836-1936” there is a quote: “Quilts provide us with a solid bridge to our past, with cultural continuity, with historical documents of the daily lives of people.  Each quilt tells it own story in stitches, not in words, but the tale is no less compelling.”  

More than 150 years ago families throughout the United States put a sign on their door reading “GTT” – Gone to Texas.  Those pioneers faced many hardships, dangers, and uncertainties without many of their family possessions and treasures, but in all cases you could find quilts packed in the wagon.

For men heading west, there was adventure, fortune, and open spaces.  As settlers faced hardships of moving westward across America, they carried with them great promises for the future.  With that promise there was danger and insecurity.  Pioneers were faced with enemies of all kinds, from Indians to rattlesnakes, from yellow fever to wars. Families were lost to the hardships of life and war. The pioneer women who accompanied these men knew they could carry along only a few essential possessions.  Large furniture pieces and family treasures couldn’t always make the trip or were left by the wayside.  

Quilts, however, were justified; being used to warm beds, to cover wagon openings or cabin doors, to shield crops from insects, and to cover the dead.  Just as importantly, they were cherished treasures of another way of life.  Mothers and grandmothers were sending their daughters and sons to parts unknown, knowing they would never see them again.  Those quilts going to Texas with the pioneers were stitched with care and tears.  The signature quilts were especially prized because they symbolized ties to those distant family and friends.  

Crossing the wilderness was a treacherous and lonely life.  Many women found that quilt making offered comfort as they dealt with isolation. Old patterns made the trip, and new ones were made and named for the journey, such as Road to California, Kansas Troubles (also known as Texas Tears) and Cross Roads to Texas, known as Kentucky Cross Roads and Cross & Crown. Quilt makers created patterns based on the lives they lived, the prairie paths they took, and the scenery from their surroundings - stars in the sky, furrows in the field, and even broken dishes.

Certain designs became standards, including Nine-Patch, Pinwheel, Sawtooth Star, Irish Chain, and Flying Geese.  Quilters combined and varied these patterns to create hundreds more.  

Young girls learned to sew so they could help produce and mend the family bedding and clothing.  By the age of 10 or 11, girls were learning the methods of piecing and appliquéing, and already had a few quilts to their credit. Typically pioneer brides made quilts to begin housekeeping.  Completion of a wedding quilt represented her finest stitched work. Made by brides alone or quilted with the help of friends or relatives, wedding quilts were the testament of the bride’s sewing and quilting skills.

When they stopped to form communities, women used quilting to help establish homes and friendships, and society. Through the winter months, the women pieced their quilt tops. When warmer weather arrived, invitations for quilting bees would go out to neighbors near and far. The hostess would have the makings of supper prepared and would have stretched her quilt top on the quilting frame. The ladies arrived early and positioned their chairs around the frame. The day would be spent in pleasant conversation, catching up on family and community events.  Those ladies lacking quilting skills would thread needles and attend to the food preparations.  At the end of the day, the men would join the party, and the meal would be shared.

In 1840, Margaret Moffett Lea married General Sam Houston.  Margaret’s mother, Nancy Lea, gave the couple a quilt top.  The large appliquéd top which was never quilted features a variation of the Rose of Sharon pattern.   The very fragile top is part of the Houston collection at the Sam Houston Memorial Museum but is not on display.  Members of the Tall Pines Quilt Guild are in the process of helping quilt designer Denice Lipscomb recreate this piece of quilting history.  Upon completion of the replica, a pattern will be developed and available for purchase.

Quilters today continue to tell their stories through stitches and to express their creativity with quilts that will be treasured by future generations.  Coming to the Museum at the Walker Education Center on January 10, 2012 until March 11, 2012 will be an exhibit entitled “Deep Spaces” displaying 50 textile pieces created by 44 artists.  Using new techniques these textile artists continue the tradition that would amaze our grandmothers.  



Helen Belcher is an histoircal interpreter at the Sam Houston Memorial Museum.