On this day in 1950, 11 thieves, in a precisely timed and choreographed strike, stole more than $2 million from the Brinks Armored Car depot in Boston, Massachusetts. Eight of the culprits were eventually caught and convicted but only a small part of the money was ever recovered.
This hand pieced, machine pieced, hand appliqued and hand quilted “Patchwork with Eleven Diamond Pattern” is 80″ x 49″. The quilt was made in Sangar, Sindh Pakistan between 1976-1999 and is now part of the Michigan State University Museum collection. Traditional quilts made in this area of the world are referred to as Ralli quilts.
View this quilt on The Quilt Index to find out! Read more about its history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view or click the “See full record” link to see a larger image and all the data entered about that quilt.
Source:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-great-brinks-robbery
http://www.ralliquilt.com/
Posted by Amy E. Milne
Executive Director, Quilt Alliance
amy.milne@quiltalliance.org
Reblogged this on Twinzy Toys and commented:
Beautiful designs and wonderful history of the Ralli Quilt. As for the thieves it appears the police “blanketed” the surrounding neighborhoods and got their men.
Love it!!
Thank you so much for the share. 🙂 It is very encouraging for us to see Sindhi Culture flourishing all over the world.
A normal Ralli Quilt is a textile jewel finished with physical and spiritual labour or done with hand and mind putting in almost 180 hours, 10800 minutes or 648, 000 seconds of labour by a woman artisan.
In ancient Indus civilization, a Ralli Quilt was also a textile currency like other valuables. Woman start making Ralli Quilts in early age as part of their dowry. The poor artisans used to make Ralli Quilt as gifts for the occasion of marriages and births of the elite families. In return, they were given a buffalow, a cow or a goat as “Kheer Piyarini”, or to provide a permanent milk source for the artisan’s family. This tradition continues in Sindh, especially in Thar desert too. (Source: Ishraqi Designs
Thank you so much for commenting, Ishraquidesigns.