by Quilt Alliance | Jan 16, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
Wet or Dry, A Friend Am I On this day in 1919, the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, prohibiting the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes,” The movement to ban alcohol actually began in the early 19th century led by rural Protestants. In 1933, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution was passed and ratified, repealing prohibition. This Crazy Quilt was made around 1889 by an unknown quiltmaker. Two of the blocks include printed ribbon reading “Prohibition,” and another block is embroidered with this inscription: “Wet or Dry, A Friend Am I. F.” The foundation of the quilt is made of flour sacks with printing that identifies two flour companies from Tennessee. The quilt was donated to the Texas Memorial Museum sometimes between 1950-1959 and is now part of the Winedale Quilt Collection at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at The University of Texas at Austin. View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about it’s history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view. Sources: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/prohibition-takes-effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohibition_in_the_United_States Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jan 15, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
The peacemaker and the piecemaker On this day in 1929 Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia. King earned a doctorate degree in theology, and led the first major civil rights protest for racial equality in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955. Dr. King was instrumental in the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and became the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize. This hand pieced and hand quilted “Lord’s Prayer” quilt was made by John Drake in 1928 in Atlanta, Georgia. Drake was 9 or 10 years old when he made the quilt with “a little help” from his grandmother. Drake’s brother, who lives in Michigan, inherited the quilt and documented it as part of the Michigan Quilt Project. View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about it’s history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view. Sources: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/martin-luther-king-jr-born Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jan 14, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
A traitor and a quilt, born in Connecticut On this day in 1741 Benedict Arnold was born in Norwich Connecticut. Arnold fought for the Americans early in the Revolutionary War, becoming a general and playing key roles in crucial victories. He was not satisfied with the recognition he received however, and became one of the most famous traitors in American history when he attempted to give away U.S. posts in return for money, was caught and escaped to British territories. This Tree of Life wholecloth quilt was hand quilted by Mary Sill in Old Lyme, Connecticut around 1840. The fabric, made from a bed curtain, dates as early as the 1790’s though. The quilt was eventually brought to Hawaii by descendants of the quiltmaker, and they donated the quilt to the DAR by the Aloha chapter. View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about it’s history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view. Sources: http://www.history.com/topics/benedict-arnold Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jan 11, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
Survivors and witnesses On this day in 2010, Hermine “Miep” Santruschitz Gies died at age 100 in the Netherlands. Gies helped hide Anne Frank and her family from the Nazis during World War II, and was the rescuer of Anne’s now-famous writings. In her 1987 memoir, “Anne Frank Remembered,” Gies wrote: I am not a hero. I stand at the end of the long, long line of good Dutch people who did what I did and more—much more—during those dark and terrible times years ago, but always like yesterday in the heart of those of us who bear witness. Never a day goes by that I do not think of what happened then. The quilt above, titled “Survivors 2003,” was made in 2010 by Aniko Feher of Royal Oak, Michigan. Feher includes the story of the photo in the Quilt Index record; here is an excerpt: This is a memorial quilt dedicated to my mother, who was a Holocaust survivor. She was liberated in Bergen-Belsen. After liberation Bergen-Belsen became a DP camp. It took her a while to recuperated from starvation. Once she was physically stronger she wanted to return home and find her family. Survivors were promised transportation home but after many months no transportation was provided. My mother with 4 other survivors from Budapest decided to go home on their own. Most of their journey was on foot. Somewhere on that journey a tiny group photo was Taken of the 5 survivors. In the group photo my mother is the second from the left, the large portrait is also of her when she was old and fragile, before she passed away. View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about it’s history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view. Sources: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/miep-gies-who-hid-anne-frank-dies-at-100 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miep_Gies Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jan 10, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
10-4, Good Quilters! On this day in 1976 the number one hit on the U.S. pop charts was “Convoy” by C.W. McCall (actually a pen name for an Omaha advertising executive, Bill Fries). At the time the mid-70’s trucking/CB radio craze was at its height. The song inspired a movie by the same name starring Kris Kristofferson, Ali McGraw and Ernest Borgnine. This lap quilt, made for a fundraiser, is titled “Milwaukee Clipper Night Skies” and was pieced by Peggy Iverson of Fruitport, Michigan in 2008, and quilted by Carol Hustier. Iverson started quilting as a teenager and has worked as a trucker and a factory worker. View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about it’s history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view. Sources: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/quotconvoyquot-by-cw-mccall-is-the-351-song-on-the-us-pop-charts http://www.lyricsfreak.com/c/cw+mccall/convoy_20026575.html Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
