Inspired By Matching Game!

by | May 16, 2014 | Alliance Quilt Contests, QSOS, Quilt Index

The deadline for our annual quilt contest is two weeks away–“Inspired By” entries must be postmarked by June 1, 2014.  Full details including a downloadable entry form can be found on our website and blog. If your design or execution are still in neutral, here is a little inspiration game to get your motor in gear. Match the Quilt to the Alliance Board Member Five Quilt Alliance board members have offered photos of their in-progress or finished Inspired By entries: Allie Aller Lisa Ellis Luke Haynes Michele Muska Victoria Findlay Wolfe See if you can match up the artist with the quilt! In the left hand column below are the Inspiration quilts, selected from The Quilt Index or Q.S.O.S., and on the right are the original contest entries. Post your answers here as comments (A=board member’s name, etc…), and we’ll draw a winner on Monday, May 19 at 5pm Eastern from all those with correct answers.

Full details on the Inspired By contest, including a downloadable entry form, can be found on our website and blog. Thank you to these generous Quilt Alliance Business Members sponsoring “Inspired By”: Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…

With all my heart and soul and whispers.

by | May 16, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series

On this day in 1964, Detroit songwriter turned vocal performer Mary Wells gave Motown its first number one hit when “My Guy” reached the top of the charts. Wells suffered from spinal meningitis as a child, and in her final years she battled larynx cancer. In 1991, she testified before a Congressional Committee to support funding for cancer research. She passed away from the disease in July 1992. In her Congressional address she said: “I’m here today to urge you to keep the faith. I can’t cheer you on with all my voice, but I can encourage, and I pray to motivate you with all my heart and soul and whispers.” Sallie Royston of Natchitoches, Louisiana made this Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt in 1939. This hand appliqued, pieced and quilted beauty was one of the last quilts that Royston made before her death in 1940 due to throat cancer. Her great granddaughter inherited the quilt and documented it in 2002 during the Louisiana Quilt Documentation Project. 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.cmgww.com/music/wells/ http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mary-wells-gives-motown-records-its-first-1-hit-with-quotmy-guyquot Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…

Amani Path.

by | May 15, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series

On this day in 1934, Grace Ogot was born Grace Emily Akinyi in Asembo, in the district of Nyanza, Kenya. She trained as a nurse in Uganda and in England. She has worked as a midwife, a tutor, as journalist, as a broadcaster and for an airline. In 1984 she became one of only a handful of women to serve as a Member of Parliament and the only woman assistant minister in the cabinet of then President Daniel arap Moi. Moni Cah of Nairobi, Kenya machine pieced and quilted this 42” x 47” quilt between 1976-1999. Cah sells her work in a cooperative contemporary African quilt shop in Nairobi called “Amani  a Juu.” From the quilt’s label: “Our quilts are designed and crafted here in Nairobi, Kenya using local and international materials. To create an exclusive look, we dye, batik, and screen print our own fabrics. We also incorporate traditional East African kitenge and kikoi fabrics, as well as high-quality West African mud cloth. This variety provides a unique canvas for our contemporary designs. Furthermore, we hand stitch all of our bindings and use a free-arm sewing machine to quilt all-over swirl, meander, and floral designs. We measure and cut all scraps and cloth uniquely for each quilt.” The quilt was purchased by a Michigan State University Museum employee and is now part of the museum’s permanent collection. 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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Ogot Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…

Crazy for St. Louis.

by | May 14, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series

On this day in 1904, the first modern Olympic games to be held in the U.S. opened in St. Louis, Missouri. The World Exposition was held at the same time in the city, which overshadowed the poorly organized games. Since there were few entrants, and most were from the U.S., American athletes won most of the awards. Sue Dee Grainger Brown of Houston, Texas made this stunning hand pieced, embroidered and embellished Crazy Quilt in 1886. The Quilt Index record states, “Family history on this quilt states that it won first prize a the St. Louis World’s Fair.” Brown’s family members documented the quilt during the Texas Quilt Search. The quilt is included in the book Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, Vol. I, 1836-1936, by Karoline Patterson Bresenhan and Nancy O’Bryant Puentes (Austin: University of Texas Press) and was included in an exhibition by the same name in the Texas State Capitol Rotunda, Austin, Texas, April 19-21, 1986. 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/first-american-olympiad Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…

Tennis & Love.

by | May 13, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series

On this day in 1973, tennis stars Robby Riggs, U.S. champion from the 1930’s and ‘40’s, and Australian Margaret Court faced off in a $10,000 winner-take-all “battle of the sexes” challenge match. Court lost to Riggs and Riggs went on to challenge Bill Jean King to a $100,000 winner-take-all match, an event dubbed “the libber vs. the lobber.” King beat Riggs in three sets. This Double T (or Four T’s) quilt was pieced by Leta S. Melvin and quilted by Nettie S. Merritt , Cora S. Pyson and Harriet Smith in White Lake, North Carolina around 1905. The quilt was made as a wedding gift. The top includes printed fabric featuring a tennis raquet and paddle, and the piece is hand quilted. The quilt is now owned by the North Carolina Museum of History. 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/first-battle-of-the-sexes Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…