by Quilt Alliance | Aug 6, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1928, Pop art superstar and cultural icon Andy Warhol was born Andrew Warhola in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to immigrant parents from Czechoslovakia. Warhol studied pictorial design (illustration) at Carnegie Institute of Technology and began painting in the 1950’s. Following the advice of his art school teacher who told Warhol to paint what he liked, he painted ordinary things, including soup cans, comic strips and soap boxes. Bridget Wideman of Seaside, Oregon made this quilt titled “The ART in Artichoke” in 2011 for the Quilt Alliance contest, “Alliances: People, Patterns, Passion. Wideman wrote in her artist’s statement: “I chose a subject, in this case my favorite vegetable, the artichoke. I couldn’t figure out what could go with my artichoke, so I ended up making several in various colors and concentrating on the word itself. The word “art” was obvious. And when I think of art, I think of Andy Warhol. That’s where I got my idea for this quilt: a Warhol inspired artichoke.” View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about its history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view. Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/andy-warhol-is-born Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Aug 5, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 2002, the turret of the ironclad Union warship, the U.S.S. Monitor, was raised from the spot on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean where it sat since the ship sank in 1862. Divers worked for six weeks to bring the ship to the surface, finding the remains of two of the 16 Monitor crew members who died when the ship sank off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Mary Gibbs, of coastal Beaufort, North Carolina, hand pieced and hand quilted this Nine Patch between 1850-75. Gibbs’ great-great granddaughter received the quilt as gift and commented that it “did not look like it had ever been used.” The quilt was documented in 1986 during the North Carolina Quilt Project. View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about its history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view. Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/divers-recover-uss-monitor-turret Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Aug 4, 2013 | Uncategorized
Today, the first Sunday in August, is National Sister’s Day. In honor of this holiday celebrating the special bond between sisters, today’s Q.S.O.S. Spotlight features a unique quilt inspired by the music of The Beatles created by sisters Sue Nickels and Pat Holly. In her Q.S.O.S. interview at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas, Sue described the quilt and the special experience of quiltmaking with her sister: “This is a quilt that I made with my sister, Pat Holly. It is a completely machine appliquéd, machine quilted and machine pieced quilt. It is a small version of a bigger quilt that we made together called The Beatles Quilt, which is in the AQS [American Quilter’s Society.] Museum because it won best of show. We wanted to have a smaller version because we don’t own the big quilt anymore. We wanted to have a smaller version of it so I can take it when I teach and travel and lecture, just to show the techniques that are in the original Beatles Quilt… The meaning of the original Beatles Quilt was a quilt that we made reminiscing about the Beatles’ music and how it brought back memories of us growing up together as teenagers and children. We wanted to put that into a quilt project so we made the original one, the large Beatles quilt as a joint project. It was for us, kind of a memory quilt. Through music, remembering our childhood. This quilt does the same thing. It brought back a lot of memories… Probably the only thing that I haven’t said enough is that what I find the most rewarding about what I’ve done in the quilt world is working with my sister. Making a quilt with her and winning an award. I always like to give her credit, too. Although you’re just talking to me. She’s not here, but she is just as an important part of what this is all about.” Want to keep reading? You can find more quilt stories at the Quilters’ S.O.S.- Save Our Stories page on the Alliance’s site. Posted by Emma Parker Project Manager, Quilters’ S.O.S.- Save Our Stories…
by Quilt Alliance | Aug 2, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1878, Princess Ingeborg was born at Charlottenlund Palance near Copenhagen, the daughter of Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark and Princess Louise of Sweden. She married Prince Carl of Sweden in 1887. In 1947, on the occasion of their wedding anniversary, her spouse admitted that their marriage had been completely arranged by their respective fathers, and Ingeborg herself added: “I married a complete stranger!” Kristine Erickson of Peteo, Sweden hand pieced this Log Cabin quilt around 1895 and mailed it to her daughter Celina Gothblad in the U.S., who adding backing, batting and tied it together in the 1930’s. Gothblad’s daughter, who now owns the quilt and documented it during the Michigan Quilt Project, remembers when her mother received the quilt from Sweden. “She showed me strips of fabrics which were from dress material that she wore when young.” View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about its history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Ingeborg_of_Denmark Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jul 31, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1916, future car racing legend Louise Smith is born in Barnsville, Georgia. Smith was the first woman to be inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame. She was recruited for the fledgling National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) circuit by a promoter named Bill Frances who was looking to attract new spectators by featuring a female driver. Smith was known locally for outrunning law enforcement and agreed to race at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in a 1939 Ford, finishing third. Addie Sims Hardiman made this Wild Goose Chase quilt around 1905. The quilt was hand and machine pieced and hand quilted and is 74” x 78”. Hardiman made the quilt in Georgia, but it was documented during the Quilts of Tennessee project by the family member who inherited it. 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. Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-lady-of-nascar-louise-smith-born Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
