by Quilt Alliance | Jun 11, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1979, American film icon John Wayne died at age 72 after battling cancer for more than a decade. Wayne was born Marion Morrison in 1907 in Winterset, Iowa. “The Duke,” (a nickname that came from his childhood dog), became famous for his roles as a rugged western hero, delivering lines like “A man ought’a do what he thinks is best.” Lillian M. Shaw of Winterset, Iowa hand pieced and hand quilted this Double Wrench, or Hole in Barn Door, quilt between 1860 and 1925. The quiltmaker’s granddaughter documented the quilt during the Iowa Quilt Research 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/john-wayne-dies Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jun 10, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1752, Philadelphia printer Benjamin Franklin demonstrated electricity when he flew a kite during a thunderstorm and collected a charge in a Leyden jar, an early capacitor for containing static electricity. Della Blue Faries, of Caddo Parish, Louisiana, made this Kite Quilt, or Pontiac Star Variation, in 1918. The quilt was documented by Faries’ daughter, who received the quilt as a gift from her mother, during the Louisiana Quilt Documentation 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/franklin-flies-kite-during-thunderstorm Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jun 8, 2013 | QSOS Spotlight
When friends who aren’t quilters see my tiny sewing studio (which is more like a ‘sewing corner’ than a full sewing studio!) one of the first things they ask is how I find the time to cut, piece, sew and quilt my many half-finished projects. Then, once they see my growing fabric stash, they have another question: how do you find the money to keep buying fabric? Quiltmaking might require a bit of an investment—of both hours and dollars—but for me, it’s worth it, just to keep quilting! Three quilters interviewed in Houston, Texas at the 2011 International Quilt Festival talked a bit about finding the time and money to keep quilting and how those challenges affect quiltmakers today. Lynn Welch: “I think time is a huge issue for quiltmakers. The second one would be with the economy would be money. You know we’re looking at quilt fabrics that are over ten dollars a yard, spools of thread at four dollars a spool and that’s going to start impacting what people buy and what they make. I think you’re seeing the generations behind mine as having a lot of time constraints. If they can’t get into careers and are working two or three jobs just to make even, I see that with my nieces, they don’t have a lot of free time to do handwork or even machine work. You’re seeing a growth of the modern quilt guilds which are people that are doing much simpler quilts, not so complex, but they still love quilting and using fabric but it’s a whole different way of looking at quilting, which I’m glad to see that that’s happening. I think time for a lot of people and then money probably are going to constrain the industry.” Sharon Gaylor Chambers: “I think finding time to do their craft, their art. You really have to be able to do that. With most of the women these days working outside the home, it’s difficult because I’m privileged to have been able to work and do my craft and then retire and do my thing here.” Gail Valentine: “The price of cotton [laughing.] We were commenting on the price of cotton, it must be really hard for new quilt makers to build up a stash like we certainly did years ago. Things change, up and down. I remember in the 70’s there just didn’t seem to be that much available. A lot of quilters started quilting in the 80’s and learning how to quilt in the 80’s. I had no stash, but I was able to build it up and beyond.” You can read more stories from the International Quilt Festival (and hundreds of other locations!) 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 qsos@quiltalliance.org…
by Quilt Alliance | Jun 7, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1913, Alaskan missionary Hudson Stuck lead the first successful ascent of Mt. McKinley, the highest peak on the American continent (20,320 feet). The first person to actually set foot on McKinley’s south peak was Walter Harper, one of Stuck’s three companions on the climb. A national park was established at Mount McKinley in 1917 and expanded in 1980. It was renamed Denali National Park and Preserve, and covers 6 million acres, an area larger than Massachusetts. Ree Nancarrow of Denali Park, Alaska, made this quilt, titled “Arctic Lava” in 1994. It is part of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress “Quilts and Quiltmaking in American: 1978-1996” exhibit. It was winner in the Lands’ End All-American Quilt Contest. 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/first-successful-ascent-of-mt-mckinley Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jun 6, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1944, Allied forces crossed the English Channel and landed on the beaches of Normandy, France to begin the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control during World War II. Sharon Powers of Cooper Harbor, Michigan made this quilt in honor of D-Day for a hospital raffle between 1976 and 1999. She documented her quilt during 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/d-day Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
