by Quilt Alliance | Mar 4, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On This Day in History Quilt for March 4: On this day in 1781 Rebecca Gratz, the Jewish American educator and philanthropist, was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. At age 20 she helped found the “Female Association for the Relief of Women and Children in Reduced Circumstances.” She worked hard to help Jewish women in her community, especially those who were underprivileged, integrate into American life and culture without making religious or moral sacrifices. Jewish American quiltmaker Bertha Stenge of Chicago, Illinois made this quilt around 1946. The title of the quilt is O.P.A., referring to the Office of Price Administration, the governmental agency in charge of rationing food during wartime. The quilt is owned by the Illinois State Museum who contributed it to The Quilt Index. The record includes this description about construction: “Hand Piecing, Hand Applique, Appliqued seahorses (possibly representing sardines) on pieced blocks in center and border, Inner border of distorted diamonds, flat boxes (sardine tins ?) and stuffed work representing celery and keys for tins.” 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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Gratz http://jwa.org/womenofvalor/gratz Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Mar 1, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On This Day in History Quilt for March 1: On this day in 1692 the Salem Witch Hunt began in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The first women put on trial were Sarah Goode, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba, an Indian slave from Barbados. All three were charged with illegal witchcraft, spurred by the testimonies of two girls in the colony who had experienced “fits” and other mysterious episodes that a doctor attributed to the effects of witchcraft. Mary Margaret Berkley Watson of Point Pleasant, West Virginia hand pieced the blocks for this Water Witch quilt in 1889 (no obvious witchcraft involved). She was assisted by E.F. Berkley Thomas who helped “set up” the top in 1939 and L.B. Hogg and Mildred Hargraves who hand quilted the piece in 1948-49. The quilt was documented by the great niece of one of the makers during the West Virginia Heritage Quilt Search in 1992. 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/salem-witch-hunt-begins Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Feb 28, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On This Day in History Quilt for February 28: On this day in 1964 American jazz pianist and composer Theonious Sphere Monk was featured on the cover of Time magazine. Monk’s unorthodox approach to piano and unique improvisational style made him the second-most recorded jazz musician (after Duke Ellington). Monk was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina in 1917, but moved with his family to New York City at the age of 5. This quilt was also born in Rocky Mount. Annie Bryant made this scrappy Log Cabin in 1925. She hand pieced and hand quilted it with cotton, wool and linen fabric and wrote the recipient, her granddaughter’s initials in ink. The quilt was documented by Bryant’s granddaughter in 1986 during the North Carolina Quilt Project, who said, “She just wanted to give us something.” 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/thelonious-monk-makes-the-cover-of-time-magazine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelonious_Monk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIkmNNmAnAM Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Feb 27, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On This Day in History Quilt for February 27: On this day in 2010 an earthquake measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale hit off the coast of central Chile killing over 500 people and injuring thousands. The quake spawned a tsunami that damaged coastal towns in Chile as well as minor damage in California and major damage to a fishing village in Japan. It was the sixth largest earthquake ever to be recorded by a seismograph. This 18” x 14” machine pieced, appliqued and embroidered wall hanging titled “Arpillera” was made in Chile around 1980. The word arpillera means burlap fabric in Spanish, and is used to describe the complex tapestries (and in this case a pieced and embroidered textile) created by women in protest of the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship. The narrative textiles describe the harsh effects this regime had on Chile and its people. The quilt was documented by John Beck, staff member of the Michigan State University Museum who purchased it from Madame Letellier, who was teaching at the University of Michigan at the time. Letellier is the widow of Orlando Letellier who was assassinated by the Pinochet regime in Washington D.C. in 1976. The piece tells the story of a strike by the professionals’ union (professors, engineers, etc.) in Chile. 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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Chile_earthquake http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_27 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letelier_case http://www.coha.org/chilean-women%E2%80%99s-resistance-in-the-arpillera-movement/ Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Feb 26, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On This Day in History Quilt for February 26: On this day in 1928 the R&B and rock and roll pianist Antoine Dominique “Fats” Domino Jr. was born in New Orleans. The youngest of eight children in a Creole family, Fats was inspired to become a musician by his father, a well-known violinist and his uncle, a jazz guitarist. Fats, who started playing professionally in honky-tonks at the age of 10, went on to sell an estimated 65 million records worldwide. Irma Nicholas St. Pe’ of Creole and Czech heritage, made this Patchwork Strip quilt in 1952 in Louisiana. It was documented by her grandchild during the Louisiana Quilt Documentation Project. “My grandmother was very proud of her work. She was always sewing or cooking. She was really excited about the backing material on this quilt. She made good lemon pies and cakes. My grandmother always liked to primp-up! She always wore lip-stick and earrings when going somewhere.” 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/fats-domino-is-born-in-new-orlean http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fats_Domino Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
