by Quilt Alliance | Jun 23, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1887, the Rocky Mountains Park Act was enacted by the Parliament of Canada, which established Banff National Park (then known as Rocky Mountain Park), west of Calvary, in the province of Alberta. The act was modeled on the US’s Yellowstone Park Act of 1881. Canadian Mary Jane (Waters) Geddes began this hand pieced and quilted Crazy Quilt in 1910, using “velvets and other rich fabrics.” After Geddes’ death, Estella Darroch finished the piece in 1937 using used silk ties and rayon dresses. The granddaughter of the quiltmakers inherited the piece and donated it to the Royal Alberta Museum, where it 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/Rocky_Mountains_Park_Act Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jun 20, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the admission of West Virginia into the Union as the 35th U.S. state (or 24th when secession of the 11 Southern states is taken into account). Church members made this Applique Sampler Signature quilt for the Reverand Daniel Hitt Kincheloe Dix in 1860. The quilt is owned by a descendant of Dix’s who was a circuit rider for the Methodist Episcopal Church in West Virginia in the towns of Cameron (1859), Grave Creek (1860), New Martinsville (1861-1862). Dix was also a member of the West Virginia Senate 1865-1870. The quilt, which includes dimensional hand applique and embroidery, was documented during the Signature Quilt Project by Nan Moore of Florida. 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/west-virginia-enters-the-union Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance amy.milne@quiltalliance.org…
by Quilt Alliance | Jun 19, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1970, Manhattan native Carole King earned her first #1 single, a double-sided hit with two songs she wrote and performed: “It’s Too Late” and “I Feel the Earth Move.” Before this King earned her living as a songwriter for Aldon Music for whom she co-wrote hit songs like “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” and “Take Good Care of My Baby” with her then-husband Gerry Goffin. Carole S. Filipi Bors of Saline, Nebraska made this embroidered quilt in 1972. The quilt was meant as a gift for a teacher and Bors hired another someone to do the hand quilting. This record states, “Quiltmaker typically charged 30 dollars for quilts.” The quilt was documented in 1987 as part of the Nebraska Quilt 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.history.com/this-day-in-history/carole-king-has-her-first-1-hit-as-a-performer Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jun 18, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1923, the first Checker cab rolled off the assembly line at the Checker Cab Manufacturing Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The company with the familiar checkerboard graphic produced cabs in Michigan until 1982. Nellie (Shea) Neal, a Methodist homemaker from Hoxie, Kansas who learned to quilt from a friend, hand pieced this 9 Patch Checkerboard quilt between 1937-38. The quilt was documented during the Kansas Quilt Project by its current owner, Ingrid Neal, also of Hoxie. 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/checker-cab-produces-first-taxi-at-kalamazoo-factory Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jun 17, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1885, the Statue of Liberty, a copper and iron statue given as a gift of friendship by France to the people of America, arrived in New York Harbor in 350 individual pieces packed in more than 200 crates. The words of American poet Emma Lazarus were used for the statue’s plaque, including the now-famous line: “Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Carol Anne Grotrian made this quilt, titled “Light of Liberty” in 1986. The quilt was Grotrian’s prize-winning entry in The Great American Quilt Contest with the theme “Expressions of Liberty,” commemorating the Centennial of the Statue of Liberty in 1986. Rather than a literal image of the Statue of Liberty, Carole Anne Grotrian presents an abstract view of the Statue, Bedloe’s Island, and the light emanating from Liberty’s torch from above. Gotrian donated the quilt to the New England Quilt Museum. View this quilton 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/statue-of-liberty-arrives Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jun 16, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
(I couldn’t resist re-posted this one under a different historical context…what a piece!) On this day in 1884, the first roller coaster in America opened at Coney Island, in Brooklyn, New York. LaMarcus Thompson, designed the ride, know as the switchback railroad, that traveled approximately six miles per hour and cost a nickel to ride. Agnes Mushet made this Octagon pillow cover from cigar silks around 1890. Noted in this Quilt Index record contributed by the New England Quilt Museum: “Husband Frank probably collected the silks when he worked at the Glen Forest Amusement Park on the Merrimack River in Methuen as head of concessions in the late…
