by Quilt Alliance | May 19, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1834, Catherine “Kate” Furbish, the first botanic artist in the “Garden of Maine,” was born in Exeter, New Hampshire. Furbish lived to be 97 years old and in her lifetime she collected over 4,000 sheets of dried plants and ferns she discovered around the state of Maine. The collection is now housed in Harvard University’s Gray Herbarium. A unnamed quilter hand pieced this Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt around 1875 in Maine. The current owners documented the quilt in 1986 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina as part of the North Carolina Quilt Project. They purchased the quilt when they lived in Maine and although they do not know the name of the quiltmaker, they know that she was a neighbor of a woman named Clara Bowen. 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://maineanencyclopedia.com/furbish-catherine-kate/ Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | 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…
by Quilt Alliance | 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…
by Quilt Alliance | 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…
by Quilt Alliance | 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…
by Quilt Alliance | May 12, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1820, pioneering English nurse Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy. Nightingale, nicknamed the Lady with the Lamp, was the lead nurse in a unit caring for British and allied soldiers in Turkey during the Crimean War, spending many hours making night rounds in the wards. She founded the first scientifically based nursing school in London. International Nurses Day is observed on May 12 each year commemorates her birth and celebrates the important role of nurses in health care. This Wild Goose Chase quilt was made by the mother of Mrs. Van Dusen in the 1850’s in North Ridgeville, Ohio. At the age of 84, Mrs. Van Dusen gave the quilt to Daisy Lamberton of Battle Creek, Michigan, who documented the quilt as part of the Michigan Quilt Project in 1987. From this Quilt Index record: “Mrs. Van Dusen said her mother made this quilt during Civil War Years. Her mother was a nurse. I worked in OAD/PA, the Pentagon, Washington D.C., I was a member of an Antiques Club. Each week we had a speaker pertaining to different subjects. A speaker who collected quilts, said she had never seen a double and triple quilted quilt- thought it had outstanding work on it.” 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.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/415020/Florence-Nightingale Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
