by Quilt Alliance | Apr 22, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1970, the first Earth Day was celebrated to increase awareness of the world’s environmental problems. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin came up with the idea hoping to pull together grassroots environmental groups and increase ecological awareness. Elsie Zietlow Schlicht machine pieced the blocks for this Spiderweb quilt in the 1930’s-1940’s in the LaCross area of Wisconsin. Her daughter, Arlene Schlicht Quandt, assembled the quilt in the 1970’s in Jefferson, Wisconsin. The quilt was repaired in 1980/1990’s. A friend of the quiltmakers now owns the quilt and documented it in 2005 as part of the Wisconsin Quilt History 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/the-first-earth-day Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Apr 21, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
“On this day in 1777, British troops under the command of General William Tryon attacked the town of Danbury, Connecticut, and begin destroying everything in sight. Facing little, if any, opposition from Patriot forces, the British went on a rampage, setting fire to homes, farmhouse, storehouses and more than 1,500 tents.” This hand appliqued and hand quilted Tree of Life (Palampore) quilt was made by an unknown quilter in 1777 in New Jersey. From this Quilt Index record: “The central motif was cut from a single printed textile and stitched to the background fabric. Additional branches were expertly added to give the design needed width. Free form leaves were appliqued in the corners above the tree. The extremely fine quilting includes crosshatching and tiny clamshells the size of the end of a finger. Free formed shaped leaves appliqued in corners above trees.” The quilt is owned by the Drake House in Plainfield, New Jersey and was documented as part of the Heritage Quilt Project of New Jersey. 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/british-attack-danbury-connecticut Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Apr 11, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1968, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act, which prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, rental or financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin. Gender was added to that list of criteria in 1974 and people with disabilities in 1988. Debra Lynn Miller machine pieced and Kris Neifield machine quilted this “Trees & Houses” quilt in 2002. The design is a reproduction of a Trees pattern from the 1930’s. Miller created the quilt in a class taught by Beverly Dunivent in Big Bear, California, and documented it as part of the Arizona 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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1968 Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Apr 10, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1866, philanthropist and diplomat Henry Bergh founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) in New York City. Bergh witnessed cruelty to work horses during his diplomatic post in Russia and was determined to get anti-cruelty laws passed back in the United States. The ASPCA was based on a similar organization in England, and it quickly became the model for more than 25 other humane organizations in the U.S. and Canada, including the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Pauline Salzman of Treasure Island, Florida, made this small wall quilt, titled “Get a Dog,” for the 2008 Quilt Alliance contest, “My Quilts/Our History.” From Salzman’s artist’s statement: In the tradition of Harriette Powers . . . I try to do quilts that tell a story. It just can’t always be another pretty picture. I need to learn something and sometimes just have fun. I would like the viewer to see my quilts on different levels. The first being the overall view, the second the directional quilting and in this case the writing. I hope it makes you smile.” 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/aspca-is-founded Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Apr 9, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1887, African American composer, arranger and teacher Florence Beatrice Smith Price was born in Little Rock, Arkansas to a teacher/entrepreneur and a dentist. Young Florence played her first piano recital at age four, taught by her mother. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra presented Price’s Symphony in E Minor during the Chicago World’s Fair (Century of Progress Exposition) in 1933, marking the first time a symphony by a black woman had been performed by a major symphony orchestra. Mary Gasperik made this “Star Arcturus—Century of Progress” quilt based on patterns shared in the Nancy Cabot newspaper column in 1933 that honor the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition. Susan Salser, Gasperik’s grand-daughter, began researching her grandmother’s quilts in 1991, after she and her two sisters divided up the quilts which belonged to their mother (Elsie Gasperik Krueger) who died in 1988. The Mary Gasperik Quilts consist of more than 80 full-sized quilts plus numerous miniatures and studies created in Chicago between 1933 and 1967 by Hungarian immigrant and award winning quiltmaker Mary Gasperik. 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://chevalierdesaintgeorges.homestead.com/Price.html#14 Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Apr 8, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 563 B.C., Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was born as Prince Siddhartha in the kingdom of Sakyas, situated on the borders of present-day Nepal and India. Buddha left a life of great luxury to travel the world and seek inspiration and understanding. He became a Buddha, or supremely enlightened teacher, at age 35 and died at age 80, leaving a community of monks to carry on his work. Today there are an estimated 350 million Buddhists in the world. Patricia Healey of Poughkeepsie, New York made this 16” x 16” quilt, titled “We Are One” in 2011 for the Quilt Alliance annual contest. Healey wrote this in her artist’s statement: “The traditional Dresden Plate pattern forms a healing mandala. The background fabric reminds me of a Hindu woman’s sari and the gold of Buddhist temples. Gold sparkles throughout the quilt as a reminder of divinity in all its forms. The top border is embellished with charms, amulets and symbols of diverse religious philosophies. When not quilting, I teach Major World Religions at Dutchess Community College.” 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/buddhists-celebrate-birth-of-gautama-buddha Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
