by Quilt Alliance | Apr 7, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1915, American jazz icon Billie Holiday was born Eleanora Fagan in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Holiday “apprenticed” with Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong by singing along to their records in after-hours jazz clubs in Baltimore, and by the age of 15, she had moved to New York City with her mother and was singing in Harlem nightclubs for tips. At age 18, she made her first recording as part of a studio group led by Benny Goodman. In the 1930s, Holiday was first introduced to the poem “Strange Fruit,” an emotional piece about the lynching of a black man. Though Columbia would not allow her to record the piece due to subject matter, Holiday went on to record the song with an alternate label, Commodore, and the song eventually became one of Holiday’s classics. April Shipp of Auburn Hills, Michigan made this quilt titled “Strange Fruit: A Century of Lynching” in 2003. The quilt includes the following inscription: “Strange Fruit. A Century of Lynching and Murder 1865-1965 (in red machine embroidery) Dedicated to Ida Bell Wells-Barnett (in gold machine embroidery) 100s of names of victims of lynchings and their states (in gold machine embroidery).” The quilt was documented in 2008 as part of the Michigan Quilt Project. Read the artist’s statement in the full Quilt Index record for this quilt here. 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.billieholiday.com/ Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Apr 4, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. The 39-year-old civil rights leader was in Memphis to support a sanitation workers’ strike and was on his way to dinner. Beverly Ann White of Pontiac, Michigan finished this pictorial quilt, titled “View from the Mountain Top” in July 1991. Included in this Quilt Index record is a quote by the artist: “The dedication on this quilt was made to slain civil rights workers [including King] which I describe as warriors for the cause of freedom and equality. I cannot chronicle the brave and valiant fight of each and every one of the honorable souls who have fought for the rights of African-Americans throughout the history of the United States; I can, however, attempt to show several of those heroes who have impressed me.” This quilt is in the Michigan State University Museum 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://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dr-king-is-assassinated Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Apr 2, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon came ashore somewhere near present-day St. Augustine, Florida and claimed the territory for the Spanish crown. Ponce de Leon was looking for the fabled “Fountain of Youth.” He never found the source of eternal youth, but he is credited for naming Florida. De Leon’s landing on the lush, green coast happened around Easter feast time, or Pascua Florida (Festival of Flowers). Patricia L. Styring of St. Augustine, Florida made this miniature quilt, titled “Petroglyph” in 1997. The quilt was machine pieced, painted, embellished and machine quilted, and is now part of the Founders Collection at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky. 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/ponce-de-leon-discovers-florida Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Apr 1, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1976, Apple Computer, Inc. was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. Their first product was the Apple I personal computer kit, hand-built by Wozniak, offered for sale at $666.66 (with inflation that would be $2,723 today). Apple, Inc. (“Computer” was dropped), was incorporated in early 1977 after Wayne sold his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800. In 2012 the company’s value reached a world-record $624 billion dollars. Hattie Lawton of St. Thomas, Ontario in Canada hand appliqued and hand quilted this Apple Blossom quilt in 1989. From this Quilt Index record: This quilt was given to the OAAS (Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies) and winner received $600.00. It competed at the Aylmer & East Elgin Fair, which was the first step to becoming a grand champion winner. The (Canada Packers) competition started in 1979 and completed in 1997. It is #12 of 19 quilts. This quilt was documented by the Country Heritage Park in 2012. Country Heritage Park is an interactive heritage park depicting the evolution of agriculture and rural life in Ontario over the last 170 years. 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/Apple_Inc. Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Mar 31, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1936, American poet, novelist, and social activist Marge Piercy was born in Detroit, Michigan. She is the author of seventeen novels including The New York Times Bestseller Gone To Soldiers, eighteen volumes of poetry including The Hunger Moon and The Moon is Always Female, and a critically acclaimed memoir Sleeping with Cats. She has been a key player in anti-war and equal rights movements in the U.S. Pauline Gibbons of Waterford Township, Michigan (about 45 minutes northwest of Detroit) made this Seven Sisters quilt entirely by hand in the 1930’s. From this record: “Made for her daughter Elizabeth on her death passed to daughter Patricia (Betty’s sister) on her death passed to Susan Bieri (Patricia’s daughter). Susan says, “This is one of my most treasured possessions…She only made 7 quilts and then decided she didn’t like quilting.” Bieri documented the quilt as part of the Michigan 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://margepiercy.com/portfolio-items/about-marge/ Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Mar 28, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1776, Mexican-born explorer Juan Bautista de Anza arrived at the future site of San Francisco with 247 colonists. Seven years earlier the Portola expedition, which included Franciscan friars led by Junipero Serra, had reached the Golden Gate and discovered San Francisco for Spain. Anza established a military fort called a presidio on the tip of the San Francisco peninsula, now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Loree Marquardt of Colorado Springs, Colorado made this house-shaped wall quilt titled “Right Back Where I Started From” in 2012 for the Quilt Alliance’s “Home Is Where the Quilt Is” contest. Marquardt says in her artist’s statement: “I am a ninth generation Californian. My tenth great grandfather in 1769 traveled with the Portola Expedition and Father Serra to San Diego. They then went on to discover the Port of Monterey. This quilt is a small tribute to where I started from. California symbolizes so many things to me from the Golden Gate Bridge, to the mission bells, to the surfing shore line, to my heritage. Home is where the quilt is.” 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/de-anza-founds-san-francisco http://www.nps.gov/prsf/historyculture/index.htm Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
