by Quilt Alliance | Jan 10, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1901, a drilling derrick near Beaumont, Texas, created a very large gusher of crude oil, launching the American oil industry. Jo Budd of Bungay, Suffolk, England made this art quilt, titled “Oil Rig” between 1996-98. The piece, which measures 125.5” x 98.25” is hand painted and dyed and hand pieced, and is part of the permanent collection of the International Quilt Study Center & Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 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/gusher-signals-start-of-us-oil-industry Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jan 9, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1768, the first modern circus was staged in London by Philip Astley, a former cavalryman whose first act was a riding trick where he waved his sword in the air with one foot on the saddle and the other on the horse’s head. Tracey Snyder-Stone of Lauderdale by the Sea, Florida, made this quilted, titled “Welcome Home,” in 2012 for the Quilt Alliance’s “Home Is Where the Quilt Is” contest. Snyder wrote about her quilt: “This quilt was inspired by an exhibit I saw at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont. The exhibit comprised of antique carousel horses and circus posters. The Victorian Era was so popular with quilting and my favorite era to collect quilts. I wanted to pay homage to the American traveling circus of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.” 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-modern-circus-is-staged Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jan 7, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1785, two men, Jean-Pierre Blanchard from France and John Jeffries from America, crossed the English Channel in a gas balloon, becoming the first people to cross by air. They almost crashed into the Channel along the way and had to throw out nearly all of their supplies and cargo, including Blanchard’s trousers. Bonnie B. Wiley Wobken of Dodge, Nebraska made this original, pieced and hand quilted design, titled “Hot Air Balloon,” in 1988. The quilt was documented as part of the Nebraska Quilt Project, coordinated by the Lincoln Quilters Guild. 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/across-the-english-channel-in-a-balloon Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jan 6, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1759 and 1945, two U.S. presidents-to-be were married. George Washington (U.S. President 1789-1797) married Martha Dandridge Custis in 1759, a union that lasted 40 years. Almost two hundred years later, in 1945, George Herbert Walker Bush (U.S. President 1989-1993) married his 18-year-old sweetheart, Barbara Pierce. Elizabeth Ann Miller Bontrager, an Amish quilter from Arthur, Illinois, made this Double Wedding Ring quilt around 1955. The design of this machine pieced and hand quilted crib quilt is atypical of Amish-made quilts from this area. The quilt is now part of the permanent collection of the Illinois State Museum. 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/two-future-presidents-marry-respective-sweethearts Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jan 2, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1890, Alice Sanger, the first female staffer, was hired at the White House to be President Benjamin Harrison’s stenographer. The women’s suffrage movement was gaining strength and this may have been the Harrison’s way of acknowledging these efforts. Arlene Pederson Farley made this Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt between 1930 and 1949 in Monterey, California. Farley was of Swedish decent and a stenographer by trade. She taught herself to quilt when she was 35 and made the quilt as a gift for her sister. The quilt was documented as part of the Minnesota 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/harrison-welcomes-alice-sanger-as-first-female-staffer Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Dec 20, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1957, Elvis Presley received his first draft notice for the United States Army. He had just purchased his Memphis, Tennessee mansion, “Graceland,” and took one deferment while he finished working on the movie “King Creole” before being sworn in as an army private on March 28, 1958. Elvis spent 6 months in basic training and then served 18 months in Company D, 32nd Tank Battalion, 3rd Armor Corps in Friedberg, Germany, before being discharged on March 2, 1960. Emma R. Davis of Huntington, West Virginia hand made this red, white and blue Original Military Design quilt in 1945 for her grandson who was in the service in World War II. Davis, who had one daughter, was a homemaker from Pennsylvania who owned a grocery store chain. One of Davis’s relatives documented the quilt during the West Virginia Heritage Quilt Search in 1992. 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/elvis-presley-is-drafted Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
