by Quilt Alliance | Oct 15, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1954, Hurricane Hazel hit southern Ontario, Canada, killing 81 people. Hazel, the fourth major hurricane of that year, began on October 12 when it made landfall in Jamaica with winds reaching over 140 miles an hour. The storm moved northward and coastal towns in North Carolina and Virginia suffered severe damage. Four days later the storm caught the residents of Toronto relatively unaware when the Humbar River flooded and entire neighborhoods were washed away. The storm finally dissipated on October 16, leaving more than 400 people dead and damages in excess of $1 billion. Hazel Reece hand pieced and hand quilted (10 stitches/inch) this Star and Crescent quilt for her daughter, who had left home for school. The quiltmaker wrote, “[She] left a lonely spot in my home during the day; I filled that time making her a quilt. The first quilt I ever made with curved seams.” Reece’s daughter documented the quilt during the North Carolina Quilt Project and the quilt is featured in the book, North Carolina Quilts (plate 7-13). 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/hurricane-hazel-hits-the-carolinas-and-ontario Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Oct 14, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1863, Winifred Sweet Black Bonfils, an American journalist and reporter, was born in Chilton, Wisconsin. She famously staged a fainting on the street in San Francisco to test the city’s emergency response. Ambulance services proved to be wanting and this caused a major scandal. She dressed as a boy and was the first reporter on the line to cover the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, and in 1906, she covered the San Francisco earthquake. At her death in 1936, her body lay in state at the San Francisco city hall. Violet Christopherson of Marinette, Wisconsin, made this String quilt using parts of her mother’s and father’s wedding clothes as well as other family members’ garments. The owner inherited the quilt from his mother, Violet’s sister, and documented the quilt during the Wisconsin Quilt History Project. Violet’s family was one of the few who survived the Peshtigo Fire in Wisconsin in 1871. Her grandmother, the family matriarch, knew a great fire was coming and she had the children go through a firedrill every day. Read how they were able to survive this historic fire, which killed between 1,500-2,500 people, in this Quilt Index record. 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/Winifred_Bonfils http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peshtigo_Fire Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Oct 11, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 2002, former President Jimmy Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize. Carter, a peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia, served one term as U.S. President between 1977-1981. Carter and his wife Rosalynn created the human-rights focused Carter Center in Atlanta in 1982, and since 1984 they have worked with Habitat for Humanity to build homes and raise awareness of homelessness. Mariah Davenport of Plains, Georgia hand pieced and hand quilted this Carpenter’s Wheel quilt between 1800-1849. The owner inherited the quilt and documented it as part of the Florida 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/jimmy-carter-wins-nobel-prize Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Oct 10, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1917, jazz pianist Theolonius Monk was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. He moved to New York City with his parents and two siblings at the age of five and started playing piano at age six. He was mostly self-taught, but took some classes at Julliard School of Music. Monk became the second-most recorded jazz composer (after Duke Ellington) and was one of only five jazz musicians to be featured on the cover of Time magazine. Burrah Williams of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, hand pieced and hand quilted this “Babies First Star” or “Hexagonal Star” quilt in 1932. Williams used scrap fabric for the top and purchased backing fabric at Charles [store?] for $.10/yard. The quiltmaker documented her quilt as part of the North Carolina 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. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelonious_Monk Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Oct 9, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1969, the first World Post Day was celebrated at the Universal Postal Union Congress in Tokyo, Japan. The day is celebrated every year to bring awareness to the importance of postal services. This quilt, an original design titled “Road to San Clemente,” was hand pieced and hand quilted in 8 weeks by twenty-something Lorraine Rumpf in Montclair, California in 1975. Rumpf, a retired rural postal carrier for the U.S. Postal Service documented her quilt in 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. Source: http://www.upu.int/en/the-upu/world-post-day/about-wpd.html Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Oct 8, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1957, Jerry Lee Lewis, a poor evangelical student from Louisiana, fought his strict Christian upbringing to record his second hit rock and roll song, “Great Balls of Fire.” This “Ball of String” quilt was made by Tennessean Ila S. Beasley in 1928. Ila’s niece documented the quilt during the Quilts of Tennessee survey and reported that her aunt hand pieced and hand quilted this string quilt for her hope chest before she married. 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. Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/jerry-lee-lewis-records-quotgreat-balls-of-firequot-in-memphis-tennessee Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
