by Quilt Alliance | Jul 24, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
I’m back from the Quilt Alliance’s Not Fade Away conference. I missed you, OTDHQ fans! On this day in 1982, “Eye of the Tiger”* by Survivor hit the top of the U.S. pop charts. This hit from the third of five “Rocky” films (actor/director Sylvester Stallone) held top billing on the chart for 6 weeks. The first hit from the boxing series was “Gonna Fly Now (Theme from Rocky)*.” *I apologize in advance for leaving these tunes to replay in your head all day! Anna Lee Girard of West Virginia, hand appliqued, pieced and quilted this Tiger Lily (alternately named Meadow or Wood Lily) quilt in 1881. Anna Lee was a housewife in rural Mason county in the central part of the state, and purchased new fabric to create this quilt. The lucky family member who inherited the quilt documented it during the West Virginia Heritage Quilt Search in 1992. View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about it’s history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view. Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/quoteye-of-the-tigerquot-from-rocky-iii-tops-the-us-pop-charts Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jul 17, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1955, Walt Disney’s first theme park, Disneyland, opened in Anaheim, California, built for $17 million on 160 acres of former orange groves. Today more than 14 million people visit Disneyland and spend close to $3 billion. Ellen (or Mary) Cline White hand pieced and hand quilted this Sunflower and Orange Peel quilt around 1840. The quilt was made in California but ended up in Tennessee, where it was documented by the Quilts of Tennessee project. View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about it’s history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view. Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/disneyland-opens Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jul 16, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1967, comedian and actor Will Ferrell was born in Irvine, California, the son of Betty Kay, a teacher, and Roy Lee Ferrell Jr., a musician with The Righteous Brothers. His parents were both natives of Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, and moved to California in 1964. Emma Hotchkiss Irvine of Kentucky made this exciting Crazy Quilt in 1883. Emma was a direct descendent, through her father Benoni Hotchkiss, of Ambrose Doolittle, a private from Connecticut during the Revolutionary War. The quilt is now part of the permanent collection of the DAR Museum. View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about it’s history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Ferrell Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jul 15, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1606, Dutch master painter Rembrandt van Rijn was born in Leiden, South Holland, the son of a miller. Rembrandt, who painted more than 100 self-portraits during his lifetime, lost favor as a fashionable portrait artist, and was bankrupt by 1656. However, after this financial downfall, Rembrandt produced some of his most celebrated works. South African artist Phina Nkosi of Soweto, South Africa, made this quilt, titled “Anti-Apartheid Portraits.” It features portraits of women important in the anti-apartheid struggle. This quilt was included in a national exhibition of crafts shown at the Craft Council of South, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2004. It was acquired by the MSU Museum during a bi-national South African Cultural Heritage Project, for which the museum was a lead US partner. View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about it’s history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view. Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/rembrandt-born Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jul 10, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1943, Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. was born in Richmond, Virginia. Ashe’s father wouldn’t let him play football because of his slight build, but nearby his childhood home was Brookfield Playground, Richmond’s largest blacks-only playground, which had a tennis court. Ashe’s love for the game began here and Ashe went on to become the first African American man ever to win the singles title at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and Australian Open. He retired in 1981 and died in 1993 from AIDS-related pneumonia. He worked the last year of his life to educate others about HIV and AIDS. This white and red wholecloth quilt (detail view) was made by the owner’s mother’s aunt (unnamed in this record) and was brought to New Jersey in 1951. The quilt is embroidered and the quilting design is done in a unique tennis racquet pattern. The owner documented the quilt in 1989 during the Heritage Quilt Project of New Jersey, Inc. View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about it’s history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view. Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/wimbledon-tournament-begins Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jul 8, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1776, the Liberty Bell, a 2,000-pound copper and tin bell, rang out from the tower of the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia calling citizens to come and hear the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence, signed four days earlier. The crack in the Liberty Bell is though to have first happened when tolling for the funeral of U.S. Chief Justice John Marshall in 1835, and then expanded to it’s current size in 1846. An unnamed quilter from New Jersey hand pieced and hand quilted this Centennial Quilt in 1876. “This patriotic quilt is sewn from 18 printed Centennial banners. Each of the twelve banners on the outside edge has thirteen red and white stripes and thirty-nine white stars on a blue field. The fabric includes Cheater fabric (pre-printed appliqué or pieced design) depicting flags and portraits of George Washington….Above [Washington’s] head is the Liberty Bell with the crack showing.” The quilt was passed down by the granddaughter of the maker, who was a young girl at the time the quilt was made, and documented as part of The Heritage Quilt Project of New Jersey, Inc. View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about it’s history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view. Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/liberty-bell-tolls-to-announce-declaration-of-independence Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
