by Quilt Alliance | May 24, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1991, “Thelma and Louise” debuted in movie theaters. In this reworked version of the typically male-dominated road trip movie, heroines Thelma and Louise drive a 1966 green Ford Thunderbird convertible in the climactic final scene (about which I will not tell you, just in case you haven’t seen it, but the quilter I’m going to tell you about next has a clue in her last name). Thelma Radcliff, a retired occupational therapist from Troy, West Virginia, made this cheerful Monkey Wrench quilt in 1940. It was machine and hand pieced and machine quilted with scraps and new fabrics. The well-used quilt was documented by the maker 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. Sources: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/thelma-and-louise-featuring-1966-ford-thunderbird-released Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | May 23, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1911, the New York Public Library was dedicated in a ceremony led by President William H. Taft. The building is the largest marble structure every constructed in the United States. The library took over 14 years to complete and was designed to house a collection of more than a million books. Today the library is visited and used by more than 10 million people annually and more than two million people have borrowing privileges. This quilt, titled “Little Snake River Valley Friends of the Library Memory Quilt,” was completed in 1996 in Savery/Baggs, Wyoming. Agnes Stock and Mary L. Duncan came up with the idea for the quilt and led the group who made it. An poignant note is included in this Quilt Index record: “Quiltmakers of this isolated Wyoming/Colorado valley had little access to new techniques until a new woman, Kerry Jonke, moved to the valley with her husband who was a forest service (or other government) employee. She showed the quilters how to use a rotary cutter, plastic rulers, and to be very careful about measurements. But she died very young, at 33, of cancer. However, quilts made in the valley show her influence after 1990.” The quilt was documented in 2008 during the Wyoming Quilt History 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. Sources: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/new-york-public-library-dedicated Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | May 22, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1843, a wagon train made up of 1,000 settlers and 1,000 head of cattle sets off along the Oregon Trail from Independence, Missouri. This “Great Emigration” of Americans reached Oregon in five months. Travel over the Oregon Trail peaked in 1845 when more than 3,000 made the journey. The trail was abandoned in the 1870’s after the advent of the railroad. Pat Hubbard of Greeley, Colorado made this quilt, titled “South Fork of the Oregon Trail,” in 1994, a tribute to her grandparents’ travel from the east to the Colorado Territory. The detailed embroidery accurately depicts many plants, birds and other animals found in the region. This quilt took 6th place in the National Lands Contest and was exhibited at county fairs. The quilt was purchased by the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum for its permanent collection. 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. Sources: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/great-emigration-departs-for-oregon Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | May 21, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1881, the American National Red Cross was founded in Washington, D.C. Founders Clara Barton and Adolphus Solomons started the organization to provide humanitarian aid to victims of war and natural disasters in affiliation with the International Red Cross, for whom Barton had worked during the Franco-Prussian War. This stunning Red Cross fundraising quilt was completed by Anna Clare Tate Stanfield of Wichita Falls, Texas in January 1917. From this Quilt Index record: In all there are more than 500 names on this quilt, and the quilt raised over $300 for the Red Cross. The five-pointed stars are hand pieced and appliqued over the block seam junctures. Additional names were also written around the edge of each wheel. Some of these are company names, with the names of employees within the wheel. Stanfield’s son, J. Tate Stanfield currently owns the quilt and documented it during the Texas Quilt Search. The quilt is included in the book Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, Vol. I, 1836-1936, by Karoline Patterson Bresenhan and Nancy O’Bryant Puentes (Austin: University of Texas Press) and was included in an exhibition by the same name in the Texas State Capitol Rotunda, Austin, Texas, April 19-21, 1986. 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. Sources: www.history.com/this-day-in-history/american-red-cross-founded Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | May 20, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1873, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis received a patent to create work pants reinforced with metal rivets they called “waist overalls”—blue jeans were born. Strauss was a Jewish immigrant from Bavaria who ran a successful dry goods business with stores all over the Western states. Davis, a tailor from Nevada who bought supplies from Strauss, designed the new garment and asked Strauss to fund the patent application. The 501 brand jean was originally sewn in worker’s homes and quickly became the best selling work pant in the U.S. Levi Strauss & Co. now employs over 10,000 people worldwide. Pauline Salzman of Treasure Island, Florida made this house-shaped quilt, titled “It’s All in the Genes,” for the “Home Is Where the Quilt Is” contest held by the Quilt Alliance in 2012. From Salzman’s artist’s statement: “Finding the perfect pair of jeans is not a unique problem. It’s about the jeans and the genes. However, this quilt was, also, about expanding my horizons. I took a class from Susan Shie where I learned to paint and write on fabric. This technique allows me to tell a story and have a great deal of fun.” 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. Sources: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/levi-strauss-and-jacob-davis-receive-patent-for-blue-jeans http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi_Strauss_%26_Co Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | May 17, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1954, the United States Supreme Court ruled unanimously, in the case of Brown versus Board of Education, that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. The trial came about after young Linda Brown was denied access to her local elementary school in Topeka, Kansas due to the color of her skin. Six years later in New Orleans, Louisiana, Lucille and Abon Bridges made the decision to send their six-year-old daughter Ruby to an all-Caucasian school. Ruby attended school escorted by federal marshals and endured viscous protestors. In solitude (the rest of the students withdraw from the class), Ruby attended every day of her first grade year, the singular student of Barbara Henry. Ruby Bridges still lives in New Orleans and serves as chair of the Ruby Bridges Foundation, an organization she formed in 1999 to promote “the values of tolerance, respect, and appreciation of all differences.” Marion Coleman of Castro Valley, California made this quilt, titled “Ruby Bridges: What a Difference A School Makes,” in 2006. The 41½” square wall quilt includes images and phrases printed and stitched on fabric. The quilting is described as follows: Quilted in red thread: “Tessie Provost” “Gail Etienne” “Leonna Tate” “Mrs. Barbara Hershey teacher” “Marshall’s” “Ruby Bridges” “United States” Quilted in black thread, “Jim Crow” “family” “friends” “community” “programs” “coleman” “rulers” Quilted in white thread, “pencils” “integration” “courage” “books” “letters”. The quilt is part of the Michigan State University Museum’s permanent collection. 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. Sources: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/brown-v-board-of-ed-is-decided http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_Bridges Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
