On this day in 1767, English surveyors Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon assign a boundary between the colonies of Pennsylvania and Maryland (and areas that would later become Delaware and West Virginia). They had been hired by the Penn and Calvert families to settle a dispute between the two proprietary colonies about the exact location of the boundary line.  In the late 1700’s states south of the Mason-Dixon line began arguing for the perpetuation of slavery, while those north of the line hoped to phase out the practice. It was not until the 14th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution was passed in 1868 that gave all men born in the United States, regardless of skin color or which side of the Mason-Dixon line they lived, the rights of citizenship.

Nadine Marx Cordio pieced this Album Cross quilt and Sue Vollbrecht quilted it. It was finished around 1999 in Madison, Wisconsin and was documented in 2002 during the Wisconsin Quilt History Project. Cordio explains in the record that her family did a genealogy search and found that her great grandfather was in the Union Army, and this inspired her to research Civil War fabric and to take a workshop on period quilts. The label includes this inscription: “MASON DIXON MEMORIES: A workshop on Civil War era quilts. SIEVERS SCHOOL OF FIBER ARTS, WASHINGTON ISLAND, WISCONSIN, 1999. Instructor, Marianne Fons (Marianne Fons signature below). Album Cross…”

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/mason-and-dixon-draw-a-line
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution 


Quilt Index partners

Amy Milne headshot

Posted by Amy E. Milne
Executive Director, Quilt Alliance
amy.milne@quiltalliance.org

How To Trim Flying Geese Without A Specialty Ruler

If you don’t have a Bloc-Loc ruler, you may find trimming these flying geese challenging. But by following these steps, you should be able to get four accurate geese in each color!

First, line up your ruler so the point of the flying geese unit will be trimmed exactly ¼” above the point. Try to line the unit up as straight as possible on the other three sides.

Next, flip the unit over. Line up the edge you just cut on the 2” line of the ruler as shown below, and trim the excess from the top.

Flip the unit right side up again. Line the lower left corner up with the 3 ½” mark on your ruler as shown above. Trim the excess on the right.

Finally, flip the unit over again so the point is pointing towards the 2” line. Align the left edge of the unit with the 3 ½” ruler mark as shown above and trim the excess on the right. Your flying goose unit is now ready to be pieced into your block!

Quilt Documentation Tip

 Andrea’s block story is all about the importance of quilt guilds. Quilting can feel solitary, but guilds bring us together. It’s a topic of conversation that was discussed with two Birthday Block of the Month Designers in a recent Textile Talk where the participants all shared emotional stories about their love for their guilds. 

Did you know that your guild can document your quilts as a group? Consider hosting a quilt documentation day in your guild! Follow these instructions and have members share three minute stories about one meaningful quilt in the Quilt Alliance’s signature Go Tell It documentation program. You could even host a screening so all of your members can see the videos! Get in touch at: qsos@quiltalliance.org

See You in October for Month Seven!

Thank you so much to everyone who has participated in the Quilt Alliance’s Birthday Block of the Month so far! Our designer for next month, the seventh block we’re making together, is Bonnie Hunter herself! 

Be sure to tag @quiltalliance and @3rdstoryworkshop on Instagram with your block photos this month, and use the hashtag #QuiltAllianceBOM. And leave any questions about this month’s block in the comments below!

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *