On this day in 1918, World War I (also known as the Great War) ended at 11 a.m. when German forces, low on manpower and supplies and facing certain invasion, signed an armistice agreement with the Allies outside of Compiegne, France. The war left 9 million soldiers dead and 21 million wounded, and at least 5 million civilians died from disease, starvation or exposure.

In honor of Veteran’s Day I’d like to spotlight two quilts and their makers whose work is documented in the Quilt Index, one made for a solider and one made by a military nurse.

Sallie Allen Watson of Knoxville, Tennessee hand pieced and hand quilted this “Soldier’s Quilt” (or “Peony Variation”) around 1944 for her grandson-in-law, who was serving in World War II at the time. The quilt was documented during the Quilts of Tennessee project by a relative of Watson’s.

Amanda J. Wright of Lake Providence, Louisiana hand appliqued, pieced and quilted this wool feedsack Strip quilt. Wright was born in Natchez, Mississippi and learned to quilt from her slave parents. She served as a nurse in the Civil War and her husband was a Confederate soldier. She died in 1929. The quilt was documented during the Louisiana Quilt Documentation Project by one of Wright’s family members in 2005.

View these quilts on The Quilt Index by clicking on the images above. Read more about each quilt’s 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/world-war-i-ends

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!

Quilt Documentation Tip

See You in October for Month Seven!

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