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