On this day in 1982, American musician Frank Zappa earned his first and only Top 40 hit, “Valley Girl.” The song was conceived by Zappa’s 14-year-old daughter Moon Unit as a way to get her busy father’s attention. The song, while a complete satire, spawned a teen subculture in the San Fernando Valley, spreading phrases like “Gag me with a spoon” and “Fer sure” past the local malls out into the world.

Grace Reynolds Tyler made this “Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Quilt” in 1934 in Wheeler TVA Dam Village in Alabama. Three other quilts in this same pattern called “Lazy Man,” (designed by Ruth Clement Bond, wife of TVA Personnel Officer), have been located. This quilt was documented during the Quilts of Tennessee project and appears in Merikay Waldvogel’s book “Soft Covers for Hard Times: Quiltmaking and the Great Depression (Nashville, TN: Rutledge Hill Press, 1990). Waldvogel interviewed Bond, who said: “the black man in the center is in the process of choosing between a job offered by the Federal Government (the white uniformed hand) or the “life of frivolity” represented by the woman whose profile is at the right.”

View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about its history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view.

Source:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/quotvalley-girlquot-becomes-a-top-40-hit-for-frank-and-moon-unit-zappa

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!

0 Comments

Submit a Comment Cancel reply