On This Day in History Quilt for March 5:
On this day in 1963 the Hula-Hoop was patented by Arthur “Spud” Melin, co-founder of the Wham-O company. Melin and friend Richard Knerr, launched the company selling slingshots (that made the sound “Wham-O” when fired) to feed falcons used for hunting. A wooden hoop used in Australian schools for exercise and the hip-gyrating Hawaiian Hula dance inspired the idea for the Hula-Hoop. Wham-O sold an estimated 25 million of the plastic toys in its first four months of production.
This quilt, titled Enigma 3, was born in Australia as well. Quiltmaker Mariya Waters of Melbourne, Australia made this machine quilted wholecloth wall piece in 2003, and it received 3rd place in the Miniature Quilts category at the American Quilter’s Society Quilt Show in Paducah, Kentucky. It is now part of the “Oh, Wow! Miniature Quilt Collection” of the National Quilt Museum, a collection of small quilts made to scale. Another very similar miniature quilt with the same title, made by Waters, is also documented in The Quilt Index.
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/hula-hoop-patented
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hula_hoop
Posted by Amy E. Milne
Executive Director, Quilt Alliance
amy.milne@quiltalliance.org