by Quilt Alliance | Jun 6, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1944, Allied forces crossed the English Channel and landed on the beaches of Normandy, France to begin the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control during World War II. Sharon Powers of Cooper Harbor, Michigan made this quilt in honor of D-Day for a hospital raffle between 1976 and 1999. She documented her quilt during the Michigan Quilt Project. 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/d-day Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jun 5, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1832, Queen Regent Ka’ahumanu of Hawaii, died after a brief illness. Ka’ahumanu was the most powerful wife of King Kamehameha and after his death she was named Queen Regent, a title similar to a modern-day prime minister. The Queen embraced Christianity and right before her death, missionaries presented her with the first copy of the New Testament printed in the Hawaiian language, bound in red leather with her name engraved in gold letters. This Kapa Hae Hawaii (Hawaiian Flag Quilt) was made in the late 1800’s/early 1900’s in Hawaii. It was machine pieced, hand appliqued and hand quilted and although the maker’s name is unknown, there is an inscription that reads “E.K.C.” The quilt was documented by its owner, who inherited it, during the Hawaiian Quilt Research Project in 1993. 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: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka%CA%BBahumanu Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jun 4, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1862, Confederate forces evacuate Fort Pillow, Tennessee, leaving a clear path for the Union capture of Memphis. Two years later, the Fort Pillow Massacre was one of the bleakest battles of the Civil War, with nearly 300 surrendered black Union soldiers killed by Confederate forces. Agnes Mushet of Methuen, Massachusetts, made this Octagon Crazy Quilt pillow cover from cigar silks around 1890. Noted in this Quilt Index record: “husband Frank probably collected the silks when he worked at the Glen Forest Amusement Part on the Merrimack River in Methuen as head of concessions in the late 1890s.” The pillow cover is now owned by the New England Quilt Museum who documented it in The Quilt Index. 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/confederates-evacuate-fort-pillow http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Pillow Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jun 3, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1906, world-famous dancer, singer and actress Josephine Baker (Freda Josephine McDonald) was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Baker, who ran away from home to dance in vaudeville and on Broadway at age 13, was the first African American woman to star in a major motion picture (Zouzou, 1934). Baker moved to Paris in 1925 and there became one of the best-known entertainers in France and Europe. Baker died in 1975, two days after her last performance in Paris. Noted quilt historian, Cuesta Benberry of St. Louis, made this quilt top with the help of Annette Ammen, Lois Mueller and George Ammen (Annette’s husband), who drew many of the designs. Each block signifies something of importance in African American women’s quiltmaking experiences. Cuesta Benberry’s son donated this quilt, along with the rest of Benberry’s quilt ephemera collection, to the Michigan State University Museum when she passed away in 2008. 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://womenshistory.about.com/od/bakerjosephine/p/josephine_baker.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephine_Baker Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jun 2, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1868, African American educator and race leader John Hope was born in Augusta, Georgia. His father was Scottish-born and his mother was a free African American woman born in Hancock County, Georgia. The couple lived openly as husband and wife, although Georgia law prohibited interracial marriage until 1967. At age 38, Hope became the first black president of Morehouse College—the alma mater of Martin Luther King Jr., and twenty-three years later became president of Atlanta University. Young John Drake of Atlanta, Georgia, made this Lord’s Prayer quilt in 1928. Drake was around 9 or 10 years of age when he hand pieced and hand quilted the piece with a “little help from his grandmother.” Drake’s sister inherited the quilt and she documented it during the Michigan Quilt Project. 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.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/education/john-hope-1868-1936 Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
