by Quilt Alliance | May 2, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1844, inventor and engineer Elijah J. McCoy was born in Canada to two fugitive slaves who escaped from Kentucky via the Underground Railroad network. The saying “the real McCoy”, meaning the real thing, has been associated with McCoy’s invention of an oil-drip cup that railway engineers asked for by name to avoid inferior versions of the product. Mary McCoy of Iowa hand pieced, appliqued and quilted this Whig Rose quilt between 1840-1860. McCoy, originally from Ohio, was the wife of a farmer and the mother of 10 children. The family member who inherited the quilt documented it in 1988 as part of the Iowa Quilt Research 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://blackinventor.com/elijah-mccoy/ Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Apr 30, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1789, Martha Dandridge Custis Washington became the first First Lady of the United States (although this term would not be used for another seventy years). A quilt attributed to Washington is in the Smithsonian Museum collection. This wholecloth quilt in the DAR Museum collection was made around 1800 by an unknown quiltmaker. The plate-printed fabric used in the quilt was also used by Martha Washington in an unfinished bedcover in the collection of The Mount Vernon Ladies’s Association of the Union. Read about a quilt attributed Martha Washington in Barbara Brackman’s “Quilt 1812 War and Piecing” blog. 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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Washington Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Apr 29, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1968, the controversial rock musical “Hair” premiered on Broadway after a 6-week run at Joseph Papp’s Public Theater in the East Village. The show debuted the song “Aquarius” which became an icon of ‘60’s counterculture, with references to sex and drugs. Lizzie Longmire of Andersonville, Tennessee hand quilted this Hairpin Catcher, or Brickwork, one patch quilt between 1901-1929. Longmire used men’s wool suiting fabric for the front of the quilt and handwoven coverlets for the back side (detail photo below). The quilt was documented (by the family member who inherited it) during the Quilts of Tennessee 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/hair-premieres-on-broadway Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Apr 28, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1758, James Monroe was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia to Spence Monroe, a planter and carpenter, and Elizabeth Jones, a well-educated woman of Welsh descent. Monroe studied at the College of William and Mary, fought in the American Revolution and became the fifth President of the United States, serving from 1817 to 1825. Veline Cox Johnston of Virginia made this Pine Tree quilt around 1930 as a gift for her daughter, who documented the quilt as part of the Quilts of Tennessee. Johnston, a Methodist homemaker of Scotch Irish descent, was born in 1896, the daughter of Pollyanna and George Cox. 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://americanhistory.about.com/od/jamesmonroe/p/pmonroe.htm Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Apr 25, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1947, President Harry S. Truman officially opened the first White House bowling alley. The two-lane alley was constructed in the West Wing with funding provided by a group of Truman’s fellow Missourians in honor of the president. Anna Pozara of Roseville, Michigan made this “Bowling Quilt” for a local bowling club. Pozara documented her quilt as part of 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/truman-inaugurates-white-house-bowling-alley Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
