by Quilt Alliance | Mar 26, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1930, Sandra Day O’Connor was born in El Paso. She was the first woman to be appointed to the United States Supreme Court. In 2009 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor. Her husband John Jay O’Connor suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for nearly 20 years until his death, and Justice O’Connor has devoted herself to raising awareness of the disease. Didi Salvatierra of Abingdon, Maryland made this 16” x 16” wall quilt, titled “Salute to Ami’s Army” for the 2011 Quilt Alliance contest “Alliances: People, Patterns, Passion.” Salvatierra wrote in her artist’s statement: “I honor the work of Ami Simms, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative and her corps of volunteers. This national, grassroots charity is dedicated to raising awareness and funding research for Alzheimer’s Disease through art.” 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/Sandra_Day_O%27Connor Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Mar 25, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory in New York City burned down killing 146 workers, mostly young immigrant women. Many of the victims died due to locked exterior doors, faulty elevators and fire escapes. The workers’ union organized a march on April 5 and some 80,000 people attended it. The disaster compelled the city to enact labor and fire safety reforms. The nonprofit Remember the Triangle Fire Coalition was founded in 2008 to establish a permanent memorial for the victims and promote new collaborations between communities to continue the fight for social justice for all. This Scrap Crazy Quilt was hand pieced and hand quilted by an unknown quiltmaker. It is made of a variety of striped knit fabric, which were probably silk scraps from a hose factory around the turn of the century (late 1800’s). The quilt, made up of thirty 12” square blocks, was documented in 1993 as part of the Connecticut Quilt Search 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/triangle-shirtwaist-fire-in-new-york-city http://rememberthetrianglefire.org/about-2/about/ Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Mar 24, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1955, Tennessee Williams’ play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof opened in New York City. Williams was born in Columbia, Mississippi and overcame sickness and an abusive father to become a paid writer by the time he was 17. Lovenia Toliver of Mississippi hand pieced and quilted this Crazy Quilt between 1950-1975. The quilt is foundation pieced with fabrics that include burlap bags, old blankets, denim and other cottons. Toliver’s family member documented it during the Wisconsin Quilt History 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/cat-on-a-hot-tin-roof-opens http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_Williams Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Mar 21, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1866, American astronomer Antonia Maury was born in Cold Spring, New York. Antonia’s grandfather and uncle, John William and Henry Draper, were both pioneering astronomers and exposed the Maury’s children to science at a young age. Antonia graduated from Vassar College in 1887 with honors and went on to study at the Harvard College Observatory, where she worked as a “Harvard Computer” (a group of highly skilled women who processed astronomical data). This quilt, titled “Austin Halley 86” was made in 1979 by Kathleen L. Briggs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. From this record: “Designed as part of a series on astronomy. To commemorate Halley’s comet, which was visible in Austin, Texas, but not in Milwaukee. Each fill in section has a different design as an historical record of the comets.” The inscription on the quilt includes the exact time Briggs finished the quilt: 9:00 p.m. CDT 09/02/86. Documented during the Wisconsin Quilt History 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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonia_Maury Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Mar 20, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1854, the Republican Party was founded in Ripon, Wisconsin. The group, who were form members of the Whig Party (formed in 1854 to oppose President Andrew Jackson), wanted to establish a new part party to oppose the spread of slavery into the western territories. The first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, was elected in 1860. Mary Elizabeth Stark of Newburg, Iowa hand pieced and hand quilted this Ocean Waves quilt using sewing scraps between 1860-1890. A relative of the quiltmaker documented the quilt in 1988 during the Iowa Quilt Research Project, who noted: “Mary Elizabeth was a pioneer in bringing Farm Bureau and Extension lessons to rural women. She was one of the first women active in Republican politics.” 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/republican-party-founded Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
