by Quilt Alliance | Feb 27, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 2010, an earthquake measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale hit off the coast of central Chile killing over 500 people and injuring thousands. The quake spawned a tsunami that damaged coastal towns in Chile as well as minor damage in California and major damage to a fishing village in Japan. It was the sixth largest earthquake ever to be recorded by a seismograph. This 18” x 14” machine pieced, appliqued and embroidered wall hanging titled “Arpillera” was made in Chile around 1980. The word arpillera means burlap fabric in Spanish, and is used to describe the complex tapestries (and in this case a pieced and embroidered textile) created by women in protest to the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship. The narrative textiles describe the harsh effects this regime had on Chile and its people. The quilt was documented by John Beck, staff member of the Michigan State University Museum who purchased it from Madame Letellier, who was teaching at the University of Michigan at the time. Letellier is the widow of Orlando Letellier who was assassinated by the Pinochet regime in Washington D.C. in 1976. The piece tells the story of a strike by the professionals’ union (professors, engineers, etc.) in Chile. 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/2010_Chile_earthquake http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letelier_case http://www.coha.org/chilean-women%E2%80%99s-resistance-in-the-arpillera-movement/ Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Feb 26, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1928, the R&B and rock and roll pianist Antoine Dominique “Fats” Domino Jr. was born in New Orleans. The youngest of eight children in a Creole family, Fats was inspired to become a musician by his father, a well-known violinist and his uncle, a jazz guitarist. Fats, who started playing professionally in honky-tonks at the age of 10, went on to sell an estimated 65 million records worldwide. Irma Nicholas St. Pe’ of Creole and Czech heritage, made this Patchwork Strip quilt in 1952 in Louisiana. It was documented by her grandchild during the Louisiana Quilt Documentation Project. “My grandmother was very proud of her work. She was always sewing or cooking. She was really excited about the backing material on this quilt. She made good lemon pies and cakes. My grandmother always liked to primp-up! She always wore lip-stick and earrings when going somewhere.” 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/fats-domino-is-born-in-new-orleans http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fats_Domino Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Feb 25, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1938, Miami, Florida received its first drive-in theater. Admission was 35 cents per person, 10 cents pricier than the very first drive-in in Camden, New Jersey, which opened June 6, 1933. Mittie Young Shaw made this String Quilt in Miami, Florida. The Wyoming Quilt Project documentation entered for this quilt estimates the date to be around 1954 “because of the fabrics, which are 1950s home decorating fabrics, the date on the newspaper ad on the foundation, and the car styles and hair styles shown in the newspaper pictures.” The owner of the quilt is Shaw’s great grandson and he wrote of her, “[she] lived through the depression years and raised her three grandchildren after her daughter died–never wasted anything–thus this scrap quilt.” 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/miami-drive-in-debuts Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Feb 21, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1948, the National Association for Stock Car Racing (NASCAR) was officially incorporated under the leadership of mechanic and auto-repair shop owner William Frances Jr. Jeanetta Holder of Indianapolis, Indiana, made this Indianapolis 500 Quilt as a gift for driver Bobby Uncer, who’s 1981 Indie 500 win was stripped a day after the race in favor of Mario Andretti. Holder had made a quilt for the winner of the race and after presenting the quilt to Andretti, she decided that she would make another one for Uncer (who was later reinstated as the winner after an lengthy appeal). The quilt is in the permanent collection of the Michigan State University Museum. The record includes the following story about Jeanetta: As a little girl growing up on a Kentucky farm, Jeanetta made her own small racecars out of tobacco sticks and lard cans which she “raced everywhere [she] went.” Jeanetta’s childhood creative streak soon extended to sewing. By the time she was 12, Jeanetta began sewing quilts, filling them with cotton batting from cotton she grew herself. 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/nascar-founded Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Feb 20, 2014 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1792, President George Washington signed legislation that would renew the 1775 act that made the United States Post Office a cabinet department led by the postmaster general (the first PG was Benjamin Franklin). This act ensured inexpensive delivery of all newspapers and stipulated the right to privacy, and it gave Congress the ability to expand postal services to new areas of the country. Dorcas Carlough of Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, hand pieced and hand quilted this Pine Tree with Postage Stamp-Sized Triangles around 1880. The historical society that now owns the quilt documented it in 1990 as part of The Heritage Quilt Project of New Jersey. The documenter’s notes about the quilt include: “Stencil designs. Also overlapping circles. Pencil lines still visible. The pine trees have been quilted in a geometric pattern while the background has been quilted in overlapping circles and four-petal “flowers”. 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/postal-service-act-regulates-united-states-post-office-department Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
