by Quilt Alliance | Dec 9, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1972, Australian singer and songwriter Helen Reddy topped the U.S. pop charts with “I Am Woman.” The song represented something entirely new in an era of songs—one about the identity of women that made virtually no reference to men. Reddy wrote the song to reflect “the positive sense of self that I felt Id’ gained from the women’s movement.” Emma Mary Martha Andres of Prescott, Arizona, hand pieced and hand quilted this quilt inspired by a cross-stitch pattern, titled “Woman Spinning,” for the Sears Quilt Contest at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. The quilt was documented by the Merikay Waldvogel Archival Collection and is part of the Joyce Gross Quilt History collection owned by the Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas-Austin. 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/quoti-am-womanquot-by-helen-reddy-tops-the-us-pop-charts Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Dec 6, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1884, the Washington monument, the 550-foot obelisk that stands in the middle of Washington, D.C.’s Capitol Mall was completed. Plans for the architectural tribute were started only 10 days after Washington’s death. Designers in competition for the design were challenged to reflect Washington’s “stupendousness and elegance.” The winning architect was Robert Mills from South Carolina. Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley, a former slave, made this Liberty Medallion quilt around 1870 in Washington, D.C. The 85.5” square silk quilt is pieced, appliqued and embroidered. It was documented by its owner during the Kentucky 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/monument-to-washington-completed Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Dec 4, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1720, cross-dressing English pirate Mary Read died in prison in Jamaica. She was pregnant at the time. Read lived her life as a man on and off throughout her life. As a girl, her mother dressed her as a boy to gain favor and funding from her grandmother. Mary’s half-brother had died recently and her mother hoped to fool the woman to gain her husband’s inheritance. Mary continued to live as a boy and after serving as a footman, sought work as a sailor, joining a band of Caribbean pirates eventually. Peggy Scott of Arapahoe, of North Carolina, made this Little Boy’s Britches quilt in the 1930’s. Scott machine pieced this 77.5” x 78.5” with scraps and hand quilted it with the help of neighbors. She documented her quilt in 1996 as part of the North Carolina 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://womenshistory.about.com/od/femalepirates/ss/Mary-Read-Pirate.htm Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Dec 2, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1972, Motown Records pop sensation, the Temptations, earn a #1 hit with their song Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone.” The five-man group was formed in the 1960’s in Detroit, Michigan and hit the Billboard Hot 100 chart with 38 songs. Sovilla Mast Schrock, a member of the Arthur, Illinois Amish community, made this Rolling Stone (or Rolling Star) quilt around 1940. Schrock machine pieced and hand quilted the 74” x 85” quilt that is now part of the permanent collection of the Illinois State Museum. 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/the-temptations-earn-their-final-1-hit-with-quotpapa-was-a-rolling-stonequot Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Nov 29, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1895, William Vacanarat Shadrach Tubman was born in Harper, Liberia. Tubman is known as the “father of modern Liberia,” serving as its 19th President. Tubman’s grandparents were part of a group of 69 slaves who were freed from slavery in Augusta, Georgia and sent to live in Liberia by Emily Tubman, a philanthropic woman. This all-handmade quilt, titled “Liberian Star,” was made by Leona Johnson of Monrovia, Liberia in 1992. From the Quilt Index record: “The quilt was brought to Flint, Michigan by the maker’s sister’s son, Rev. Emmanuel Bailey. Emmanual goes to Monrovia, Liberia about every 6 months to see his relatives and to work on the building of an orphanage for the victims of war.” The quilt was purchased along with one other by Johnson for the Michigan State University Museum Collection. 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/William_Tubman Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
